From Lads to Lord's
The History of Cricket: 1761 1770 | The History of Cricket: 1776 1780 | Index
The History of Cricket: 1771 1775
1771 | 1772 | 1773 | 1774 |
1775
Henry Attfield | James Aylward | Francis Booker | William Brazier | William Bullen | J T de Burgh | Childs | Samuel Colchin | Reynell Cotton
Richard Francis | Edward Hussey | George Louch | Muggeridge | Richard Newman | Richard Purchase
Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville | Thomas Taylor | Thomas White | William Yalden
Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics | The Laws of Cricket 1774
Regular scorecards at last! Three games in the 1772 season have surviving scorecards and, from then on, the details of at least some matches in every single season are known. However, scorecards do not tell the full story.
Surviving scorecards, once they begin, quickly become the norm as we work through the years. I will restate here my priority re matches described in the text to highlight the games that do not have surviving scorecards but, for completeness, summaries of the scorecarded matches are included as well as historically useful information about them. All scorecards can be seen at CricketArchive.
Deaths of two famous British writers: Thomas Gray on 30 July and Tobias Smollett on 17 September.
A season in which one of the game's most infamous controversies caused a change in the Laws of Cricket. Meanwhile, northern cricket at last made its debut in important matches.
All-England v Hambledon
Guildford Bason, near Guildford, Surrey
Monday, 12 & Tuesday, 13 August 1771
All-England won by 10 wickets (PVC)
Hambledon scored 65 and 90; All-England took a sizeable first innings lead with 146 and needed only 100 to win the game convincingly.
The game was reported in the London Gazetteer on Friday, 16 August.
Nottingham v Sheffield
Forest New Ground, Sherwood Forest, Nottingham
Monday, 26 Tuesday, 27 August 1771
result unknown (SB2 & PVC)
This match is surprisingly the earliest known reference to cricket in Nottinghamshire. It is the first important inter-county match involving teams from either Nottinghamshire or Yorkshire.
The reports in S&B and PVC indicate that the game, which had a stake of 42 guineas play or pay, was "not determined on account of a dispute having arisen by one of the Sheffield players being jostled". It seems the intention was for each team to play 3 innings each. The end details we have are that Sheffield was 60 ahead with Nottingham yet to bat. Sheffield scored 81, 62 and 105 for a total of 248, but it is not known if 105 was an all out total or not. Nottingham had scored 76 and 112 for a total of 188 with another innings in hand.
PVC mentions a Sheffield batsman called Osguthorpe (sic) who "kept in batting for several hours together". But his name is not among the two lists of players given in S&B, one under 26 August 1771 and another under 1 June 1772 (see details under that date). The lists are evidently the same team but with slight differences for each match. As Osguthorpe is not included, they must be the Nottingham players only. The players are: Coleman (2 appearances), Turner (2), Loughman (2), Roe (2), Spurr (2), Stocks (2), Collishaw (2), Troop (2), Mew (2), Bamford (1), Gladwin (1), Huythwaite (1), Rawson (1).
It is believed that the origin of Nottinghamshire CCC lies in this same Nottingham club which must have been in existence well before its earliest recorded mention in 1771. Often referred to as the "Town Club", it was playing first-class cricket in the 19th century until 1835 when the first Nottinghamshire county team, vis-ΰ-vis town team, was recognised. It is doubtful if the county organisation at that time was a formally constituted club and the present Nottinghamshire CCC dates itself from March or April 1841 (the exact date has been lost).
The Sheffield club organised county level cricket in Yorkshire well into the 19th century, its teams in significant matches generally considered representative of Yorkshire as a county, although Sheffield's influence in this regard was controversial. Sheffield apparently had a club in 1757 when its team played a match in Derbyshire; and in 1765 when it played Leeds. In September 1833, Yorkshire was used as the team name for the first time and then a match in July 1849 between Sheffield and Manchester was styled "Yorkshire v Lancashire". Sheffield and Manchester had played each other previously but the 1849 fixture was the first "county match" between their teams and, hence, the inaugural Roses Match (incidentally, Yorkshire won by 5 wickets). Sheffield moved to Bramall Lane in 1854 and played its first match there in April 1855. In 1861, A Yorkshire Match Fund Committee was set up in Sheffield and, following a precedent in the 1839 formation of Sussex CCC, this led to the formal establishment of Yorkshire CCC in January 1863, Bramall Lane being the club's original home. The Sheffield contingent held a controlling interest for many years with all fourteen members of the County Committee elected by Sheffield districts and loyal to the club's Sheffield president Michael Ellison. Reorganisation began in 1882 when the committee was enlarged to include members from Bradford, Dewsbury, Halifax, Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds and York. This was the year Lord Hawke assumed the team captaincy, although the driving force in pursuit of the representation issue was Edmund Carter who represented York. It was not until 1893 that the process was complete and the county was finally rid of its "ruling Sheffield clique".
Bourne v Middlesex & Surrey
Bishopsbourne Paddock, Bourne, near Canterbury, Kent
Wednesday, 28 Thursday, 29 August 1771
Middlesex & Surrey won by 1 run (CS)
Middlesex & Surrey (i.e., Duke of Dorset's XI) scored 66 & 25; Bourne Club (Mr Horace Mann's XI) replied with 53 & 37. Apparently, Dorset's XI was short of three batsmen in its second innings.
GB18 records a mention of this game in the Kent Weekly Post but in another connection. The game caused the postponement of a benefit occasion for a Mrs Dyer at the Canterbury Theatre, which had been scheduled for the same day. Presumably, the Duke of Dorset and his cronies wanted to attend both functions!
Duke of Dorset's XI v Horace Mann's XI
Artillery Ground, Bunhill Fields, Finsbury, London
Wednesday, 4 Thursday, 5 September 1771
Dorset's XI won by 1 wicket (CS)
CS calls the fixture Middlesex & Surrey v Bourne and so it was a return of the match on 28-29 August. GB18 records the result and names the Gazzetteer as the primary source.
Mann's XI (Bourne Club) scored 65 & 82; Dorset's XI replied with 58 & 90-9. Apparently, the last wicket pair needed 27 to win the game. Did they get 'em in singles?
Chertsey v Hambledon
Laleham Burway Ground, Chertsey, Surrey
Monday, 23 & Tuesday, 24 September 1771
Hambledon won by 1 run (GB18)
Team totals (both innings combined) were Hambledon 218 and Chertsey 217. The match was for £50 a side and the articles decreed that it must be played out. It was concluded on the Tuesday evening.
Thomas White of Reigate (often confused with Shock White of Brentford) used his extra wide bat whilst playing for Chertsey in this game. The Hambledon players objected. A formal protest was written by Thomas Brett and signed by himself, Richard Nyren and John Small. It brought about a change in the Laws of Cricket, as confirmed in 1774, whereby the maximum width of the bat was set at four and one quarter inches.
For a full description of this incident, see The Monster Bat Controversy.
