1767 English cricket season

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1767 English cricket season
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There are reports of Hambledon's success continuing through the 1767 English cricket season. The team staged some remarkable batting performances, but little is known of them. [note 1]

Contents

Caterham v Hambledon

Hambledon played three matches against Caterham, [5] whose patron was Henry Rowett. The first two were played towards the end of September, and Hambledon won them both by considerable margins. [6]

The first match took place "near Croydon", and Hambledon won by 262 runs, a huge margin for the times. Hambledon reportedly had a partnership of 192 which was described in a contemporary report as "the greatest thing ever known". This is the earliest century partnership on record, but the primary sources do not name the two batters. The game was played for 200 guineas. [6]

Hambledon had another big win, 28 and 29 September, on Broadhalfpenny Down, this time by 224 runs. No other details have survived. [6] The third match was played 14 October on Caterham Common for a stake of £100. Perhaps surprisingly, given the results of the two previous games, this was won by Caterham. [6]

Other matches

Greenwich v London
6 July at Blackheath. [5]
London won by 2 runs. [6]
Afterwards, "an elegant dinner was provided at the Assembly Rooms". [6]
Hampshire v Sussex
4 August on Broadhalfpenny Down. [5]
Hampshire won. [7]
No details are known other than the outcome, which was given in the Reading Mercury of Monday, 10 August. [7]
Bourne v Surrey
On or about 5 August at Bishopsbourne Paddock. [7]
Result unknown. This was announced in the Kentish Weekly Post on 5 August. The Bourne Club (Sir Horace Mann's team) had four given men so may have had a very useful team. The announcement says: "Wickets to be pitched at 10 so the match may be played out that day on account of the Assizes". It is not known what date "that day" was. The Surrey may have been Henry Rowett's Caterham. [7]
Richmond v Kingston
23 September on Richmond Green. [5]
Kingston won by 2 wickets. [6]
Richmond scored 70 and 55; Kingston replied with 71 and 55/8. [6]

Other events

There was a report concerning the "Laws of Cricket" in the Reading Mercury dated Monday, 8 June, which stated: "The Articles of the Game of Cricket as settled in the year 1744 by the Society of Noblemen & Gentlemen at the Star & Garter in Pall Mall, may be had at the Printing Office in reading or of the newsmen, neatly printed on a whole sheet of fine writing paper, price only 3d, or on a pasteboard bordered with marble paper, price 6d". The "Society of Noblemen & Gentlemen" was the organisation that effectively ran cricket and other sports, such as horse racing. It was essentially a social club with sporting interests. They are known to have backed London Cricket Club, and they also formed and subsidised the Jockey Club, and subsequently both the White Conduit Club and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). [7]

On Monday, 17 August, there was a single wicket "fives" game on Richmond Green between Richmond and Brentford. King George III was present and ordered dinner for the players at The Feathers in Richmond. He also awarded a guinea each to the winners, and half a guinea each to the losers. [6]

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. 1 2 3 4 ACS 1981, p. 23.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Waghorn 1899, pp. 61–63.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Buckley 1935, pp. 46–47.

Bibliography

Further reading

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