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Essex County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Essex. Founded in 1876, the club had minor county status until 1894 when it was promoted to first-class status pending its entry into the County Championship in 1895, since then the team has played in every top-level domestic cricket competition in England. Essex currently play all their home games at the County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford. The club has formerly used other venues throughout the county including Lower Castle Park in Colchester, Valentines Park in Ilford, Leyton Cricket Ground, the Gidea Park Sports Ground in Romford, and Garon Park and Southchurch Park, both in Southend. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles.
In the years from 1726 to 1750, cricket became an established sport in London and the south-eastern counties of England. In 1726, it was already a thriving sport in the south east and, though limited by the constraints of travel at the time, it was slowly gaining adherents in other parts of England, its growth accelerating with references being found in many counties. Having been essentially a rural pastime for well over a century, cricket became a focus for wealthy patrons and gamblers whose interests funded its growth throughout the 18th century.
Edwin Stead was a noted patron of English cricket, particularly of Kent teams in the 1720s. He usually captained his teams but nothing is known about his ability as a player. He was born at Harrietsham in Kent and died in London.
Berkshire County Cricket Club is one of twenty National county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Berkshire.
The Sheffield Cricket Club was founded in the 18th century and soon began to play a key role in the development of cricket in northern England. It was the direct forerunner of Yorkshire County Cricket Club and some of the teams fielded by Sheffield were styled Yorkshire. Sheffield generally held first-class status, depending on the quality of their opponents, from 1827 to 1855.
William Brazier was an English cricketer of the late 18th century who played mostly for Kent. He represented various England teams and also played for West Kent. Born at Cudham in Kent, he made his known senior debut in August 1774, playing for Kent against Hampshire at Sevenoaks Vine.
A variety of Kent county cricket teams played matches from the early 18th century until the formation of the original county club in 1842. The county's links to cricket go back further with Kent and Sussex generally accepted as the birthplace of the sport. It is widely believed that cricket was first played by children living on the Weald in Saxon or Norman times. The world's earliest known organised match was held in Kent c.1611 and the county has always been at the forefront of cricket's development through the growth of village cricket in the 17th century to representative matches in the 18th. A Kent team took part in the earliest known inter-county match, which was played on Dartford Brent in 1709.
Berkshire county cricket teams have been traced back to the 18th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that.
County cricket teams representing Middlesex have been traced back to the 18th century, although for long periods the county was secondary to the London Cricket Club which played at the Artillery Ground. Middlesex teams played at various grounds throughout what is now the Greater London area. Islington and Uxbridge were often used but home matches were also played on Kennington Common and in Berkshire. Middlesex teams were less frequent in the 19th century until 1859 when the Walker family of Southgate became involved in county cricket.
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.
The 1787 cricket season in England is noteworthy for the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) after the opening of Thomas Lord's first ground in the parish of Marylebone, north of London. MCC soon became the sport's governing body with the new ground as its feature venue. The first match known to have been played at Lord's was on Monday, 21 May, between the White Conduit Club and a Middlesex county team. The first match known to involve a team representing MCC was against White Conduit on Monday, 30 July. Including these two, reports and/or match scorecards have survived of numerous eleven-a-side matches played in 1787. Eleven are retrospectively, but unofficially, recognised as first-class.
Hornchurch Cricket Club is a cricket club based at Harrow Lodge Park in Hornchurch, England.
The Reverend George Dupuis was an English minister who was active as a cricketer in the 1780s and 1790s, making five known appearances in first-class matches. His batting and bowling styles are unknown.
The earliest definite mention of cricket is dated Monday, 17 January 1597. The reference is in the records of a legal case at Guildford re the use of a parcel of land c.1550 and John Derrick, a coroner, testified that he had at that time played cricket on the land when he was a boy. Cricket may have been a children's game in the 16th century but, about 1610, the earliest known organised match was played and references from that time indicate adult participation. From then to 1725, less than thirty matches are known to have been organised between recognised teams. Similarly, a limited number of players, teams and venues of the period have been recorded.
Representing Brentford, now in Greater London and then in Middlesex, the original Brentford Cricket Club was prominent in the 18th century, taking part in matches from 1730 to 1799. According to surviving records, it had no specific venue and is known to have played at Brentford Court Green, Kew Green, Richmond Green and Walworth Common. Brentford teams are recorded, either individually or jointly with other clubs, in at least twelve matches.
Representing Lingfield in Surrey, Lingfield Cricket Club was prominent in the 18th century, known to have taken part in important matches between 1739 and 1785. They were especially noted in the mid-1740s. According to surviving records, the club is believed to have used Lingfield Common as its home venue in the 18th century. The club has survived and its team currently plays in the Surrey County League; its home venue is Godstone Road, Lingfield.
Cricket must have reached Hertfordshire by the end of the 17th century. The earliest reference to cricket in the county is dated 1732 and is also the earliest reference to Essex as a county team. On Thursday, 6 July 1732, a team called Essex & Hertfordshire played London Cricket Club in a first-class match at Epping Forest "for £50 a side". The result is unknown.
The period from 1776 to 1800 saw significant growth and development in English cricket to the point that it became a popular sport nationwide, having outgrown its origin in the south-eastern counties. Prominent northern clubs were established at Nottingham and Sheffield. The earliest known references have been found for cricket in Canada (1785) and the West Indies. In India, British clubs were founded at Calcutta (1792) and, following the siege there, Seringapatam (1799). In America, the game was popular among soldiers in the revolution and George Washington is known to have played in at least one game.
References
- 1 2 3 G. B. Buckley, Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket, Cotterell, 1935
- ↑ Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1877