1788 English cricket season

In the 1788 English cricket season, MCC became the game's lawgiver.

Fri 30 May. A revised set of Laws was issued by the Cricket Club at Marylebone, formerly the White Conduit Club. This action confirmed MCC as the body in sole charge of the Laws.

Matches

First mentions

• Andrew Freemantle
• John Crawte
• Henry Fitzroy
• Annett (Hampshire cricketer) – played 6 matches from 1788 to 1792
• Hunt (Hampshire cricketer) – played 6 matches from 1788 to 1796
• J Neale (Hampshire; amateur) – played three matches to 1792
• Horsey (Hampshire) – played two matches to 1789
• Eli Small (Hampshire) – played two matches to 1796 (son of John Small, brother of Jack Small)
• Henry Stewart (Hampshire) – played three matches to 1806

Leading batsmen

Note that many scorecards in the 18th century are unknown or have missing details and so it is impossible to provide a complete analysis of batting performances: e.g., the missing not outs prevent computation of batting averages. The "runs scored" are in fact the runs known.

Leading bowlers

Note that the wickets credited to an 18th-century bowler were only those where he bowled the batsman out. The bowler was not credited with the wickets of batsmen who were caught out, even if it was "caught and bowled". In addition, the runs conceded by each bowler were not recorded so no analyses or averages can be computed.

Leading fielders

Note that many scorecards in the 18th century are unknown or have missing details and so the totals are of the known catches and stumpings only. Stumpings were not always recorded as such and sometimes the name of the wicket-keeper was not given. Generally, a catch was given the same status as "bowled" with credit being awarded to the fielder only and not the bowler. There is never a record of "caught and bowled": the bowler would be credited with the catch, not with the wicket.

References

Bibliography

• Ashley-Cooper, F. S. (1924). Hambledon Cricket Chronicle 1772–1796. Jenkins. 
• Buckley, G. B. (1935). Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket. Cotterell. 
• Haygarth, Arthur (1862). Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826). Lillywhite. 
• Mote, Ashley (1997). The Glory Days of Cricket. Robson. 
• Nyren, John (1998). Ashley Mote, ed. The Cricketers of my Time. Robson. 
• Waghorn, H. T. (1906). The Dawn of Cricket. Electric Press. 
• Wilson, Martin (2005). An Index to Waghorn. Bodyline. 

Additional reading

• ACS (1981). A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709 – 1863. Nottingham: ACS. 
• Altham, H. S. (1962). A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914). George Allen & Unwin. 
• Birley, Derek (1999). A Social History of English Cricket. Aurum. 
• Bowen, Rowland (1970). Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development. Eyre & Spottiswoode. 
• Buckley, G. B. (1937). Fresh Light on pre-Victorian Cricket. Cotterell. 
• McCann, Tim (2004). Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century. Sussex Record Society. 
• Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. HarperCollins. 
• Underdown, David (2000). Start of Play. Allen Lane. 

External links

• Classification of cricket matches from 1697 to 1825
• CricketArchive – 1788 first-class matches list
• CricketArchive – 1788 other matches list