1732 English cricket season - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

In the 1732 English cricket season, the London Cricket 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:...

continued to predominate and it was said that its team did not lose a game. But, a team called London did lose to Croydon in May, though it might not have been the London Club per se but a team of "London gentlemen". 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...

came into more frequent use and its Master, Mr Jones, got a mention in one report.

Cricket at this time was still played with two stumps and a bat shaped like a hockey stick, which was the ideal implement for dealing with the rolled ball. There was still no sign of the major rule changes that transformed the sport into its modern guise.

Matches

Date	Match Title	Venue	Result
Mon 8 May	Croydon v 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:...	Walworth Common	Croydon won "by great odds"
It is possible that this "London" was not the famous London Club because a report at the end of the season says London played thirteen matches during the season and "did not lose a game this year".
Mon 5 June	London v Brentford & Sunbury	Walworth Common	London "by very considerable odds"
According to the Dartford Cricket Club website, there seems to have been some confusion in contemporary accounts between this game and the one on Mon 12 June. One account apparently had Brentford & Sunbury called 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... .
Wed 7 June	London v 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:...	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 by 8 runs
This was reported on both Tues 6 and Thu 8 June by the St James Evening Post. The pre-match notice said stumps would be pitched at one o’clock and, at the request of two (unnamed) gentlemen who have laid a very great sum of money, the ground is to be staked and all gentlemen are desired to keep outside the rope. On Thu 8 June, the paper simply reported that "London won by 8 notches".
Mon 12 June	Kent v London	Dartford Brent Dartford Brent Dartford Brent was an extensive area of common land on the outskirts of Dartford in Kent. In history, it was the scene of a confrontation between King Henry VI and Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York in 1452; and in 1555 thousands of spectators were to witness the burning to death at the stake of...	London won
"Kent lost to London on the Brent after 6/4 being laid against London in the middle of the game" (Whitehall Evening Post Whitehall Evening Post The Whitehall Evening Post was a London newspaper, founded in 1718.It was started in September 1718 by Daniel Defoe; and was then published on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Defoe left it in June 1720, but it continued to exist until the end of the century. It closed in 1801, with issue... ).
Mon 26 June	Surrey v London	Sanderstead Downs, near Croydon	match drawn
This was played by the same teams as on Wed 7 June. The report states very ambiguously that "the London gamesters got 77 ahead the last hands and but 4 men out, time not permitting them to play it out". Which seems to tell us the match was drawn!
Thu 6 July	London v Essex & Herts	Epping Forest	unknown
This match is the earliest known reference to Essex Essex county cricket teams Essex county cricket teams have been traced back to the 18th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. It is almost certain that cricket reached Essex by the 16th century and that it developed during the 17th century with inter-parish matches being... as a (part) county team. The terms were "for £50 a side, play or pay; wickets to be pitched at one o’clock precisely or forfeit half the money".
Mon 7 August	London 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...	Islington	unknown
The advertisement echoes an earlier game by stating that the venue would be "the field behind the Woolpack at Islington".
Tues 29 August	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...	unknown
This match is also mentioned in Dawn of Cricket with the date given as Wed 30 August. The game was unfinished at seven o’clock and so they "are to play it again on Monday 11 September".
Mon 4 September	London v Middlesex	Kew Green	unknown
The source states: .... (those players involved on Wed 13 September) will be the same persons that played Monday, Sept. 4, at Kew Green.
Mon 11 September	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...	unknown
This is the replay of the unfinished game on Tuesday 29 August.
Wed 13 September	London v Middlesex	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...	drawn
A very controversial match as the report states: "Middlesex went in first and got 88 notches; the Londoners got 84; the County went in again and got 58; the Londoners then went in for 63 notches to win; they got 56 and but four men out, when one of the County men would not play any longer, pretending the time was expired as they were to play to, which was six o'clock, although there wanted six minutes of the time by the scorer's watch. The London gamesters intend to go to law for the money, there being upward of £100 depending on the game. This is the thirteenth match the London gamesters have played this year and not lost one match." But see above re Croydon v London on Mon 8 May.

Other events

There is a reference in The Craftsman dated Sat 26 February to Mr Christopher Jones, Master of 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...

, at the "Pied Horse" in Chiswell Street (which abounded the ground) .

The Whitehall Evening Post reported on Thu 3 August that there was a "great cricket match" at Kew on Thu 27 July where the Prince of Wales was present .

Matches

Other events

External sources

Further reading