1735 English cricket season

Cricket season review November 2025 November 2025 1734 1734 English cricket season 1736 1736 English cricket season In the 1735 English cricket season, the active teams were Kent, Middlesex, Surrey, and Sussex in county cricket; and the Croydon and London clubs. Details of fifteen historically important matches are known.note status Any match listed in the ACS' Important Match Guide (1981) is historically important, and therefore of the highest standard, whether or not a scorecard might exist. The same applies to numerous matches discovered by researchers since 1981.ACS 1981 1–40 For further information, see First-class cricket. Kent patron Edwin Stead, believed to have become a bankrupt, died aged 33 or 34 in London on Thursday, 28 August. The leadership of Kent cricket passed to the Sackvilles of Knole House, Sevenoaks. London v Croydon After the fall-out between the London and Croydon clubs in 1734, there seems to have been a reconciliation during the close season, because the opening match of the 1735 season was between their two teams at Duppas Hill.ACS 1981 20 It was played on Whit Tuesday (27 May), and The Weekly Register reported on the 31st that "London beat Croydon with very great ease".Buckley 1935 10 The reconciliation may have been temporary, because it was not until July 1742 that the teams are known to have met again.Waghorn 2005 12ACS 1981 21 Croydon had apparently faded from the scene, and are found in sources only occasionally after 1736, when they played three matches against Chertsey.Buckley 1935 12ACS 1981 20 Surrey v London There were four matches between Surrey and London in 1735.ACS 1981 20 The first was played 7 June on Moulsey Hurst. The scores are known, and also some of the players' names. Surrey batted first, and scored 54 and 44 in their two innings. London replied with 61 and 38/1 to win by 9 wickets.Waghorn 1899 8–9Wilson 2005 45 Taking part were Cook, Dunn, Ellis, and Wheatley of London; and at least two players called Wood who played for Surrey. Ellis, London's "best bowler", could not play because of an injured finger. Cook, a Brentford player who was "reckoned one of the best bowlers in England", was brought in to bowl instead of him. The Surrey players called Wood evidently came from Woodcote; and one of them was injured during the game. After London lost one wicket in their second innings, the target was reached by Wheatley, who was a distiller, and Dunn. Never before had so many players' names been given in a match report.Waghorn 1899 8–9Wilson 2005 45 The second match was played 18 June on the Artillery Ground.ACS 1981 20 The General Evening Post (GEP) reported on Thursday, 12 June, that it would be played on Kennington Common, but the match was shifted to the Artillery Ground, as reported by the London Evening Post (LEP) on Saturday, 14 June. The GEP report had mentioned a Mr Jervoise of Croydon, who was the organiser of Surrey. He had "selected eleven men out of Croydon and that neighbourhood in Surrey", but he had omitted the "three or four bunglers" who had played at Moulsey Hurst on the 7th. London, batting first, lost their first wicket at 22/1, and this was seen as an achievement by the LEP whose report says: "the Londoners got 22 notches before ever a man was out". London's total in the first innings was 67, and Surrey replied with 97. London scored 72 in the second innings, leaving Surrey with a target of 43 to win. Surrey had reached 33/7 when time ran out, and the result was a draw.Waghorn 1899 9–10Wilson 2005 45 Little is known of the other two matches, which were both played on Kennington Common.ACS 1981 20 The London Daily Post on Saturday, 19 July, reported that London had beaten Surrey "with ease" the previous day.Buckley 1935 11 The fourth match on 23 September was to be played "for a considerable sum", but the result is unknown.Maun 2009 75 Kent matches On 12 July, a London & Middlesex combine hosted Kent at Moulsey Hurst.ACS 1981 20 London & Middlesex scored 95 and 41; Kent responded with 80 & 57/6 to win by 4 wickets. London & Middlesex consisted of eight players of the London club and three of Middlesex, including Cook of Brentford. Kent's patron was the Earl of Middlesex, who was the eldest son of the 1st Duke of Dorset. Their opponents were backed by the Prince of Wales. The match was staged for £1,000 a side.Waghorn 1899 10–11Buckley 1935 10–11 The General Evening Post reported that the London team was imbalanced by inclusion of the three Middlesex men, and lost the match for that reason. The Prince of Wales was reported as saying that his team in the return match would therefore be an all-London XI. As G. B. Buckley says, this was "an early appreciation of teamwork". The report confirmed that a second match would be played in two weeks on Bromley Common. Buckley 1935 11 The return on 26 July was titled Kent v London, as the Prince of Wales kept his promise to select an all-London team. London scored 73 and 32; Kent responded with 97 and 9/0 to win by 10 wickets. The report states that a large crowd attended and "a great deal of mischief was done". It seems that horses panicked and riders were thrown while some members of the crowd were "rode over". One man was "carried off for dead" as "HRH" passed by at the entrance to the