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History of English cricket (1726–1750)

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In the years from 1726 to 1750, cricket became an established sport in London and the south-eastern counties of England. In 1726, it was already a thriving sport in the south east and, though limited by the constraints of travel at the time, it was slowly gaining adherents elsewhere with references being found in other southern counties. Having been essentially a rural pastime for well over a century, cricket became a focus for wealthy patrons and gamblers whose interests funded its growth throughout the 18th century.

Patrons such as the 2nd Duke of Richmond sought to ensure order both on and off the field of play. The earliest known written rules were deployed in 1727, but it was not until 1744 that the first code of laws was enacted. Ground enclosure began in 1731 and, later in the decade, admission fees were introduced. Media interest grew as the newspaper industry developed, a lead being taken by two new publications. London's Artillery Ground became the sport's showcase venue with top-class matches played in front of large crowds. The single wicket form enjoyed huge popularity through the 1740s until reaching its zenith in 1748. Leading players of the time included Robert "Long Robin" Colchin of Bromley and Richard Newland of Slindon.

Continuing growth of cricket

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Cricket was still a regional sport in England, albeit a very popular one, as the constraints of travel limited its introduction to the rest of the country. It thrived on the funds provided by patronage, gambling, and large, enthusiastic crowds.[1][2][3] The most prominent patrons in the 1720s were Edwin Stead (Kent), who died on 28 August 1735;[4][5][6] the 2nd Duke of Richmond, Sir William Gage (both Sussex);[7][8][9][10] and Alan Brodrick (Surrey).[11][12] Gage and Richmond continued to support cricket through the 1730s when additional patrons were the Prince of Wales,[13][14] and Lord John Sackville.[15][16] Among the few players whose names have been recorded in the 1730s were Thomas Waymark,[17][18][19] Tim Coleman,[14] and John Bowra.[20]

In June 1728, the Swiss traveller César-François de Saussure noted in his journal the frequency with which he saw cricket being played while he was making his journeys across southern England. He referred to county matches as "a commonplace" and wrote that "everyone plays it, the common people and also men of rank".[21] If they were a commonplace, they were also keenly contested to the point where winning teams would proclaim their county's superiority. In August of the same year, a game at Penshurst Park (near Tonbridge) between Kent and Sussex was won by Kent. The teams were organised by Edwin Stead (Kent) and Sir William Gage (Sussex). Stead's team had earlier won two games against the 2nd Duke of Richmond's XI (also representing Sussex) and their victory over Gage's XI was reported as "the third time this summer that the Kent men have been too expert for those of Sussex".[22][23][24] In August 1729, there was a return match, again at Penshurst Park, between Stead's XI and Gage's XI – alternatively titled Kent (Stead's XI) v Sussex, Surrey & Hampshire (Gage's XI). This was won by Gage's team, apparently by the earliest known innings victory. A match report singled out Thomas Waymark of Sussex for special praise, saying that he "turned the scale of victory, which for some years past has been generally on the Kentish side".[24] Also in 1728, there was a match in Lewes (exact venue unknown) between the Duke of Richmond's XI and Sir William Gage's XI.[22][25] In 1730, the brief report of a match between Kent and London refers to the "Kentish champions (losing) their honours", but the context is unclear and there was no county championship until well over a century later.[26]

As its popularity grew, cricket began to spread outwards from its south-eastern heartland.[27] The earliest references have been found of games being played in Berkshire (1727),[28] Gloucestershire (1729),[28] Buckinghamshire (1730),[29][30] and Hampshire (1733).[31] Even so, the game had already reached the Americas and India as confirmed by references to it being played overseas by English sailors and colonists in the first quarter of the 18th century.[32][33][34][35]

Well-known venues of the time included Dartford Brent,[36][37][38] Kennington Common,[38] Moulsey Hurst,[39] Richmond Green,[40][41][42][43] and Sevenoaks Vine.[44][16] The most famous, as the sport's focal point through the mid-18th century, was the Artillery Ground at Finsbury in London.[36][45] Around 1730, this became the preferred home venue of London Cricket Club,[46] and the stage for numerous top-class matches, including lucrative single wicket contests.[47][48][49]

The nobility had already adopted cricket as one of their main sports along with horse racing and prizefighting; some matches in the 1720s were arranged at places like Peper Harow and Penshurst Park which have long been racing locations (today, both house point-to-point racecourses). There were strong gambling connections between cricket, racing, and prizefighting throughout the 18th century.[50][51][52][53]

