1731 English cricket season
Cricket formats | first-class and single wicket |
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In the 1731 English cricket season, match reports in the newspapers were much more common and tended to contain more detail, sometimes including the names of patrons and players. Tim Coleman was named in the report of a minor match in which he was playing, and referred to as "the famous Tim Coleman".[fc 1]
The most dramatic match of the 1731 season was the one at Richmond Green on 23 August. It ended in a riot and it is believed that the 2nd Duke of Richmond conceded defeat after the match was originally declared a draw. Of greater significance, it is the earliest match for which the team totals were recorded and have been preserved, rather than simply who won the wager.
First-class matches
Note that these matches are unofficially first-class.[fc 2]
date | match title | venue | result | source |
---|---|---|---|---|
17 April (Sa) | London v Surrey | Lamb's Conduit Fields | London won by 35 runs | [1] |
notes |
Described as "a great cricket match for 20 guineas a side. | |||
17 April (Sa) | London v Surrey | Lamb's Conduit Fields | London won by 35 runs | [1] |
notes |
The Daily Advertiser reported that the match was "played for 30 guineas a side and, after a great deal of good Play on both sides, it was won by (Kent) by three Notches only". | |||
31 May (M) | London v Sevenoaks | Kennington Common | result unknown | [2] |
notes |
Advance notice was given of this game and the one below, both at the same venue. | |||
1 June (Tu) | London v Chelsfield | Kennington Common | London won | [2] |
notes |
Played in the evening for 30 guineas and won by the London team "by great odds". | |||
5 June (S) | London v Dartford | Artillery Ground | London won by 15 runs | [2] |
notes |
Played for 50 guineas a side in the "old" (sic) Artillery Ground. Play went on for several hours and bets of between £400 and £500 were laid; those amounts were a fortune at the time. | |||
8 June (Tu) | London v Kent | Kennington Common | London won | [2] |
notes |
An evening match played for 30 guineas. | |||
16 June (W) | Dartford v London | Dartford Brent | drawn | [3] |
notes |
A return match was immediately arranged, to be played on Thursday, 24 June at the Artillery Ground. | |||
18 June (F) | London v Enfield | Lamb's Conduit Fields | London won by 14 runs | [2] |
notes |
Played for 200 guineas. The report mentions "a great deal of good play on both sides". | |||
24 June (Th) | London v Dartford | Artillery Ground | result unknown | [3] |
notes |
This was arranged immediately after the game at Dartford Brent on Wednesday, 16 June (according to the St James Evening Post). | |||
26 June (S) | Sudbury v Kent | Sudbury Common, Middlesex | Sudbury won by "several notches" | [2] |
notes |
Played for 30 guineas a side. The Kent side was organised by Edwin Stead of Maidstone. | |||
30 June (W) | Dartford v London | Dartford Brent | drawn | [2] |
notes |
The match ran out of time but "it was thought (London) would have won had there been time to play it out". They arranged to play again on Monday, 5 July (see below). | |||
5 July (M) | London v Dartford | Artillery Ground | result unknown | [3] |
notes |
H. T. Waghorn recorded that play did not finish at Dartford Brent on Wednesday, 30 June (see above) and the match was to be replayed at the Artillery Ground on the following Monday, 5 July. There was an advert dated Saturday, 3 July for the re-match.[3] Stumps were "to be pitched exactly at two o'clock". Time in those days was determined by the local church clock. | |||
12 July (M) | Surrey v East Grinstead | Smitham Bottom, Croydon | East Grinstead won by 5 wkts | [2] |
notes |
This was played for forty guineas a side and "won very considerably by (East Grinstead), they having four men to go in when the umpire gave up the game". | |||
12 July (M) | London v Sevenoaks | Kennington Common | result unknown | [4] |
notes |
This game is the first known to have been played in an enclosed ground, though with only a rope around the field. The newspaper report says: "the ground will be roped round and all persons are desired to keep without side of the same". The stakes were "a guinea a man"; wickets to be pitched "by one o'clock". | |||
13 July (Tu) | Chelsea v Fulham | Chelsea Common | Fulham won | [5] |
notes |
This was played for 50 guineas and "a person that stood by had the misfortune to receive a blow from the ball which beat out three of his teeth". | |||
14 July (W) | Hampton v Brentford | Moulsey Hurst | result unknown | [3] |
notes |
Reported in advance only: "we hear that above £500 is already laid on their heads, neither party having yet been beat". | |||
