1772 English cricket season

The 1772 English cricket season was a notable season in English cricket history because it is from then that surviving scorecards are common. There are three scorecards from 1772, all involving Hambledon matches, and there are some for every single season since then, providing a continuous "statistical record" (albeit an incomplete one till the 19th century).

In the match list below and for all future seasons in this series, there are hyperlinks to surviving scorecards on " [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/index.html CricketArchive] ".

Hampshire twice defeated All-England but lost to Kent by 2 wickets in the three recorded matches before defeating Surrey in an unrecorded match. The leading bowlers of the day were Thomas Brett of Hampshire and Lumpy Stevens of Chertsey and Surrey, although the scorecards of this year have not preserved any bowling or fielding data. But the greatest player of the season was again John Small, who was the top batsman by a distance, though William Yalden of Chertsey and Surrey also achieved good scores.

Re the matches on 10-11 and 26-27 August, the sources occasionally refer to teams raised by the Hambledon Club as being representative of both Hampshire and Sussex. It is a fact that Sussex as a county team is rarely mentioned during the "Hambledon Era" and it is distinctly possible that Hambledon was a two-counties organisation. Hambledon village is very close to the border between Hampshire and west Sussex [http://www.jl.sl.btinternet.co.uk/stampsite/cricket/main.html From Lads to Lord's; The History of Cricket: 1300–1787] ] .

Honours

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

Matches

Other events

"Tues 2 June". There was a fives match at the Artillery Ground between Kent and Hampshire. Hampshire scored 11 & 46; Kent scored 35 & 23-4 to win by one wicket. The Kent team was John Boorman, John Frame, Richard May, John Minshull and Joseph Miller. Minshull scored 26 & 11; Frame scored the winning run. The Hampshire team was John Small, Tom Sueter, George Leer, Thomas Brett and Richard Nyren. Nyren scored 29 out of 46 in the second innings H T Waghorn, "Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730-1773)", Blackwood, 1899] Arthur Haygarth, "Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744-1826)", Lillywhite, 1862] .

There were a couple of games in June that involved the Blackheath club and are included in the ACS list but, as G B Buckley says, "the alleged Kent team cannot have been representative" and they are minor matches only G B Buckley, "Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket", Cotterell, 1935] .

Another Kent game against a team called London & Middlesex apparently took place on Tues 11 August, the same day as the above, at the Artillery Ground. It is believed that this was not a representative game, especially given the stakes on offer at Hambledon .

First mentions

* Childs
* John Wood of Seal
* William Yalden

Leading batsmen

Note that many scorecards in the 18th century are unknown or have missing details and so it is impossible to provide a complete analysis of batting performances: e.g., the missing not outs prevent computation of batting averages. The "runs scored" are in fact the "runs known".

Leading Bowlers

No bowling figures are available.

The most notable bowlers of the time were Edward "Lumpy" Stevens of Chertsey, John Frame of Dartford and Hambledon's Thomas Brett, Richard Nyren, William Barber and William Hogsflesh.

Leading Fielders & Keepers

No fielding figures are available.

Noted wicketkeepers of the time were Tom Sueter of Hambledon and Hampshire; William Yalden of Chertsey and Surrey; and Richard Simmons of Kent.

One player who was noted for his fielding exploits was George Louch of Chatham who later became an early MCC stalwart.

References

External sources

* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Seasons/1772_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]

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