1751 English cricket season

The 1751 English cricket season was the eighth season following the earliest known codification of the Laws of Cricket. Details have survived of nine eleven-a-side matches between significant teams and the earliest known references to cricket Durham, Somerset, Warwickshire and Yorkshire occurred during the year.

1751 English cricket season

Matches

Nine eleven-a-side matches between significant teams are known to have taken place.[1][2]

• 13 May - Surrey v London - Artillery Ground
• 20 May - England XI v Kent - Artillery Ground
• 22 May - England XI v Kent - Artillery Ground
• 1 June - Addington v Hadlow - Addington Hill
• 24 June - Surrey v Middlesex - Kennington Common
• 23 July - Dartford v Bromley - Dartford Brent
• 1 August - Bromley v Dartford - Bromley Common
• 19 August - London v Country XI - Artillery Ground
• 4 September - Richmond v Hampton & Kingston - Moulsey Hurst

The details for the first England – Kent match on 20 May include the first known example of the scores at the fall of each wicket being recorded.

Single wicket

During June two five-a-side matches of single wicket cricket were played between Kent and Surrey teams.[3] In August there were two matches on the same day at the Artillery Ground between Five of London and Five Country players.[4]

Other events

In 1750, cricket was hit by the death of a significant patron, Frederick, Prince of Wales on 31 March.

The earliest reference to cricket in Durham is a game at Raby Castle in August between the 2nd Earl of Northumberland's XI and the 3rd Duke of Cleveland's XI, the same teams playing later in the month at Richmond, North Yorkshire.[4] In Somerset a match at Saltford Meadow, near Bath, on 13 July was played in memory of the Prince of Wales[5] and a match announcement in Aris' Gazette on 15 July is the earliest known reference in Warwickshire.[6]

First mentions

Clubs and teams

• 2nd Earl of Northumberland's XI[4]
• 3rd Duke of Cleveland's XI[4]
• Country XI[1]
• Hampton & Kingston[7]

Players

• Stephen Harding (Thursley/Chertsey)

References

1. ACS, p.22.
2. Other matches in England 1751, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
3. Ashley-Cooper, p.69.
4. Ashley-Cooper, p.83.
5. Buckley 1935, p.25.
6. Maun, p.13.
7. Buckley 1937, p.2.

Bibliography

• ACS (1981). A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709 – 1863. Nottingham: ACS.
• Ashley-Cooper, F. S. (1900). At the Sign of the Wicket: Cricket 1742–1751. Cricket: A Weekly Record of the Game. London: Cricket Magazine. OCLC 28863559.
• Buckley, G. B. (1935). Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket. Cotterell.
• Buckley, G. B. (1937). Fresh Light on pre-Victorian Cricket. Cotterell.
• Maun, Ian (2011). From Commons to Lord's, Volume Two: 1751 to 1770. Martin Wilson. ISBN 978-0-9569066-0-1.

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.
• Waghorn, H. T. (1899). Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730–1773). Blackwood.