1786 English cricket season - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The 1786 English cricket season saw the famous Walker brothers make their first appearances in major cricket and the rare dismissal of hit the ball twice

Hit the ball twice

Hit the ball twice, or "double-hit", is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket.-Definition:Law 34 of the Laws of cricket states:Law 34 1...

was first recorded.

Matches

Date	Match Title	Venue	Source	Result
16 May (Tu)	Farnham v Warfield	Datchet Common	WDC	result unknown

23 May (Tu)	Thursley v Godalming	Thursley	WDC	result unknown

13 June (Tu)	Farnham v Warfield	Holt Pound, Farnham	WDC	Farnham won by 7 wkts

14 June (W)	Maidstone v Kent	Bearsted Green	WDC	result unknown

22–24 June (Th-S)	White Conduit v Kent	White Conduit Fields	SB64	WCC won by 5 runs
White Conduit Club 103 (T Taylor 33; R Clifford 2w, W Bullen 2w) & 123 (John Small 49, Hon. G Monson 26; R Clifford 3w); Kent 121 (W Bullen 26, Mr R Hosmer 26; E Stevens 2w) & 100 (Mr R Hosmer 25; E Stevens 4w) Arthur Haygarth commented: "Henry Bentley's 'correct' (sic) book of matches commences in 1786 and ends in 1825. Several matches in (S&B) are taken from that publication. The above match is not arranged in the order of going in. Many matches in the early part of (Bentley's) book have always the gentlemen placed first".
26–28 June (M-W)	Kent v Hampshire	Sevenoaks Vine	SB65	Kent won by 4 wkts
Hampshire 143 (T Walker 43, H Walker 39, R Purchase 25; R Clifford 3w, W Bullen 2w) & 89 (H Walker 24; W Bullen 3w, J Boorman 2w, R Clifford 2w); Kent 123 (W Bowra 28, W Bullen 27; E Stevens 3w, R Purchase 2w) & 110-6 (J Ring 61*, J Aylward 27; E Stevens 3w)
13–15 July (Th-S)	Hampshire v Kent	Windmill Down	SB66	Hampshire won by 1 wkt
Kent 83 (W Bullen 23; D Harris 4w) & 189 (F Booker 55, J Aylward 53, W Bullen 29; R Purchase 4w, N Mann 2w); Hampshire 163 (H Walker 66, T Walker 55; R Clifford 3w, W Bullen 2w) & 110-9 (T Walker 26, John Small 24; W Bullen 2w, R Clifford 2w) Tom Sueter Tom Sueter Thomas Sueter was a famous English cricketer who played for the Hambledon Club.... of Hampshire was given out for hitting the ball twice Hit the ball twice Hit the ball twice, or "double-hit", is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket.-Definition:Law 34 of the Laws of cricket states:Law 34 1... . This is the first recorded instance of this type of dismissal. Re the Walker brothers, it cannot be confirmed but it is possible that this match included the first instance of a century partnership involving two brothers. Arthur Haygarth says: "In this match, 'hit wicket' is scored down only for the second time, the first being in 1773. Evidently (as in the case of leg before wicket and stumped out) it was written down as bowled merely for some years". In fact, there were other instances of hit wicket* in scores recorded elsewhere. Haygarth also comments that: "In another account, the Hambledon Club is called England; but they are all belonging to the club, and therefore the above (i.e., Hambledon Club) is no doubt correct. But Hambledon and All England were much the same about this time".
17 July (M)	Guildford v Five Parishes	Guildford	WDC	Guildford won by 5 wkts

