Thomas Ridge (c. 1737 – 3 February 1801, Kimpston, Hampshire) was a prominent member of the Hambledon Club and played in a number of its cricket matches, including 6 known first-class appearances for Hampshire between 1768 and 1775. [1]
Ridge, a country squire, was well known in hunting circles and established a hunt at Kilmiston, Hampshire, in 1780. [2]
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one 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.
Hambledon is a small village and civil parish in the county of Hampshire in England, situated about 10 miles (16 km) north of Portsmouth within the South Downs National Park.
Hampshire 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 Hampshire. Hampshire teams formed by earlier organisations, principally the Hambledon Club, always had first-class status and the same applied to the county club when it was founded in 1863. Because of poor performances for several seasons until 1885, Hampshire then lost its status for nine seasons until it was invited into the County Championship in 1895, since when the team have played in every top-level domestic cricket competition in England. Hampshire originally played at the Antelope Ground, Southampton until 1885 when they relocated to the County Ground, Southampton until 2000, before moving to the purpose-built Rose Bowl in West End, which is in the Borough of Eastleigh on the north east outskirts of Southampton. The club has twice won the County Championship, in the 1961 and 1973 seasons.
The Hambledon Club was a social club that is famous for its organisation of 18th century cricket matches. By the late 1770s it was the foremost cricket club in England.
Broadhalfpenny Down is a historic cricket ground in Hambledon, Hampshire. It is known as the "Cradle of Cricket" because it was the home venue in the 18th century of the Hambledon Club, but cricket predated the club and ground by at least two centuries. The club is in the parish of Hambledon close to the neighbouring parish of Clanfield. The club took the name of the neighbouring rural village of Hambledon, about 2.7 miles away by road.
John Harry Hampshire, also known as Jack Hampshire, was an English cricketer and umpire, who played eight Tests and three One Day Internationals (ODIs) for England between 1969 and 1975. He played first-class cricket for Yorkshire from 1961 to 1981, and for Derbyshire from 1982 to 1984. Overseas, he was a successful captain of Tasmania in the period before the state was included in the Sheffield Shield. He was also appointed President of Yorkshire County Cricket Club in 2016, serving until his death a year later.
In the 1772 English cricket season, it became normal practice to complete match scorecards and there are surviving examples from every subsequent season. Scorecards from 1772 have been found for three eleven-a-side matches in which the Hampshire county team played against an England team, and for one top-class single wicket match between Kent and Hampshire. The three Hampshire v England matches have been unofficially recognised by certain sources as first-class, although no such standard existed at the time. Prior to 1772, only four scorecards have survived, the last from a minor match in 1769.
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.
In the 1773 English cricket season, there was a downturn in the fortunes of the Hambledon Club as their Hampshire team lost every match they are known to have played, and some of their defeats were heavy. Their poor results owed much to star bowler Thomas Brett having been injured. Three other county teams were active: Kent, Middlesex and Surrey. Teams called England took part in five matches, all against Hampshire, and won all five.
The 1774 English cricket season was the third in which matches have been awarded retrospective first-class cricket status. The scorecards of five first-class matches have survived.
The 1775 English cricket season was the fourth in which matches have been awarded retrospective first-class cricket status. The scorecards of four first-class matches have survived.
The 1776 English cricket season was the fifth in which matches have been awarded retrospective first-class cricket status. The scorecards of seven first-class matches have survived. The earliest printed cricket scorecard templates were introduced during 1776.
The 1777 English cricket season was the sixth in which matches have been awarded retrospective first-class cricket status. The scorecards of six first-class matches have survived. James Aylward made a record score of 167 runs that stood until 1820.
The 1778 English cricket season was the seventh in which matches have been awarded retrospective first-class cricket status. The scorecards of five first-class matches have survived.
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.
The 1780 English cricket season was the ninth in which matches have been awarded retrospective first-class cricket status. The scorecards of four first-class matches have survived. The first six-seam cricket balls were used during the season.
In the 1788 English cricket season, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) published a revised code of the Laws of Cricket, thereby confirming itself as the body in sole charge of the Laws, and taking responsibility for the sport's governance. MCC was then called "The Cricket Club at St. Marylebone", contrasting with its predecessor, the White Conduit Club of Islington, which remained active in 1788. As in 1787, their two teams played against each other at Lord's. A total of fifteen match scorecards have survived and there are brief newspaper mentions of five other matches, including two played under single wicket rules.
1803 was the 17th season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Thomas Howard made his debut in important matches.
Braishfield is a village and civil parish north of Romsey in Hampshire, England. The name is thought to be derived from the Old English bræsc + feld, meaning 'open land with small branches or brushwood'. The hamlet of Pucknall lies due east of the village.
The Rose Bowl, known for sponsorship reasons as Utilita Bowl, is a cricket ground and hotel complex in West End, Hampshire. It is the home of Hampshire County Cricket Club, who have played there since 2001.