1737 English cricket season

The 1737 English cricket season was the 41st cricket season since the earliest recorded eleven-aside match was played. Details have survived of seven significant matches. Frederick, Prince of Wales had become one of the sport's main patrons by this year.

1737 English cricket season

Recorded matches

Records have survived of seven matches:[1][2]

Date	Teams	Venue	Result	Source
15 June	London & Surrey v Kent	Kennington Common	Kent won by 40 runs	[3][4]
	Scores are known: Kent 99 & 70/7 declared; Surrey 31 & 98. There was crowd trouble at the match: one report says: "the Mob outrageously threw Dirt, Dung, etc. on Account of the people's entering within the Line".[4] A week later, a man called John Smith died from complications of a wound caused when he was hit by one of the stones being thrown.[5] Another report says that "the Press was so great" that a woman suffered a broken leg "by the Crowd bearing upon her".[4] The Prince of Wales, sponsoring London & Surrey, gave her ten guineas compensation. Kent were sponsored by Lord John Philip Sackville.
6 July	Kent v London & Surrey	Bromley Common	Kent won by an innings	[6][5]
	Kent "maintained their honour, and beat their adversaries at one hands".
25 July	London v Essex	Artillery Ground	London won by 45 runs	[7]
	Reported by the General Evening Post on Tuesday, 26 July.
27 July	Surrey v London	Moulsey Hurst	unknown	[7]
	Organised by Frederick, Prince of Wales (Surrey) and the Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough (London) for £500 a side. It was announced by the General Evening Post on 21 July, but no report of the game has been found.
1 August	Essex v London	Ilford	Essex won by 7 runs	[7]
	The earliest known organised match that was definitely played in the county of Essex.
6 September	London v Chertsey	Moulsey Hurst	London won by 5 wickets	[8][9]
	Scores are known: Chertsey 45 & 66; London 81 & 31/5.
27 September	London v Kent	Kennington Common	unknown	[10]
	The match was billed as "betwixt the men of Kent and the Gentlemen of London".[10]

Single wicket matches

Two unnamed players, one from Wandsworth and one from Mitcham, described as "two of the most celebrated sportsmen in the game", played a match on Kennington Common in August. The Mitcham man was hit by the ball in his first innings and concussed for a time. He continued but was "beaten by a considerable number of notches".[11]

Other events

During a local match at Newick in May in Sussex, John Boots was killed after he collided with his partner whilst going for a run.[7][12] A match in July between Stansted and Hertford is the earliest known match in Hertfordshire.[13]

First mentions

Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, was a noted patron of cricket in 1737.

Clubs and teams

• Brentwood[14]
• Hertford[13]
• Stansted[13]

Players

• John Boots[12]
• Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough[15]

Venues

• Ilford (unspecified venue)[7]

References

1. ACS, p.20.
2. Other matches in England 1737, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
3. Waghorn, pp. 17–18.
4. Maun, p.86.
5. Waghorn, p. 19.
6. Maun, pp.86–87
7. Buckley, p. 14.
8. Waghorn, pp. 18–20.
9. Buckley, p. 15.
10. Maun, p.90.
11. Maun, p.89.
12. McCann, p.16.
13. Maun, p. 87.
14. Maun, p.88
15. Waghorn, p.18.

Bibliography

• ACS (1981). A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709 – 1863. Nottingham: ACS.
• Buckley, G. B. (1935). Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket. Cotterell.
• McCann, Tim (2004). Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century. Sussex Record Society.
• 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.

Further reading

• 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.
• Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. HarperCollins.
• Underdown, David (2000). Start of Play. Allen Lane.