Hambledon v Chertsey
Broadhalfpenny Down, Hambledon, Hampshire
Monday, 30 September Tuesday, 1 October 1771
Hambledon won by 10 wickets (JBD/GDC)
Chertsey scored 117 and 126. Hambledon replied with 230 and 14 for 0 to win convincingly.
DC notes that "(on Saturday, 16 November), a general meeting of the subscribers to the Broadhalfpenny Cricket Club will be held at the George Inn, at Hambledon, in order to appoint stewards and settle the plan for the ensuing year".
JBD = John Baker's Diary. Mr Baker was a Sussex lawyer who actively supported cricket and made a number of journeys on horseback to watch games. His diary has provided some vivid descriptions of cricket in his day and they are particularly interesting for giving us a contemporary spectator's point of view.
Gents of Kent v Gents of Sussex
Tenterden, Kent
Wednesday, 3 Thursday, 4 July 1771
Kent won (GB18/TJM)
Reported in the Kent Weekly Post aka Canterbury Journal on Tuesday, 2 July and again on Tuesday, 16 July. This match was the first of a series of games this year between teams that were unquestionably "gentlemen only". The games were also titled Tenterden & Benenden versus Northiam & Peasmarsh, which is almost certainly an accurate indication of the scope and effectively confirms that they were minor contests between teams of local amateurs representing just a couple of parishes each.
Chertsey v Richmond, Hampton & Brentford
Laleham Burway, Chertsey, Surrey
Monday, 8 July 1771
result unknown (GB18)
Richmond, Hampton & Brentford v Chertsey
Richmond Green, Richmond, Surrey
Monday, 15 July 1771
result unknown (GB18)
The Gazzetteer advertised both games on Monday, 8 July but no post-match reports were found. An interesting speculation is that Thomas White, who regularly played for Chertsey, and Shock White, of Brentford, may well have been opponents in these matches!
Gents of Kent v Gents of Sussex
Tenterden, Kent
Tuesday, 30 July 1771
result unknown (GB18/TJM)
Second in the series of gentlemen's matches (see 3 July above).
KCM has two matches played possibly in August at Sevenoaks Vine and Laleham Burway, but there are no details and they may again be "gentlemen only" games.
Coulsdon v Henfield
Smitham Bottom, Surrey
late July 1771
Coulsdon won by 5 wickets (TJM/PVC)
The Sussex Weekly Advertiser of Monday, 12 August reported that this game took place "the week before last" with the return at Henfield Common due to start on the day of publication (see below).
Middlesex, Kent & Surrey v Coulsdon
Artillery Ground, Bunhill Fields, Finsbury, London
Monday, 5 Tuesday, 6 August 1771
Middlesex, Kent & Surrey won by 45 runs (GB18)
Reported in the St James Chronicle on Thursday, 8 August.
Gents of Kent v Gents of Sussex
New Romney, Kent
Monday, 5 August 1771
result unknown (GB18/TJM)
Third in the series of gentlemen's matches (see 3 & 30 July above).
Henfield v Coulsdon
Henfield Common, near Henfield, West Sussex
Tuesday, 13 Wednesday, 16 August 1771
Coulsdon won "by 4 or 5 wickets" (PVC)
The Sussex Weekly Advertiser reported that this game should have started on the Monday but it was delayed by continual rain. It was a return match to the one at Smitham Bottom in July.
Gents of Hampshire v Gents of Sussex
Broadhalfpenny Down, Hambledon, Hampshire
Tuesday, 20 August 1771
Sussex won by 8 wickets (TJM/PVC)
This match and the next one were played by amateur gentlemen. The teams are given in TJM and they are local reverends and the like only, although a few names like J T de Burgh, Reynell Cotton and Thomas Ridge can be associated with Hambledon. These are therefore minor matches.
Gents of Sussex v Gents of Hampshire
Valdo Corner, Goodwood, Sussex
Friday, 23 August 1771
Sussex won by an innings & 74 runs (TJM/PVC)
TJM lists the team changes but they make no difference to the minor status of the match.
GB18 records two minor games at Cobham Tilt in 1771 in which one of the teams was led by Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville (born 15 November 1743; died 10 December 1822). This seems to be the earliest mention of him in a cricketing connection. Tankerville succeeded to his title on the death of his father on 27 October 1767 and became a famous patron of Surrey cricket in the 1770s. He often played himself and seems to have been a very good fielder, though he was not especially noted for batting or bowling. He was the employer of Lumpy Stevens and William Bedster. Lumpy was a gardener at Tankerville's Walton-on-Thames estate and Bedster was Tankerville's butler.
The Hon. John Thomas de Burgh (17441808) played for Surrey in 1773. He was possibly a guest player as his name only occurs a handful of times in match reports. He was a Hambledon Club member prior to June 1772 when the club's minutes began; and president of the club in 1784. He had a military career in the 68th Foot, rising from Lieutenant-Colonel in the 1780s to General in 1803.
de Burgh's name echoes Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, written in 1796, in which the aristocratic de Burgh family is related to Mr Darcy.
The Reverend Reynell Cotton (17171779), a Winchester schoolmaster, was President of the Hambledon Club from 1773 to 1774. He is remembered for the Hambledon Club song, which he wrote c.1771.
The first of the Partitions of Poland was implemented by Russia and Prussia.
Hampshire twice defeated All-England but lost to Kent by 2 wickets in the three recorded matches before defeating Surrey in an unrecorded match. The leading bowlers of the day were Thomas Brett of Hampshire and Lumpy Stevens of Chertsey and Surrey, although the scorecards of this year have not preserved any bowling or fielding data. But the greatest player of the season was again John Small, who was the top batsman by a distance, though William Yalden of Chertsey and Surrey also achieved good scores.
Tuesday, 2 June . CS and SB2 record a fives match at the Artillery Ground between Kent and Hampshire. Hampshire scored 11 & 46; Kent scored 35 & 23-4 to win by one wicket. The Kent team was John Boorman, John Frame, Richard May, John Minshull and Joseph Miller. Minshull scored 26 & 11; Frame scored the winning run. The Hampshire team was John Small, Tom Sueter, George Leer, Thomas Brett and Richard Nyren. Nyren scored 29 out of 46 in the second innings.
Hampshire v All-England
Broadhalfpenny Down, Hambledon, Hampshire
Wednesday, 24 Thursday, 25 June 1772
Hampshire won by 53 runs (HCC)
Hampshire 146 (John Small 78, E Aburrow 27) & 79 (John Small 34)
All-England 109 (T White 35) & 63 (T May 18)
The match was played for 500 guineas. In some accounts, All-England was termed "Kent, Middlesex and Surrey". No details of bowling or fielding are known. Noted bowlers taking part in the game were Stevens, Frame, Brett, Nyren, Hogsflesh, Richard May, Thomas White and Barber. The All-England wicketkeeper was probably the Gill of Buckinghamshire known to have been the wicketkeeper for All-England in the matches against Dartford in September 1759 (see S&B, p.2). Gill does not appear again in recorded scores.