19 July (M) | Kent v Middlesex | Kennington Common | result unknown | [3] |
notes |
Reported in advance only: "for £50 a side". The report stresses that the contestants are "the County of Kent" and "the County of Middlesex". | |||
20 July (Tu) | Croydon v London | Duppas Hill | Croydon won | [3] |
notes |
The original report in Fog's Weekly Journal calls the winning team "Surrey" but a report of the return match on Monday, 26 July refers to "Croydon". As the names seem to be interchangeable, it must be assumed that the Croydon club was effectively representative of Surrey as a county at this time. This match was played at Duppas Hill, home venue of the Croydon club. | |||
26 July (M) | London v Croydon | Artillery Ground | Croydon won | [3] |
notes |
Buckley's source was the Daily Advertiser on Tues 27 July. Another source (Read's Weekly Journal, quoted in Dawn of Cricket) reports that London were playing Dartford, but this match was almost certainly a return of the one at Duppas Hill on Tuesday, 20 July. "Wickets to be pitched at 1 pm under forfeiture of £10 on either side". | |||
9 August (M) | "A Great Cricket Match" | Richmond Green | result unknown | [6][7] |
notes |
The St James's Evening Post on 27–29 July announced "a great Cricket match" to be held "on Monday se'nnight" (i.e., Monday, 9 August, as the term means "a week on Monday") at Richmond Green for 100 guineas "by several persons of Distinction". The Prince of Wales was expected to be present. | |||
10 August (Tu) | Chelsea v Fulham | Parsons Green | Fulham won by 3 runs | [5] |
notes |
".....for 30 guineas; the game being play'd with great judgment on both sides. Chelsea was beat by only 3 notches". | |||
16 August (M) | Duke of Richmond's XI v Mr Chambers' XI | Chichester | Mr Chambers' XI won | [8] |
notes |
The stake in this game was 100 guineas. No details are reported other than that Mr Chambers' XI won. It seems that Chambers and his team all came from Middlesex so the match could perhaps be titled Sussex v Middlesex. According to John Major, Mr Chambers was probably one Thomas Chambers who was a forebear of Lord Frederick Beauclerk.[9] | |||
23 August (M) | Mr Chambers' XI v Duke of Richmond's XI | Richmond Green | Duke of Richmond conceded? | [8] |
notes |
This return match was played for 200 guineas and it is notable as the earliest match from which team scores are known: Duke of Richmond 79, Mr Chambers 119; Duke of Richmond 72, Mr Chambers 23-5 (approx.). The game ended promptly at a pre-agreed time although Mr Chambers with "four or five more to have come in" and needing "about 8 to 10 notches" clearly had the upper hand. The end result caused a fracas among the crowd at Richmond Green who were incensed by the prompt finish because the Duke of Richmond had arrived late and delayed the start of the game. The riot resulted in some of the Sussex players "having the shirts torn off their backs; and it was said a law suit would commence about the play". The source (Buckley) includes a further note which suggests the Duke of Richmond may have later conceded the result to Mr Chambers (see match on Monday, 6 September below). | |||
? September | Surrey v Kingston | Moulsey Hurst | Surrey won | [10] |
notes |
Played for 25 guineas a side and "some thousands of persons of both sexes were present on this occasion". | |||
2 September (Th) | Croydon v London | Duppas Hill, Croydon | Surrey won | [8] |
notes |
Played for 11 guineas. It is reported that "a dispute arose and it was agreed to play it again on Monday, 13 September". | |||
4 September (S) | Surrey v Kent | Dulwich Common | drawn (rain) | [11] |
notes |
This game was drawn due to heavy rain. Kent led by 17 on first innings but Surrey, with 3 wickets standing, needed just 12 to win when rain ended it. The report says the participants originally intended to continue another time but it seems they settled for the draw. | |||
6 September (M) | Surrey v Mr Chambers' XI | Sanderstead Common | Surrey won | [8] |
notes |
The Daily Post Boy reported on Wednesday, 8 September that "11 of Surrey beat the 11 who about a fortnight ago beat the Duke of Richmond's men". See the game on Monday, 23 August above. The report suggests that the Duke of Richmond conceded his controversial game against Mr Chambers. | |||
15 September (W) | London v Croydon | Artillery Ground | Croydon won | [11][3] |
notes |
Again the confusion between Croydon and Surrey: one report says Croydon, another says Surrey. Croydon is the more likely. This was probably the replay of the game on Thursday, 2 September (see above), but postponed by two days from the originally agreed date. | |||
