1737 English cricket season

1737 English cricket season

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In the 1737 English cricket season, Frederick, Prince of Wales was a significant patron, while Kent, who twice defeated a combined London and Surrey team, was the strongest county. Details of 14 matches are known. ^{[note 1]}

Kent v London & Surrey

A London and Surrey combine, sponsored by the Prince of Wales, played two matches against Kent, sponsored by Lord John Philip Sackville. ^[5]

There was crowd trouble at the first match, played 15 June on Kennington Common. One report says: "the Mob outrageously threw Dirt, Dung, etc. on Account of the people's entering within the Line". ^[6] A week later, a man called John Smith died from complications of a wound caused when he was hit by one of the stones being thrown. ^[7] Another report says "the Press (i.e., crowd pressure) was so great" that a woman suffered a broken leg "by the Crowd bearing upon her". ^[6] Kent scored 99 and 70/7 declared. Surrey replied with 31 and 98, so Kent won by 40 runs. ^[8]

The return match was played 6 July on Bromley Common. According to a newspaper report, Kent "maintained their honour, and beat their adversaries at one hands", which means they won by an innings. ^{[7] [9]}

Essex v London

On 25 July, London defeated Essex by 45 runs at the Artillery Ground. They met again on 1 August at an unknown venue in Ilford, where Essex won by 7 runs. This is the earliest known organised match that was definitely played in the county of Essex. ^{[10] [5]}

London v Surrey

A Surrey v London match, to be played 27 July on Moulsey Hurst, was organised by the Prince of Wales (Surrey) and the 3rd Duke of Marlborough (London) for £500 a side. It was announced by the General Evening Post on Thursday, 21 July, but no report of the game has been found. ^{[10] [5]}

Chertsey v London

On 6 September, London defeated Chertsey by 5 wickets at Moulsey Hurst. The match was reported by the Grub Street Journal . A Chertsey player broke a finger, and this had a bearing on the result. Chertsey scored 45 and 66. London scored 81 and 31/5. ^{[8] [11] [5]}

Single wicket

In August, two unnamed players, one from Wandsworth and one from Mitcham, described as "two of the most celebrated sportsmen in the game", played a match on Kennington Common. The Mitcham man was hit by the ball in his first innings and concussed for a time. He continued but was "beaten by a considerable number of notches". ^[12]

Other events

Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, was a noted patron of cricket in 1737.

In May, there was a tragic incident in a local 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 Boots to drop down dead as he was running to his wicket. This was recorded in a number of sources. McCann found a reference in the West Sussex Record Office which named John Boots and said he was buried on Tuesday, 31 May at Chailey. Chailey and Newick are neighbouring parishes just to the north of Lewes in East Sussex. ^{[10] [13]}

In June or July, the 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 and was not an important match. ^{[14] [15]}

Stansted v Hertford on Wednesday, 6 July, is the earliest known match in Hertfordshire. Stansted won. ^[16]

Another minor "aristocrats only" game was played Thursday, 14 July on Kew Green. The captains were the Prince of Wales and the 3rd Duke of Marlborough. The Prince of Wales XI won. ^[15]

The General Evening Post on Tuesday, 2 August, announced a game at Kew Green to be played on Thursday, 4 August. ^[5] The Prince of Wales was due to play, and lead a team of noblemen against London, but it was probably members of the London Club rather than its professional players, so it would have been another minor match. ^[11] G. B. Buckley says it is doubtful if the match was ever played as Frederick's first child Princess Augusta (1737–1813) was born "on Aug. 3" (sic) and this occasioned "great rejoicings in London". The Prince provided beer for the populace but "one lot of it was too bad to drink". ^[11] In fact, Augusta was born on Sunday, 31 July.

Hertford v Brentwood played Friday, 12 August at Ware, Hertfordshire is the second known match in the county, only five weeks after the first. Brentwood won by 6 runs for a £200 prize. ^[17]

A match "betwixt the men of Kent and the Gentlemen of London, within the Bills of Mortality" was pre-announced for 27 September on Kennington Common, but no post-match report has been found. ^{[18] [5]}

Notes

1. Some eleven-a-side matches played from 1772 to 1863 have been rated "first-class" by certain sources. ^[1] However, the term only came into common use around 1864, when overarm bowling was legalised. It was formally defined as a standard by a meeting at Lord's, in May 1894, of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the county clubs which were then competing in the County Championship. The ruling was effective from the beginning of the 1895 season, but pre-1895 matches of the same standard have no official definition of status because the ruling is not retrospective. ^[2] Matches of a similar standard since the beginning of the 1864 season are generally considered to have an unofficial first-class status. ^[3] Pre-1864 matches which are included in the ACS' "Important Match Guide" may generally be regarded as top-class or, at least, historically significant. ^[4] For further information, see First-class cricket.

References

1. "First-Class matches in England in 1772" . CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
2. Wisden (1948). Preston, Hubert (ed.). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (85th ed.). London: Sporting Handbooks Ltd. p. 813. OCLC   851705816.
3. ACS 1982, pp. 4–5.
4. ACS 1981, pp. 1–40.
5. ACS 1981, p. 20.
6. Maun 2009, p. 86.
7. Waghorn 1899, p. 19.
8. Waghorn 1899, pp. 17–18.
9. Maun 2009, pp. 86–87.
10. Buckley 1935, p. 14.
11. Buckley 1935, p. 15.
12. Maun 2009, p. 89.
13. McCann 2004, p. 16.
14. McCann 2004, p. 17.
15. Waghorn 1899, p. 18.
16. Maun 2009, p. 87.
17. Maun 2009, p. 88.
18. Maun 2009, p. 90.

Bibliography

• ACS (1981). A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709–1863. Nottingham: ACS. OCLC   85045528.
• ACS (1982). A Guide to First-class Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles. Nottingham: ACS. OCLC   10586869.
• Buckley, G. B. (1935). Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket. Birmingham: Cotterell & Co. OCLC   23450280.
• Maun, Ian (2009). From Commons to Lord's, Volume One: 1700 to 1750. Cambridge: Roger Heavens. ISBN   978-19-00592-52-9.
• McCann, Tim (2004). Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century (PDF). Vol. 88. Lewes: West Sussex Record Office. ISBN   978-08-54450-55-8.
• Waghorn, H. T. (1899). Cricket Scores, Notes, &c. From 1730–1773. Edinburgh: Blackwood. OCLC   1086375331.

Further reading

• Altham, H. S.; Swanton, E. W. (1962). A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914) (5th ed.). London: George Allen & Unwin. OCLC   894274808.
• Birley, Derek (1999). A Social History of English Cricket. London: Aurum Press. ISBN   978-18-54107-10-7 – via Internet Archive.
• Bowen, Rowland (1970). Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode. ISBN   978-04-13278-60-9.
• Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. London: HarperCollins. ISBN   978-00-07183-64-7 – via Internet Archive.
• Wilson, Martin (2005). An Index to Waghorn. London: Bodyline Books (limited edition, by subscription only).