1744 English cricket season

The 1744 cricket season was the 147th in England since the earliest known definite reference to cricket in January 1597 (i.e., Old Style – 1598 New Style). Details have survived of 22 important eleven-a-side and three single wicket matches. It was a pivotal season in English cricket history because the earliest known codification of the Laws of Cricket was written by a group calling themselves the "Noblemen and Gentlemen" of the London Cricket Club.

The season is also notable for the two earliest known surviving match scorecards, although they are nothing like as comprehensive as modern ones. The first, containing individual scores but no details of dismissal, has survived from the London v Slindon game on Saturday, 2 June. Just over a fortnight later, Monday, 18 June, the most famous match of the 1740s was the challenge by Kent to take on a team representing the rest of England at the Artillery Ground. Kent won a dramatic contest by a single wicket despite needing several runs to win when their last pair of batsmen came together. The scorecard became the first entry in Arthur Haygarth's Scores & Biographies, though he had the date wrong. It is not until the 1772 season that any more scorecards of important matches have survived (a handful of cards from minor matches have been found).

In September, Slindon defeated London and then issued its famous challenge to play any parish in England. The challenge was accepted by the Addington and Bromley clubs, which both had fine teams, but the two challenge matches may have been hit by bad weather and it is not known if they were completed.

Laws of Cricket

The first known coded issue of the Laws of Cricket can be traced to 1744, possibly an upgrade of an earlier code. They are here reproduced in full.[1] The Laws were drawn up by the noblemen and gentlemen members of the London Cricket Club, which was based at the Artillery Ground. The intention must have been to establish a universal codification. A general set of rules was in place subject to local variations but, apart from cases where Articles of Agreement were drawn up, as for the Richmond v Brodrick matches in the 1727 season, the rules as such were agreed orally. By and large, the same rules had existed since time immemorial.[1]

A summary of the main points:[1]

The Laws do not say the bowler must roll the ball and there is no mention of prescribed arm action so, in theory, a pitched delivery would have been legal, though potentially controversial.[1]

The earliest known scorecard

When London played Slindon at the Artillery Ground on Saturday, 2 June, details of individual scores were recorded and the scorecard was kept by the Duke of Richmond at Goodwood House.[2] It gives scores only and no means of dismissal. It does not give much information about the players except their surnames although the scorer did think to differentiate between the two pairs of brothers (the Harrises and Newlands) who were playing.

The Daily Advertiser carried various notices from Thursday, 31 May until Sunday, 3 June which announced that two untitled sides would play in the Artillery Ground on Saturday, 2 June. On 31 May, the paper said that the teams would consist of "four gentlemen from Slindon, one from Eastbourne, two from Hamilton (sic) in Sussex, one from Addington and three from Lingfield in Surrey" against "four gentlemen of London, one from Richmond, one from Reigate, three from Addington in Surrey, one from Bray Wick in Berkshire and one from Arundel in Sussex". This was followed by the usual reminder about no dogs and the need to obtain a pass ticket if leaving the ground during play.[2]

The Daily Advertiser changed its notice on Friday, 1 June through 2 and 3 June by announcing the names of the players on each side, but the names in the paper are not the same as those on the scorecard kept by the Duke of Richmond. The same (i.e., incorrect) names were also reported on 3 June, the day after the match.[2] The paper announced that the two teams would consist of: Cuddy, Richard Newland, Adam Newland, John Newland, Ridgeway, Green of Sussex; Sawyer, Stevens, Stevens, Collins of Surrey; and Norris of London versus Dingate, John Harris, Joseph Harris, Faulkner, Jackson, Maynard of Surrey; Bennett, Bryant, Smith, Howlett of London; and Waymark of Berkshire.[3] No titles were given to the teams at the time (various titles have been applied retrospectively by modern authors). Bryant was one of the two brothers of that name, John and James, who were prominent Kent players of the time, while Bennett was one of "Little" or "Tall" Bennett, both noted batsmen in the 1740s.

