1730 English cricket season
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The most noticeable aspect of the 1730 English cricket season record is that it is the largest to date, with much more coverage in the newspapers than previously. But the most significant aspect of the time was the growing importance of the sport in metropolitan London. The famous Artillery Ground enters the record for the first time and it is clear that the old London Club is establishing predominance over its rivals.
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[edit] Major Matches
| Date | Match Title | Venue | Source | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? June | Surrey v Middlesex | Richmond Green | WCS | Surrey won |
| 12 June (F) | Duke of Richmond’s XI v Sir William Gage’s XI | Bury Hill, Arundel | TJM | result unknown |
| 2 July (Th) | London v Kent | Grays Inn | KCM | Kent won |
| 9 July (Th) | Mr Andrews’ XI v Duke of Richmond’s XI | Merrow Down, Guildford | WCS | Mr Andrews’ XI won |
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The Andrews/Richmond match is also mentioned in FL18 with the additional information that Mr Andrews was a resident of Sunbury, Middlesex. Mr Andrews may therefore have been involved on Thursday, 23 July, when Sunbury played Epsom on Epsom Downs. |
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| 31 July (F) | Greenwich v London | Blackheath | FL18 | result unknown |
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The match at Blackheath on 31 July was played for 20 guineas. |
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| 5 August (W) | Duke of Richmond’s XI v Sir William Gage’s XI | Dripping Pan, Lewes | WCS | result unknown |
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It is not clear if the Richmond v Gage match on 5 August was eventually played as an announcement states that it was put off on account of Waymark, the Duke’s man, being ill. |
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| 5 August (W) | Kent v London | Blackheath | FL18 | drawn? |
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Kent v London on 5 August was apparently drawn. The report says the "Kentish champions would have lost their honours by being beat at one innings if time had permitted". A repeat was scheduled for 12 August at Islington (qv). |
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| ? August | Putney v Fulham | Putney Heath | WCS | Putney won |
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The stakes in the "great cricket-match" at Putney Heath were "50 guineas per side". |
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| 12 & 18 Aug (W & Tu) | London v Kent | Islington/Kennington | WCS | result unknown |
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The match started at Frog Lane in Islington on 12 August "but being obliged by their articles (sic) to leave off at seven o’clock, they could not finish it". London had a lead of 30 when play ended on 12 August but no details were reported of the resumption at Kennington Common on 18 August. |
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| 26 Aug (W) | London v Surrey | Kennington Common | WCS | London won by 1 run |
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London's single run victory over Surrey on or about 26 August was "thought to be one of the completest matches that ever was played". |
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| 31 Aug (M) | London v Surrey | Artillery Ground | WCS | London won by 6 runs |
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The stake in the return on 31 August was 20 guineas. This game is the earliest definite match at the Artillery Ground, which was in Finsbury between Chiswell Street and Bunhill Fields. It was referred to in contemporary reports as the old Artillery Ground, but this may be because it was used frequently for other forms of sport or entertainment. It was generally used for matches involving the original London Club and also became the featured venue of all London cricket until about 1765, after which the focus shifted to Hambledon and the London Club disbanded. |
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| 4 Sept (F) | London v Surrey | Artillery Ground | WCS | result unknown |
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The match on 4 September was the third in a tri-series but it was reported beforehand only. |
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[edit] Other Events
28 May. Four men of Kent played four of Brentford for £50 at Westerham in Kent, articles being drawn to play or pay.
4 June. The return match of the above was scheduled at Kew Green.
29 June. There was a two threes contest for £50 at Mickleham Downs in Surrey between three men of Surrey and three men of Sussex. The report in the London Evening Post says they were esteemed the best players in the respective Counties but unfortunately does not name them. The Sussex three won.
Sometime in August, Mr Edward Stead and three colleagues played a four-a-side game against four Brentford men for a considerable wager. The Brentford men won. This may have been a repeat of the games on 28 May and 4 June.
On Monday 17 August, a twelve a side game was played at Tonbridge and was backed by a great many of the noblemen and gentry of that place. It seems to have been a tight contest which was unfinished on the day, so another date was chosen for the conclusion, but nothing further is known (see FL18).
October. A match on Datchet Heath, near Windsor, is the first reference to cricket in Buckinghamshire (WCS).
[edit] Focus
Thomas Waymark (Sussex)
He is only mentioned in 1730 because an illness caused a match to be postponed and this must have been a result of considerable gambling on his expected contribution. Waymark is cricket's earliest known great all-rounder. He was a groom by trade and ostensibly employed as such by Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond. But Richmond was a great patron of the sport and his Sussex team was one of the best in the business, so Waymark was employed not for his ability with horses but his considerable prowess with bat and ball. Waymark's career spanned three decades (1720s to 1740s) and he is remembered as one of the early greats from a time when few players ever got a mention in contemporary records.
| English cricket teams in the 18th century |
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Berkshire | Essex | Hampshire | Kent | Leicestershire | Middlesex | Nottingham | Sheffield | Surrey | Sussex |
| English cricket venues in the 18th century |
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Artillery Ground | Bishopsbourne Paddock | Broadhalfpenny Down | Bromley Common | Dartford Brent | Duppas Hill |
| English cricket seasons to 1815 |
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1300 - 1696 | 1697 - 1725 |
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to 1815 • 1816-1863 • 1864-1889 • 1890-1918 • 1919-1945 • 1946-1968 • 1969-2000 • from 2001 |
[edit] Main Sources
- Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians - various publications
- At the Sign of the Wicket: Cricket 1742 - 1751 by F S Ashley-Cooper in Cricket Magazine (1900) (ASW)
- Cricket Scores 1730 - 1773 by H T Waghorn (WCS)
- Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket by G B Buckley (FL18)
- Fresh Light on Pre-Victorian Cricket by G B Buckley (FLPV)
- Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century by Timothy J McCann (TJM)
- The Dawn of Cricket by H T Waghorn (WDC)
[edit] Additional References
- A Social History of English Cricket by Derek Birley
- Cricket: History of its Growth and Development by Rowland Bowen
- Chertsey Cricket Club website
- Dartford Cricket Club website (DCC)
- From the Weald to the World by Peter Wynne-Thomas (PWT)
- Hambledon Cricket Chronicle by F S Ashley-Cooper (HCC)
- Hambledon: Men and Myths by John Goulstone (HMM)
- Kent Cricket Matches by F S Ashley-Cooper (KCM)
- Pre-Victorian Sussex Cricket by HF & AP Squire (PVSC)
- Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 by Arthur Haygarth (SBnnn)
- Start of Play by David Underdown
- The Cricketer magazine (Cktr)
- The Glory Days of Cricket by Ashley Mote
- John Nyren's The Cricketers of my Time by Ashley Mote
- Wisden Cricketers Almanack (annual): various issues
