1761 English cricket season

1761 English cricket season

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Some details have survived of four eleven-a-side matches in the 1761 English cricket season, though none of their results are known. ^{[note 1]} The famous Chertsey Cricket Club was active but overall there was again a scarcity of games, probably because of the war situation.

Matches

Only four significant matches are on record, ^[5] but none of their results are known. Essex v Kent, on 27 June, was announced in the Ipswich Journal of the previous Saturday, 20 June, as: 11 men of Kent v. the best 11 of Essex. The precise venue was The Crown in Billericay. ^[6]

On 1 July, Chertsey v Dartford at Laleham Burway was for 20 guineas a side. Chertsey had three given men: William Piper, Charles Sears and Thomas Woods. The latter is interesting given the confusion over players called Wood or Woods in the 1770s; there was a Surrey player at that time who was variously called John Wood or Thomas Wood. The Whitehall Evening Post on Saturday 27 June said: Great sport is expected as they are accounted as good 22 men as any in England. ^[6] Chertsey were then to play Richmond 31 August on Richmond Green. The stakes were £20 a side. ^[7]

The last match on 28 September was Chertsey v Hampton on Laleham Burway. This was announced in the Whitehall Evening Post on Saturday, 26 September. Hampton had Charles Sears, John Haynes, and Shock White as given men. The enigmatic Shock White, who was a Brentford man, is not to be confused with Thomas White of Reigate. ^[6]

Other events

Thursday, 2 July. The Whitehall Evening Post reported the death of Mr George Smith on Monday, 29 June at The Castle in Marlborough. ^[6] He was formerly the keeper of the Artillery Ground and the landlord of the adjoining Pyed Horse in Chiswell Street.

Tuesday, 7 July. The Leeds Intelligencer (now the Yorkshire Post ) announced a game to be played at Chapeltown the following Thursday (9 July) and this is the first game known of in the Leeds area. Sheffield had been a known centre of Yorkshire cricket since 1751.

Saturday, 18 July. The General Evening Post reported that part of the walls of Bunhill Fields Burial Ground and the Artillery Ground will shortly be taken down to widen that part of the City Road. ^[6] See also 28 August 1776.

Thursday, 3 September. The General Evening Post announced an odds game in Essex with 22 of the county to play the Dartford XI. This is the first known instance of 22 playing against 11. Dartford were to have Tom Faulkner and Durling as given men. ^[8]

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. 23.
6. Buckley 1935, pp. 39–40.
7. Waghorn 2005, p. 31.
8. Buckley 1937, p. 3.

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.
• Buckley, G. B. (1937). Fresh Light on pre-Victorian Cricket. Birmingham: Cotterell & Co. OCLC   23469107.
• Waghorn, H. T. (2005) [1906]. The Dawn of Cricket. London: J. W. McKenzie. ISBN   978-09-47821-17-3.

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).