According to the Duke of Richmond’s papers, which are now in the possession of the West Sussex Record Office, including the recorded scores of this match, the teams were somewhat different from those advertised. Team names are provisionally given as London versus Slindon, these being the two main clubs represented:[2]

Saturday, 2 June 1744 – London v Slindon (Artillery Ground)
Slindon 1st 2nd – London 1st 2nd
Edward Aburrow senior 5 0 – Howlett 1 5
? Bryant (James or John) 5 10 – Stephen Dingate 0 19
Richard Newland 0 0 – William Sawyer 4 4
Adam Newland 0 22 – Maynard 8 6
Ridgeway 6 dnb – ? Bennett (Little or Tall) 11 7
Joseph Harris 13 14 – Tom Faulkner 1 0
George Jackson 19 1 – Thomas Waymark 13 16
John Harris 18 47 – Butler 18 0
Norris 13 dnb – Green 11 12
Andrews 7 4 – Hodder 6 0
George Smith 8 dnb – Collins 2 1
Extras 8 4 – Extras 4 0
TOTAL 102 102–6d – TOTAL 79 70
Slindon won by 55 runs

There were two players called Bryant (James and John) and two called Bennett who were always referred to as Little Bennett and Tall Bennett. It is not known which player in each of these pairs took part. Note also that there were two Harrises who both played; and the three Newland brothers, of whom John did not play. Edward Aburrow senior, alias Cuddy and a notorious smuggler, was the father of the later Hambledon player of the same name. Thomas Waymark was formerly employed by Slindon's benefactor the Duke of Richmond but he was here given as a Berkshire resident and playing for the London XI.[2]

The match included one of cricket's earliest known declarations by Slindon in their second innings at 102–6, although the term "declaration" was not in use at that time and neither was the concept generally recognised. Rather it was a case of Slindon "forfeiting" part of their innings in order to allow time to bowl out their opponents. This was also the first known game at which tickets for readmission were issued to the spectators.[3]

Important matches

The following matches are classified as important:[note 1]

date match title venue result source
10 May (Th) Kent v All England venue unknown Kent won (IM) [4]
notes

This match and its return on 17 May are known because of a 1748 court case over unpaid gambling debts.

14 May (M) Surrey v All England Moulsey Hurst Surrey won by 4 runs [5][6]
notes

The Prince of Wales was involved in the promotion of this match and arranged the next match the following Monday at the Artillery Ground.

17 May (Th) Kent v All England venue unknown Kent won (IM) [4]
notes

The return to the match on 10 May, again known because of the 1748 court case.

21 May (M) All England v Surrey Artillery Ground result unknown [5][6]
notes

The match started at 11 o’clock and was completed in one day.

2 June (S) London &c. v Slindon &c. Artillery Ground Slindon won by 55 runs [5][6][2]
notes

See "The earliest known scorecard" above.

15 June (F) Kent v All England Coxheath Common result unknown [7]
notes

In his Index to Waghorn, Martin Wilson states that the famous match at the Artillery Ground on Monday, 18 June (see below) was the return of a match played at Coxheath on Friday, 15 June.

18 June (M) All England v Kent Artillery Ground Kent won by 1 wicket [5][8][9][10][11][12]
notes

This is the first match for which a full scorecard including dismissals has survived and it is the opening entry in Scores & Biographies. Haygarth, however, gave the date as 1746 instead of 1744. In his Dawn of Cricket, Waghorn specified a source called the London Magazine, published in 1744, which reported the match on page 307.[11] The scorecard presents the problem of players sharing names and not being differentiated by the scorers, whom Haygarth denounced for their "laziness". It was not until the 1772 season that scorecards began to be kept on a regular basis.

The game was arranged by Lord John Philip Sackville who challenged "All England" to play against his county, Kent. The match was extremely close and must have had an exciting finish. It was low scoring: All England totalled 40 and 70; Kent responded with 53 and 58–9 to win by one wicket. The two not out Kent batsmen at the end (Hodsoll and Cutbush) scored 5 and 7, so Kent must have needed at least five to win when their ninth wicket fell. Sackville himself is reported to have held a remarkable catch to dismiss All England's best player Richard Newland and that may have been the defining moment of the match. Most of the players had already taken part in the London v Slindon match on 2 June but this match's scorecard provides the first known mentions of five Kent cricketers: Bartram, Danes, the noted wicketkeeper Kipps, the bowler John Mills and his brother.

The poet James Love (1722–1774) commemorated this match in his Cricket: An Heroic Poem. There is a reference in Buckley's "FL18C" to the first publication of his poem. As announced in the Daily Advertiser on 4 July 1745, it was priced 1/- and "illustrated with critical observations of Scriblerus Maximus (!)". A footnote says: "Printed for W. Bickerton at the Gazette in the Temple Exchange near the Inner Temple Gate, Fleet Street".[13] Love was himself a cricketer and a member of Richmond Cricket Club in Surrey.[8]

5 July (Th) Kent, Surrey, Sussex & London v All England Artillery Ground result unknown [5][8][14][11]
notes

Described as "a scratch match between 22 picked players from Kent, Sussex, Surrey and London and all the most-famed places in England". It was postponed from the previous day because of the weather (Daily Advertiser: Thurs 5 July).