While London represented the metropolitan side of cricket, there were several famous rural clubs like Dartford,[5][54][55] Chertsey,[4][56] and Croydon[57] which could challenge London. Perhaps the most famous was Slindon, the Duke of Richmond's team, which is first recorded in a letter dated 30 July 1740 from Richmond to Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, a future prime minister.[58] Clubs of this calibre provided the main strength in their respective county teams which, in this period, were Kent,[24][26][59] Middlesex,[60][61][62] Surrey,[63][64] and Sussex.[23][5]

Coverage

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No cricket had been reported in the infant newspaper industry before 1697 due to the Licensing of the Press Act 1662 which controlled the press until 1696, but notices were becoming more frequent by the mid-1720s.[65][51][66]

Early notices tended to be either the announcement of a scheduled match or a brief summary of the gambling odds rather than the actual play. It was not until 1726 that players were first mentioned by name in a newspaper report.[67] Only three notices were published in 1726 but this increased to nineteen in 1730. The London Evening Post was founded in 1726 and the Daily Advertiser (which had several changes of title) began publication in 1735; they carried a good many cricket notices until both ceased publication in 1797. Other newspapers included the General Evening Post, London Daily Post, St James Evening Post, and the Whitehall Evening Post.[68] The early newspapers were not always correct, however, as in 1732 when twelve games were recorded, eleven involving London. A newspaper report in September stated that London played thirteen matches in all and were unbeaten, but that claim is contradicted by a report in May stating that Croydon defeated London "by great odds".[40]

Surviving match scorecards have provided much-needed information about cricket in the last quarter of the eighteenth century but only two are known to have been completed prior to 1750. These came from two matches in 1744.[69][70] Without a scorecard, it is difficult to assess the quality of a particular match, but there was no "first-class status" in the eighteenth century. However, the matches which are listed in A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709–1863, published in 1981 by the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS), may generally be regarded as top-class or, at least, historically significant.[71]

Generally agreed to be the "first modern representation of cricket", a series of engravings, The Game of Cricket, was made by Hubert-François Gravelot in 1739. The six engravings show groups of children playing cricket,[72] with a wicket of the "low stool" shape, probably 2-foot (0.61 m) wide by 1-foot (0.30 m) tall, with two stumps and a single bail. The engravings were used on porcelain.[72] Gravelot helped to establish the French Rococo style in English publishing and was one of the most celebrated illustrators of the time.[73]

The match between Kent and All England played at the Artillery Ground on 18 June 1744 was described in Cricket: An Heroic Poem by James Love.[74]

Emergence of written rules

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Main articles: Articles of Agreement (cricket) and Laws of Cricket

Articles of Agreement, 1727

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In 1727, the 2nd Duke of Richmond organised two matches against Alan Brodrick and they drew up Articles of Agreement between them to determine the rules that must apply in these contests.[12] This type of agreement seems to have been used throughout the period.[75] It is the earliest known instance of rules (or some part of the rules as in this case) being formally agreed, although rules as such definitely existed.[76] In early times, the rules would be agreed orally and subject to local variations so the Articles of Agreement were created to complement and clarify the rules.[8] Another reference to Articles of Agreement occurs in 1730 when London played Kent at a venue called Frog Lane in Islington. The report says: "but being obliged by their Articles to leave off at seven o'clock", they could not finish it.[45] London had a lead of 30 when play ended and there was a resumption on Kennington Common six days later.[45]

General practice and codification

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The first formalised Laws of Cricket were written in 1744.[77] Referring to the 1774 version of the Laws, John Major says that regulation had hitherto been "rather informal". He believes that the 1744 rules were only a revision or codification of existing practice.[78]

 
The oldest cricket bat still in existence dates from 1729. The shape is more like that of a modern-day hockey stick than a modern-day cricket bat. It is kept in the Sandham Room in the Member's Pavilion at The Oval.

The 1727 Articles of Agreement stated that "the Duke of Richmond & Mr. Brodrick shall determine the Ball or Balls to be played with".[75] Similar rules applied through the period and there was no known attempt to standardise bat or ball size until much later. Batsmen defended a two-stump wicket using a bat shaped like a modern hockey stick against a ball that was bowled all along the ground, either by rolling or skimming. The oldest known surviving cricket bat is dated 1729. It is on display in The Oval pavilion and belonged to one John Chitty of Knaphill, Surrey.[79]

Pads, gloves and other forms of protective equipment were unknown. Umpires carried a stick, believed to be a bat, which the batsmen had to touch to complete a run. Scorers sat on a mound in the field and "notched" runs (then known as notches) on tally sticks. All runs had to be completed in full as boundaries were not recognised and there were no known rules concerning the care and maintenance of the wicket, although the leading bowler on the visiting team had the right to decide where the wickets would be pitched.[80]