28 September (Tu) | Surrey v London | Kennington Common | result unknown | [11] |
notes |
No post-match report was found for this match despite its being promoted as "likely to be the best performance of this kind that has been seen for some time, there being great wagers depending". It was reported that "for the convenience of the gamesters, the ground is to be staked and roped out" so it seems that enclosure quickly became common practice in 1731. In addition, the advertisement refers to "the whole county of Surrey" as London's opponents. The Prince of Wales was expected to attend. | |||
Single wicket
July. A single wicket match was played at Maidstone between two officers of the Royal Horse Guards, Captain Beak and Lieutenant Coke. It was for a "considerable sum of money" and won by Captain Beak after three hours "very hard played". Waghorn stated that it was the first military match he found during his researches.[12]
Other events
July. An unusual match at Duppas Hill, Croydon, between a Kent team and a Surrey team who were all called Wood. The Woods won. This is interesting given the well documented confusion over different players called Wood or Woods in the 1770s.[12]
Saturday, 2 October: "a great cricket match will be play'd in the Artillery Ground; it will be the last plaid (sic) this season; 11 of a side, stumps to be pitch'd exactly at 12 o'clock". Nothing further has been found and the match might not have been played.[11]
Saturday, 2 October: at Mitcham Cricket Green in Surrey. The local club played against Ewell, also in Surrey, for a small stake. The report mentions "the famous Tim Coleman" who usually played for London and was in the Ewell team on this occasion. It is rarely that a player is mentioned by name in these early reports and even more rarely that he is given praise. Tim Coleman was on the losing side in this game as the home team won "by several notches".[11]
County cricket
Based on the known results, it would seem that the strongest county team[fc 3] in 1731 was Surrey, though its name may be interchangeable with that of the Croydon club, with at least four victories over London, who had previously defeated Kent.[13]
Footnotes
- ↑ Note that surviving match records to 1825 are incomplete and any statistical compilation of a player's career in that period is based on known data. Match scorecards were not always created, or have been lost, and the matches themselves were not always recorded in the press or other media. Scorecard data was not comprehensive: e.g., bowling analyses lacked balls bowled and runs conceded; bowlers were not credited with wickets when the batsman was caught or stumped; in many matches, the means of dismissal were omitted.
- ↑ "First-class cricket" was officially defined in May 1894 by a meeting at Lord's of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the county clubs which were then competing in the County Championship. The ruling was effective from the beginning of the 1895 season. Pre-1895 matches of the same standard have no official definition of status because the ruling is not retrospective and the "unofficial first-class" designation, as applied to a given match, is based on the views of one or more substantial historical sources. For further information, see First-class cricket, Forms of cricket and History of cricket.
- ↑ "Champion County" is an unofficial seasonal title proclaimed by media or historians prior to December 1889 when the official County Championship was constituted.
References
- 1 2 Maun, p. 47.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Waghorn (DC), p. 8.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Buckley (FL18), p. 5.
- ↑ Waghorn (DC), pp. 8–9.
- 1 2 Waghorn (DC), p. 9.
- ↑ Leach, John (2007). "From Lads to Lord's – 1731". Stumpsite.
- ↑ Leach, John (2008). "Classification of cricket matches from 1697 to 1825". Stumpsite.
- 1 2 3 4 Buckley (FL18), p. 6.
- ↑ Major, p. 56.
- ↑ Waghorn (CS), p. 4.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Waghorn (DC), p. 10.
- 1 2 Waghorn (CS), p. 3.
- ↑ Leach, John (2008). "Champion cricket teams since 1728". Stumpsite. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
Bibliography
- Buckley, G. B. (1935). Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket. Cotterell.
- Waghorn, H. T. (1899). Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730–1773). Blackwood.
- 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.
- Marshall, John (1961). The Duke who was Cricket. Muller.
- Maun, Ian (2009). From Commons to Lord's, Volume One: 1700 to 1750. Roger Heavens. ISBN 978-1-900592-52-9.
- Underdown, David (2000). Start of Play. Allen Lane.
External links
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