Hampshire had two given men: William Yalden and John Edmeads, both of Surrey. This gave Hampshire two wicketkeepers, Tom Sueter and Yalden, but it is not known which of them kept wicket in this match. I would imagine that Sueter was carrying an injury and was fit to bat but not to keep. Otherwise why have another keeper as a given man?
John Small's score of 78 was the highest recorded in the 1772 season and, as such, the highest known individual score in a first-class innings since the beginning of cricket's statistical record. This original "world record" was beaten by William Yalden in 1773. According to newspaper reports quoted by G B Buckley on p.57 of Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket, "bets of £500 were laid against John Minshull in favour of John Small".
Commencing with this game, we have what amounts to a continuous statistical record with surviving scorecards of at least some games in every single season from here onwards. There are still many matches without scorecards before the Lord's fire in 1825, but a norm was established in 1772 and the available data soon becomes considerable.
All-England v Hampshire
Guildford Bason, Guildford, Surrey
Thursday, 23 & Friday, 24 July 1772
Hampshire won by 62 runs (HCC)
Hampshire 152 (W Yalden 68) & 122 (W Yalden 49, John Small 30)
All-England 126 (J Miller 30, R Simmons 27) & 86 (J Miller 26)
The second game this season with a surviving scorecard. As in the previous game between the teams, Hampshire had two given men: William "the Yold" Yalden and John Edmeads, both of Surrey. Yalden's contribution was immense as he scored 68 and 49 in Hampshire's totals of 152 & 122. Again, the bowling and fielding details are unknown.
Some confusion has arisen over the extras. According to Mr Ashley-Cooper: "In the course of the game, the Hambledon Club got 11 notches in byes and All-England 21, but they were not entered in the scoresheet". He gave the match scores as 144 and 118 to 117 and 73 with Hampshire winning by 72 runs.
Kent v Hampshire
Bishopsbourne Paddock, Bourne House, Canterbury, Kent
Wednesday, 19 & Thursday, 20 August 1772
Kent won by 2 wickets (SB4)
Hampshire 123 (G Leer 29, T Sueter 26) & 113 (John Small 48)
Kent 136 (W Palmer 29, J Minshull 24) & 101-8 (John Wood 20, J Miller 17*)
The third game with a surviving scorecard and the first in S&B apart from the 1744 match. Hampshire again had William Yalden and John Edmeads of Surrey as given men. The Kent team is called England in S&B but in fact it was a Kent side with two given men: Lumpy and Thomas White, both also of Surrey.
Sheffield v Nottingham
Sheffield, Yorkshire
Monday, 1 June 1772
Sheffield won (SB2 & PVC)
Nottingham forfeited the match after being dismissed for 14 and then seeing Sheffield score 70 with wickets still in hand. See also the match on 26 August 1771.
A pre-match announcement appeared in the Daily Messenger on Tuesday, 25 May:
"We are informed that the great Cricket Match which has been so long depending between the Society of Nottingham & that of Sheffield is to be finally determined at Sheffield on Mon., June 1st . . . . The Sherwood youths have been practising for some weeks past, and we are told, the odds at Nottingham are 2 to 1 in their favour".
And the paper followed up with an incredibly biased report on Friday, 12 June:
"Monday at 6 o'clock in the evening the Cricket Match, 11 a side, between the Sheffield Club & the Nottingham Sherwood Youths was finally determined in favour of the former. The Nottingham party laboured under great disadvantages: fatigued with their journey, they went in first, on a very wet piece of ground, and played in such a slippery soil that they could neither run, strike, nor catch without danger of falling, by which unlucky situation they gained only 14 notches on their first inning, but thereby prepared the ground for their adversaries who coming in fresh and in top spirits gained near 70 notches which gave them such a superiority as could not be recovered. But here it is to be observed that before the Sheffield Club went in they ordered a large quantity of coal slack to be laid on the ground and thereby secured their running, etc."
Talk about whingeing in adversity!
Hampshire & Sussex v Kent
Broadhalfpenny Down, Hambledon, Hampshire
Monday, 10 Tuesday, 11 August 1772
Hampshire & Sussex won by 50 runs (DC)
The stake was 500 guineas. No details are known besides the result.
Kent v Hampshire & Sussex
Guildford Bason, near Guildford, Surrey
Wednesday, 26 Thursday, 27 August 1772
Kent won by an innings and 29 runs (PVC)
Interestingly, the bets placed seem to have been mainly around how many the Duke of Dorset would score compared with Mr Ellis, who is an unknown player. It is possible that this was a gentlemen only game and the same may be true of the match on 10 August. The report was in the General Evening Post on Saturday, 29 August.
PVC on page 7 says "Hampshire & Sussex = Hambledon Club".
Re the matches on 10-11 and 26-27 August, the sources do occasionally refer to teams raised by the Hambledon Club as being representative of both Hampshire and Sussex. It is a fact that Sussex as a county team is rarely mentioned during the "Hambledon Era" and it is distinctly possible that Hambledon was a two-counties organisation. Hambledon village is very close to the border between Hampshire and west Sussex. There is however no firm evidence to support this possibility apart from matches like these two where the team is labelled with both counties. Sussex had been in decline since the death of the Duke of Richmond in 1750 and it was not until the emergence of the Brighton club in the 1780s that it began to make a lasting recovery.
Surrey v Hampshire
Guildford Bason, near Guildford, Surrey
Friday, 28 August 1772
Hampshire won by 45 runs (GB18)
No details are known except the result.
GB18 records a couple of games in June that involved the Blackheath club but, as Mr Buckley himself says, "the alleged Kent team cannot have been representative" and they are minor matches only.
A Kent game against a team called London & Middlesex apparently took place on Tuesday, 11 August at the Artillery Ground. It is believed that this was not a representative game, especially given the stakes on offer at Hambledon. See GB18, p.58.
In America, the famous "Boston Tea Party" took place. To protest against the continuing tax on imported tea, a number of Boston citizens dressed as Red Indians and dumped a cargo of tea into Boston Harbour.
In India, the British government established a governor-generalship, thereby greatly decreasing administrative control by the East India Company; however, its governor of Bengal, Warren Hastings (1732 1818), became the first governor-general of India.
An horrendous season for Hampshire and the Hambledon Club. They lost every known match played in 1773 and some of their defeats were heavy. Their poor results probably owed much to star bowler Thomas Brett being injured.
Spectator comfort was a feature of some reports this year. A grandstand was erected on two occasions at Bishopsbourne Paddock. The Surrey v Hampshire game in September was to have a stand built at Laleham Burway with "the best accommodation provided there and at the White Hart at Chertsey by Thomas Swayne". Thomas Swayne was a Chertsey player who featured in a few games during the 1770s. On the other hand, another advertisement for cricket at Bourne warned spectatators to leave their dogs at home, otherwise they will be shot!
