Thomas_Chambers_(cricket_patron)

List of English cricketers to 1771

List of English cricketers to 1771

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This is a list of the earliest known English cricketers whose careers began prior to the first matches which are now considered to hold first-class status in 1772. The list is by season, this being the season in which the player's name first appears in sources.

Cricket underwent radical changes during the 18th century. Patronage and popular support enabled it to outgrow its roots as a village pastime and develop into a major sport. The Laws of Cricket were first written in 1744 and revised in 1774, and in the early 1760s pitched delivery bowling was introduced which necessitated the invention of the straight cricket bat: an evolution in bowling and batting techniques that radically changed cricket.

The earliest known scorecards date from 1744, but it was not until 1772 that they began to be completed and preserved on a regular basis.

Cricketers

To 1725

Many of the surviving records regarding cricket in the 17th century are from court cases. These include some of the names of people known to have played cricket. For example, in a court case held at Guildford in 1598, John Derrick recalled playing cricket on a particular parcel of land when he was a pupil at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford fifty years earlier,[1] whilst in 1611 Bartholomew Wyatt and Richard Latter of Sidlesham in Sussex were both prosecuted for "breaking the Sabbath" by playing cricket on a Sunday.[2] The earliest known reference to cricket in London in 1617 concerns Oliver Cromwell, the future Lord Protector, who played the game there whilst training at the Inns of Court.[3]

A 1624 case records that Jasper Vinall of West Hoathly in Sussex died as the result of an injury during a game, caused by a blow on the head from Edward Tye's bat. He is the sport's earliest known fatality.[4] Further court cases throughout the 17th century record the names of those prosecuted for breaking the sabbath,[5] involved in tithe disputes[6] or in disputes over unpaid wagers.[7]

Sir Robert Paston mentioned in a letter that he had been "cricketting" on Richmond Green in 1666,[8] whilst at around the same time John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough had played cricket whilst a pupil at St Paul's School, London.[9] A reference in 1676 records Henry Tonge playing cricket at the British Mission in Aleppo, Turkey, the earliest known record of cricket being played outside England.[10]

By the beginning of the 18th century, records of the names of cricketers begin to emerge.

More information Year, Name ...

1726 to 1750

The first scorecards to have survived date from the 1744 season. These record the names of each player involved in matches between London and a combined Surrey and Sussex side[lower-alpha 1] and those who played in a match between an England XI[lower-alpha 2] and a Kent side, which is the first match for which methods of dismissal are known.[26] Both matches took place at the Artillery Ground in London in June.

More information Year, Name ...

1751 to 1771

The period between 1751 and 1771 saw the emergence of the Hambledon Club in Hampshire in around 1767 as an important centre of the game following "the decline in importance" of the Artillery Ground in London.[14] It saw the scoring of the first known century by John Minshull in 1769,[71][72] by which time scores, which had previously been kept on tally sticks, had begun to be written down more frequently.[lower-alpha 11][14]

The first full scorecards since the match between Kent and England in 1744, date from the 1772 season. These are now generally considered to be the first matches to have first-class cricket status.

More information Year, Name ...

See also

Notes

  1. Some sources style the side which played against London as being Slindon, others as a combined Surrey and Sussex side or a Surrey side. Players from both Surrey and Sussex played in the match.[24]
  2. During this time period, England sides were not representative of the country. Instead, they were sides composed of players from a range of locations brought together to play against another side.[25]
  3. Bryan or Bryant, spellings of the surname vary.[54]
  4. It is unclear which of the Bryant brothers played in the match between London and a Surrey and Sussex side.[24] CricketArchive credits John Bryant with the appearance.
  5. Hodsoll's surname has also been spelled Hodswell.
  6. Bennett is spelled Bennet in some sources.
  7. There were two players of the same name who cannot be distinguished.
  8. Lascoe's surname has also been spelled Lasco.[28]
  9. Eures's surname is sometimes spelled Ewres.[28]
  10. Also spelled Garret.
  11. The scorecard of the game in which Minshull scored his century at Sevenoaks Vine in 1769 is incomplete but records his score of 107.[72]

