1731 English cricket season

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By the 1731 English cricket season, match reports were much more common and tended to contain more detail, sometimes including the names of patrons and players. Therefore we have a considerably larger record of the 1730s than of previous decades. There are 26 matches in 1731.

The most significant match of the whole season was the one at Richmond Green on 23 August. It ended in a riot and it is believed the Duke of Richmond conceded defeat after the match was originally declared a draw. But most significant of all is that it is the earliest match for which the team totals were recorded and have been preserved, rather than simply who won the wager.

1 Matches
- 1.1 Other events
2 Focus
3 Main Sources
4 Additional References

[edit] Matches

Date	Match Title	Venue	Source	Result
31 May (M)	London v Sevenoaks	Kennington Common	WDC	result unknown
Advance notice was given of this game and the one below, both at the same venue.
1 June (Tu)	London v Chelsfield (Kent)	Kennington Common	WDC	London won
Played in the evening for 30 guineas and won by the London team by great odds.
5 June (S)	London v Dartford	Artillery Ground	WDC	London won by 15 runs
Played for 50 guineas a side in the old Artillery Ground. Play went on for several hours and bets of between £400 and £500 were laid. Those amounts were a fortune at the time.
8 June (Tu)	London v Kent	Kennington Common	WDC	London won
Played for 30 guineas. An evening match.
16 June (W)	Dartford v London	Dartford Brent	FL18	drawn
A return match was immediately arranged, to be played on Thu 24 June at the Artillery Ground.
18 June (F)	London v Enfield	Lamb’s Conduit Fields	WDC	London won by 14 runs
Played for 200 guineas. The report mentions a great deal of good play on both sides.
24 June (Th)	London v Dartford	Artillery Ground	FL18	result unknown
This was arranged immediately after the game at Dartford Brent on Wed 16 June (St James Evening Post).
26 June (S)	Sunbury v Kent	Sunbury Common	WDC	Sunbury won
Played for 30 guineas a side. The Kent side was organised by Edward Stead of Maidstone. His opponent (for the stakes) may well have been Mr Andrews of Sunbury who organised the match against the Duke of Richmond in 1730.
30 June (W)	Dartford v London	Dartford Brent	WDC	drawn
The match ran out of time but it was thought (London) would have won. They arranged to play again on Monday 5 July (see below).
5 July (M)	London v Dartford	Artillery Ground	WDC	result unknown
H T Waghorn reports that play did not finish at Dartford Brent on Wed 30 June and the match was replayed at the Artillery Ground on the following Monday 5 July (result unknown). FL18 has an advert dated Sat 3 July for the re-match on Monday 5 July. Stumps were to be pitched at exactly two o’clock. Time in those days was determined by the local church clock.
12 July (M)	Surrey v East Grinstead	Smitham Bottom	WDC	East Grinstead won by 5 wkts
This was played for forty guineas a side and won very considerably by (East Grinstead), they having four men to go in when the umpire gave up the game.
12 July (M)	London v Sevenoaks	Kennington Common	WDC	result unknown
This game is the first known to have been played in an enclosed ground. The report says the ground will be roped round and all persons are desired to keep without side of the same.
13 July (Tu)	Chelsea v Fulham	Chelsea Common	WDC	Fulham won
This was played for 50 guineas and, no, it wasn’t a football game! Mr Waghorn recorded: a person that stood by had the misfortune to receive a blow from the ball which beat out three of his teeth.
14 July (W)	Hampton v Brentford	Moulsey Hurst	FL18	result unknown
Reported in advance only: we hear that above £500 is already laid on their heads, neither party having yet been beat.
19 July (M)	Kent v Middlesex	Kennington Common	FL18	result unknown
Reported in advance only: for £50 a side. The report stresses that the contestants are the County of Kent and the County of Middlesex.
20 July (Tu)	Croydon v London	Duppas Hill, Croydon	FL18	Croydon won
The original report in Fog’s Weekly Journal calls the winning team Surrey but a report of the return match on Mon 26 July refers to Croydon. It was played at Duppas Hill, home venue of the Croydon club, so it does seem likely that Croydon was playing.
26 July (M)	London v Croydon	Artillery Ground	FL18	Croydon won
Mr Buckley’s source was the Daily Advertiser on Tues 27 July. Another source (Read’s Weekly Journal, quoted in WDC) reports that London were playing Dartford, but this match was almost certainly a return of the one at Duppas Hill on Tues 20 July. Wickets to be pitched at 1 pm under forfeiture of £10 on either side.
10 Aug (Tu)	Chelsea v Fulham	Parson’s Green	WDC	Fulham won by 3 runs
.....for 30 guineas; the game being play’d with great judgment on both sides. Chelsea was beat by only 3 notches.
16 Aug (M)	Duke of Richmond’s XI v Mr Chambers’ XI	Chichester	FL18	Mr Chambers’ XI won
The stake in this game was 100 guineas. No details are reported other than that Mr Chambers’ XI won. It seems Mr Chambers and his team all came from Middlesex.
23 Aug (M)	Mr Chambers’ XI v Duke of Richmond’s XI	Richmond Green	FL18	Duke of Richmond conceded?
This return match was played for 200 guineas but it is notable as it seems to be the earliest match where team scores are known: Duke of Richmond 79, Mr Chambers 119; Duke of Richmond 72, Mr Chambers 23-5 (approx.). The game ended promptly at a pre-agreed time although Mr Chambers with four or five more to have come in and needing about 8 to 10 notches clearly had the upper hand. The end result caused a fracas among the crowd at Richmond Green 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. FL18 includes a further note which suggests the Duke of Richmond may have later conceded the result to Mr Chambers (see match on Mon 6 September below).
? Sept	Surrey v Kingston	Moulsey Hurst	WCS	Surrey won
Played for 25 guineas a side and some thousands of persons of both sexes were present on this occasion.
2 Sept (Th)	Croydon v London	Duppas Hill, Croydon	FL18	Surrey won
Played for 11 guineas. It is reported that a dispute arose and it was agreed to play it again on Mon 13 September..
4 Sept (S)	Surrey v Kent	Dulwich Common	WDC	drawn (rain)
This game was drawn due to heavy rain. Kent led by 17 on first innings but Surrey, with 3 wickets standing, needed just 12 to win when rain ended it. The report says the participants originally intended to continue another time but it seems they settled for the draw.
6 Sept (M)	Surrey v Mr Chambers’ XI	Sanderstead Common	FL18	Surrey won
The Daily Post Boy reported on Wed Sept that 11 of Surrey beat the 11 who about a fortnight ago beat the Duke of Richmond’s men. See the game on Mon 23 August above. The report on Wed 8 September suggests that the Duke of Richmond conceded his controversial game against Mr Chambers.
15 Sept (W)	London v Croydon	Artillery Ground	FL18	Croydon won
Again the confusion between Croydon and Surrey: one report says Croydon, another says Surrey. Croydon is the more likely. This was probably the replay of the game on Thurs 2 September (see above), but postponed by two days from the originally agreed date.
28 Sept (Tu)	Surrey v London	Kennington Common	WDC	result unknown
No post-match report was found for this match despite its being promoted as likely to be the best performance of this kind that has been seen for some time. It is interesting that for the convenience of the gamesters, the ground is to be staked and roped out so it seems that enclosure quickly became common practice in 1731. In addition, the advertisement refers to the whole county of Surrey as London’s opponents. The Prince of Wales was expected to attend.