Wednesday, 2 June . The first report in DC for 1773 is an advertisement for a big "fives" game at the Artillery Ground for 200 guineas involving John Small, Tom Sueter, Richard Nyren, George Leer and Thomas Brett of Hampshire against Lumpy Stevens, John Minshull, Joseph Miller, Dick May and Thomas White of All-England. It was to take place in Whitsun week and was "the first great match this season". In fact, it took place a little later and William Palmer of Coulsdon played instead of Thomas White.
All-England scored 31 & 27-4 against Hampshire's 24 & 33 to win by 1 wicket. Miller was 11 not out at the end and so proved to be the matchwinner. Leer with scores of 16 & 13 seems to have been the best batsman overall but to no avail. May, Lumpy, Brett and Nyren were named as the bowlers but we don't know who took the wickets.
Surrey v Kent
Laleham Burway Ground, near Chertsey, Surrey
Monday, 21 & Tuesday, 22 June 1773
Surrey won by 35 runs (SB6)
Surrey 175 (T White 44, Mr Stone 35, R Francis 30) & 70 (T White 23)
Kent 133 (Mr R Newman 28, T Pattenden 25) & 77 (J Miller 18)
No bowling or fielding details are known.
All-England v Hampshire
The Vine, Sevenoaks, Kent
Monday, 28 & Tuesday, 29 June 1773
All-England won by an innings and 51 runs (SB8)
Hampshire 77 (T Brett 26; E Stevens 2w) & 49 (G Leer 15; E Stevens 3w)
All-England 177 (J Miller 73, R Simmons 20; W Hogsflesh 3w, T Brett 2w)
This is the first match since cricket's statistical record began in 1772 where some bowling and fielding details are known, though no credit was given to the bowler when a batsman was out other than by being clean bowled, an omission in scoring that was not rectified until well inside the 19th century. Lumpy seems to have been the best bowler in the game, taking five wickets bowled and may have had more from catches. The All-England team was a strong Kent & Surrey combination with Joseph Miller scoring 73 in their innings of 177.
The card includes the first known instance of "hit wicket" (by John Minshull) and it is not mentioned again until 1786. It is believed that it was usually recorded as "bowled". This was another "first" for Minshull who scored the first known century in 1769.
All-England v Hampshire
Artillery Ground, Bunhill Fields, Finsbury Square, London
Friday, 2 & Saturday, 3 July 1773
All-England won by 6 wickets (SB7)
Hampshire 132 (John Small 58, T Sueter 29) & 154 (T Sueter 32, John Small 25, W Barber 25)
All-England 187 (W Palmer 52*, Childs 38, T White 24) & 100-4 (J Boorman 55, W Palmer 30*)
Coulsdon batsman William Palmer, who had an outstanding season in 1773, scored 52* and 30* in totals of 187 and 100-4.
Kent v Surrey
Bishopsbourne Paddock, Bourne, near Canterbury, Kent
Monday, 19 Wednesday, 21 July 1773
Surrey won by 153 runs (SB12)
Surrey 77 (W Palmer 22; Duke of Dorset 4w) & 217 (T White 60, W Palmer 38, R Francis 36; J Miller 3w, Duke of Dorset 2w)
Kent 63 (Duke of Dorset 25; J T Wood 4w, E Stevens 2w) & 78 (Mr G Louch 26, Sir H Mann 22; J T Wood 2w, E Stevens 2w)
Close of play scores are known: Monday Surrey 77, Kent 55/5; Tuesday Kent 63, Surrey 65/2 (Palmer 36*, White 2*)
Hampshire v All-England
Broadhalfpenny Down, Hambledon, Hampshire
Wednesday, 4 & Thursday, 5 August 1773
All-England won by 9 wickets (SB12)
Hampshire 89 (Mr T Davis 30; E Stevens 4w, Duke of Dorset 4w) & 140 (T Sueter 39, Mr T Ridge 24; E Stevens 3w, Duke of Dorset 2w)
All-England 202 (T White 69, W Palmer 68; R Purchase 4w, W Hogsflesh 2w) & 28-1
Richard Francis made his first appearance for Hampshire in this game, evidently as a given man. He began playing regularly for Hampshire in the 1774 season.
Kent v Surrey
The Vine, Sevenoaks, Kent
Monday, 16 Wednesday, 18 August 1773
Kent won by 6 wickets (SB14)
Surrey 170 (T White 59, W Palmer 20; F Booker 3w) & 70 (W Palmer 20; J Frame 3w)
Kent 141 (J Miller 42, John Wood 36; J T Wood 2w) & 100-4 (J Miller 32*, J Minshull 32)
Haygarth recounts how a poem called The Kentish Cricketers was composed after this match. It was in reply to a poem called Surrey triumphant, a parody of Chevy Chase which had apprently been published earlier that season.
Surrey v Hampshire
Laleham Burway Ground, near Chertsey, Surrey
Thursday, 16 Saturday, 18 Sept 1773
Surrey won by 8 wickets (SB15)
Hampshire 38 (T Sueter 13; R Francis 3w, J T Wood 3w) & 145 (J Aylward 36)
Surrey 120 (J Miller 37, J Minshull 29; J Frame 2w) & 64-2 (J Miller 30*)
Both sides had two given men: Frame and Bayley played for Hampshire; Miller and Minshull for Surrey.
Hampshire v Surrey
Broadhalfpenny Down, Hambledon, Hampshire
Monday, 27 & Tuesday, 28 Sept 1773
Surrey won by an innings and 60 runs (HCC)
Hampshire 83 (J Bayley 24, T Sueter 22) & 82 (J Aylward 33)
Surrey 225 (W Yalden 88, J Miller 39)
William Yalden's score of 88 was the highest recorded in the 1773 season and the highest since the statistical record began in 1772. The previous highest was 78 by John Small in the first match of the 1772 season.
James Bayley, playing again for Hampshire, made his final recorded appearance in this game. He may have been active in earlier years.
This match does not appear in S&B. The sources are Hambledon's Cricket Glory, by Ronald Knight, and The Hambledon Cricket Chronicle, edited by F.S.Ashley-Cooper.
All-England v Hampshire
Artillery Ground, Bunhill Fields, Finsbury, London
Friday, 9 Saturday, 10 July 1773
All-England won by 2 wickets (DC)
Mr Waghorn does not name the primary source but his extract reads:
Yesterday, July 9, began to be played in the Artillery Ground, the second grand match of cricket, 11 on a side, the Hambledon Club, against All England, which ended on the 10, in favour of the latter, who had 2 wickets to go down. Great sums were depending on this match; at pitching the wickets, the Hambledon Club, notwithstanding their late defeat, were the favourites, and it was generally believed they would have come off victorious, had it not been for a hurt received by Farmer Brett (Bowler) in the late single wicket match, which prevented his exercising his usual powers.
