1740 English cricket season

1740 English cricket season
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The 1740 English cricket season was beset by rain, especially in July. The season is notable in one way for the earliest known mention of the famous Newland brothers. London Cricket Club feature in all the surviving match reports, including two against Kent. Details of eight matches are known.[note 1]

Kent v London

Kent and London arranged matches for 28 July and 4 August,[5] but they fell foul of the bad weather that summer. The first match on Sevenoaks Vine ended in a draw, after "rain halted play for some time". Kent, batting first, scored 71, to which London replied with 98. Kent made 130 in their second innings, setting London a target of 104 to win. They had made 30/3 when time ran out. The newspaper report mentioned the return match to be played on the Artillery Ground, but no result has been found.[6]

Chislehurst v London

As in previous seasons, London arranged matches against Chislehurst.[5] The first, played 27 June on Chislehurst Common was won by London. The return match, scheduled for 2 July on the Artillery Ground, is result unknown. A pre-match announcement for the second match said: "All persons are desir'd to come in by the Iron Gates at the Pyed Horse-yard". The Pyed Horse was a pub adjoining the ground, and its landlord (George Smith at the time) was usually the groundkeeper.[7]

London v Moulsey & Richmond

London also played two matches against the combined Moulsey & Richmond team.[5] The first was 8 July on Moulsey Hurst, but "rain delayed the start till between three and four o’clock".[7] In the limited time available, London batted first and scored 100. Moulsey & Richmond made 86. Batting again, London had reached 70/8 when time ran out, so the result was a draw. It was decided to try again the next week on the Artillery Ground.[7] In the return, London won by 73 runs.[8][9]

London v Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Hertfordshire

On 8 September, London met a combined Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Hertfordshire team at the New Ground, Uxbridge Moor. London won "with great difficulty". The report in the London Evening Post mentions arrangements for a return fixture at the Artillery Ground on 15 September. This is the earliest mention of Uxbridge Moor as a venue, and the first time that Berkshire and Buckinghamshire are mentioned in terms of county cricket, albeit parts of a combined team here. The first mention of Hertfordshire as a team was in 1732, albeit in combined with Essex. There are no reports of the return match having been played.[10]

First mentions

Clubs and teams

Venues

Players

name club/county notes
Mr Darville Berkshire Apparently Thomas Waymark's employer at Bray Mills in Berkshire. A patron who is recorded playing in three single wicket matches in 1748.[11][12]
John Newland Slindon Brother of Richard Newland. First mentioned in correspondence to Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle by the 2nd Duke of Richmond as someone "that you must remember".[9]
George Smith London A publican who was also the groundskeeper of the Artillery Ground. Although he was an occasional player in matches, he was better known for his financial problems, and his battles against bankruptcy.[13][7]

Other events

Thomas Waymark, who had been employed by the 2nd Duke of Richmond as a groom, relocated to Bray, Berkshire, where he was employed by cricket enthusiast Mr Darville. Waymark took part in matches organised by Darville.[14]

In a letter from Goodwood House, dated Wednesday, 30 July, to his friend Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, the 2nd Duke of Richmond mentioned several local people including "John Newland, that you must remember". This is the first mention in the sources of the Newland brothers who became famous as members of Slindon Cricket Club.[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. ^ "FC 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. ^ a b c ACS 1981, p. 20.
  6. ^ Maun 2009, pp. 99–100.
  7. ^ a b c d e Maun 2009, p. 98.
  8. ^ Buckley 1935, p. 16.
  9. ^ a b c d Maun 2009, p. 99.
  10. ^ a b c Maun 2009, p. 100.
  11. ^ Ashley-Cooper, F. S. (25 January 1900). "At the Sign of the Wicket". Cricket: A Weekly Record of the Game. XIX (532). London: Merritt & Hatcher Ltd: 37 – via ACS.
  12. ^ Maun 2009, p. 101.
  13. ^ McCann 2004, p. 26.
  14. ^ Maun 2009, pp. 100–101.

Bibliography

Further reading

allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1740_English_cricket_season