1744 English cricket season

Infobox cricket season
season = 1744 English cricket season


imagesize =
caption =
cricket formats = first-class and single wicket
tourists =
county champions = Slindon/Sussex
knockout cup winners =
national league winners =
most runs = 69 – John Harris
most wickets = 8 – William Hodsoll
most victims = 2 – Kipps
most catches = 2 – Thomas Waymark

1744 was a pivotal season in English cricket history. The earliest known codification of the Laws of Cricket was written by the noblemen and gentlemen of the London Cricket Club which played at the Artillery Ground. Several great matches took place, particularly the challenge by Kent to take on All-England at the Artillery Ground on Monday 18 June. Kent won a dramatic contest by a single wicket despite needing several runs to win when their last pair came together. The match is particularly notable for its surviving scorecard which became the first entry in Arthur Haygarth's "Scores & Biographies".

Another scorecard containing individual scores, though no details of dismissals, has survived from the London v Slindon game on Sat 2 June. It is not until the 1772 season that any more scorecards of major cricket matches have survived (a handful of cards from minor matches have been found).

In September, Slindon defeated London and then issued its famous challenge to play "any parish in England". The challenge was accepted by the Addington and Bromley clubs, which both had fine teams, but the two challenge matches were hit by bad weather and we do not know if they were completed.

Honours

* Champion County [An unofficial seasonal title proclaimed by media or historians prior to December 1889 when the official County Championship was constituted] – Slindon/Sussex [http://www.jl.sl.btinternet.co.uk/stampsite/cricket/histories/champions.html Champion counties from 1728] ]

Laws of Cricket

The first known issue of the Laws of Cricket can be traced to 1744, possibly an upgrade of an earlier code. The Laws were drawn up by the noblemen and gentlemen members of the London Cricket Club, which was based at the Artillery Ground. The intention must have been to establish a universal codification. A general set of rules was in place subject to local variations but, apart from cases where Articles of Agreement were drawn up, as in Richmond v Brodrick in 1727, the laws as such were agreed orally. By and large, the same rules had existed since time immemorial.

The Laws of 1744 make fascinating reading. A summary of the main points:

* there is reference to the toss of a coin and the pitch dimensions;
* the stumps must be 22 inches high with a six inch bail;
* the ball must weigh between five and six ounces;
* overs last four balls;
* the no ball is the penalty for overstepping, which means the hind foot going in front of the bowling crease (i.e., in direct line of the wicket);
* the popping crease is exactly 3 feet ten inches before the bowling crease;
* various means of "it is out" are included;
* it is interesting that hitting the ball twice and obstructing the field are emphatically out, given experiences in the 17th Century;
* the wicket keeper is required to be still and quiet until the ball is bowled;
* umpires must allow two minutes for a new batsman to arrive and ten minutes between innings (meal and rain breaks presumably excepted);
* the umpire cannot give a batsman out if the fielders do not appeal;
* the umpire is allowed a certain amount of discretion and it is made clear that the umpire is the "sole judge" and that "his determination shall be absolute", existent facts that need to be spelled out to 21st Century players and video replay apologists.

Interestingly, the Laws do not say the bowler must roll the ball and there is no mention of prescribed arm action so, in theory, a pitched delivery would have been legal, though undoubtedly controversial.

The earliest known scorecard

When London played Slindon at the Artillery Ground on Sat 2 June, details of individual scores were recorded and the [http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/98/98236.html scorecard] was kept by the Duke of Richmond at Goodwood House. It gives scores only and no means of dismissal. It does not even tell us much about the players except their surnames though, thankfully, the scorer did think to differentiate between the two sets of brothers who were playing. But we should not carp about what is missing; we should be grateful to have anything at all.

The "Daily Advertiser" carried various notices from Thursday 31 May until Sunday 3 June which announced that two untitled sides would play in the Artillery Ground on Saturday 2 June. On 31 May, the paper said that the teams would consist of "four gentlemen from Slindon, one from Eastbourne, two from Hamilton ("sic") in Sussex, one from Addington and three from Lingfield in Surrey" against "four gentlemen of London, one from Richmond, one from Reigate, three from Addington in Surrey, one from Bray Wick in Berkshire and one from Arundel in Sussex". This was followed by the usual reminder about no dogs and the need to obtain a pass ticket if leaving the ground during play.

There is no such place as Hamilton in Sussex and it is possible that the reporter was referring to Hambledon, which is close to the Sussex border. If so, this may be the earliest reference to Hambledon in terms of major matches.

The "Daily Advertiser" changed its notice on Friday 1 June through 2 and 3 June by confusingly announcing the names of the players on each side. However, the names in the paper are not the same as those on the scorecard kept by the Duke of Richmond. The same (i.e., incorrect) names were also reported on 3 June, the day after the match. The paper announced that the two teams would consist of: Cuddy, Richard Newland, Adam Newland, John Newland, Ridgeway, Green of Sussex; Sawyer, Stevens, Stevens, Collins of Surrey; and Norris of London versus Dingate, John Harris, Joseph Harris, Faulkner, Jackson, Maynard of Surrey; Bryant, Smith, Bennett, Howlett of London; and Waymark of Berks. No titles were given to the teams at the time (various titles have been applied retrospectively by modern authors).

The inclusion in the former team of two players named Stevens from Surrey would suggest that the famous Edward "Lumpy" Stevens had forebears in the sport. Lumpy's career probably began in the 1750s.

According to the Duke of Richmond’s papers, which are now in the possession of the West Sussex Records Office, including the recorded scores of this match, the teams were somewhat different from those advertised. Team names are provisionally [per "CricketArchive"] given as London versus Slindon, being the two main clubs represented:

Leading Bowlers

William Hodsoll of Dartford and Kent was one of the earliest fast bowlers that we know of. He took eight wickets in the match (i.e., bowled wickets only) for Kent against All-England .

The other noted Kent bowler taking part was John Mills of Horsmonden. We do not know his exact tally as his brother may have taken some wickets. The same is true of the Harrises and Newlands who bowled for All-England. All we know is that seven wickets each were taken by players called Mills, Harris and Newland .

Leading Fielders & Keepers

Kipps of Kent was the leading wicketkeeper at the time and is the earliest specialist keeper that we know of.

Thomas Waymark took two catches for All-England v Kent and he was praised many years earlier for his agility and dexterity so he seems to have been an outstanding fielder. But the most memorable catch in the All-England v Kent match was a diving effort taken by Lord John Philip Sackville to dismiss Richard Newland Arthur Haygarth, "Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744-1826)", Lillywhite, 1862] .

References

External sources

* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Seasons/1786_ENG.html CricketArchive match lists]
* [http://www.jl.sl.btinternet.co.uk/stampsite/cricket/main.html From Lads to Lord's; The History of Cricket: 1300 – 1787]
* [http://www.lords.org/laws-and-spirit/laws-of-cricket/laws/ The official laws of cricket]

Further reading

* H S Altham, "A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914)", George Allen & Unwin, 1962
* Derek Birley, "A Social History of English Cricket", Aurum, 1999
* Rowland Bowen, "Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development", Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
* Ashley Mote, "The Glory Days of Cricket", Robson, 1997
* David Underdown, "Start of Play", Allen Lane, 2000