All-England v Hampshire
Laleham Burway Ground, Chertsey, Surrey
Monday, 12 Tuesday, 13 July 1773
All-England won by 114 runs (GB18)
Little is known about this game apart from an interesting report which Mr Buckley found in the Morning Post dated Friday, 16 July:
Hampshire being beat again last Tuesday on Laleham Burway they must now resign the Cricket laurel, though much against their will. The Duke of Dorset played on the part of England, and having run a considerable number of notches from off-strokes, the Hampshire people very unpolitely swarmed round his bat so close as to impede his making a full stroke; his Grace gently expostulated with them on this unfair mode, and pointed out their danger, which having no effect, he, with proper spirit, made full play at a ball and in so doing brought one of the gentlemen to the ground.
It seems on reading this report that the umpires were at fault for the 1744 Laws of Cricket do state: "They (the umpires) are sole Judges of all Hindrances; crossing the Players in running, and standing unfair to strike, and in Case of Hindrance may order a notch to be scored". The italics are mine but surely if Dorset could not make a full swing without some idiot getting in the way of it, the umpires should have intervened? What is interesting is that, despite his considerable influence on the sport, Dorset did not exert influence on the umpires here and merely dealt with the matter as a batsman.
Surrey v Middlesex
Kennington Common, Kennington, Surrey
Tuesday, 13 July 1773
Middlesex won by 6 runs (DC)
The stakes were 100 guineas a side. Middlesex totalled 179 to Surrey's 173.
London v All-England
White Conduit Fields, Islington, Middlesex
Thursday, 5 August 1773
London won (GB18)
The Middlesex Journal reported on Saturday, 7 August that London won "with great ease". Nothing is known of the teams and so this one gets the benefit of the doubt, but it may well have been a gentlemen's game.
Surrey v Kent
Laleham Burway Ground, Chertsey, Surrey
Monday, 9 Tuesday, 10 August 1773
Surrey won by 8 wickets (DC)
The stakes were 500 guineas per side and the match was concluded on the Tuesday evening.
Monday, 16 Wednesday, 18 August . Incontrovertible proof that Thomas "Daddy" White and Shock White were two different people. Thomas White was playing for Surrey against Kent at Sevenoaks Vine; indeed, he top-scored with 59 (see below). On the same three days, as reported in the Daily Advertiser (see GB18), in Tothill Fields, Westminster with Shock White from Brentford v. London for £20 a side. QED, or something like that! Shock of Brentford, Daddy of Reigate.
Hambledon Town v Surrey
Broadhalfpenny Down, Hambledon, Hampshire
Thursday, 26 August 1773
Surrey won by 6 wickets (SB13)
Hambledon 103 (P Stewart 32, R Nyren 28) & 51 (G Leer 29)
Surrey 131 (R Francis 35, W Yalden 27) & 24-4
No bowling or fielding details are known.
S&B states that the scores were obtained from the Hampshire Chronicle as the match was not included in the "old printed book of Hambledon scores from 1772 to 1784".
S&B goes on to regret the absences of John Small senior and Thomas Brett, the best batsman and best bowler respectively of Hambledon, though we have seen elsewhere that these two were ineligible to play for Hambledon Town teams because they resided in other parishes. He says Hambledon fielded almost a "scratch side" as there were four debutants Cotton, Horne, Lawrence and M Lewis who do not appear again in recorded scores. Some or all of them may have been active before 1772.
Hambledon Town v Hampshire
Broadhalfpenny Down, Hambledon, Hampshire
Friday, 30 July 1773
result unknown (DC)
Played for 20 guineas a side. This has historical interest but it is doubtful if it was a major match. S&B, Epps and GDC all omitted it. Waghorn is the only one of the secondary sources to acknowledge it and Martin Wilson has accepted it in his Index to Waghorn.
Bourne v Chatham
Bishopsbourne Paddock, Bourne, Kent
Friday, 30 July 1773
rained off (GB18)
A grandstand was erected but the match was rained off not long after it began. The Bourne team included Miller, Palmer, Fuggles, Simmons and one of the Mays, as well as (now Sir) Horace Mann himself.
The Chatham team contained no players of note except for the ubiquitous Mr George Louch, no less, who was just getting into his stride at this time and had already earned some rave reviews for his fielding in minor matches. Mr Louch (see below) went on to become just about the most prolific player of the eighteenth century and not even Small or Lumpy could match him for his known appearances.
A match was scheduled at Andover on Friday, 24 Saturday, 25 September between Sussex and Hampshire (see GB18). Sussex were due to have Lumpy Stevens and Thomas White of Surrey as given men; and also John Bayton, the noted Hambledon batsman of the 1760s, though he was a native of Sussex. The match was cancelled because only seven of the Sussex team turned up! Apart from the three players named above, the Sussex team was not a top-class side. Hampshire, on the other hand, were due to play with this team: Davis, Aylward, Small, Sueter, Leer, Nyren, Stewart, Brett, Purchase, Barber and Hogsflesh. Apart from Mr T Davis as the "token gent", and even he was a useful bat, that was a pretty powerful lineup and perhaps explains why Sussex got cold feet!
Francis Booker (born 8 October 1746 at Eynsford, Kent; died 13 November 1806 at Eynsford) was a left-handed batsman who was noted as a fine hitter of the ball and a very good outfielder. He began playing in the 1760s and was active until 1790, making 52 known first-class appearances from 1773. Booker was a good single wicket player and was yet another cricketing innkeeper. He kept the Soho Inn in his home village.
Childs was a noted Surrey and All-England cricketer of the 18th century. Personal details of Childs, including his first name and his dates of birth and death, have not been found in surviving records. Childs was active when cricket's statistical record began in the 1772 season and it is believed he had by then been playing for several years and was in the closing phase of his career. Primarily a batsman, he was recorded in nine first-class matches from 1772 until 1774, playing four times for All-England and five times for Surrey.
Richard Francis later became a famous Hampshire player although he was a Surrey man by birth. His age and other personal details are unknown but he played until 1793; so 1773 could have been his debut season.
Mr Edward Hussey (c.17484 July 1816) was educated at Westminster and lived at Ashford. He had a long but infrequent career and seems to have been a stalwart of Kent cricket, sometimes perhaps as a patron. His first known game was in 1773 and his last in 1797.
Richard Newman (dates unknown) played for Essex, Kent and All-England from the 1773 season to 1793. He was a leading amateur player and an early member of MCC. Surprisingly little is known of Newman personally. He made 22 known first-class appearances.
The situation in North America deteriorated with the "Intolerable Acts": a series of repressive Acts passed by the British Parliament against the American colonies. The first Continental Congress was held at Philadelphia to protest against the legislation.
In France, Louis XV died and was succeeded by his grandson, the ineffectual Louis XVI (1754 1793), who ended his life on the guillotine. He inherited a state that was bankrupt, with an enormous national debt of 4 billion livres, leaving the people crushed by a huge tax burden. Louis XVI appointed A R J Turgot (1727 1781) as comptroller-general of French finance. Turgot set about reducing expenditure and removing fiscal barriers. He recognised the need for complete reform and challenged the immunity enjoyed by the clergy and nobility. These in turn clamoured for his dismissal and France began to stagger inexorably towards its Revolution and its Emperor.
