1753 English cricket season

1753 English cricket season
Cricket formats major, including single wicket

In the 1753 English cricket season, only a handful of match reports have been found.

A poem, dedicated to the 1st Duke of Dorset, refers to a crimson cricket ball.[1] It may have been made by Mr Clout, whose firm was in Sevenoaks where the Dukes of Dorset reside at Knole House.

Matches

Date Match Title Venue Result
6 & 7 August (M-Tu) Dover v Dartford [2] Dover Dover won by 7 runs

Dover scored 57 and 83; Dartford scored 95 and 38. This is the first significant mention of Dover in cricket history. Dartford remained a premier club through the 1750s so presumably this was a shock result.

7 & 8 August (Tu-W) Hambledon v Surrey Broadhalfpenny Down Hambledon won by 113 runs

Hambledon scored 202 and 105; Surrey scored 131 and 63. This is the first mention of cricket being played on Broadhalfpenny (discovered in the Salisbury Journal in 2011). John Lucas, of Portsmouth, scored 82 in Hambledon's first innings.

15 August (W) Two Elevens [2] Artillery Ground result unknown

This was a benefit match for Mr Anderson of the Dial in Long Alley, Moorfields. There was a well-known player called William Anderson, first mentioned in 1745, so presumably this was he. The two elevens were made up of various players from the general London area with the best bowlers to be parted.

30 August (Th) London v Marylebone [2] Artillery Ground result unknown

Marylebone (no connection with MCC) had Tall Bennett and King as given men.

Other events

Mon 10 September. Two of London were to play Tom Faulkner and Joe Harris for £20 at the Artillery Ground.[2]

First mentions

References

  1. Hugh Barty-King, Quilt Winders and Pod Shavers: the history of cricket bat and ball manufacture, MacDonald and James, 1979
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 G B Buckley, Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket, Cotterell, 1935

Bibliography

Additional reading

External links