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Kent County Cricket Club is one of the eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Kent. The club was first founded in 1842 but teams representing the county have played top-class cricket since the early 18th century and the club has always held first-class status. Kent have competed in the County Championship since the official start of the competition in 1890 and have played in every top-level domestic cricket competition in England. The club's limited overs team is called the Kent Spitfires after the Supermarine Spitfire.
The earliest definite reference to cricket is dated Monday, 17 January 1597. It is a deposition in the records of a legal case at Guildford, Surrey, 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. Derrick's testimony makes clear that the sport was being played c.1550, but its true origin is a mystery. All that can be said with a fair degree of certainty is that its beginning was earlier than 1550, somewhere in south-east England within the counties of Kent, Sussex and Surrey. Unlike other games with batsmen, bowlers and fielders, such as stoolball and rounders, cricket can only be played on relatively short grass, especially as the ball was delivered along the ground until the 1760s. Therefore, forest clearings and land where sheep had grazed would have been suitable places to play.
The years from 1726 to 1763 are the period in which cricket established itself as a leading 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 to 1763. Having been essentially a rural pastime for well over a century before the Restoration in 1660, cricket became a focus for wealthy patrons and gamblers whose interests were to fund its growth throughout the 18th century. Their investment poured money into the game and created the earliest county teams, the first professionals and the first important clubs, all participating in games that have important match status.
The original London Cricket Club was formed by 1722 and was one of the foremost clubs in English cricket over the next four decades, holding important match status. It is closely associated with the Artillery Ground, where it played most of its home matches.
Dartford Cricket Club is one of the oldest cricket clubs in England with origins which date from the early 18th century, perhaps earlier. The earliest known match involving a team from Dartford took place in 1722, against London, but the club's own website says it was formally established in 1727. The club is still in existence and now plays in the Kent Cricket League.
Frederick Martin, also known as Fred Martin and Nutty Martin, was an English professional cricketer who bowled left-arm medium-pace spin. Martin played first-class cricket between 1885 and 1892, primarily for Kent County Cricket Club, and appeared twice in Test matches for the England cricket team. He was considered one the best left-arm spin bowlers in the country between 1889 and 1891.
Kennington Common was a large area of common land mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth. The area was notable for being one of the earliest venues for cricket within London and top-class matches were played there from 1724 to 1785. The common was also used for public executions, fairs and public gatherings.
Valentine "Val" Romney was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket during the 1740s. A specialist batsman, he was mainly associated with Kent sides but also represented All-England. Although information about his career is limited by a lack of surviving data, he is known to have made 11 single wicket and 14 eleven-a-side appearances between 1743 and 1751.
In English cricket since the first half of the 18th century, various ad hoc teams have been formed for short-term purposes which have been called England to play against, say, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) or an individual county team. The key factor is that they were non-international and there is a significant difference between them and the official England cricket team which takes part in international fixtures. Conceptually, there is evidence of this sort of team being formed, or at least mooted, since the 1730s. They have always been "occasional elevens" but, nevertheless, have invariably been strong sides. A typical example would be a selection consisting of leading players drawn from several county teams.
Kent county cricket teams have been traced back to the 17th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. Kent, jointly with Sussex, is 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. Several famous players and patrons were involved in Kent cricket from then until the creation of the first county club in 1842. Among them were William Bedle, Robert Colchin and the 3rd Duke of Dorset. Kent were generally regarded as the strongest county team in the first half of the 18th century and were always one of the main challengers to the dominance of Hambledon in the second half. County cricket ceased through the Napoleonic War and was resurrected in 1826 when Kent played Sussex. By the 1830s, Kent had again become the strongest county and remained so until mid-century.
The 1747 English cricket season was the fourth season following the earliest known codification of the Laws of Cricket.
The 1750 English cricket season was the seventh season following the earliest known codification of the Laws of Cricket. Details have survived of six eleven-a-side matches between significant teams, including three inter-county matches played between Kent and Surrey.
The 1752 English cricket season was the ninth season following the earliest known codification of the Laws of Cricket. Details have survived of 12 eleven-a-side matches between significant teams.
Addington Cricket Club fielded one of the strongest cricket teams in England from about the 1743 season to the 1752 season although the village of Addington is a very small place in Surrey about three miles south-east of Croydon. The team was of county strength and featured the noted players Tom Faulkner, Joe Harris, John Harris, George Jackson and Durling. The team immediately accepted the Slindon Challenge, in 1744, to play against any parish in England. The only other club to accept was Robert Colchin's Bromley.
Bromley Cricket Club was one of the strongest English cricket clubs in the mid-18th century when its team was led by Robert Colchin a.k.a. "Long Robin".
Hadlow Cricket Club was one of the early English cricket clubs, formed in the early to mid eighteenth century. Hadlow is a village in the Medway valley near Tonbridge in Kent.
Slindon Cricket Club was famous in the middle part of the 18th century when it claimed to have the best team in England. It was located at Slindon, a village in the Arun district of Sussex.
Richmond Cricket Club was based in Richmond and was a leading club during the 18th century. Its home venue was at Richmond Green. It ceased to exist sometime after 1805. The current Richmond club, which plays in the Middlesex County Cricket League, was founded in 1862.
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.
Chatham Cricket Club was founded by 1705 in Chatham, Kent. The first reference to its team is a match against West of Kent in August 1705. There is a specific reference to a "Chatham Club" in a description of a single wicket match in 1754.
References
- 1 2 F S Ashley-Cooper, At the Sign of the Wicket: Cricket 1742-1751, Cricket Magazine, 1900
- ↑ G B Buckley, Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket, Cotterell, 1935