Datchet Common

Datchet Common near Datchet in the English county of Berkshire (formerly Buckinghamshire) was used as a cricket venue for two major cricket matches between 1769 and 1785^{[fc 1]} as well as for a number of minor matches.^[1]

It is first recorded on 2 October 1730 when a match was played "by persons of distinction for £50 a side".^[2] This match is the earliest known mention of cricket in the county of Buckinghamshire.^[3]

Footnotes

1. ↑ The term "major cricket" deserves some qualification. It is not limited to "first-class cricket" which is a misleading concept that is essentially statistical and may typically ignore the more important historical aspect of a match if statistical information is missing, as is invariably the case re matches played prior to 1772. From that season, scorecards began to be created habitually and there is a continuous and adequate, though incomplete, statistical record commencing in 1772. Major cricket in the Stuart and Hanoverian periods includes both single wicket and eleven-a-side games. Features of these matches include high stakes, large crowds and evidence that the teams are representative of several parishes, perhaps of whole counties. Except in rare instances, village cricket in the shape of a match played between two parish teams, would be classified as minor.

References

Bibliography

• Haygarth, Arthur (1862). Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826). Lillywhite. 
• Maun, Ian (2009). From Commons to Lord's, Volume One: 1700 to 1750. Roger Heavens. ISBN 978-1-900592-52-9. 
• Waghorn, H. T. (1899). Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730–1773). Blackwood. 

External links

• "Datchet Common". CricketArchive. 

Coordinates: 51°29′N 0°34′W / 51.48°N 0.57°W / 51.48; -0.57