1743 English cricket season

Infobox cricket season
season = 1743 English cricket season


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cricket formats = first-class and single wicket
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county champions = Addington/Surrey
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In the 1743 English cricket season, a significant development was the rise of a very strong club at Woburn who beat London 2-1 in a tri-series played in May and June.

The heavy modern-type ball with wound core and thick leather cover may have come into use about this time for it is recorded that Mr Clout was by then active in Sevenoaks as "the first cricket ball maker of any pretention" .

The well known painting "The Cricket Match" by Francis Hayman (1708 – 1786) dates from this year. It now hangs at Lord’s. It apparently depicts a game at the Artillery Ground and shows a "tall" two stump wicket. The batsman has a bat that is distinctly hockey shaped; the ball has been trundled but appears to be "off the ground" so perhaps it was a quicker skimmed delivery; and in the foreground is a scorer notching the tally.

From the same year comes "An Exact Representation of the Game of Cricket" by Louis Philippe Boitard (c.1733 – c. 1767). This now hangs in the Tate Gallery.

Honours

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

Matches

Other Events

"Mon 6 June". A game between Shacklewell and Westminster played at "The Cock" in Shacklewell, near Stoke Newington. This is evidence of the involvement of the brewing industry in the sport; a number of grounds, ranging from Broadhalfpenny Down to Trent Bridge, were established on fields adjacent to innings and taverns .

"Thurs 16 June". A game on Walworth Common in which Bermondsey defeated Deptford & King’s Yard by an innings and 27 runs. Clearly a minor fixture but Mr Ashley-Cooper helpfully explains that Walworth Common was situated where Westmoreland Road, Faraday Street and Mann Street stood in 1900. The ground was about three quarters of a mile from where the Bee Hive Ground afterwards existed. At the end of the 18th century, Walworth was the home of the Montpelier Cricket Club who played on Aram’s New Ground .

"Mon 11 July". A three-a-side game was played at the Artillery Ground and the six players were stated to be "the best in England". They were William Hodsoll (Dartford), John Cutbush (Maidstone) and Val Romney (Sevenoaks) playing as Three of Kent; and Richard Newland (Slindon), William Sawyer (Richmond) and John Bryant (Bromley) playing as Three of All-England. Hodsoll and Newland were captains. Kent won by 2 runs. The "London Evening Post" says the crowd was computed ("sic") to be 10,000. A return match was arranged at Sevenoaks Vine on Wed 27 July but it did not come off. The "Daily Advertiser" of Thurs 7 July says that Ridgeway was to play alongside Hodsoll and Romney. Then, on Fri 8 July, John Cutbush, known to have been a clockmaker from Maidstone, was named instead of Ridgeway G B Buckley, "Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket", Cotterell, 1935] .

"Tues 16 August". A five a side game on Richmond Green between Five of Richmond and Five of London. Wickets were pitched at one o’clock on forfeiture of fifty pounds .

"Mon 29 August". A five a side game at the Artillery Ground between Five of London and Five of Richmond. Wickets were pitched at two o’clock and the prize was "a considerable sum" F S Ashley-Cooper, "At the Sign of the Wicket: Cricket 1742-1751", "Cricket" Magazine, 1900] .

First mentions

* John Bryant
* John Cutbush
* Ridgeway
* Robert Colchin
* Tom Peake
* Val Romney
* William Hodsoll
* William Sawyer

References

External sources

* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Seasons/1743_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
* David Underdown, "Start of Play", Allen Lane, 2000