References

  1. Altham, p. 21.
  2. McCann, p. xxxi.
  3. Altham, p. 22.
  4. McCann, p. xxxiii–xxxiv.
  5. Major, p. 28.
  6. Bowen, p. 262.
  7. Major, p. 32.
  8. Underdown, p. 13.
  9. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1963, p. 178.
  10. Haygarth, p. vi.
  11. McCann, p.liii.
  12. Buckley 1935, p. 48.
  13. Bowen, p. 48.
  14. Waghorn 1906, p. 6.
  15. Major, pp. 46–48.
  16. Maun, p. 29.
  17. McCann, pp. lii–liii.
  18. Birley, p. 18.
  19. Major, pp. 46–50.
  20. Sir William Gage, CricInfo. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  21. Underdown, p. 38.
  22. Waghorn 1906, p. 31.
  23. Ashley-Cooper, p. 22.
  24. Birley, p. 364.
  25. Ashley-Cooper, p. 35.
  26. Ashley-Cooper, p. 67.
  27. Ashley-Cooper, p. 84.
  28. Buckley 1935, p. 3.
  29. Ashley-Cooper, p. 85.
  30. Major, p. 47.
  31. Bowen, p. 263.
  32. Waghorn 1899, p. 1.
  33. Birley, p. 22.
  34. Waghorn 1906, p. 10.
  35. Waghorn 1899, p. 3.
  36. Birley, p. 23.
  37. Waghorn 1899, p. 7.
  38. Waghorn 1899, p. 8.
  39. Buckley 1935, p. 10.
  40. Buckley 1935, p. 11.
  41. Waghorn 1899, p. 13.
  42. McCann, p. lxxii.
  43. Waghorn 1899, p. 18.
  44. Buckley 1935, p. 15.
  45. Ashley-Cooper, p. 37.
  46. Ashley-Cooper, p. 52.
  47. Maun, p. 99.
  48. McCann, p. lxvi.
  49. Ashley-Cooper, p. 83.
  50. Maun, pp. 106–107.
  51. Ashley-Cooper, p. 69.
  52. Maun, p. 108.
  53. McCann, pp. 26–27.
  54. Ashley-Cooper, p. 21.
  55. Buckley 1935, p. 17.
  56. John Bryant, CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  57. Waghorn 1900, p. 13.
  58. Maun, p. 117.
  59. Ashley-Cooper, p. 68.
  60. Haygarth, p. 1.
  61. John Mills, CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 December 2019. (subscription required)
  62. Ashley-Cooper, p. 36.
  63. Ashley-Cooper, p. 53.
  64. Ashley-Cooper, p. 51.
  65. McCann, p. 41.
  66. Ashley-Cooper, pp. 84–85.
  67. Ashley-Cooper, pp. 52–53.
  68. Haygarth, p. 18.
  69. Underdown.
  70. Liverman D, Griffiths P (2004) From Minshull to Collins, CricInfo, 12 May 2004. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
  71. Williamson M (2009) Cricket's first centurion, CricInfo, 12 April 2009. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
  72. Buckley 1935, p. 33.
  73. Waghorn 1899, p. 53.
  74. Gill, CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  75. Haygarth, pp. 2–3.
  76. Haygarth, p. 43.
  77. Buckley 1935, p. 38.
  78. Buckley 1935, p. 39.
  79. Nyren, p. 57.
  80. Haygarth, pp. 241–242.
  81. Mote, p. 164.
  82. Waghorn 1899, p. 57.
  83. Haygarth, p. 34.
  84. Haygarth, p. 23.
  85. Waghorn 1899, p. 59.
  86. Haygarth, p. 55.
  87. Haygarth, p. 126.
  88. Buckley 1935, p. 47.
  89. Haygarth, p. 59.
  90. Haygarth, p. 58.
  91. Haygarth, p. 4.
  92. Haygarth, p. 98.
  93. Haygarth, p. 44.
  94. Haygarth, p. 39.
  95. Waghorn 1906, pp. 31–33.
  96. Haygarth, p. 27.
  97. Duke of Dorset's XI v Wrotham, 31 August 1769, CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 January 2023. (subscription required)
  98. Buckley 1937, pp. 6–7.
  99. McCann, p. 77.
  100. Haygarth, p. 40.

Bibliography

  • Altham, H. S. (1962). A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914). George Allen & Unwin.
  • Ashley-Cooper, F. S. (1900) At the Sign of the Wicket: Cricket 1742–1751, Cricket. (Available online at The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 2023-01-15.)
  • 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. (1935). Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket. Cotterell.
  • Buckley, G. B. (1937). Fresh Light on pre-Victorian Cricket. Cotterell.
  • Haygarth, Arthur (1862). Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826). Lillywhite.
  • McCann, Tim (2004). Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century. Sussex Record Society. (Available online at the HathiTrust. Retrieved 2023-01-14.)
  • Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. HarperCollins.
  • Maun, Ian (2009). From Commons to Lord's, Volume One: 1700 to 1750. Roger Heavens. ISBN 978-1-900592-52-9.
  • Mote, Ashley (1997). The Glory Days of Cricket. Robson.
  • Nyren, John (1998). Ashley Mote (ed.). The Cricketers of my Time. Robson.
  • Underdown, David (2000). Start of Play. Allen Lane.
  • Waghorn, H. T. (1899). Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730–1773). Blackwood.
  • Waghorn, H. T. (1906). The Dawn of Cricket. Electric Press.

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