The most noticeable aspect of the 1730 English cricket season record is that it has the largest number of matches recorded to date, with much more coverage in the newspapers than in any previous season. But the most significant aspect of the time was the growing importance of the sport in metropolitan London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. The famous Artillery Ground

Artillery Ground

The Artillery Ground in Finsbury is one of London's most centrally located cricket grounds, situated just off the City Road immediately north of the City of London...

 enters the record for the first time and it is clear that the old London Club

London Cricket Club

The original London Cricket Club was formed by 1722 and was one of the foremost clubs in English cricket over the next four decades. It is closely associated with the Artillery Ground, where it played most of its home matches.-Early history of London cricket:...

 is establishing predominance over its rivals.

Matches

Date	Match Title	Venue	Result
? June	Surrey Surrey county cricket teams Surrey county cricket teams have been traced back to the 17th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. The first definite mention of cricket anywhere in the world is dated c.1550 in Guildford.-17th century:...  v Middlesex Middlesex county cricket teams Middlesex county cricket teams have been traced back to the 18th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. Given that the first definite mention of cricket anywhere in the world is dated c.1550 in Guildford, it is almost certain that the game had reached...	Richmond Green Richmond Green Richmond Green is a recreation area located near the centre of Richmond, which is a town of about twenty thousand inhabitants situated in south west London. The green is essentially square in shape and its open grassland, framed with broadleaf trees, extends to roughly twelve acres...	Surrey won
12 June (F)	Duke of Richmond Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond The 2nd Duke of Richmond has been described as early cricket's greatest patron. Although he had played cricket as a boy, his real involvement began after he succeeded to the dukedom... ’s XI v Sir William Gage’s XI	Bury Hill, Arundel	result unknown
2 July (Th)	London London Cricket Club The original London Cricket Club was formed by 1722 and was one of the foremost clubs in English cricket over the next four decades. It is closely associated with the Artillery Ground, where it played most of its home matches.-Early history of London cricket:...  v Kent Kent county cricket teams Kent county cricket teams have been traced back to the 17th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. Kent, jointly with Sussex, is the birthplace of the sport...	Grays Inn	Kent won
9 July (Th)	Mr Andrews’ XI v Duke of Richmond’s XI	Merrow Down, Guildford	Mr Andrews’ XI won
The Andrews/Richmond match is also mentioned in Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket with the additional information that Mr Andrews was a resident of Sunbury, Middlesex. Mr Andrews may therefore have been involved on Thursday, 23 July, when Sunbury played Epsom on Epsom Downs.
31 July (F)	Greenwich v London	Blackheath	result unknown
The match at Blackheath on 31 July was played for 20 guineas.
5 August (W)	Duke of Richmond’s XI v Sir William Gage’s XI	Dripping Pan, Lewes	result unknown
It is not clear if the Richmond v Gage match on 5 August was eventually played as the announcement states that it "was put off on account of Waymark Thomas Waymark Thomas Waymark was an English professional cricketer in the first half of the 18th century... , the Duke’s man, being ill".
5 August (W)	Kent v London	Blackheath	drawn?
Kent v London on 5 August was apparently drawn. The report says the "Kentish champions would have lost their honours by being beat at one innings if time had permitted". A repeat was scheduled for 12 August at Islington.
? August	Putney v Fulham	Putney Heath	Putney won
The stakes in the "great cricket-match" at Putney Heath were "50 guineas per side".
12 & 18 August (W/Tu)	London v Kent	Islington/Kennington	result unknown
The match started at Frog Lane in Islington on 12 August "but being obliged by their articles (sic) to leave off at seven o’clock, they could not finish it". London London Cricket Club The original London Cricket Club was formed by 1722 and was one of the foremost clubs in English cricket over the next four decades. It is closely associated with the Artillery Ground, where it played most of its home matches.-Early history of London cricket:...  had a lead of 30 when play ended on 12 August but no details were reported of the resumption at Kennington Common Kennington Park Kennington Park is in Kennington in London, England, and lies between Kennington Park Road and St Agnes Place. It was opened in 1854. Previously the site had been Kennington Common. This is where the Chartists gathered for their biggest 'monster rally' on 10 April 1848...  on 18 August.
26 August (W)	London v Surrey	Kennington Common	London won by 1 run
London's single run victory over Surrey on or about 26 August was "thought to be one of the completest matches that ever was played".
31 August (M)	London v Surrey	Artillery Ground Artillery Ground The Artillery Ground in Finsbury is one of London's most centrally located cricket grounds, situated just off the City Road immediately north of the City of London...	London won by 6 runs
The stake in the return on 31 August was 20 guineas. This game is the earliest definite match at the Artillery Ground Artillery Ground The Artillery Ground in Finsbury is one of London's most centrally located cricket grounds, situated just off the City Road immediately north of the City of London... , which was in Finsbury between Chiswell Street and Bunhill Fields. It was referred to in contemporary reports as the old Artillery Ground, but this may be because it was used frequently for other forms of sport or entertainment. It was generally used for matches involving the original London Club London Cricket Club The original London Cricket Club was formed by 1722 and was one of the foremost clubs in English cricket over the next four decades. It is closely associated with the Artillery Ground, where it played most of its home matches.-Early history of London cricket:...  and also became the featured venue of all London cricket until about 1765, after which the focus shifted to Hambledon Hambledon Club The Hambledon Club was a social club that is famous for its organisation of 18th century cricket matches. By the late 1770s it was the foremost cricket club in England.-Foundation:...  and the London Club London Cricket Club The original London Cricket Club was formed by 1722 and was one of the foremost clubs in English cricket over the next four decades. It is closely associated with the Artillery Ground, where it played most of its home matches.-Early history of London cricket:...  disbanded.
4 September (F)	London v Surrey	Artillery Ground	result unknown
The match on 4 September was the third in a tri-series but it was reported beforehand only.

Other events

28 May. Four men of Kent played four of Brentford for £50 at Westerham in Kent, articles being drawn to play or pay.

4 June. The return match of the above was scheduled at Kew Green.

29 June. There was a two threes contest for £50 at Mickleham Downs in Surrey between three men of Surrey and three men of Sussex. The report in the London Evening Post says they were esteemed the best players in the respective Counties but unfortunately does not name them. The Sussex three won.

Sometime in August, Mr Edward Stead

Edward Stead

Edward Stead was a famous patron of English cricket, particularly of Kent county cricket teams, in the early 18th century.-Cricket career:...

 and three colleagues played a four-a-side game against four Brentford men for a considerable wager. The Brentford men won. This may have been a repeat of the games on 28 May and 4 June.

On Monday 17 August, a twelve a side game was played at Tonbridge and was backed by a great many of the noblemen and gentry of that place. It seems to have been a tight contest which was unfinished on the day, so another date was chosen for the conclusion, but nothing further is known.

October. A match on Datchet Heath, near Windsor, is the first reference to cricket in Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....

.

External links

• Classification of cricket matches from 1697 to 1825
• CricketArchive match lists
• From Lads to Lord's; The History of Cricket: 1300 – 1787