1767 English cricket season

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In the 1767 English cricket season, Hambledon’s success continued and the team staged some remarkable batting performances but unfortunately very little is known of them.

There was an interesting report concerning the Laws of Cricket in the Reading Mercury dated Monday 8 June which states: The Articles of the Game of Cricket as settled in the year 1744 by the Society of Noblemen & Gentlemen at the Star & Garter in Pall Mall, may be had at the Printing Office in reading or of the newsmen, neatly printed on a whole sheet of fine writing paper, price only 3d, or on a pasteboard bordered with marble paper, price 6d. See FL18, p.46.

The Society of Noblemen & Gentlemen may well have been the name of the organisation that ran cricket and other sports. It was essentially a social club with sporting interests. They have been loosely referred to as the "London Club" but that was surely a cricketing enterprise based at the Artillery Ground that they backed, as they also formed and subsidised the Jockey Club, and subsequently both the White Conduit Club and MCC.

[edit] Matches

Date	Match Title	Venue	Source	Result
6 July (M)	Greenwich v London	Blackheath	WCS	London won by 2 runs
Afterwards, “an elegant dinner was provided at the Assembly Rooms”.
4 August (Tu)	Hampshire v Sussex	Broadhalfpenny Down	FL18	Hampshire won
No details are known other than the outcome, which was given in the Reading Mercury of Mon 10 August. GDC records a second Hampshire v Sussex game on Sat 8 August, also won by Hampshire, but this may be a duplicate of the above as it is not recorded elsewhere.
c.5 August (W)	Bourne v Surrey	Bishopsbourne Paddock	FL18	result unknown
This was announced in the Kentish Weekly Post on 5 August. Bourne Club (Horace Mann’s team) had four given men so may have had a very useful side. The announcement says: “Wickets to be pitched at 10 so the match may be played out that day (sic) on account of the Assizes.” We do not know what date “that day” was, unfortunately. The Surrey team was probably Mr Henry Rowett’s Caterham Club. Mon 17 August. There was a “fives” game on Richmond Green between Richmond and Brentford. King George III was present and ordered dinner for the players at the Feathers in Richmond. He also awarded a guinea each to the winners and half a guinea each to the losers (see WCS).
23 September (W)	Richmond v Kingston	Richmond Green	WCS	Kingston won by 2 wkts
Richmond scored 70 & 55; Kingston replied with 71 and 55-8.
c.21 September (M)	Caterham v Hambledon	Duppas Hill, Croydon	WCS	Hambledon won by 262 runs
A very large margin for the times and Hambledon reportedly had a partnership of 192 which was described in a contemporary report as the greatest thing ever known. This is the earliest known century partnership. The game was played for 200 guineas. GDC says the partnership was believed to have been between Tom Sueter and Edward Aburrow (i.e., Aburrow junior) but that is conjecture. The primary sources do not name the players. The WCS report simply says "October" and that the game was played a few days earlier. As it took place near Croydon, the venue was almost certainly Duppas Hill.
28 & 29 September (M-Tu)	Hambledon v Caterham	Broadhalfpenny Down	WCS	Hambledon won by 224 runs
Another huge margin of victory but no details have survived.
14 October (W)	Caterham v Hambledon	Caterham Common	WCS	Caterham won
This was played for £100 and, surprisingly, given the results of the two previous games, was won by Caterham.