1760 English cricket season
Encyclopedia
No games of importance in the 1760 English cricket season have been discovered. A number of minor matches have been recorded with additional news items, some in a military context, which is a sign of the times.
The drain of manpower and economic resource to the Seven Years' War
might explain the paucity of matches but could another cause have been the sort of rows that accompanied the implementation of both roundarm
and overarm
? It must have been in the decade or so before 1770 that bowlers stopped trundling the ball along the ground and started pitching it. It is feasible to suggest that some patrons may have withdrawn their support in disgust at such a radical change and even that whole teams may have refused to play each other. Strangely, in contrast to the bitterness and fury generated by the later roundarm and overarm controversies, the sources are very quiet about the pitching issue .
The drain of manpower and economic resource to the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
might explain the paucity of matches but could another cause have been the sort of rows that accompanied the implementation of both roundarm
Roundarm bowling
In cricket, roundarm bowling is a style that was introduced in the first quarter of the 19th century and had largely superseded underarm bowling by the 1830s. Using a roundarm action, the bowler has his arm extended at about 90 degrees from his body at the point where he releases the ball...
and overarm
Overarm bowling
In cricket, overarm bowling refers to a delivery in which the bowler's hand is above shoulder height. This is in contrast to a roundarm delivery, where the hand is between shoulder height and waist height; and an underarm delivery where the bowler's hand is below waist height.After roundarm was...
? It must have been in the decade or so before 1770 that bowlers stopped trundling the ball along the ground and started pitching it. It is feasible to suggest that some patrons may have withdrawn their support in disgust at such a radical change and even that whole teams may have refused to play each other. Strangely, in contrast to the bitterness and fury generated by the later roundarm and overarm controversies, the sources are very quiet about the pitching issue .
External sources
Further reading
- H S AlthamHarry AlthamHarry Surtees Altham, CBE, DSO, MC was an English cricketer who became an important figure in the game as an administrator, historian and coach. His Wisden obituary described him as "among the best known personalities in the world of cricket"...
, A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914), George Allen & Unwin, 1962 - Derek BirleyDerek BirleySir Derek Birley was an English educator and writer who had a strong interest in sport, especially cricket.He was educated at grammar school in Hemsworth, West Yorkshire, and at Queens' College, Cambridge University....
, A Social History of English Cricket, Aurum, 1999 - Rowland BowenRowland BowenMajor Rowland Francis Bowen was a cricket researcher, historian and writer....
, Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970 - Ashley MoteAshley MoteAshley Mote was a non-inscrit Member of the European Parliament for South East England. An outspoken critic of fraud in the European Institutions, he himself was convicted of benefit fraud in 2007 for which he served a nine-month prison sentence and was described by the trial judge as "a truly...
, The Glory Days of Cricket, Robson, 1997 - David UnderdownDavid UnderdownDavid E. Underdown was a historian of 17th-century English politics and culture and Professor Emeritus at Yale University. Born at Wells, Somerset, Underdown was educated at the Blue School and Exeter College, Oxford...
, Start of Play, Allen Lane, 2000