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The original London Cricket Club was formed in 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.
William "Silver Billy" Beldham was an English professional cricketer who played for numerous teams between 1782 and 1821. He was born at Wrecclesham, near Farnham in Surrey, and died at Tilford, Surrey. In some sources, his name has been given as "Beldam" or "Beldum". A right-handed batting all-rounder, he is widely recognised as one of the greatest batsmen of cricket's underarm era. Using an underarm action, he bowled pitched deliveries at a fast medium pace. He generally fielded in close catching positions, mostly at slip and sometimes played as wicket-keeper.
The 1744 cricket season in England is remembered for the earliest known codification of the Laws of Cricket. This was drafted by members of several cricket clubs, though the code was not published until 1755. Much of its terminology such as no ball, over, toss, umpire and wicket remain in current use. The season is also notable for the two earliest known surviving match scorecards. The second of those matches, played on Monday, 18 June, was a celebrated event in which a Kent county team challenged an England team at the Artillery Ground, Kent winning by one wicket.
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.
William Lambert was an English professional cricketer who played for numerous teams between 1801 and 1817. He was born at Burstow in Surrey, and died at Nutfield, Surrey. A right-handed batting all-rounder, he is widely recognised as one of the greatest batters of cricket's underarm era. Using an underarm action, he bowled pitched deliveries at a slow pace. He generally fielded in close catching positions, mostly at slip and often played as wicket-keeper.
William Sawyer was an English cricketer who played during the 1730s and 1740s. He was mainly associated with Richmond and Surrey. Although information about his career is limited by a lack of surviving data, he is known to have made two single wicket and four other appearances between 1736 and 1747. He spent his whole life in Richmond and was an innkeeper there.
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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.
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John Tufton was an English cricketer and a Member of Parliament (MP). He was a member of the aristocratic Tufton family that produced the Earls of Thanet and related through his mother to the Sackville family that produced the Dukes of Dorset.
Frederick Hassan was an Egyptian-born English cricketer who played in one first-class cricket match for Kent County Cricket Club in 1879.
Aram's New Ground was a cricket venue in Montpelier Gardens, Walworth. Named after its founder George Aram, it was the home of Montpelier Cricket Club and hosted major matches from 1796 to 1806. It was also known as the "Bee Hive Ground" because of its proximity to the Bee Hive pub in Walworth.
Barrack Field is located on the grounds of the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, southeast London. It was once part of Woolwich Common, then used as a venue for cricket matches in the 18th century and as the home of Woolwich Cricket Club at that time. Later it became the home of the Royal Artillery Cricket Club. It is now used as a generic sports field, mainly for football.
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.
Through the Napoleonic Wars, county cricket virtually died as cricket was impacted by losses of investment and manpower.
References
- ↑ Buckley, p.2.
- ↑ CricketArchive – match scorecard. Retrieved on 4 April 2010.
- ↑ Haygarth, pp.293, 303 and 323.
- ↑ CricketArchive – match scorecard. Retrieved on 4 April 2010.
- ↑ CricketArchive – match scorecard. Retrieved on 4 April 2010.
- ↑ CricketArchive – match scorecard. Retrieved on 4 April 2010.
- ↑ CricketArchive – matches played at Barrack Field. Retrieved on 4 April 2010.
- ↑ Royal Artillery Cricket Club site. Retrieved on 4 April 2010.
- ↑ CricketArchive – match scorecard. Retrieved on 4 April 2010.
- ↑ CricketArchive – match scorecard. Retrieved on 4 April 2010.