1745 English cricket season - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The 1745 English cricket season was played against the background of the Jacobite Rebellion but this seemingly had little impact on cricket in south-east England. Single wicket

Single Wicket

Single wicket cricket is a form of cricket played between two individuals, who take turns to bat and bowl against each other. The one bowling is assisted by a team of fielders, who remain as fielders at the change of innings. The winner is the one who scores more runs...

contests were very popular with the gamblers.

Matches

Date	Match Title	Venue	Result
6 May (M)	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 Addington Addington Cricket Club Addington is about three miles south-east of Croydon. It is only a small place but Addington Cricket Club fielded one of the strongest cricket teams in England from about the 1743 season to the 1752 season....	Kennington Common	result unknown
Reported in the Penny London Post dated Mon 6 May. Stakes were one guinea a man and the wickets were to be pitched by 1 pm.
23 May (Th)	Addington v London	Addington Hill	Addington won
No details are known except the result.
24 May (F)	Bromley Bromley Cricket Club Bromley Cricket Club was one of the strongest English cricket clubs in the mid-18th century when its team was led by Robert Colchin aka "Long Robin".-Earliest mentions:... v London	Bromley Common Bromley Common Bromley Common is the area centered around the road of the same name, stretching between Masons Hill at the south end of Bromley and Hastings Road, Locksbottom. Part of the A21...	Bromley won
The precise venue was "behind the Bell Inn".
27 May (M)	London v Addington	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
The return game to the one on 23 May. The matches were probably arranged as a pair in advance.
10 June (M)	London v Bromley	Artillery Ground	London won by 10 runs
The return game to the one on 24 May. London scored 23 and 75; Bromley scored 52 and 36.
17 June (M)	London v Bromley	Artillery Ground	London won by 7 wkts
Probably arranged after 10 June as a "decider". The prize was 200 guineas. Bromley scored 65 and 29; London scored 48 and then got the match and had only three hands out.
26 June (W)	Long Robin's XI v R Newland's XI	Artillery Ground	Long Robin's XI won by 70+ runs
The teams are known but no details of the scores. Long Robin’s XI: Robert Colchin Robert Colchin Robert "Long Robin" Colchin was a highly influential professional English cricketer of the mid-Georgian period at a time when the single wicket version of the game was popular.-Cricket career:... , Tom Faulkner Tom Faulkner Tom Faulkner , known as "Long Tom", was a noted English cricketer of the mid-Georgian period.A Surrey man, he was a prominent single wicket player who frequently played in challenge matches at the Artillery Ground.... , James Bryant, Joseph Harris Harris brothers (cricketers) John Harris and his brother Joseph Harris were English cricketers in the 1740s and 1750s... , — Broad , — Hodge, Val Romney Val Romney Valentine "Val" Romney was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket during the 1740s. A specialist batsman, he was mainly associated with Kent but also represented All-England... , George Jackson George Jackson (cricketer) George Jackson was a noted English cricketer of the mid-18th century who played for the famous Addington Cricket Club and for Surrey... , Robert Lascoe Robert Lascoe Robert Lascoe was a native of Bromley in Kent. He was a noted English cricketer of the mid-18th century who played for Bromley Cricket Club and for Kent... , John Harris, John Bowra John Bowra John Bowra was an English professional cricketer of the mid-Georgian period who made 5 known appearances in first-class cricket.-Career:John Bowra has been identified as "Mr... . R Newland’s XI: Richard Newland Richard Newland Richard Newland was an English cricketer in the mid-Georgian period who played for Slindon Cricket Club and Sussex under the patronage of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond. He also represented various All-England teams... , John Bryant, — Norton, Jacob Mann, "Little" Bennett Bennett (London cricketer) "Little" Bennett was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for London Cricket Club in the 1740s and 1750s. He was almost certainly the brother of the player known as Tall Bennett... , — Martin, — Howlett, "Tall" Bennett Bennett (London cricketer) "Little" Bennett was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for London Cricket Club in the 1740s and 1750s. He was almost certainly the brother of the player known as Tall Bennett... , William Anderson William Anderson (cricketer) William Anderson was a noted English cricketer of the mid-18th century who was principally associated with the famous London Cricket Club.... , — Norris, — Howard. The match was arranged by the noblemen and gentlemen of the London Club. Wickets were pitched at noon but play did not commence until one o’clock.
5 July (F)	Long Robin's XI v R Newland's XI	Artillery Ground	Long Robin's XI won by 5 wkts
Effectively the same fixture as the previous one but it was advertised rather wordily as Sevenoaks, Bromley & Addington versus Slindon, Horsmonden, Chislehurst & London! As before, the match was arranged by the noblemen and gentlemen of the London Club.
12 July (F)	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... v All-England All-England Eleven In cricket, the term All-England has been used for various non-international teams that have been formed for short-term purposes since the 1739 English cricket season and it indicates that the "Rest of England" is playing against, say, MCC or an individual county team...	Bromley Common	Kent won
Played for a thousand guineas.
13 July (S)	Trial Match	Artillery Ground	result unknown
Advertised simply as a trial match, those cricketers participating who were down to play in the Kent v All-England match on the following Monday.
15 & 16 July (M-Tu)	All-England v Kent	Artillery Ground	All-England won by 119 runs
