Start date 1726 | ||
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The 1726 cricket season was the 129th in England since the earliest known definite reference to cricket in January 1597 (i.e., Old Style – 1598 New Style). Details have survived of two important matches and the earliest known single wicket match.
Contents
- Single wicket matches
- Important matches
- Other events
- Counties
- Clubs and teams
- Players
- Venues
- Additional reading
- References
1726 is the first season in which a newspaper report names a participant in a cricket match and the first players mentioned by name were Perry of London and Piper of Hampton who played a single wicket match. The main story of the year, as in some earlier seasons, concerns cricket's relationship with the law, though once again the issue was non-payment of gambling debts.
Single wicket matches
The London Evening Post dated 27 August carried an advertisement for a single wicket match between players called "the noted Perry (of London) and the famous Piper (of Hampton", the earliest definite reference to a single wicket contest. The venue was Moulsey Hurst, near Molesey in Surrey, famous for various sporting activities, especially prizefighting, and was often used for cricket throughout the 18th century.
Important matches
The following matches are classified as important:
Other events
On the subject of legal matters, a letter has survived that was written by an Essex resident. The writer complained that a local Justice of the Peace (JP) had seen fit to literally "read the Riot Act" to some people who were playing cricket on Saturday, 10 September. He had a constable with him who dispersed the players. G. B. Buckley commented that it seems the JP considered any game or sport as a pretence covering the gathering of disaffected people in order to raise a rebellion. Given the ruling by Lord Chief Justice Pratt, who in effect ordered the Chingford v Stead's XI game to be played on Dartford Brent, the issue raised was that it was apparently lawful to play cricket in Kent but not in Essex.