Chertsey Cricket Club

Chertsey Cricket Club, based at Chertsey in Surrey, is one of the oldest cricket clubs in England. Its own website dates its founding as 1737, ^[1] but five matches involving a Chertsey team took place in 1736, and one in 1737. Chertsey had a top-class team in the 18th century, playing in some forty or more matches that are recognised as important. ^{[2] [note 1]}

The 18th century team played its home matches on the Laleham Burway ground in Chertsey. Its opponents included prominent clubs like Croydon, Dartford, Hambledon, and London, as well as county teams and England. Chertsey produced several famous players in the 18th century, including William Yalden, Lumpy Stevens, Thomas Quiddington, and John Wood. The club's main patron was Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville, who was a keen player, and apparently a good fielder.

Modern club

Today, the Chertsey club is based at the Sir Edward Stern Sports Ground, and its team plays in the Surrey County League. ^[1]

Notes

1. Some eleven-a-side matches played from 1772 to 1863 have been rated "first-class" by certain sources. ^[3] 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. ^[4] Matches of a similar standard since the beginning of the 1864 season are generally considered to have an unofficial first-class status. ^[5] Pre-1864 matches which are included in the ACS' "Important Match Guide" may generally be regarded as important or, at least, historically significant. ^[6] For further information, see First-class cricket.

References

1. "Chertsey Cricket Club". Chertsey CCC. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
2. ACS 1981, pp. 20–26.
3. "First-Class Matches in England in 1772" . CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
4. Wisden (1948). Preston, Hubert (ed.). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (85th ed.). London: Sporting Handbooks Ltd. p. 813. OCLC   851705816.
5. ACS 1982, pp. 4–5.
6. ACS 1981, pp. 1–40.

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.
• Haygarth, Arthur (1996) [1862]. Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826). Kennington: Frederick Lillywhite. ISBN   978-19-00592-23-9.
• Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. London: HarperCollins. ISBN   978-00-07183-64-7 – via Internet Archive.
• Maun, Ian (2009). From Commons to Lord's, Volume One: 1700 to 1750. Cambridge: Roger Heavens. ISBN   978-19-00592-52-9.
• Maun, Ian (2011). From Commons to Lord's, Volume Two: 1751 to 1770. Leicester: Martin Wilson. ISBN   978-09-56906-60-1.
• Waghorn, H. T. (1899). Cricket Scores, Notes, &c. From 1730–1773. Edinburgh: Blackwood. OCLC   1086375331.
• Waghorn, H. T. (2005) [1906]. The Dawn of Cricket. London: J. W. McKenzie. ISBN   978-09-47821-17-3.