Start date 1743 | ||
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The 1743 cricket season was the 146th in England since the earliest known definite reference to cricket in January 1597 (i.e., Old Style – 1598 New Style). Details have survived of 18 important eleven-a-side and three single wicket matches. A significant development was the rise of Woburn Cricket Club, who beat London 2-1 in a tri-series played in May and June.
Contents
The heavy modern-type ball with wound core and thick leather cover may have come into use about this time for it is recorded that Mr Clout was by then active in Sevenoaks as "the first cricket ball maker of any pretention".
The well known painting The Cricket Match by Francis Hayman (1708–1786) dates from this year. It now hangs at Lord’s. It apparently depicts a game at the Artillery Ground and shows a "tall" two stump wicket. The batsman has a bat that is distinctly hockey shaped; the ball has been trundled but appears to be "off the ground" so perhaps it was a quicker skimmed delivery; and in the foreground is a scorer notching the tally.
From the same year comes An Exact Representation of the Game of Cricket by Louis Philippe Boitard (c.1733 – c. 1767). This now hangs in the Tate Gallery.
Important matches
The following matches are classified as important:
Single wicket
Mon 11 July. A three-a-side game was played at the Artillery Ground and the six players were stated to be the best in England. They were William Hodsoll (Dartford), John Cutbush (Maidstone) and Val Romney (Sevenoaks) playing as Three of Kent; and Richard Newland (Slindon), William Sawyer (Richmond) and John Bryant (Bromley) playing as Three of All-England. Hodsoll and Newland were captains. Kent won by 2 runs. The London Evening Post says the crowd was computed (sic) to be 10,000. A return match was arranged at Sevenoaks Vine on Wed 27 July but it did not come off. The Daily Advertiser of Thurs 7 July says that Ridgeway was to play alongside Hodsoll and Romney. Then, on Fri 8 July, John Cutbush, known to have been a clockmaker from Maidstone, was named instead of Ridgeway.
Tues 16 August. A five a side game on Richmond Green between Five of Richmond and Five of London. Wickets were pitched at one o’clock on forfeiture of fifty pounds.
Mon 29 August. A five a side game at the Artillery Ground between Five of London and Five of Richmond. Wickets were pitched at two o’clock and the prize was "a considerable sum".
Other events
Mon 6 June. A game between Shacklewell and Westminster played at The Cock in Shacklewell, near Stoke Newington. This is evidence of the involvement of the brewing industry in the sport; a number of grounds, ranging from Broadhalfpenny Down to Trent Bridge, were established on fields adjacent to inns and taverns.
Thurs 16 June. A game on Walworth Common in which Bermondsey defeated Deptford & King’s Yard by an innings and 27 runs. Clearly a minor fixture but Mr Ashley-Cooper helpfully explains that Walworth Common was situated where Westmoreland Road, Faraday Street and Mann Street stood in 1900. The ground was about three-quarters of a mile from where the Bee Hive Ground afterwards existed. At the end of the 18th century, Walworth was the home of the Montpelier Cricket Club who played on Aram’s New Ground.