The only early rule about pitch and wicket dimensions was re the length of the pitch at 23 yards in 1727; this had become a chain (22 yards) by 1744.[75] Major says the dimensions of the wicket, two stumps topped by a single bail, were set at 22 inches high and six inches wide.[81]

Single wicket

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The London Evening Post dated Saturday, 27 August 1726 carried an advertisement for a single wicket match between players called "the noted Perry" (of London) and "the famous Piper" (of Hampton), playing "for twenty pounds a side". The match was played at Moulsey Hurst, a multi-sport venue near Molesey in Surrey. This is the first time that players are known to have been named in a newspaper and the match itself is the earliest known to have been played under single wicket rules.[67]

There were four single wicket matches in the 1730 season, three of which involved four-man Kent teams led by Edwin Stead in matches against four of Brentford Cricket Club. The other game was between three of Surrey and three of Sussex. The stake was usually £50.[26] In August 1735, there was a three against four match (result unknown) on Kennington Common, all the players being members of the London club.[82]

In 1736, there were two significant matches. In one of them, cricket's earliest known tied match result occurred. The teams, three of London and three of Surrey, aggregated 23 runs each.[83] The other match was between two London players, named as Wakeland and George Oldner, and an unnamed pair from Richmond who were "esteemed the best two in England". One of the Richmond players suffered a serious facial injury when hit by the ball.[84]

County teams

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There was an increasing use of county names in the 1720s. Teams called Kent and Surrey had been recorded as far back as 1709, though they were probably not representative of the whole counties.[37] In August 1726, a combined London and Surrey team hosted Edwin Stead's Kent XI on Kennington Common, playing for a stake of 25 guineas.[5] In 1728, a Middlesex team played London and then, in 1729, there was the first known use of Hampshire and Sussex in a team title, albeit not individually. In 1730, the first match took place between teams titled Surrey and Middlesex.[45]

England teams

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Among seven known matches in 1739 are the first two to involve teams representing what may be called the Rest of England. Although these were by no means international teams, being composed of players from a handful of counties only, they were generally called England and sometimes "All-England". The first match at Bromley Common on 9 July was billed as between "eleven gentlemen of that county (Kent) and eleven gentlemen from any part of England, exclusive of Kent". The newspaper report described Kent as "the Unconquerable County" and said they won by "a very few notches". Two weeks later, the teams held a return match on the Artillery Ground before a crowd of over 10,000. This game was declared a draw after a furious dispute arose about whether one of the England players had been unfairly dismissed.[85][86]

The Artillery Ground

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A London v Surrey match on 31 August 1730 took place at the Artillery Ground in Bunhill Fields, Finsbury, London. London won by 6 runs.[45] It is the earliest definite match at the venue, referenced in contemporary reports as the "old" Artillery Ground, although that may have been because of frequent use for other forms of sport or entertainment.[45] It was generally used for matches involving the original London Club and also became the featured venue of all London cricket until the mid-1760s, from when the Hambledon Club increased its influence.[45]

The earliest known instances of ground enclosure occurred in 1731, the playing area on Kennington Common being roped off twice in an attempt to keep spectators off the field. Cricket is the first sport known to have enclosed its venues and it quickly became common practice with stakes and ropes being reported at the Artillery Ground in 1732.[87] It is not clear when admission fees were first introduced but there was certainly a two pence charge in place at the Artillery Ground by the early 1740s.[88]

Schools and universities

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The earliest reference to cricket at the University of Oxford is dated 1673,[89] and the sport was being played there in the summer of 1729 on the testimony of Dr Samuel Johnson, who was then a student. This was mentioned in James Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson.[90] Cricket had also been introduced to the University of Cambridge, where the earliest reference is from 1710.[91] In 1727, Horace Walpole commented that cricket was already "common" at Eton College—the earliest reference to it both at Eton and in the county of Berkshire.[28]

Controversies

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Cricket had some brushes with the law in the first half of the century, including two court cases about unpaid gambling debts. The second of these followed a match in 1724 between Stead's XI and a Chingford team on Dartford Brent. Terminating Stead's lawsuit, Lord Chief Justice Pratt ordered the match to be completed in order that the stakes could be settled. The replay took place in September 1726.[5] In a letter written the same month, an Essex resident complained that a local Justice of the Peace had literally "read the Riot Act" to some people who were playing cricket.[55] With reference to Pratt's ruling, the issue raised was that it was apparently lawful to play cricket in Kent but not in Essex.[55]

