1739 English cricket season
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In the 1739 English cricket season, there were again very few match reports. The first Kent versus All-England games are a sign of very important matches to come.
The earliest known cricket picture was first displayed this year. It is an engraving called The Game of Cricket by Hubert-François Gravelot (1699 – 1733) and shows two groups of cherubic lads gathered around a batsman and a bowler. The wicket shown is the "low stool" shape, probably 2 foot wide by 1 foot tall, naturally with two stumps and a single bail. Gravelot helped to establish the French Rococo style in English publishing and was one of the most celebrated illustrators of the time. He worked in England 1723 – 1745, opening a drawing school on the Strand which had Thomas Gainsborough (1727 – 1788) among its pupils.
[edit] Matches
| Date | Match Title | Venue | Source | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 June (M) | London v Lingfield | venue unknown | WCS | Lingfield won by 2 wkts |
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The report does not state the venue of this match but does say the rematch will be at the Artillery Ground on the 27th. |
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| 27 June (W) | London v Lingfield | Artillery Ground | WCS | result unknown |
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No report was found of the rematch. |
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| 9 July (M) | Kent v All-England | Bromley Common | WCS | Kent won |
|
This is the first known instance of a team representing All-England. The match was billed as between "eleven gentlemen of that county (i.e., Kent) and eleven gentlemen from any part of England, exclusive of Kent". Kent, described as the Unconquerable County won by "a very few notches". |
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| c.12 July (Th) | Kingston & Moulsey v London | Moulsey Hurst | FL18 | K&M won |
| 19 July (Th) | London v Kingston & Moulsey | Kennington Common | FL18 | K&M won by 3 runs |
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The London & Country Journal dated Tuesday 24 July reported on the second of these two matches but made references to the previous one which might have been played a week or so earlier. It seems that Kingston & Moulsey won the first game because of the Londoners turning out three bad men who played on Moulsey Hurst. K&M won the second game by three runs despite losing "five of their best hands" from the earlier match. London replaced the "three bad men" with Lord John Philip Sackville, Mr Dunn and "Mr Boarer" (sic) who were described as "three very good gamesters". |
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| 23 July (M) | All-England v Kent | Artillery Ground | KCM | drawn |
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A report of this game includes the phrase "eleven picked out of all (sic) England". Kent led by over 50 on the first innings, and betting was then 2 to 1 in their favour. The Kentish Men were likely to have won, but a Dispute arose whether one of the Londoners was fairly out, which put an End to the Game. There were upwards of 10,000 People to see this Match. One account stated that Kent’s opponents were London, but the match was the return of that played earlier in the month at Bromley. |
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| 5 September (W) | London v Chiselhurst | Artillery Ground | FL18 | result unknown |
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Pre-announced by the London Evening Post on Saturday 1 September. |
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| English cricket teams in the 18th century |
|
Berkshire | Essex | Hampshire | Kent | Leicestershire | Middlesex | Mitcham | Nottingham | Sheffield | Surrey | Sussex |
| English cricket venues in the 18th century |
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Artillery Ground | Bishopsbourne Paddock | Broadhalfpenny Down | Bromley Common | Dartford Brent | Duppas Hill |
| English cricket seasons to 1815 |
|
1300 - 1696 | 1697 - 1725 |
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to 1815 • 1816-1863 • 1864-1889 • 1890-1918 • 1919-1945 • 1946-1968 • 1969-2000 • from 2001 |
[edit] Main Sources
- Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians - various publications
- At the Sign of the Wicket: Cricket 1742 - 1751 by F S Ashley-Cooper in Cricket Magazine (1900) (ASW)
- Cricket Scores 1730 - 1773 by H T Waghorn (WCS)
- Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket by G B Buckley (FL18)
- Fresh Light on Pre-Victorian Cricket by G B Buckley (FLPV)
- Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century by Timothy J McCann (TJM)
- The Dawn of Cricket by H T Waghorn (WDC)
[edit] Additional References
- A Social History of English Cricket by Derek Birley
- Cricket: History of its Growth and Development by Rowland Bowen
- Chertsey Cricket Club website
- Dartford Cricket Club website (DCC)
- From the Weald to the World by Peter Wynne-Thomas (PWT)
- Hambledon Cricket Chronicle by F S Ashley-Cooper (HCC)
- Hambledon: Men and Myths by John Goulstone (HMM)
- Kent Cricket Matches by F S Ashley-Cooper (KCM)
- Pre-Victorian Sussex Cricket by HF & AP Squire (PVSC)
- Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 by Arthur Haygarth (SBnnn)
- Start of Play by David Underdown
- The Cricketer magazine (Cktr)
- The Glory Days of Cricket by Ashley Mote
- John Nyren's The Cricketers of my Time by Ashley Mote
- Wisden Cricketers Almanack (annual): various issues