The Penny London Morning Advertiser on Friday, 6 July observed that: "the small appearance of the company is a plain proof of the resentment of the Public to any imposition, for the price on going into the ground being raised from twopence to sixpence, it is thought there were not 200 persons present when before there used to be 7,000 to 8,000; which plainly verifies the old proverb "all cover, all loose (sic)".[15]

6 & 7 July (F-S) Kent, Surrey, Sussex & London v All England Moulsey Hurst / Artillery Ground result unknown [5][8][16]
notes

It is known that this was a return game to the one played on 5 July and that it was unfinished at Moulsey Hurst on Friday, 6 July so the players continued at the Artillery Ground on Saturday, 7 July. The state of play on Friday night was that one side led by 31 runs with 2 second innings wickets standing. On the Saturday, price of admission was reduced to the "as usual" two pence.

9 July (M) London v Richmond Kennington Common result unknown [5][15]
notes

Advertised in the Daily Advertiser same morning but no match report was found.

9 July (M) Addington & Bromley v Rest of Kent & Surrey Duppas Hill, Croydon result unknown [17]
notes

Kipps of Eltham, the noted wicketkeeper was a given man for Addington & Bromley. The Rest team was described as "the best Eleven in other Parts of Kent and Surrey". An additional item in the announcement was no person being allowed to bring liquor into the ground "that don't live in the Parish".[17]

13 July (F) Bromley v Addington Bromley Common result unknown [18]
notes

The announcement of this match stated that no person was allowed to sell liquor on the common "but who belong to the Parish".[18]

21 July (S) London v Woburn Artillery Ground result unknown [5][8]
notes

This match was postponed from Thursday, 19 July because the Honourable Artillery Company required the ground.

30 July (M) London v Addington Artillery Ground result unknown [5][8]
notes

"The wickets were pitched at one o'clock".

24 August (F) Surrey v London Moulsey Hurst London won [5][19]
notes

Robert Colchin of Bromley and Val Romney of Sevenoaks were given men for London. Played for £50 a side.

27 August (M) London v Surrey Artillery Ground London won [5][19]
notes

Robert Colchin of Bromley and Val Romney of Sevenoaks were again given men for London.

3 September (M) London v Bromley Artillery Ground result unknown [19]
notes

Bromley was a leading club at the time and later in the month was one of two (Addington being the other) to accept Slindon's challenge to play any parish in England.

7 September (F) London v Surrey Artillery Ground result unknown [19]
notes

Val Romney of Sevenoaks was a given man for London.

10 & 11 September (M-Tu) London v Slindon Artillery Ground Slindon won [19][20]
notes

The Newland brothers and "Cuddy" (Edward Aburrow senior) all played for Slindon. Play commenced at noon on the first day but was affected by bad weather. Play on the Tuesday commenced at ten o'clock.

It was at the conclusion of this game that Slindon issued its famous challenge to play "any parish in England". They received immediate acceptances from Addington and Bromley who played Slindon in the next two matches.

12 & 13 September (W-Th) Slindon v Addington Artillery Ground result unknown [5][19][21]
notes

This was affected by bad weather on the 12th. At close of play each side had completed its first innings and Slindon had a lead of just two runs. It is not known if the match was completed on the 13th and it may have been rained off.

14 September (F) Slindon v Bromley Artillery Ground result unknown [19][21]
notes

As with the first challenge game, details of the result are unknown. Possibly it was rained off.

19 September (W) Two Elevens Artillery Ground result unknown [5][19][22]
notes

Described a "scratch match" but between 22 of the "best players in England". No post-match reports were found.

Single wicket

Monday, 20 August. There was a single wicket match "for a large sum" between a Sevenoaks player (perhaps Val Romney) and a London player. No other details are known.[8]

Monday, 17 September. A big game between two "threes" at the Artillery Ground. Billed as "Long Robin's Side v Richard Newland's Side", the teams were Robert Colchin (aka "Long Robin"; Bromley), Val Romney (Sevenoaks) and John Bryant (Addington) against Richard Newland (Slindon), Edward Aburrow senior (Slindon) and Joe Harris (Addington). Aburrow replaced John Mills of Horsmonden, the "famous Kent bowler" who was originally chosen. The stake was two hundred guineas and the players involved were stated to be the "best in England". Once again, despite this being a senior fixture, the outcome is unknown.[19][23]

Monday, 1 October. Another "threes" game was played at the Artillery Ground for a considerable sum and again the outcome is unknown. The sides were Robert Colchin, James Bryant and Joe Harris versus John Bryant, Val Romney and Thomas Waymark.[19]