[edit] Other events

July. Mr Waghorn in WCS records a single wicket match at Maidstone between two officers of the Royal Horse Guards, Captain Beak and Lieutenant Coke. It was for a considerable sum of money and won by Captain Beak after three hours very hard played. Mr Waghorn says it is the first military match he found during his researches.

July. Mr Waghorn in WCS recorded an unusual match at Duppas Hill, Croydon between a Kent team and a Surrey team who were all called Wood. The Kent team won. This is interesting given the well documented confusion over different players called Wood in the 1770s.

Saturday 2 October. WDC recorded: a great cricket match will be play’d in the Artillery Ground; it will be the last plaid (sic) this season; 11 of a side, stumps to be pitch’d exactly at 12 o’clock.

WDC ended its reports of 1731 by mentioning another game on Saturday 2 October at Mitcham Green in Surrey. The local club played against Ewell, also in Surrey, for a small stake. This is interesting because it mentions the famous Tim Coleman who usually played for the London and was in the Ewell team on this occasion. It is rarely that a player is mentioned by name in these early reports and even more rarely that he is given praise. Mr Coleman was on the losing side in this game as the home team won by several notches.

[edit] Focus

Tim Coleman (London)

The report found by Mr Waghorn re the game on 2 October describes the player as "the famous Tim Coleman". London was by this time the best team in England and it must have had some very good players, but we know so little about them. We know a London player called Perry took part in a single wicket contest in 1726 against a player called Piper of the Hampton club in Middlesex. Tim Coleman and Perry may have been team mates. Coleman must have been a very good player indeed to earn such an accolade in times when individual praise was rare and given very sparingly indeed.

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[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)