Start date 1730 | ||
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The 1730 cricket season was the 133rd in England since the earliest known definite reference to cricket in January 1597 (i.e., Old Style – 1598 New Style). Details have survived of fourteen important matches and four notable single wicket matches.
Contents
- Important matches
- Single wicket
- County cricket
- Other events
- Counties
- Clubs and teams
- Players
- Venues
- Additional reading
- References
The most noticeable aspect of the season is that it had the largest number of matches recorded to date, with much more coverage in the newspapers than in any previous season. The most significant aspect of the time, however, was the growing importance of the sport in metropolitan London and its surrounding areas. The Artillery Ground entered the historical record for the first time and it is clear that London Cricket Club was establishing predominance over its rivals, which were all representative of counties with teams called Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex all active.
Important matches
The following matches are classified as important:
Single wicket
Thursday, 28 May. Four men of Kent played four of Brentford for £50 in a single wicket match at Westerham Common in Kent, "articles being drawn to play or pay".
Thursday, 4 June. The return match of the above, also for £50, was scheduled at Kew Green.
Monday, 29 June. There was a "two threes" single wicket match for £50 at Mickleham Downs in Surrey between three men of Surrey and three of Sussex. The newspaper report says the players were "esteemed the best in the respective counties" but does not name them. The Sussex three won.
Wednesday, 26 August. Edwin Stead and three colleagues played a four-a-side single wicket match against four Brentford men on Walworth Common "for a considerable wager". The Brentford men won. Given Stead's Kent connection, this may have been a decider following the games on 28 May and 4 June (see above).
County cricket
As was generally the case through the 1720s in the time of its noted patron Edwin Stead, the "Champion County" per se would have been Kent. By process of elimination using the known results, Kent seems to have been the strongest county team in 1730. Surrey had beaten Middlesex early in the season but lost twice to London in August. London played Kent three times: one result is unknown, one was apparently a draw (arguably the earliest known drawn game) and the other was won by Kent. The drawn game between Kent and London is significant in this. The St James Evening Post on Saturday, 8 August reported: "'Twas thought that the Kentish champions would have lost their honours by being beat at one innings if time had permitted". This is the first time that a team is called the "champions" while "losing their honours" suggests loss of a title.
Other events
During April, there were reports in a number of journals about the 2nd Duke of Richmond and other members of the nobility playing cricket in Hyde Park. One such report on Tuesday, 7 April, stated: "His Grace the Duke of Richmond, and several other young Noblemen and gentlemen, have begun to divert themselves each Morning at the Play of Cricket in Hide (sic) Park, and design to pursue that wholesome Exercise every fair Morning during the Spring". A report on Wednesday, 22 April, mentioned an intention to play a match for 100 guineas, but no further details have been found.
Monday, 17 August. A twelve-a-side game was played at Tonbridge and "backed by a great many of the noblemen and gentry of that place". It seems to have been a tight contest which was unfinished on the day, so another date was chosen for the conclusion, but nothing further is known.
Friday, 2 October. A match on Datchet Heath, near Windsor, is the first reference to cricket in the county of Buckinghamshire. Note that Datchet is now in Berkshire.