Common.Waghorn 1899 11–12 Kent also played two matches against Sussex on 13 and 20 August.ACS 1981 20 The first was in Lewes, possibly at The Dripping Pan, and Sussex won by an unknown margin. The source for it is a letter from John Whaley to Horace Walpole dated Wednesday, 13 August. He says Sussex "seem as much pleased as if they had got an Election". He also reported that "we have been at supper with them all" until one o'clock in the morning.McCann 2004 15 Kent won the second match at Sevenoaks Vine. The London Evening Post speculated that "the Conqueror" (i.e., a decider) between Kent and Sussex, led by Lord John Sackville and Lord Gage respectively, would be played in a few days, but there is no record of a further match.McCann 2004 15–16 Westminster matches The Westminster team was active in 1735, and played in three matches. The first on 11 June was against Greenwich in Blackheath for a stake of £500. Expected to attend were the Prince of Wales, the Earl of Middlesex, and Lord John Philip Sackville. The result is unknown.Buckley 1935 10 Westminster then played London at Tothill Fields on 16 August, and won by three runs. A report in the General Evening Post says simply that Westminster won "by 3 notches", and that a return would be held Thursday, 28 August, at the Artillery Ground. The result of that match is unknown.Buckley 1935 1 Single wicket The GEP on Thursday, 7 August, announced a single wicket match to be played the following Monday on Kennington Common, involving seven players of the London Club. The game would be three against four with Dunn, Pool, and Wakeland against Ellis, Marshall, and two others.Buckley 1935 11 Other events On Friday, 25 July, a combined Acton & Brentford team played against Harrow on Willesden Green "for a guinea a man".Buckley 1935 11 On Saturday, 26 July, a Romford v Brentwood match on Shenville Common resulted in a win for Romford by 37 runs.Buckley 1935 11 The death of Edwin Stead, on 28 August, was reported in the Grub Street Journal dated Thursday, 4 September. He was a noted patron of the game from the mid-1720s and may have been a good player too. He was a Maidstone man who undoubtedly did much to promote the game in Kent. A compulsive gambler, it seems he died in reduced circumstances. One account stated that he died "near Charing Cross", and another that he died "in Scotland Yard".Buckley 1935 12 First mentions Clubs and teams London & Middlesex (combined)Waghorn 1899 10 WestminsterBuckley 1935 10 Venues Bromley CommonWaghorn 1899 11 Tothill FieldsBuckley 1935 11 Players name club/county notes Cook Brentford Described by a contemporary reporter as "one of the best bowlers in England".Waghorn 1899 8 Dunn London Evidently a top order batsman who is mentioned in three match reports.Waghorn 1899 8 Ellis Described by a contemporary reporter as London's "best bowler".Waghorn 1899 8 Wakeland Made two known appearances in single wicket contests.Waghorn 1899 11 Wheatley Evidently a top order batsman, known to have been a distiller by trade.Buckley 1935 11 Marshall Recorded in one match in 1735.Buckley 1935 11 Pool Recorded in one match in 1735.Buckley 1935 11 Mr Jervoise Croydon and Surrey A Surrey patron who was active in 1735.Buckley 1935 10 Wood Woodcot, Surrey Mentioned briefly in a 1735 report. There were apparently two Woods of Woodcot.Waghorn 1899 8 Notes note References Bibliography ACS Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709–1863 1981 ACS Nottingham https://archive.acscricket.com/online_library/match_guides/bi_imp_match_guide/index.html 85045528 Buckley G. B. G. B. Buckley Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket 1935 Cotterell & Co. Birmingham 23450280 Maun Ian Ian Maun From Commons to Lord's, Volume One: 1700 to 1750 2009 Roger Heavens Cambridge 978-19-00592-52-9 McCann Tim Timothy J. McCann Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century 2004 West Sussex Record Office Lewes 978-08-54450-55-8 https://www.sussexrecordsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/Digital_editions/SRS-Vol-88.pdf 88 Waghorn H. T. H. T. Waghorn Cricket Scores, Notes, &c. From 1730–1773 Blackwood Edinburgh 1899 1086375331 Waghorn H. T. H. T. Waghorn The Dawn of Cricket J. W. McKenzie London 2005 1906 978-09-47821-17-3 Wilson Martin An Index to Waghorn Bodyline Books (limited edition, by subscription only) London 2005 Further reading ACS 1982 A Guide to FC Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles ACS Nottingham https://archive.acscricket.com/online_library/match_guides/bi_match_guide/index.html 10586869 Altham H. S. Harry Altham E. W. Swanton E. W. Swanton A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914) 5th 1962 George Allen & Unwin London 894274808 Birley Derek Derek Birley A Social History of English Cricket 1999 Aurum Press London 978-18-54107-10-7 https://archive.org/details/socialhistoryofe0000birl_d1n5 Internet Archive Bowen Rowland Rowland Bowen Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development 1970 Eyre & Spottiswoode London 978-04-13278-60-9 Major John John Major More Than A Game 2007 HarperCollins London 978-00-07183-64-7 https://archive.org/details/morethangamestor0000majo_b8t0 Internet Archive Category:1730s in cricket Category:English cricket seasons in the 18th century Category:1735 in England