Gambling was prevalent at cricket matches in Georgian England and many gambling- or alcohol-fuelled incidents occurred.[92] The issue was not addressed by the sport's ruling body until the 1770s and it remained a significant problem through the 1730s and 1740s.[93] The other side of the coin was the importance to cricket, as a professional sport, of investment accrued through gambling interests – that was illustrated in 1730 when a match between teams sponsored by Richmond and Gage was cancelled "on account of Waymark, the Duke's man, being ill".[64][94] As Waymark was an outstanding player, stakes would have been laid on his expected performance and his absence meant all bets were off.[18][19]

A controversial match took place on Monday, 23 August 1731, when Thomas Chambers' XI took on the Duke of Richmond's XI (i.e., effectively a Middlesex v. Sussex match) at Richmond Green in a return match played for 200 guineas.[41] It is notable in one sense as the earliest match of which the team scores are known: Richmond's XI 79, Chambers' XI 119; Richmond's XI 72, Chambers' XI 23–5 (approximately).[95][61] The game ended promptly at a pre-agreed time although Chambers' XI with "four or five more to have come in" and needing "about 8 to 10 notches" clearly had the upper hand.[95][61] The result caused a fracas among the crowd who were incensed by the prompt finish because the Duke of Richmond had arrived late and delayed the start of the game. The riot resulted in some of the Sussex players "having the shirts torn off their backs; and it was said a law suit would commence about the play".[40] On Wednesday, 8 September, the Daily Post Boy reported that "(on 6 September) 11 of Surrey beat the 11 who about a fortnight ago beat the Duke of Richmond's men".[40] This would suggest that the Duke of Richmond conceded his controversial game against Chambers' XI.[40][61] Middlesex patron Thomas Chambers was a probable forebear of Lord Frederick Beauclerk.[41]

A dispute arose over scheduled finishing time in the London v Middlesex match at the Artillery Ground on 13 September 1732. London, batting last, needed seven more runs to win with six wickets standing when a Middlesex player tried to terminate the game as a draw by claiming time was up. According to the scorer's watch, there were still several minutes to go. The newspaper report said that the London players intended legal action as over £100 was at stake.[96]

There were two controversies in 1734 around non-appearance by one of the teams. London and Sevenoaks were due to meet at Kennington Common on 8 July but Sevenoaks did not turn up and were obliged to forfeit their deposit.[96] In September, London issued a challenge "to play with any eleven men in England, with this exception only, that they will not admit of one from Croydon".[16] There was a dispute between the London and Croydon clubs after the latter failed to appear for an arranged match.[97] It is not known if the challenge match was played.

In 1737, there was crowd trouble at a match on Kennington Common between Kent and a combined London/Surrey team. Missiles were thrown and a man died a week later after being struck by a stone.[98][99] Even so, the fixture was repeated twice in 1738 – Kent won one and the other is an unknown result.[100][98]

