1789 English cricket season

Cricket season review July 2026 July 2026 1788 1788 English cricket season 1790 1790 English cricket season The 1789 English cricket season was played against the backdrop of the French Revolution, which escalated after the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July when cricket patron John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset, was the British ambassador in Paris. Details of 25 matches are known, but few were historically important.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. Proposed visit to Paris A story has circulated that the British ambassador to France, the Duke of Dorset, a leading patron of cricket, planned the formation of an England team to visit Paris on a goodwill tour, and play matches there in August. The tale goes that this team, having assembled in London, had travelled to Dover on 10 August where, unexpectedly, they met the Duke himself coming the other way. He was returning to England following the escalation of the French Revolution.https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2001/dec/03/comment.frankkeating Keating Frank Frank Keating (journalist) A pre-tour wrangle with India is par for the course The Guardian London 3 December 2001 28 May 2020https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/13579/lot/491/ Lot 491: The first printing of the 1788 MCC Laws of Cricket in an English newspaper Bonhams London 28 May 2020 As John Major said in More Than A Game, 'the whole story is nonsense'.Major 2007 86 On 16 July, two days after the Storming of the Bastille, Dorset had written to Foreign Secretary Francis Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds, about the crisis, and had warned other British residents to leave Paris, so he would hardly have invited a cricket team to come to France at such a time.Major 2007 87 Dorset himself is known to have left Paris on 8 August.https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.183620/2015.183620.British-Diplomatic-Representatives1789-1852#page/n3/mode/2up Bindoff S. T. Smith E. F. Malcolm Webster C. K. British Diplomatic Representatives (1789–1852) Royal Historical Society London Camden Third Series, Volume 50 1934 47–48 He did not return, and was temporarily replaced by his Embassy Secretary, Lord Robert Stephen FitzGerald, as Minister Plenipotentiary. New credentials were delivered by his official successor, Earl Gower, on 20 June 1790. Dorset's credentials were terminated on 29 June 1790. Kent v Surrey Kent hosted Surrey between 10 and 12 June on Moulsey Hurst, with a return played 11 to 14 August at Bishopsbourne Paddock. In both matches, the visitors won: Kent by 3 wickets in June, and Surrey by 9 wickets in August.Haygarth 1996 92, 96 Hampshire v Kent Kent also played two matches against Hampshire. The first of these was on Windmill Down through 13 and 14 July. Kent won by 56 runs. While this match was in progress on Tuesday, 14 July, the Storming of the Bastille occurred in Paris. Robert Clifford and William Bullen played key roles in Kent's victory. They made the top scores of 27 and 20 in Kent's first innings of 98, and then took seven wickets each (bowled only) to dismiss Hampshire for 49 and 27.Haygarth 1996 94–95 The return was played at Bishopsbourne Paddock from 18 to 21 August, and Hampshire won by 29 runs.Haygarth 1996 97 England matches There were two matches involving England, who played Kent in July and Hampshire in September. The match against Kent took place on the New Ground, Uxbridge Moor between 23 and 25 July. England's team included the young Billy Beldham, who made the game's top score of 48, which helped them to win by an innings and 10 runs.Haygarth 1996 95 The return match was on Sevenoaks Vine from 2 to 5 September. This was the final match in the career of the great Lumpy Stevens. Hampshire won by 15 runs.Haygarth 1996 98–99 Single wicket Six of Hambledon played against Six of Kent between 9 and 10 July on Itchin Stoke Down. The match was drawn because of bad weather.Haygarth 1996 94 Other events On 25 May, a "gentlemen only" England team played Middlesex at Lord's Old Ground (Lord's). Middlesex, including ten professionals, won by an innings and 64 runs.Waghorn 2005 99 By this time, George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea had become one of the sport's most influential patrons. In June, he formed his own team for a match at Lord's against Sir Horatio Mann's XI. Winchilsea's XI won by 140 runs.Haygarth 1996 91 At the end of the season, Leicester and Nottingham played two matches in Loughborough. Nottingham won the first by an innings and 16 runs; Leicester won the second by a single run.Haygarth 1996 99–100 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 Haygarth Arthur Arthur Haygarth Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826) Frederick Lillywhite Kennington 1996 1862 978-19-00592-23-9 Major John John Major More Than A Game 2007 HarperCollins London 978-00-07183-64-7 https://archive.org/details/morethangamestor0000majo_b8t0 Internet Archive Waghorn H. T. H. T. Waghorn The Dawn of Cricket J. W. McKenzie London 2005 1906 978-09-47821-17-3 Further reading 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 Warner Pelham Pelham Warner Lords: 1787–1945 1946 Harrap London 877106024 Wilson Martin An Index to Waghorn Bodyline Books (limited edition, by subscription only) London 2005 Category:1780s in cricket Category:English cricket seasons in the 18th century Category:1789 in England