Played for a thousand guineas. Richard Newland Richard Newland Richard Newland was an English cricketer in the mid-Georgian period who played for Slindon Cricket Club and Sussex under the patronage of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond. He also represented various All-England teams... made 88 for All-England but it is not known if this was in one innings or if it was his match total. It was certainly a very high score either way given pitch conditions at the time.
22 July (M)	Addington & Lingfield 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	result unknown
John Bryant and "Little" Bennett played for Surrey as given men.
23 July (Tu)	Croydon Croydon Cricket Club The original Croydon Cricket Club was one of the oldest in England with origins going back to the early 18th century and perhaps earlier. It played most of its matches at Duppas Hill. The earliest record of the club is in the 1707 season when it played two matches against London Cricket... v Lambeth	Kennington Common	result unknown
Played for a great sum. It was on Tuesday 23 July that Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Stuart Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland... and his companions landed on Eriskay Eriskay Eriskay , from the Old Norse for "Eric's Isle", is an island and community council area of the Outer Hebrides in northern Scotland. It lies between South Uist and Barra and is connected to South Uist by a causeway which was opened in 2001. In the same year Eriskay became the ferry terminal for... in the Hebrides Hebrides The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive... with the intention of raising an army to overthrow the House of Hanover House of Hanover The House of Hanover is a deposed German royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the Kingdom of Hanover, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland... .
24 July (W)	Kingston v Lambeth	Kennington Common	result unknown
Played for a large sum.
3 August (S)	Addington v Lingfield	Addington	result unknown
No details of the match are known but a report states that there was a cold Collation and the best of Liquours at George Williams’ Red Cap Tent.
7 August (W)	London v Kingston	Artillery Ground	result unknown
No details reported.
12 August (M)	London v Addington	Artillery Ground	result unknown
The report simply says that this was third match played this season between Addington and London.
19 August (M)	Surrey v Sussex	Artillery Ground	Surrey won "by several notches"
Reported in the St James Evening Post on the same and the next day. Richard Newland played for Sussex. It was on Monday 19 August that Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Stuart Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland... raised his standard at Glenfinnan Glenfinnan Glenfinnan is a village in Lochaber area of the Highlands of Scotland. It is located at the northern end of Loch Shiel, at the foot of Glenfinnan.- Glenfinnan Monument :... to formally begin the ‘45 Rebellion.
21 August (W)	Surrey v Sussex	Moulsey Hurst Moulsey Hurst Moulsey Hurst is located in what is now West Molesey, Surrey on the south bank of the River Thames above Molesey Lock. It is one of England's oldest sporting venues and was used in the 18th and 19th centuries for cricket, prizefighting and other sports....	result unknown
The Daily Advertiser on Wed 21 August announced: The Streatham Captain (i.e., George Williams), with his Flying Squadron of Red Caps, will attend at his grand Tent, to entertain Gentlemen with a cold Collation, the best French Wines, and other Liquours.
26 August (M)	Sussex v Surrey	Berry Hill, Arundel Arundel Arundel is a market town and civil parish in the South Downs of West Sussex in the south of England. It lies south southwest of London, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Worthing east southeast, Littlehampton to the south and Bognor Regis to...	Surrey won?
Berry Hill was also called Bury Hill. It would seem that Surrey won the game in view of a comment made by Lord John Philip Sackville in a letter dated Sat 14 September to the 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... , Sussex's patron: I wish you had let Ridgeway Ridgeway (Sussex cricketer) Ridgeway was a noted English cricketer of the mid-18th century who played for Sussex and All-England.-Cricket career:... play instead of your stopper behind it might have turned the match in our favour.
16 September (M)	Addington & Lingfield v Surrey	Artillery Ground	result unknown
John Bryant and "Little" Bennett played for Surrey as given men. Saturday 21 September. The first battle of the ‘45 Rebellion was fought at Prestonpans Prestonpans Prestonpans is a small town to the east of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the unitary council area of East Lothian. It has a population of 7,153 . It is the site of the 1745 Battle of Prestonpans, and has a history dating back to the 11th century... in Lothian Lothian Lothian forms a traditional region of Scotland, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills.... . The Jacobite Jacobitism Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland... army defeated the only government force in Scotland. It is believed about 2500 soldiers fought on each side. The government commander, General Sir John Cope John Cope John Cope may refer to:John Cope , British General during the 1745 Jacobite UprisingJohn Cope, Baron Cope of Berkeley, UK politician... (1690–1760), had been left by the foreign wars with an inexperienced force. The Jacobites attacked at dawn by staging a "Highland charge Highland charge The Highland charge was a battlefield shock tactic used by the clans of the Scottish Highlands which incorporated the use of firearms.-Historical Development :... " and the Hanoverian troops broke at once and fled. Over 300 deaths were recorded.
28 September (S)	Hills of Kent v Dales of Kent	Artillery Ground	result unknown
This match was originally arranged for Mon 23 September and it was stated to have been the third between these sides, each having previously won once. In one report, the venue was given as Mr Smith’s, a reference to George Smith George Smith (cricketer) George Smith was an English cricketer and also the "keeper" of the Artillery Ground, which was cricket's main venue in London during the mid-Georgian period.... who was the keeper 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... .