On Friday 25 February 1774, the Laws of Cricket were revised by a committee meeting at the Star and Garter on Pall Mall in London. The committee members represented Kent, Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, Middlesex and London. They included the 3rd Duke of Dorset, the 4th Earl of Tankerville and Sir Horatio Mann. It is particularly interesting that these Laws include lbw and the width of the bat. It does seem that the two stump wicket remained in use for another few years. This is believed to have been the origin of the lbw rule, which was introduced in response to the practice of certain batsmen who deliberately protected their wickets with their legs.
Monday, 6 Tuesday, 7 June . A "fives" game at Moulsey Hurst for 100 guineas a side between Hampshire and Kent. Lumpy and Sam Colchin played for Hampshire and John Minshull for Kent. Hampshire scored 118 & 127; Kent scored 21 & 36. Hampshire won by a massive 188 runs. Sueter with 74 in the second innings scored more than both innings of Kent on his own (see DC).
Monday, 27 June . The Kentish Gazzette on Wednesday, 22 June advertised a single wicket match for £100 a side between the well-known Kent professionals John Wood (i.e., the bowler from Seal) and William Bullen of Greenwich. The outcome was not reported.
Hampshire v All-England
Laleham Burway Ground, Chertsey, Surrey
Wednesday, 22 Friday, 24 June 1774
Hampshire won by an innings and 52 runs (SB21)
All-England 122 (J Minshull 37) & 133 (J Minshull 38, Earl of Tankerville 35, J Miller 26)
Hampshire 307 (T Sueter 67, John Small 47, J Aylward 37, R Purchase 37, R Francis 29)
S&B reports that the venue was Laleham Burway but there is reason to believe the match may have been played on Broadhalfpenny Down. Ashley Mote has Broadhalfpenny Down in his history. No bowling or fielding details are known.
Hampshire performed a remarkable feat for the times by totalling 307 with nine batsmen reaching double figures and the other two both scoring 9. John Minshull did very well for their opponents, scoring 37 and 38 in totals of 122 and 133.
Hampshire did much better in the 1774 season and were unbeaten in their known results to the end of July but then they lost twice to Kent in August.
All-England v Hampshire
The Vine, Sevenoaks, Kent
Friday, 8 & Saturday, 9 July 1774
Hampshire won by 169 runs (SB17)
Hampshire 139 (J Aylward 29, G Leer 28; W Bullen 5w) & 182 (J Aylward 61, T Sueter 30; J T Wood 3w, S Colchin 3w)
All-England 88 (John Wood 27; E Stevens 2w, T Brett 2w, R Nyren 2w) & 64 (S Colchin 19; E Stevens 4w)
Hampshire was greatly helped by having Lumpy as a given man.
William Bullen, Kent fast bowler, took five wickets in one innings. Though it must have occurred innumerable times previously, this is the first time in the statistical record (i.e., since 1772) that a bowler can definitely be credited with the 5wI feat.
This was the final appearance in a major match by John Frame, the famous Kent fast bowler who was held by John Nyren to have been "the other principal with Lumpy" (i.e., in opposition to Hambledon). His greatest years were behind him by 1772 when he would have been 39. S&B records that he was of Dartford and bowled for the Dartford/Kent team that beat All-England twice around 1759; also known to have played in a single wicket contest at the Artillery Ground as early as 1754. He was unquestionably an outstanding bowler during the 1750s and 1760s. The statistical record just caught the tail end of his fine career.
Surrey v Hampshire
Guildford Bason, Guildford, Surrey
Thursday, 28 July 1774
Hampshire won by 7 wickets (SB18)
Surrey 61 (W Palmer 26*; T Brett 5w, W Hogsflesh 2w) & 77 (H Attfield 16; T Brett 4w, R Francis 3w, R Nyren 2w)
Hampshire 91 (John Small 28; T White 3w, J T Wood 2w) & 48-3 (R Francis 14)
Thomas Brett's haul of at least nine wickets in the match is the highest recorded since the statistical record began and the second known instance of 5wI.
Two Surrey players in this game were Muggeridge and T Quiddington, both well known at the time and certainly active before 1772. They were both members of the Chertsey club. Quiddington's name has the alternative spelling of Quiddenden; his first name may have been Thomas but it is not certain. He is known to have been a long stop fielder and a "steady batter". Muggeridge, of whom no details are known, played until about 1778.
The player called R Miller (Richard?) made a rare appearance in this game and the question has been asked about his possible relationship to Joseph Miller, who also played for Surrey on this occasion.
Kent v Hampshire
The Vine, Sevenoaks, Kent
Monday, 8 Tuesday, 9 August 1774
Kent won by an innings and 35 runs (SB19)
Hampshire 46 (John Small 18; E Stevens 4w) & 159 (John Small 55*, E Aburrow 26; F Booker 2w)
Kent 240 (J Miller 95, Duke of Dorset 77, T Pattenden 24; T Brett 2w)
Joseph Miller's score of 95 is the highest individual innings so far since the statistical record began in 1772, beating the 88 scored by William Yalden in 1773. Miller and Dorset are shown as the openers on the scorecard but it is unlikely that Dorset did open (there was a tendency to list the batsman in order of social status) and so we cannot say if a century partnership was made.
This was the final match in the "first phase" of Richard Purchase's career. The Hampshire bowler did not appear again until the 1781 season but then continued to play regularly until he finally retired after the 1803 season. It is possible he and some others who "went missing", such as William Brazier, were in the services for several years with the American War of Independence ongoing.
Monday, 8 August. There was an "Essex v Kent" game at Ingatestone but, as Mr Buckley points out, it was on the same day as one of the great Kent v Hampshire matches so it must have been a minor game, probably between two parish sides.
Hampshire v Kent
Broadhalfpenny Down, near Hambledon, Hampshire
Monday, 15 Thursday, 18 August 1774
Kent won by 4 wickets (SB20)
Hampshire 174 (John Small 45, R Nyren 35, J Aylward 30; E Stevens 3w) & 129 (E Aburrow 33, R Francis 22; S Colchin 2w, T White 2w)
Kent 168 (J Miller 40, T Pattenden 35, W Bullen 27, S Colchin 25; T Brett 3w, W Barber 2w) & 136-6 (T White 50, J Miller 45; R Nyren 2w)
William Hogsflesh evidently played as a substitute fielder in Kent's second innings because he did not bat for Hampshire. It is not known if he fielded in the Kent first innings. The interesting thing is that he was allowed to bowl, as he took the wicket of Richard Simmons.
Hampshire v Kent
Broadhalfpenny Down, Hambledon, Hampshire
Wednesday, 13 Thursday, 14 July 1774
Hampshire won by 10 wickets (KCM/GDC)
The stake was £525. Kent had "Lumpy", Thomas White and Sam Colchin as given men, though Colchin seems to have been a Kent man. Kent issued a challenge to play two further matches; these were played in August and have surviving scorecards.
