1737 English cricket season
The 1737 cricket season was the 140th in England since the earliest known definite reference to cricket in January 1597 (i.e., Old Style – 1598 New Style). Records have survived of seven important matches.
Matches
| Date | Match Title | Venue | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 June (W) | London & Surrey v Kent[1] | Kennington Common | Kent won by 40 runs | |
|
Scores are known: Kent 99 & 70-7 declared; Surrey 31 & 98. A woman in the crowd suffered a broken leg. The Prince of Wales, sponsoring London & Surrey, gave her a ten guinea compensation. Kent was sponsored by Lord John Philip Sackville. | ||||
| 6 July (W) | Kent v London & Surrey[2] | Bromley Common | Kent won by an innings | |
|
Kent "maintained their honour, and beat their adversaries at one hands". The match was completed in a day. Cricket Scores reports the same fixture but has a non-specific date in June. | ||||
| 25 July (M) | London v Essex[3] | Artillery Ground | London won by 45 runs | |
|
Reported by the General Evening Post on Tues 26 July. | ||||
| 27 July (W) | Surrey v London[3] | Moulsey Hurst | result unknown | |
|
The match was organised by the Prince of Wales (Surrey) and the Duke of Marlborough (London) for £500 a side. It was announced by the General Evening Post on Thu 21 July but no report of the game has been found. | ||||
| 1 August (M) | Essex v London[3] | Ilford | Essex won by 7 runs | |
|
This is the earliest known organised match definitely being played in Essex (though see 1724 season re Chingford v Stead’s XI). The report is in Read’s Weekly Journal dated Sat 6 August. | ||||
| 6 September (Tu) | London v Chertsey[1][3] | Moulsey Hurst | London won by 5 wkts | |
|
Scores are known: Chertsey 45 & 66; London 81 & 31-5. Cricket Scores has two reports of the same game, one of them having a date in June, but the Fresh Light date is correct as the report was taken from the Grub Street Journal dated Thu 8 September. Cricket Scores reports that a Chertsey player broke a finger and this had a bearing on the result. | ||||
| 27 September (Tu) | London v Kent[2] | Kennington Common | result unknown | |
|
The match was "betwixt the Gentlemen of Kent and the Gentlemen of London, within the Bills of Mortality". | ||||
Other events
May. There was a tragic incident in a match at Newick in Sussex when a player called John Boots was killed after he collided with his partner whilst going for a run. Both men were knocked down but got up again, only for Mr Boots to drop down dead as he was running to his wicket. This was recorded in a number of sources. Mr McCann found a reference in the West Sussex Records Office which named Mr Boots and said he was buried on Tues 31 May at Chailey. Chailey and Newick are neighbouring parishes just to the north of Lewes in East Sussex.[4]
June. Frederick, Prince of Wales and Sir William Gage wagered a considerable sum on a match in Hyde Park, London. This seems to have involved noblemen only.[4]
The General Evening Post on Tues 2 August announced a game at Kew Green on Thu 4 August. The Prince of Wales was due to play and lead a team of noblemen against the London Cricket Club, but it was probably members of the London Club rather than its professional players.[3] Mr Buckley says it is doubtful if the match was ever played as Princess Augusta (1737 – 1813) was born on the Wednesday and this occasioned great celebrations. The Prince provided beer for the populace but "one lot of it was too bad to drink".[3] However, Mr Buckley seems to be mistaken here as Princess Augusta was born on Wed 31 August. She was the elder sister of George III and became Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttell. She was the mother of Princess Caroline of Brunswick who made the famously ill-fated marriage with the future George IV in 1795.[5]
There is mention of another "aristocrats only" game that apparently took place at Kew in June. The captains were the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Marlborough.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 H T Waghorn, Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730-1773), Blackwood, 1899
- 1 2 F S Ashley-Cooper, Kent Cricket Matches 1719-1880, Gibbs & Sons, 1929
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 G B Buckley Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket, Cotterell, 1935
- 1 2 Timothy J McCann, Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century, Sussex Record Society, 2004
- ↑ From Lads to Lord's; The History of Cricket: 1300 – 1787
Bibliography
- Buckley, G. B. (1935). Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket. Cotterell.
- McCann, Tim (2004). Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century. Sussex Record Society.
- Waghorn, H. T. (1899). Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730–1773). Blackwood.
- Waghorn, H. T. (1906). The Dawn of Cricket. Electric Press.
- Wilson, Martin (2005). An Index to Waghorn. Bodyline.
Additional reading
- ACS (1981). A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709 – 1863. Nottingham: ACS.
- 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.
- Buckley, G. B. (1937). Fresh Light on pre-Victorian Cricket. Cotterell.
- Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. HarperCollins.
- Marshall, John (1961). The Duke who was Cricket. Muller.
- Maun, Ian (2009). From Commons to Lord's, Volume One: 1700 to 1750. Roger Heavens. ISBN 978-1-900592-52-9.
- Underdown, David (2000). Start of Play. Allen Lane.