1737 English cricket season

Cricket season review November 2025 November 2025 1736 1736 English cricket season 1738 1738 English cricket season In the 1737 English cricket season, Frederick, Prince of Wales was a significant patron, while Kent, who twice defeated a combined London and Surrey team, was the strongest county. Details of fourteen 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 v London & Surrey A London & Surrey combine, sponsored by the Prince of Wales, played two matches against Kent, sponsored by Lord John Philip Sackville.ACS 1981 20 There was crowd trouble at the first match, played 15 June on Kennington Common. One report says: "the Mob outrageously threw Dirt, Dung, etc. on Account of the people's entering within the Line".Maun 2009 86 A week later, a man called John Smith died from complications of a wound caused when he was hit by one of the stones being thrown.Waghorn 1899 19 Another report says "the Press (i.e., crowd pressure) was so great" that a woman suffered a broken leg "by the Crowd bearing upon her".Maun 2009 86 Kent scored 99 and 70/7 declared. Surrey replied with 31 and 98, so Kent won by 40 runs.Waghorn 1899 17–18 The return match was played 6 July on Bromley Common. According to a newspaper report, Kent "maintained their honour, and beat their adversaries at one hands", which means they won by an innings.Waghorn 1899 19Maun 2009 86–87 Essex v London On 25 July, London defeated Essex by 45 runs at the Artillery Ground. This is the earliest known match in which Essex played as a single county, having earlier combined with Hertfordshire. Essex and London met again on 1 August at an unknown venue in Ilford, where Essex won by 7 runs. This is the earliest known organised match that was definitely played in the county of Essex.Buckley 1935 14ACS 1981 20 London v Surrey A Surrey v London match, to be played 27 July on Moulsey Hurst, was organised by the Prince of Wales (Surrey) and the 3rd Duke of Marlborough (London) for £500 a side. It was announced by the General Evening Post on Thursday, 21 July, but no report of the game has been found.Buckley 1935 14ACS 1981 20 Chertsey v London On 6 September, London defeated Chertsey by 5 wickets at Moulsey Hurst. The match was reported by the Grub Street Journal. A Chertsey player broke a finger, and this had a bearing on the result. Chertsey scored 45 and 66. London scored 81 and 31/5.Waghorn 1899 17–18Buckley 1935 15ACS 1981 20 Single wicket In August, two unnamed players, one from Wandsworth and one from Mitcham, described as "two of the most celebrated sportsmen in the game", played a match on Kennington Common. The Mitcham man was hit on the head by the ball in his first innings. Despite concussion, he continued to play, but was "beaten by a considerable number of notches".Maun 2009 89 Other events 200px|right|thumb|Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, captained a team in 1737. In May, there was a tragic incident in a local match at Newick, in Sussex, when a player called John Boots was killed after he collided with his partner whilst going for a run. Both men were knocked down but got up again, only for Boots to drop down dead as he was running to his wicket. This was recorded in a number of sources. McCann found a reference in the West Sussex Record Office which named John Boots and said he was buried on Tuesday, 31 May at Chailey. Chailey and Newick are neighbouring parishes just to the north of Lewes in East Sussex.Buckley 1935 14McCann 2004 16 In June or July, the Prince of Wales' XI met Sir William Gage's XI in Hyde Park. The patrons wagered "a considerable sum". The match seems to have involved noblemen only, and so it was not an important one.McCann 2004 17Waghorn 1899 18 Stansted v Hertford on Wednesday, 6 July, is the earliest known match in Hertfordshire. Stansted won.Maun 2009 87 Another minor "aristocrats only" game was played Thursday, 14 July on Kew Green. The captains were the Prince of Wales and the 3rd Duke of Marlborough. The Prince of Wales XI won.Waghorn 1899 18 The General Evening Post on Tuesday, 2 August, announced a game at Kew Green to be played on Thursday, 4 August.ACS 1981 20 The Prince of Wales was due to play, and lead a team of noblemen against London, but it was probably members of the London Club rather than its professional players, so it would have been another minor match.Buckley 1935 15 G. B. Buckley says it is doubtful if the match was ever played as Frederick's first child Princess Augusta (1737–1813) was born "on Aug. 3" (sic) and this occasioned "great rejoicings in London". The Prince provided beer for the populace but "one lot of it was too bad to drink".Buckley 1935 15 In fact, Augusta was born on Sunday, 31 July. Hertford v Brentwood played Friday, 12 August at Ware, Hertfordshire is the second known match in the county, only five weeks after the first. Brentwood won by 6 runs for a £200 prize.Maun 2009 88 A match "betwixt the men of Kent and the Gentlemen of London, within the Bills of Mortality" was pre-announced for 27 September on Kennington Common, but no post-match report has been found.Maun 2009 90ACS 1981 20 First mentions Counties earliest known match definitely played in EssexBuckley 1935 14 earliest known matches played in HertfordshireMaun 2009 87 Clubs and teams Essex (18th century) as a single countyBuckley 1935 14 BrentwoodMaun 2009 88 HertfordMaun 2009 87 StanstedMaun 2009 87 Players John BootsMcCann 2004 16 Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of MarlboroughWaghorn 1899 18 Venues Hyde ParkMcCann 2004 17Waghorn 1899 18 Ilford (unspecified venue)Buckley 1935 14 Ware (unspecified venue)Maun 2009 88 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 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 Major John John Major More Than A Game 2007 HarperCollins London 978-00-07183-64-7 https://archive.org/details/morethangamestor0000majo_b8t0 Internet Archive Wilson Martin An Index to Waghorn Bodyline Books (limited edition, by subscription only) London 2005 Category:1730s in cricket Category:English cricket seasons in the 18th century Category:1737 in England