Other events

Fri 10 May. The Ipswich Journal reported that: All lovers of Cricket are hereby desired to meet at Gray’s Coffee House (in Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...

) on Friday 17th inst. at 6 pm to settle rules for that manly diversion. A version of the Laws of Cricket

Laws of cricket

The laws of cricket are a set of rules established by the Marylebone Cricket Club which describe the laws of cricket worldwide, to ensure uniformity and fairness. There are currently 42 laws, which outline all aspects of how the game is played from how a team wins a game, how a batsman is...

having been published the previous year, was this a meeting of dissenters, perhaps?

Mon 24 June. A game between two threes in 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...

. The teams were William Hodsoll

William Hodsoll

William Hodsoll , was a noted English cricketer of the mid-Georgian period. Hodsoll lived at Dartford for some years and was a tanner ....

(Dartford), Val Romney

Val Romney

Valentine "Val" Romney was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket during the 1740s. A specialist batsman, he was mainly associated with Kent but also represented All-England...

(Sevenoaks) and Richard Newland

Richard Newland

Richard Newland was an English cricketer in the mid-Georgian period who played for Slindon Cricket Club and Sussex under the patronage of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond. He also represented various All-England teams...

(Slindon) versus Robert Colchin

Robert Colchin

Robert "Long Robin" Colchin was a highly influential professional English cricketer of the mid-Georgian period at a time when the single wicket version of the game was popular.-Cricket career:...

(Bromley), J Harris (Addington) and John Bryant

John Bryant (cricketer)

John Bryant was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket during the 1740s and 1750s. He was mainly associated with Bromley Cricket Club and Kent...

(Bromley). It is not known which of John or Joseph Harris was playing. Hodsoll’s side won by 7 runs .

Fri 26 July. A ladies match took place on Gosden Common, near Guildford

Guildford

Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...

, between XI Maids of Bramley and XI Maids of Hambledon. They all dressed in white but the Hambledon lasses wore red ribbons on their heads and the Bramley lasses wore blue. This is Hambledon near Godalming

Godalming

Godalming is a town and civil parish in the Waverley district of the county of Surrey, England, south of Guildford. It is built on the banks of the River Wey and is a prosperous part of the London commuter belt. Godalming shares a three-way twinning arrangement with the towns of Joigny in France...

in Surrey, incidentally. Bramley is another Surrey village, also close to Godalming . A further report says the ladies played a return match at Hambledon, Surrey on Tues 6 August .

First mentions

William Anderson
William Anderson (cricketer)
William Anderson was a noted English cricketer of the mid-18th century who was principally associated with the famous London Cricket Club....
Robert Lascoe
Robert Lascoe
Robert Lascoe was a native of Bromley in Kent. He was a noted English cricketer of the mid-18th century who played for Bromley Cricket Club and for Kent...
Broad (Addington)
Norton (London)

Matches

Other events

First mentions

External sources

Further reading