1776 English cricket season

1776 English cricket season

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According to Rowland Bowen, the earliest known scorecard templates were introduced in the 1776 English cricket season. These were printed by T. Pratt of Sevenoaks, and soon came into general use. Details of seven important matches are known. ^{[note 1]}

Hampshire v Kent

Hampshire and Kent played each other four times in June and July. ^[5]

5 to 7 June

Sevenoaks Vine cricket ground.

The first match was on Moulsey Hurst, and Hampshire won by 152 runs. ^[6] The stake was 500 guineas. Ten batters made scores of 30 or more, but no one reached 50. William Brazier top-scored with 49. John Small (38 and 44) scored the most runs in the match. The best bowlers were Richard May and Thomas Brett. ^[7]

25 and 26 June

Hampshire won the second match on Sevenoaks Vine by 75 runs. ^[8] Hampshire scored 241 and 84; Kent in reply made 173 and 77. The highest individual innings was 70 by Richard Nyren. Haygarth commented that, in other accounts, Kent was called "England", but it was in fact Kent with Lumpy Stevens and Thomas White of Surrey as given men. ^[9]

2 to 4 July

The teams met again on Broadhalfpenny Down where Kent won by 4 wickets. ^[10] Hampshire scored 87 (Lumpy 4w) and 221 (John Small 57, Richard Nyren 36; Thomas White 4w, Lumpy 3w); Kent made 163 (William Brazier 36, Duke of Dorset 34, William Bowra 31; Thomas Brett 3w) and 146/6 (John Boorman 38*, Thomas White 38; Richard Francis 4w). Hampshire used a substitute batsman in the second innings with Mr T. Davis replacing the injured Tom Brett, but he made only 0* so had little impact on the outcome. ^[11]

The final day of the match was Thursday, 4 July 1776. Across the Atlantic, the Declaration of Independence was signed by the thirteen English colonies that formed the original United States of America. ^[12]

15 to 17 July

Broadhalfpenny Down

The teams returned to Sevenoaks Vine for their final match, which Hampshire won by 6 wickets. ^[13] Kent scored 154 in their first innings, and dismissed Hampshire for 130. Hampshire's total included 59 not out by John Small. Kent were all out for 69 in the second innings, and Hampshire scored 94/4 to win, George Leer making 47*. ^[11]

Hampshire v England

From 22 to 24 July, Hampshire met England on the little-known Cheden Holt, which is just outside Hambledon. Hampshire scored 88 and 113; England scored 135 and 67/5 to win by 5 wickets. ^[14] Haygarth was puzzled by the venue, which he recorded as Holt Common. He added that he "cannot now say" if it was the usual Hambledon venue at Broadhalfpenny, or another place. ^[15]

Hampshire v Surrey

6 to 8 August

Surrey hosted Hampshire over three days on Laleham Burway, and won the match by one wicket. ^[16] Hampshire scored 94 and 176 (James Aylward 82*); Surrey scored 141 and 130/9. James Aylward normally opened the innings, so it is possible he carried his bat when making 82*. The match must have had an exciting finish as Surrey's two not out batsmen both scored 19. ^{[17] [18]}

26 to 28 August

The teams played another three-day match on Broadhalfpenny Down. This time, Hampshire won by 198 runs. ^[19] They batted first, and scored 273, of which John Small made 85 and James Aylward 45. Surrey were dismissed for 82, Richard Nyren taking a 5wI (five all bowled). Hampshire's second innings total was 155 (Aylward 59, Small 35), and they completed the match by dismissing Surrey for 148. Details were obtained from the Hampshire Chronicle. ^[20]

Other events

According to John Arlott in his Arlott on Cricket (quoting an unnamed source): "On Wednesday, 19 June 1776, on Tichborne Down, Alresford with three of Waltham and two of Warnford v Petersfield and Catherington with the famous Messrs Small, Brett and Barber and H. Bonham Esq." Arlott comments: "Although no result is recorded, these matches, invariably played for wagers, were based on teams of more or less even strength; and to set three such eminent Hambledon players on the other team means that Alresford must have been immensely powerful". ^[21]

A notice in the Leicester Journal of 17 August is the earliest known mention of cricket in Leicestershire. ^[22]

On 19 August, London and Brentford were to play a match on the Artillery Ground, but no report has been found. ^[23]

A notice about the Artillery Ground was published in the Morning Chronicle of Wednesday, 28 August. It reads: "The old wall of the Artillery Ground extending from the end of Chiswell Street to the Bunhill Burial Ground is about to be pulled down and a new one built farther back, and in front of the new road a row of houses is to be erected". See also 18 July in the 1761 season. ^[24]

Coulsdon arranged two matches in September, against Chertsey and London, but neither has a known result. ^[25]

The earliest known scorecard templates were introduced in 1776 by T. Pratt, a Sevenoaks printer, and soon came into general use. ^[22]

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 important or, at least, historically significant. ^[4] For further information, see First-class cricket.

References

1. "FC 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. 25.
6. "Hampshire v Kent" . CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
7. Ashley-Cooper 1924, p. 179.
8. "Kent v Hampshire" . CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
9. Haygarth 1996, p. 27.
10. "Hampshire v Kent" . CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
11. Haygarth 1996, p. 28.
12. The U.S. State Department (1911), The Declaration of Independence, 1776, pp. 10–11.
13. "Kent v Hampshire" . CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
14. "Hampshire v England" . CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
15. Haygarth 1996, p. 29.
16. "Surrey v Hampshire" . CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
17. Buckley 1935, p. 79.
18. Ashley-Cooper 1924, p. 180.
19. "Hampshire v Surrey" . CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
20. Haygarth 1996, p. 30.
21. Arlott 1984, pp. 73–74.
22. Bowen 1970, p. 266.
23. Buckley 1935, p. 80.
24. Buckley 1935, p. 40.
25. Waghorn 2005, p. 46.

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 FC Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles. Nottingham: ACS. OCLC   10586869.
• Arlott, John (1984). Arlott on Cricket. London: Harper Collins. ISBN   978-00-02180-82-5.
• Ashley-Cooper, F. S. (1924). Hambledon Cricket Chronicle: 1772–1796. London: Jenkins. OCLC   38498574.
• Bowen, Rowland (1970). Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode. ISBN   978-04-13278-60-9.
• Buckley, G. B. (1935). Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket. Birmingham: Cotterell & Co. OCLC   23450280.
• Haygarth, Arthur (1996) [1862]. Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826). Kennington: Frederick Lillywhite. ISBN   978-19-00592-23-9.
• 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.
• 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).