Middlesex county cricket teams

Middlesex county cricket teams in England have been traced back to the 18th century, although cricket in the area goes back further.

This article is about the teams which played before 1864. For the current county cricket club, see Middlesex County Cricket Club.

17th century

As elsewhere in south east England, cricket became established in Middlesex during the 17th century and the earliest village matches took place before the English Civil War. The first definite mention of cricket in London or Middlesex dates from 1680 and is recorded in Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket by G. B. Buckley as that book's first entry.

18th century

The earliest known match in Middlesex took place at Lamb's Conduit Field in Holborn on 3 July 1707 involving teams from London and Croydon.[1] In 1718, the first reference is found to White Conduit Fields in Islington, which later became a famous London venue. The earliest reference to a team called Middlesex is on 5 August 1729 when it played London Cricket Club "in the fields behind the Woolpack, in Islington, near Sadlers Wells, for £50 a side".[1]

Middlesex teams occur throughout the 18th century, although for long periods the county was secondary to the London Cricket Club which played at the Artillery Ground. Middlesex teams played at various grounds throughout what is now the Greater London area. Islington and Uxbridge were often used but home matches were also played on Kennington Common and in Berkshire.

Middlesex used Lord's Old Ground when it opened in 1787, with the earliest known match on the ground being between Middlesex and an Essex XI on 31 May 1787. Noted Middlesex players in the 18th century included William Fennex and Thomas Lord.

The Thursday Club

In May 1795, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) played four matches at Lord's, with a fifth match in June.[2] The first three were against "the Thursday Club" and the last two were against "Middlesex". Several players are common to both the Thursday and Middlesex teams: the Thursday Club was started by gentlemen cricketers of Middlesex with the services of some professionals and the team may sometimes have been called a Middlesex XI.

19th century

The present Middlesex County Cricket Club was informally founded on 15 December 1863 at a meeting in the London Tavern with formal constitution taking place on 2 February 1864. The creation of the club was largely through the efforts of the Walker family of Southgate. The county club played its first first-class match against Sussex County Cricket Club at Islington in June 1864.

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References
  1. The Dawn of Cricket by H. T. Waghorn
  2. Scores & Biographies, p.184

Bibliography
  • Arthur Haygarth, Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744-1826), Lillywhite, 1862
  • H. T. Waghorn, Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730-1773), Blackwood, 1899
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