London v Chertsey
Artillery Ground, Bunhill Fields, Finsbury, London
Monday, 22 Tuesday, 23 August 1774
London won by 5 wickets (GB18)
Chertsey 146 & 97
London 158 & 86-5
Recorded in the Public Ledger on 24 August, no comment was made other than the team totals.
Surrey v Hampshire
Laleham Burway Ground, Chertsey, Surrey
Tuesday, 27 September 1774
result unknown (GB18)
Advertised on Saturday, 24 September in the St James Chronicle. The stakes were £100 a side and Surrey were to have Samuel Colchin as a given man.
Leeds v Wakefield
Chapeltown Moor, Leeds
Monday, 8 August 1774
Leeds won (PVC)
The stake was 10 guineas. Reported in the Leeds Mercury on Tuesday, 9 August.
Maidstone v Sussex
Maidstone, Kent
Wednesday, 10 August 1774
Sussex won by 1 wicket (TJM)
Sussex had two given men, both from Kent. It is assumed that Maidstone was the Duke of Dorset's XI. Sussex still needed three to win when their last man went in.
Sussex v Maidstone
Peasemarsh, near Rye, Sussex
Wednesday, 24 August 1774
result unknown (TJM)
This was due to be played by the same teams as on 10 August. No report was found.
Hambledon Parish v Hampshire
Broadhalfpenny Down, Hambledon, Hampshire
Wednesday, 14 September 1774
result unknown (GB18)
This has historical interest but, as with a similar fixture earlier, it is probably a minor match.
Henry Attfield (1756c.1829) made his first known appearance in 1773. He was a native of Bagshot in Surrey. Aged 17, he must have been a genuine 1773 debutant. He was not a regular player and was still only 26 when his career seemingly ended in 1782. However, he reappeared in 1788 and played three matches that season with one further appearance in 1789. He seems to have been known as "Field" and this often appeared on old scorecards.
Samuel (Sam) Colchin (dates of birth and death unknown) was a Kent cricketer in the 1760s and 1770s. He was also selected for All-England in first-class matches and was often a given man. He was an all-rounder though noted mainly as a bowler, but of unknown type and pace. He was a nephew of Robert Colchin.
Cricket's statistical record began in the 1772 season, by when Colchin's career was already well advanced. He was recorded in 11 first-class matches from 1773 to 1778 and also in "fives" contests, the form of cricket in which his famous uncle thrived. He was last mentioned playing in a "fives" match in June 1779.
Muggeridge was to a noted player for the famous Chertsey Cricket Club and for Surrey. His dates of birth and death and his first name are unknown. He was principally a bowler but it is not known his pace or type. Muggeridge's career probably began in the aftermath of the Seven Years War and he was certainly active until the 1784 season. He was recorded in five first-class matches after cricket's statistical record began in 1772 but by then he had already been playing for several seasons. He is first definitely recorded when playing for Surrey v Hampshire at Guildford Bason on 28 July 1774. His last recorded appearance was Chertsey v Coulsdon at Laleham Burway on 23 June 1784.
The American War of Independence began when thirteen North American colonies rose against the British government. The battles of Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill took place and the war continued until 1783. The colonies were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Georgia.
One of the fundamental precepts of the revolution was that "all men are created equal", yet slavery was legal in all thirteen colonies.
Another war began in India (to 1782) between Britain and the Marathas.
Monday, 29 May . DC records a game at Oldfield Bray between the Maidenhead and Risborough clubs with Lumpy assisting the former. This is the first reference found that is specific to the Maidenhead (aka Oldfield) Club at Oldfield Bray. The club shortly became synonymous with Berkshire as a county team. As explained earlier (see 1769), Berkshire was a major county in the late 18th century and its strength lay in the Oldfield Club (much as Essex in the Hornchurch Club).
The earliest known reference to cricket in Huntingdonshire, always a minor county, was in 1775 (see Bowen).
Monday, 22 Tuesday, 23 May. Five of Kent with Lumpy v Five of Hambledon with Thomas White (SB21-22). Hambledon won by 1 wkt. Demands for a third stump were voiced after this single wicket match at the Artillery Ground in which Edward "Lumpy" Stevens beat John Small at least three times only for the ball to pass through the wicket, which at that time still consisted of two uprights and a crosspiece, without disturbing it. Although the petition was granted soon afterwards, research has discovered that the introduction of the third stump in practice was gradual and the two stump wicket did continue for a number of years yet.
Kent v Hampshire
The Vine, Sevenoaks, Kent
Wednesday, 14 & Thursday, 15 June 1775
Kent won by 110 runs (SB22)
Kent 104 (T White 25, F Booker 23; T Brett 3w, W Hogsflesh 2w) & 194 (T Pattenden 72, W Brazier 31, T White 26; T Brett 2w)
Hampshire 157 (J Aylward 38, E Aburrow 36, G Leer 27; E Stevens 3w) & 31 (John Small 14; E Stevens 5w, R May 3w)
A remarkable result with Kent winning by 110 runs having been 53 behind after the first innings. Heroes for Kent were Lumpy, playing as a given man, who took eight all bowled wickets (including five in the second innings); and Thomas Pattenden who scored 72 in Kent's second innings. William Hogsflesh made his last known appearance for Hampshire and Thomas Taylor (1753 1806) made his debut. Taylor became one of the greatest players of the late 18th century and played until 1798.
Hampshire v Kent
Broadhalfpenny Down, near Hambledon, Hampshire
Thursday, 29 Friday, 30 June 1775
Hampshire won by 9 wickets (SB23)
Kent 84 & 147 (J Miller 71)
Hampshire 219 (G Leer 79, T Sueter 37, T Taylor 28) & 18-1
Arthur Haygarth says he obtained the details from the Hampshire Chronicle. No bowling or fielding details are known.
The margin between the teams' totals is 6, so Hampshire must have won with a hit for 6 when scores were level. As Richard Francis scored 10 out of 18, he must have been the not out batsman who made the winning hit.
Surrey v Hampshire
Laleham Burway Ground, near Chertsey, Surrey
Thursday, 6 Saturday, 8 July 1775
Surrey won by 69 runs (SB24)
Surrey 76 (T Brett 7w) & 163 (J Minshull 45, J Miller 42, Earl of Tankerville 26; T Brett 4w)
Hampshire 51 & 119 (J Aylward 38, G Leer 25)
Mr Haygarth says he got the details from "the old printed scorebook" but acknowledges that another account differs re some of the details.
Thomas Brett achieved the earliest known 10 wickets in a match, taking 11 which were bowled victims only. He had 7 in the first innings and 4 in the second, also taking a catch. His first innings haul is also the first recorded instance of a bowler taking seven in an innings. Despite his efforts, Hampshire lost by 69 runs.