See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ Altham 1962, p. 23.
  2. ^ Birley 1999, p. 11.
  3. ^ Bowen, Rowland (1965). "Wisden 1965 : Cricket in the 17th and 18th centuries". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  4. ^ a b Buckley 1935, p. 12.
  5. ^ a b c d e Waghorn 1906, p. 6.
  6. ^ Major 2007, pp. 46–48.
  7. ^ McCann 2004, pp. lii–liii.
  8. ^ a b Birley 1999, p. 18.
  9. ^ Major 2007, pp. 46–50.
  10. ^ Underdown 2000, p. 38.
  11. ^ McCann 2004, p. liii.
  12. ^ a b Marshall 1961, pp. 47–48.
  13. ^ Birley 1999, p. 22.
  14. ^ a b Waghorn 1906, p. 10.
  15. ^ Birley 1999, p. 23.
  16. ^ a b c Waghorn 1899, p. 7.
  17. ^ "At the Sign of the Wicket", by F. S. Ashley-Cooper, Cricket, issue 535, 26 April 1900, p. 85.
  18. ^ a b Marshall 1961, p. 52.
  19. ^ a b Major 2007, p. 47.
  20. ^ Buckley 1935, p. 15.
  21. ^ de Saussure, César-François (1902). "Letter XII". In van Muyden, Anne (ed.). A Foreign View of England in the Reigns of George I and George II. The Letters of Monsieur César de Saussure to his Family. London: John Murray.
  22. ^ a b ACS 1981, p. 19.
  23. ^ a b Maun 2009, p. 37.
  24. ^ a b c Waghorn 1906, p. 7.
  25. ^ McCann 2004, p. 8.
  26. ^ a b c Buckley 1935, p. 4.
  27. ^ Waghorn 1906, p. 27.
  28. ^ a b c Bowen 1970, p. 262.
  29. ^ Waghorn 1899, p. 3.
  30. ^ Maun 2009, p. 46.
  31. ^ Maun 2009, p. 59.
  32. ^ Haygarth 1862, p. vi.
  33. ^ Bowen 1970, p. 50.
  34. ^ Worrall, Simon (October 2006). "The History of Cricket in the United States". Smithsonian Magazine. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  35. ^ Byrd, William (1941). The Secret Diary of William Byrd of Westover. Richmond, Virginia: Dietz Publishing. pp. 144–146. ISBN 978-04-05033-04-9.
  36. ^ a b Buckley 1935, p. 9.
  37. ^ a b Buckley 1937, p. 1.
  38. ^ a b Waghorn 1899, p. 6.
  39. ^ Maun 2009, pp. 27, 33.
  40. ^ a b c d e Buckley 1935, p. 6.
  41. ^ a b c Major 2007, p. 56.
  42. ^ Maun 2009, pp. 51–52, 106, 121.
  43. ^ Waghorn 1899, pp. 1–4, 27.
  44. ^ McCann 2004, pp. 15–16.
  45. ^ a b c d e f g Maun 2009, p. 44.
  46. ^ Williamson, Martin. "Artillery Ground". ESPN cricinfo. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  47. ^ "At the Sign of the Wicket", by F. S. Ashley-Cooper, Cricket, issue 533, 12 April 1900, pp. 52–53.
  48. ^ Buckley 1935, p. 22.
  49. ^ Waghorn 1906, p. 21.
  50. ^ Bowen 1970, p. 47.
  51. ^ a b Buckley 1935, p. 1.
  52. ^ Major 2007, p. 33.
  53. ^ Webber 1960, p. 10.
  54. ^ Maun 2009, pp. 38–39.
  55. ^ a b c Buckley 1935, p. 3.
  56. ^ Waghorn 1899, pp. 13–15.
  57. ^ Buckley 1935, p. 5.
  58. ^ Maun 2009, p. 99.
  59. ^ Altham 1962, pp. 31–38.
  60. ^ Buckley 1935, pp. 1–6.
  61. ^ a b c d Maun 2009, pp. 51–52.
  62. ^ "Middlesex Cricket", Cricket, issue 19, 14 September 1882, pp. 282–283.
  63. ^ Maun 2009, p. 39.
  64. ^ a b Waghorn 1899, p. 1.
  65. ^ "Charles II, 1662: An Act for preventing the frequent Abuses in printing seditious treasonable and unlicensed Bookes and Pamphlets and for regulating of Printing and Printing Presses". Statutes of the Realm: Volume 5. British History Online. 1628–1680. Archived from the original on 9 March 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  66. ^ McCann 2004, p. xli.
  67. ^ a b Maun 2009, p. 33.
  68. ^ Buckley 1935, pp. ix–x, 1–20.
  69. ^ Bowen, Rowland (1965). "Cricket in the 17th and 18th centuries". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. London: John Wisden & Co. Ltd. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  70. ^ Bowen 1970, pp. 263–264.
  71. ^ ACS 1981, pp. 1–40.
  72. ^ a b Lot 49 – Hubert-François Gravelot Archived 11 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Christie's. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  73. ^ Major 2007, pp. 95, 299.
  74. ^ Altham 1962, p. 32.
  75. ^ a b c Maun 2009, pp. 213–214.
  76. ^ McCann 2004, pp. 6–7.
  77. ^ Altham 1962, p. 25.
  78. ^ Major 2007, p. 104.
  79. ^ Altham, H. S. (1978). "Dates in Cricket History". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. London: John Wisden & Co. Ltd. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  80. ^ Altham 1962, pp. 27–28.
  81. ^ Major 2007, p. 93.
  82. ^ Buckley 1935, p. 11.
  83. ^ Buckley 1935, p. 13.
  84. ^ Waghorn 1899, pp. 13–14.
  85. ^ Waghorn 1899, pp. 22–23.
  86. ^ Maun 2009, pp. 95–96.
  87. ^ Buckley 1935, p. 7.
  88. ^ Buckley 1935, p. 18.
  89. ^ Maun 2009, p. 15.
  90. ^ Maun 2009, p. 38.
  91. ^ Altham 1962, pp. 24–25.
  92. ^ Malcolm 2013, p. 27.
  93. ^ Malcolm 2013, p. 20.
  94. ^ McCann 2004, p. 10.
  95. ^ a b Waghorn 1899, p. 4.
  96. ^ a b Buckley 1935, p. 8.
  97. ^ Maun 2009, pp. 65–66.
  98. ^ a b Maun 2009, p. 86.
  99. ^ Waghorn 1899, p. 19.
  100. ^ ACS 1981, p. 20.

Select bibliography

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