1775 English cricket season

A remarkable result with Kent winning by 110 runs having been 53 behind after the first innings.

Heroes for Kent were Stevens, playing as a given man, who took eight all bowled wickets (including five in the second innings); and Thomas Pattenden who scored 72 in Kent’s second innings.

William Hogsflesh made his last known appearance for Hampshire and Thomas Taylor (1753–1806) made his debut. Taylor became one of the best players of the late 18th century and played until 1798.

The margin between the teams’ totals is 6, so Hampshire must have won with a hit for 6 when scores were level. As Richard Francis scored 10 out of 18, he must have been the not out batsman who made the winning hit.

Thomas Brett achieved the earliest known 10 wickets in a match, taking 11 which were bowled victims only. He had 7 in the first innings and 4 in the second, also taking a catch. His first innings haul is also the first recorded instance of a bowler taking seven in an innings. Despite his efforts, Hampshire lost by 69 runs.

John Small scored 136 for Hampshire, a new record for the highest individual innings and the first definitely known century to be scored in major or top-class cricket, though Small himself may well have achieved the feat much earlier (see 1768 English cricket season).

Richard Nyren scored 98, agonisingly missing the second known top-class century by just two runs. Thomas Brett, not normally a batsman, weighed in with 68 as Hampshire totalled 357, a whopping score for the time that enabled them to win by 296 runs. Surrey forfeited the match after reaching 78-3 in their second innings.

So many centuries are scored nowadays that it is difficult to put this into context but given the view expressed earlier that the scoring potential of Georgian batsmen was about a third that of today’s batsmen, given the difference in pitch conditions, a score of 136 then must have been the equivalent of scoring 300-plus now. Certainly the frequency with which centuries were scored then is comparable with that of triple centuries now.

It was not the first century ever scored. We know that John Minshull definitely made 107 in 1769. It is probable that Small himself scored a century in 1768, but we cannot be certain as the report indicates that he made 140-plus as a match total.

When two unknown Hambledon batsmen shared a stand of 192 against Caterham in 1767, surely at least one of them (Sueter and Aburrow, according to GDC) made a personal century? There may have been earlier, unrecorded instances of the feat, even if few and far between.

One thing that is certain is that Small was a truly great batsman, capable of making large scores over a wide span of years in conditions that heavily favoured the bowlers.

The progressive value of the highest known individual innings in major matches to this point:

Looking at the list of progressive records above, it is noticeable that three of the four scores were made at Broadhalfpenny Down. This suggests it had a more level and durable surface in its pitch area than other venues of the time; or maybe the Hambledon Club took more care of it than other clubs did of their surfaces.

Although the scorecard for this game does not record any bowling details, the Surrey bowlers included Lumpy Stevens and other noted bowlers John Wood of Chertsey, Daddy White, John Edmeads and Thomas Quiddington.

Details of this game and the two that follow can also be found on the Chertsey Cricket Club website at

Chertsey and Coulsdon were both Surrey clubs but several players in both teams represented counties so this is a major match. Chertsey was, in effect, the Earl of Tankerville’s XI and their opponents in these three matches were someone else’s XI. The team names must not be taken too literally.

As only two Dartford players, William Bullen and the veteran John Frame, are recognised, it is very doubtful if this match would be given major match status.

The two Bartholomews of Chertsey are in other scorecards referred to as Rev Bartholomew senior and Mr Bartholomew junior. It is believed and has been assumed that the junior was William Bartholomew, who also played for Surrey teams at the time, and that it is he who shared the bowling with Lumpy Stevens. The senior is believed to be Rev. Charles Bartholomew, a Chertsey Club stalwart who played occasionally in the 1770s but may have been a regular in times past.

Stevens achieved the second known instance of both 7 wickets in an innings and ten wickets in a match. Again, the figures are bowled dismissals only.

The London team contained several known players, as did Chertsey, and this is a major match.