Other events

Monday, 11 June. The Penny London Morning Advertiser announced a match on Walworth Common in Surrey between "11 gentlemen of the Borough of Southwark and 11 gentlemen of High Kent and Blackman; the wickets to be pitched at one o'clock". The announcement continued: "The gentlemen who play this match have subscribed for a Holland smock of one guinea value, which will be run for by two jolly wenches, one known by the name of The Little Bit of Blue (the handsome Broom Girl) at the fag end of Kent Street, and the other Black Bess of the Mint. They are to run in drawers only and there is excellent sport expected". As for security: "Captain Vinegar with a great many of his bruisers and bulldogs will attend to make a ring, that no civil spectators may be incommoded by the rabble".[24]

The Penny London Morning Advertiser on Wednesday, 27 June advertised a match to be played next day on Woolwich Common between Woolwich and "the Club in Long Lane, Southwark".[15]

The Daily Advertiser reported on Saturday, 30 June re the Kent v All England match on Monday, 18 June: "It was observed by the noblemen and gentlemen there present that there was great disorder so that it was with difficulty the match was played out. It is ordered for the future that each person pay for going into the Ground sixpence, and there will be for the better conveniency (sic) of all gentlemen that favour me with their company, a ring of benches that will hold at least 800 persons. And it is further desired that no person whtever, except those appointed to keep orderand the players engaged for the day, be admitted to walk within the ring".[25]

First mentions

Thanks to the survival of scorecards from two matches in 1744, the names of a great many players from the period are known. The players listed below are named on the two scorecards but the spans of their careers is generally unknown. It is believed that Dingate, for example, was active in the 1720s while others may have continued into the 1760s.

Counties

Clubs and teams

Players

Venues

Leading players

Batsmen

The best batting performances by those players who took part in both the games with scorecards are given below. 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. For example, the missing not outs prevent computation of batting averages. The "runs scored" are in fact the runs known.[9]

runs player
69 John Harris
45 Thomas Waymark
33 Richard Newland
33 Stephen Dingate
28 Joseph Harris

Bowlers

William Hodsoll of Dartford and Kent was one of the earliest fast bowlers known. He took eight wickets in the match (i.e., bowled wickets only) for Kent against All England.[9]

The other noted Kent bowler taking part was John Mills of Horsmonden. His exact tally is not known, as his brother may have taken some wickets. The same is true of the Harrises and Newlands who bowled for All England. Seven wickets each were taken by players called Mills, Harris and Newland.[9]

Fielders and wicketkeepers

Kipps of Kent was a noted wicketkeeper at the time and is the earliest known specialist keeper.

Thomas Waymark held two catches for All England against Kent, and he was praised many years earlier for his agility and dexterity. The most memorable catch in the All England v Kent match was a diving effort held by Lord John Philip Sackville to dismiss Richard Newland.[9]

Notes

  1. ↑ 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 important matches 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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Leach, John (2007). "From Lads to Lord's (1744) – The First Laws of Cricket". Stumpsite. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 McCann, Tim (2004). Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century. Sussex Record Society. pp. 26–27.
  3. 1 2 Waghorn, H. T. (1906). The Dawn of Cricket. Electric Press. p. 14.
  4. 1 2 Maun, Ian (2009). From Commons to Lord's, Volume One: 1700 to 1750. Roger Heavens. p. 135.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 ACS, Important Matches, p. 21.
  6. 1 2 3 Ashley-Cooper, At the Sign of the Wicket, 22 February 1900, p. 22.
  7. ↑ Wilson, An Index to Waghorn, p. 46.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Ashley-Cooper, At the Sign of the Wicket, 29 March 1900, p. 35.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Haygarth, Arthur (1862). Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826). Lillywhite. pp. 1–2.
  10. ↑ Waghorn, Cricket Scores, p. 33.
  11. 1 2 3 Waghorn, Dawn of Cricket, p. 15
  12. ↑ Wilson, pp. 45–46
  13. ↑ Buckley, G. B. (1935). Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket (FL18C). Cotterell. pp. 19–20.
  14. ↑ McCann, p. 27.
  15. 1 2 3 Buckley, FL18C, p. 19.
  16. ↑ McCann, p. 28.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Maun, p. 141.
  18. 1 2 Maun, p. 142.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ashley-Cooper, At the Sign of the Wicket, 29 March 1900, p. 36.
  20. ↑ McCann, pp. 28–29.
  21. 1 2 McCann, pp. 29–30.
  22. ↑ McCann, p. 31.
  23. ↑ McCann, pp. 30–31.
  24. ↑ Buckley, FL18C, p. 18.
  25. ↑ Buckley, FL18C, pp. 18–19.

Bibliography

Additional reading

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