Hampshire v Surrey
Broadhalfpenny Down, near Hambledon, Hampshire
Thursday, 13 Saturday, 15 July 1775
Hampshire won by 296 runs (SB25)
Hampshire 168 (R Francis 45, John Small 38) & 357 (John Small 136, R Nyren 98, T Brett 68, W Barber 30)
Surrey 151 (H Attfield 49, J T Wood 29, W Yalden 26) & 78-3 innings forfeited (W Yalden 27, W Palmer 22*)
John Small scored 136 for Hampshire, a new record for the highest individual innings and the first definitely known century to be scored in major or top-class cricket, though Small himself may well have achieved the feat much earlier (see 1768). Richard Nyren scored 98, agonisingly missing the second known top-class century by just two runs. Thomas Brett, not normally a batsman, weighed in with 68 as Hampshire totalled 357, a whopping score for the time that enabled them to win by 296 runs. Surrey forfeited the match after reaching 78-3 in their second innings.
The progressive value of the highest known individual innings in major matches to this point:
78 John Small Hampshire
v All-England Broadhalfpenny Down 1772
88 William Yalden Surrey v Hampshire Broadhalfpenny Down 1773
95 Joseph Miller Kent v Hampshire Sevenoaks Vine 1774
136 John Small Hampshire
v Surrey Broadhalfpenny Down 1775
So many centuries are scored nowadays that it is difficult to put this into context but given the view expressed in Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics that the scoring potential of Georgian batsmen was about a third that of today's batsmen, because of the inferior pitch conditions, a score of 136 then must have been the equivalent of scoring 300-plus now. Certainly the frequency with which centuries were scored then is comparable with that of triple centuries now.
It was not the first century ever scored. It is known that John Minshull definitely made 107 in 1769, but the match was a minor one. It is probable that Small himself scored a century in 1768, but it is not certain as the report indicates that he made 140-plus as a match total. When two unknown Hambledon batsmen shared a stand of 192 against Caterham in 1767, surely at least one of them (Sueter and Aburrow according to GDC) made a personal century? There must have been earlier, unrecorded instances of the feat, even if few and far between.
One thing that is certain is that Small was a truly great batsman, capable of making large scores over a wide span of years in conditions that heavily favoured the bowlers.
Looking at the list of progressive records above, it is noticeable that three of the four scores were made at Broadhalfpenny Down. This suggests it had a more level and durable surface in its pitch area than other venues of the time; or maybe the Hambledon Club took more care of it than other clubs did of their surfaces.
Incidentally, although the scorecard for this game does not record any bowling details, the Surrey bowlers included Lumpy, John Thomas Wood, Thomas White, John Edmeads and Thomas Quiddington.
Alphabetical Match
Artillery Ground
Monday, 29 May 1775
result unknown (GB18)
Alphabetical Match
Moulsey Hurst
Wednesday, 31 May 1775
result unknown (GB18)
These were organised by the Duke of Dorset and the 4th Earl of Tankerville. The first was for 100 guineas but unfortunately no more than that is known.
London & Kent v Coulsdon
Artillery Ground, Bunhill Fields, Finsbury, London
Monday, 10 Tuesday, 11 July 1775
result unknown (GB18)
No details were reported. The combined side had 7 of London and 4 of Kent.
Coulsdon v Sussex
Smitham Bottom, near Croydon, Surrey
Wednesday, 19 July 1775
Coulsdon won (TJM)
Reported in the Sussex Weekly Advertiser on Monday, 24 July and "won hollow" by Coulsdon.
A game on Thursday, 20 July called "London v Surrey" was surely a minor affair, especially as it was played for only £10 a side.
Sussex v Coulsdon
Henfield Common, near Henfield, Sussex
Wednesday, 26 July 1775
result unknown (TJM)
Advertised in the Sussex Weekly Advertiser on Monday, 24 July. No report was found.
Hampshire v Kent
Guildford Bason, near Guildford, Surrey
Monday, 31 July 1775
Kent won (DC)
Kent had Lumpy and Thomas White as given men. There was a brief report in the Reading Mercury on Saturday, 5 August.
London, Kent & Surrey v Chertsey
Artillery Ground, Bunhill Fields, Finsbury, London
Monday, 28 Wednesday, 30 August 1775
Chertsey won by 157 runs (GB18)
Chertsey scored 107 & 153; the combined team replied with 55 & 48.
Chertsey v Coulsdon
Laleham Burway Ground, Chertsey, Surrey
Thursday, 7 Saturday, 9 September 1775
Chertsey won by 172 runs (GB18)
Chertsey 152 (W Yalden 77, Earl of Tankerville 25; John Wood 3w) & 148 (W Yalden 71, W Bartholomew 25; John Wood 3w)
Coulsdon 43 (E Stevens 3w, W Bartholomew 2w) & 85 (C Phillips 31; W Bartholomew 4w, E Stevens 3w)
Details of this game and the two that follow can also be found on the excellent Chertsey Cricket Club website.
The two Bartholomews of Chertsey are in other scorecards referred to as Rev Bartholomew senior and Mr Bartholomew junior. It is believed and has been assumed that the junior was William Bartholomew, who also played for Surrey teams at the time, and that it is he who shared the bowling with Lumpy. The senior is believed to be Rev. Charles Bartholomew, a Chertsey Club stalwart who played occasionally in the 1770s but may have been a regular in times past.
Chertsey v Dartford
Laleham Burway Ground, near Chertsey, Surrey
Thursday, 21 & Friday, 22 Sept 1775
Chertsey won by one wicket (GB18)
Dartford 57 (W Bartholomew 6w, E Stevens 3w) & 97 (Goulson 24*; W Bartholomew 3w)
Chertsey 74 (W Bullen 4w, J Frame 2w) & 81-9 (W Yalden 18)
As only two Dartford players, William Bullen and the veteran John Frame, are recognised, it is very doubtful if this match could be given major status.
Chertsey v London
Laleham Burway Ground, Chertsey, Surrey
Monday, 25 Wednesday, 27 September 1775
Chertsey won by 44 runs (GB18)
Chertsey 106 (W Yalden 27; John Wood 3w, S Colchin 2w) & 122 (J Minshull 54, T Swayne 22; John Wood 5w, W Brazier 2w)
London 101 (W Brazier 31; W Bartholomew 4w, E Stevens 3w) & 83 (C Phillips 32*, W Brazier 27; E Stevens 7w)
Lumpy achieved the second known instance of both 7 wickets in an innings and ten wickets in a match. Again, the figures are bowled dismissals only.
There was another Hambledon Parish v Hampshire game on Monday, 4 Sept, this time at Kilmiston Down (see HCC).
William Brazier (17551829) was probably a genuine 1774 debutant, being aged 19 at the time. He was born in Cudham, Kent. He was a noted all rounder who bowled fast and was a powerful hitter.
He played for a left-handed team in 1790 but S&B says he was right-handed. He did not play during the years 1777 to 1781 inclusive, possibly because he was in the armed forces or otherwise employed away from Kent.
| The History of Cricket: 1761 1770 | The History of Cricket: 1776 1780 | Index |
| Date last modified: |
|
© John Leach 2007. All rights reserved. Information on this site may be used in other published material on condition that the source is clearly acknowledged. |
| top | contents | home |
