Surrey county cricket team (pre-1846)

For the history of Surrey cricket from 1846, see Surrey County Cricket Club.

Surrey

Team information
Established	before 1709
Last match	1845
Home venue	Kennington Common Guildford Bason Moulsey Hurst
History
Notable players	Lumpy Stevens William Yalden Will Palmer Billy Beldham John Wells

Until 1845, the Surrey county cricket team, always known as Surrey, was organised by individual patrons and other groups, particularly Chertsey Cricket Club in the 18th century, and by Montpelier Cricket Club in the 19th. The played important matches ^{[note 1]} from the early 18th century until the formation of Surrey County Cricket Club on 22 August 1845.

16th and 17th centuries

The first definite mention of cricket anywhere in the world is dated c.1550 in Guildford. ^[5] Cricket became established in Surrey during the 17th century, and the earliest village matches took place before the English Civil War. It is believed that the earliest county teams were formed in the aftermath of the Restoration in 1660.

18th century

The first recorded inter-county match took place in 1709 between Kent and Surrey on Dartford Brent. ^[6] Surrey held important status throughout the 18th century, depending on the quality of their opponents, largely due to the Chertsey Cricket Club, and famous patrons such as Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville. Noted Surrey players included Lumpy Stevens, William Yalden, and Billy Beldham.

19th century

Further information: Surrey County Cricket Club

The present Surrey County Cricket Club was formed at a meeting which took place at the Horns Tavern in Kennington following a match between Gentlemen of Surrey and Players of Surrey at The Oval (in its initial season as a cricket ground) on 21 and 22 August 1845. ^[7] The earliest important match at The Oval was Surrey Club v Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) on 25 and 26 May 1846. Only 194 runs were scored in the match with a top score of 13. W. R. Hillyer took 14 wickets to help MCC win by 48 runs. ^[8] Surrey County Cricket Club played its first important match v Kent at The Oval on 25 and 26 June 1846, winning by 10 wickets. ^[9]

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. "First-Class 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. Altham & Swanton 1962, p. 21.
6. Robertson, David (27 August 2009). "Kent v Surrey—read more about the 300-year rivalry". Kent Cricket. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
7. Lemmon, David (1989). The History of Surrey County Cricket Club. London: Christopher Helm Publishers Ltd. pp. 14–19. ISBN   0-7470-2010-8.
8. "Scorecard of Surrey's first match". Cricketarchive.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
9. "Scorecard of Surrey's first inter-county match". Cricketarchive.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2011.

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.
• 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.
• 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 (1997) [1862]. Scores & Biographies, Volume 2 (1827–1840). 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.
• McCann, Tim (2004). Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century (PDF). Vol. 88. Lewes: West Sussex Record Office. ISBN   978-08-54450-55-8.
• Underdown, David (2000). Start of Play. Westminster: Allen Lane. ISBN   978-07-13993-30-1 – via Internet Archive.
• 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.
• Webber, Roy (1960). The Phoenix History of Cricket. Charing Cross, London: Phoenix House Ltd. OCLC   5391059.
• Wilson, Martin (2005). An Index to Waghorn. London: Bodyline Books (limited edition, by subscription only).

External links

• Chertsey Cricket Club website