1697 to 1725 English cricket seasons

The earliest known newspaper report of a match proclaimed to be great or a similar adjective. The report was in the Foreign Post dated Wed 7 July 1697 and describes a great match at cricket that was played the middle of last week in Sussex with eleven of a side and they played for fifty guineas apiece ^[2]. The stakes on offer indicate the importance of the fixture and the fact that it was eleven a side suggests that two strong and well-balanced teams were assembled. Unfortunately, no other details were given but we do at last have some real evidence to support the view that top class cricket in the form of "great matches" played for high stakes was in vogue in the years following the Restoration in 1660 ^[1].

A series of matches, to be held on Clapham Common, was pre-announced on 30 March by a periodical called The Post Boy. The first was to take place on Easter Monday and prizes of £10 and £20 were at stake. No match reports could be found so the results and scores remain unknown. Interestingly, the advert says the teams would consist of ten Gentlemen per side but the invitation to attend was to Gentlemen and others. This clearly implies that cricket had achieved both the patronage that underwrote it through the 18th century and the spectators who demonstrated its lasting popular appeal ^[3].

The source for this game is a receipt sent by one Saul Bradley to the Duke on 14 December 1702. The receipt was in respect of one shilling and sixpence paid by the Duke for brandy when your Grace plaid at Cricket with Arundel men. It is thought the brandy was bought to celebrate a victory ^[2]. This was the first Duke of Richmond, also called Charles Lennox. He died in 1723 and it was his son, Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, who became the famous patron of Sussex cricket.

This was an 11-a-side game advertised in The Post Man dated 24 July 1705 ^[3].

These two matches were advertised in a periodical called The Post Man (dates 21-24 June 1707) as two great matches at cricket (to be) plaid (sic), between London and Croydon; the first at Croydon on Tuesday, July 1st, and the other to be plaid in Lamb's-Conduit-Fields, near Holborn, on the Tuesday (sic) following, being the 3rd of July. No match reports could be found so the results and scores are unknown ^[5].

The dates are uncertain as the report states: the first game to be played on Tuesday 1 July 1707 [which is a correct date in the then in use Julian Calendar] and the other to be played on the Tuesday following, being the 3rd of July. It has been assumed that the second game was played on 3 July which was a Thursday ^[1].

There is record of a London Club from 1722 but it is not known when that organisation was founded or if it formed the London teams in the 1707 matches ^[1].

Later matches in Croydon were played at Duppas Hill, but it is not known for certain if that was the venue in 1707 ^[1].

Lamb’s Conduit Field was near Holborn in Middlesex. It had no connection with White Conduit Fields in Islington which later became the home venue of the White Conduit Club, forerunner of MCC.

The earliest known match involving county teams or at any rate teams bearing the names of counties. The match was advertised in the Post Man dated Saturday 25 June 1709. The stake was £50 ^[6].

Some authors have suggested the teams in reality were "Dartford and a Surrey village", but this contradicts evidence of patronage and high stakes. It is likely that Dartford, as the foremost Kent club in this period, provided not only the venue but also the nucleus of the team, but there is no reason at all to doubt that the team included good players from elsewhere in the county. The Surrey team will equally have been drawn from a number of Surrey parishes and subscribed by their patron ^[1].

One player who may well have taken part was William Bedle (1680 - 1768), of Dartford, who is the earliest great player whose name has been recorded. He was reckoned to be "the most expert player in England" and must have been in his prime c.1700 to c.1720 ^[7].

Dartford Brent was a popular Kent venue in the 18th century and was probably used for matches in the 17th century also ^[1].

This game was unfinished on 1 September 1718 because the Rochester players walked off in an attempt to have the game declared incomplete so that they would retain their stake money. London was clearly winning at the time. The London players sued for their winnings and the game while incomplete was the subject of a famous lawsuit where the terms of the wager were at issue. The court ordered it to be played out and this happened in July 1719. Rochester with 4 wickets standing needed 30 (presumably 30 more runs rather than 30 runs in total) but were out for 9 (again, presumably, 9 more runs) ^[7].

The report says the teams played for a considerable sum of money ^[5].

Two London fielders were badly injured by a clash of heads ^[5]. Mr Waghorn noted that advertising and reporting of cricket ceased for some years and wondered if that was due to a perception that the sport is dangerous!

Mr Waghorn may have overlooked the impact of the South Sea Bubble on cricket. This was a major economic crisis caused by a frenzy of investment in the South Sea Company during the preceding years. When the company was found to be insolvent, its crash in 1720 caused massive repercussions throughout the economy and many formerly prosperous investors were ruined. It is quite likely that some of cricket’s patrons at the time were badly affected and it would have curtailed their cricketing activities ^[1].

Therefore, the reason why Mr Waghorn could find fewer reports may well have been due to the withholding of patronage and investment, hence fewer matches ^[1].

There was a letter about this game in The Weekly Journal dated 21 July 1722

Recorded in the journal of Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford: "At Dartford upon the Heath as we came out of the town, the men of Tonbridge and the Dartford men were warmly engaged at the sport of cricket, which of all the people of England the Kentish folk are the most renowned for, and of all the Kentish men, the men of Dartford lay claim to the greatest excellence". It is more than likely to have been Dartford Brent where this game was taking place ^[8].

Robert Harley (1661-1724) was a noted Tory politician who was against spending on the armed forces; he was a particular favourite of Queen Anne and a strong opponent of Sir Robert Walpole.

London v Dartford is the earliest known match at Kennington Common, where (it is believed) The Oval is now sited.

This match featured the combined parishes of Penshurst, Tunbridge and Wadhurst versus Dartford. It is reported in a diary entry by one John Dawson, who may have watched it. No details are known but as Dartford was already recognised as a leading club, it may have been a great cricket match as Mr Dawson says.

This match seems to be the earliest reference to cricket being played in Essex (if at Chingford) or by an Essex team. The game echoed the one in 1718 as the Chingford team refused to play to a finish when Mr Stead's team had the advantage. A court case followed and, as in 1718, it was ordered to be played out presumably so that all wagers could be fulfilled. We know that Lord Chief Justice Pratt presided over the case and that he ordered them to play it out on Dartford Brent, though it is not known if this was the original venue. The game was completed in 1726 ^[5].

Mr Edward Stead (sometimes called "Edwin Steed") of Maidstone was a noted patron of early 18th century cricket, especially in his native Kent.

Our knowledge of these two games is based on a humorous letter sent by Sir William Gage to the Duke of Richmond on 16 July ^[2]. Gage bemoans that he was shamefully beaten the previous day in his first match of the year but says nothing of his opponents. He then looks forward to playing the Duke's team next Tuesday and wishes his Grace success in everything except his cricket match!