1779 English cricket season

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1779 English cricket season
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The 1779 English cricket season was the eighth in which matches have been awarded retrospective first-class cricket status. The scorecards of five first-class matches have survived.

First-class cricket is an official classification of the highest-standard international or domestic matches in the sport of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adjudged to be worthy of the status by virtue of the standard of the competing teams. Matches must allow for the teams to play two innings each although, in practice, a team might play only one innings or none at all.

Contents

Matches

Five first-class match scorecards survive from 1779, four of them matches between England sides and Hampshire XIs. [1] [2]

Hampshire county cricket teams have been traced back to the 18th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. Given that the first definite mention of cricket anywhere in the world is dated c.1550 in Guildford, in neighbouring Surrey, it is almost certain that the game had reached Hampshire by the 16th century.

Itchin Stoke Down is a rural location near the town of Alresford in Hampshire. It was used as a venue for 13 first-class cricket matches between 1778 and 1806 and as the home of the Alresford Cricket Club.

Surrey county cricket teams have been traced back to the 17th century, but Surrey's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. The first definite mention of cricket anywhere in the world is dated c.1550 in Guildford.

Five other matches are known to have been played during the season, including a match between Kent and Surrey at Bourne Paddock in July which was badly effected by rain. [8] Others include early references to cricket in both Berkshire and Oxfordshire. [9]

Bourne Paddock

Bourne Paddock was a cricket ground at Bourne Park House, the seat of Sir Horatio Mann, at Bishopsbourne around 4 miles (6.4 km) south-east of Canterbury in the English county of Kent. It was a venue for first-class cricket matches from 1766 to 1790.

Berkshire County of England

Berkshire is one of the home counties in England. It was recognised by the Queen as the Royal County of Berkshire in 1957 because of the presence of Windsor Castle, and letters patent were issued in 1974. Berkshire is a county of historic origin, a ceremonial county and a non-metropolitan county without a county council. The county town is Reading.

Oxfordshire County of England

Oxfordshire is a county in South East England. The ceremonial county borders Warwickshire to the north-west, Northamptonshire to the north-east, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, Wiltshire to the south-west and Gloucestershire to the west.

First-class debutants

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References

  1. ↑ Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) (1981) A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709 – 1863. Nottingham: ACS.
  2. ↑ Results, English Domestic Season 1779, CricInfo. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  3. ↑ Hampshire XI v England, scorecard, CricInfo. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  4. ↑ England v Hampshire XI, scorecard, CricInfo. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  5. ↑ Surrey XI v Kent XI, scorecard, CricInfo. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  6. ↑ Hampshire XI v England, scorecard, CricInfo. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  7. ↑ England v Hampshire XI, scorecard, CricInfo. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  8. ↑ Buckley, G. B. (1935). Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket. Cotterell.
  9. ↑ Other matches in England 1778, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2019-02-10.

Further reading

Harry Surtees Altham was an English cricketer who became an important figure in the game as an administrator, historian and coach. His Wisden obituary described him as "among the best known personalities in the world of cricket". He died of a heart attack just after he had given an address to a cricket society.

Sir Derek Birley (31 May 1926 – 14 May 2002) was a distinguished English educationalist and a prize-winning writer on the social history of sport, particularly cricket.

Major Rowland Francis Bowen was a cricket researcher, historian and writer.

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