25 July (Tu)	Guildford v Five Parishes	Guildford	WDC	result unknown

28 July (F)	Farnham v Hambledon & Sussex	Northchapel	WDC	result unknown

2-5 Aug (W-S)	Hampshire v Kent (ABC game)	Moulsey Hurst	SB66	Hampshire won by 35 runs
Hampshire 116 (T Walker 56; R Clifford 3w) & 144 (Mr E Hussey 28, R Purchase 26; R Clifford 3w, W Brazier 2w); Kent 143 (Mr S Amherst 33, F Booker 26; E Stevens 2w) & 82 (F Booker 39; E Stevens 3w) Hampshire won after being behind on first innings. Tom Taylor, who was not a wicketkeeper, took six catches in the match. Some interesting comments by Arthur Haygarth about this game and about team naming conventions: "It may here be mentioned that the Earl of Winchilsea's or the Hambledon Eleven always played in silver laced hats. Knee breeches of course in use now by everyone. It is very curious that the above Kent Eleven consisted entirely of A, B, and Cs, in fact in another account the two sides are called A, B, and Cs v the Rest of the Alphabet. This match is in 'the Old Scores' called Earl of Winchilsea's v Sir Horace Mann's side, but it is decidedly a match between Hambledon Club (i.e., Hampshire) and Kent, and has been so altered by the Compiler of this work. Often in the old score books, the name of the principal patron or backer of each side is prefixed, instead of the proper name, which is very incorrect, and apt to mislead the reader". Team names can be misleading but in fact none of the contemporary labels are incorrect. As we have seen, the same team could have several labels not just successively but also concurrently. The whole issue is a storm in a teacup and it is up to each writer to follow his own preference, which is precisely what Mr Haygarth himself did!
8-12 Aug (Tu-S)	Kent v White Conduit	Bishopsbourne Paddock	SB68	WCC won by 164 runs
White Conduit Club 183 (T Walker 95*, Mr G East 26; R Clifford 4w) & 296 (T Taylor 117, T Walker 102; W Bullen 4w); Kent 218 (Mr – Stanford 73, Mr S Amherst 39, J Boorman 32; D Harris 3w) & 97 (R Clifford 41, – Collier 35; D Harris 3w, E Stevens 2w) Tom Walker was very close to becoming the first batsman ever to score two centuries in a match. The centuries by Walker and Thomas Taylor are the first instance of two players scoring centuries in the same match, let alone the same innings. Although it cannot be confirmed, it is possible they shared a 200-plus partnership. These were the third and fourth centuries in recorded top-class cricket, following the previous hundreds by John Small and James Aylward who were both playing in this game. Arthur Haygarth commented: "There are only a few recorded matches of the White Conduit Club. The Marylebone Club was formed in 1787 from its members The date of the formation of the White Conduit could not be found".
16 Sept (M)	Berkshire v Middlesex	Warfield	WDC	result unknown
WDC recorded that: "a match of cricket will be played on the New Ground at Hayley Green, Warfield, Berks, the counties of Middlesex and Bucks, against Warfield, with G. East, Esq., Finch and Thompson. Wickets to be pitched at 10 o’clock. Players for Middlesex and Bucks: Fennex, Bedster, White, Grange, Shackle, Webb, Spriggs, Belch, Pontifex, Dean and Grainger. Players for Warfield: G. East, Esq., Osmer (i.e., Mr R Hosmer), G. T. Boult, A. Boult, Z. Boult, Baker, Finch, Fouch (i.e., Mr G Louch), Lawrence, Simkins, and Thompson. (Not reported.)" The Warfield team here is effectively a Berkshire XI and their opponents are near enough a Middlesex XI, presumably with a couple from Bucks, so this is a major inter-county match. Many of these names will be familiar if you have studied matches in the 1790s.

Other events

WDC in 1786 has games involving the Farnham club of Surrey and the Warfield club of Berkshire. We know that David Harris played for Farnham and Lumpy for Warfield in the first one on Tues 16 May, but we have to assume (as in 1785) that these are parish matches only despite the guest stars. A similar assumption must be made re other matches involving the Guildford and Godalming clubs. The games are included in the season summary list.

First mentions

Tom Walker
Thomas Walker (cricketer)
Thomas "Tom" Walker was an English cricketer who played for Hampshire in the days of the Hambledon Club and later for Surrey. He was famous for his brilliant defensive batting. He is also credited with introducing, roundarm bowling, the predecessor of modern overarm bowling.-Career:Walker was born...
John Nyren
John Nyren
John Nyren was an English cricketer and author. Nyren made 16 known appearances in first-class cricket from 1787 to 1817...
Harry Walker
Harry Walker (cricketer)
Harry Walker was a noted English cricketer who played mainly for Surrey...
Henry Crozoer
Henry Crozoer
Henry Crozoer was an English cricketer of the late 18th century who played for Kent. His name was sometimes given as Crosoer....
Hawkins
Hawkins (Hampshire cricketer)
Hawkins was an English amateur cricketer who made 4 known appearances in major cricket matches from 1786 to 1787.-Career:He was mainly associated with Hampshire but also represented the White Conduit Club.-External sources:*...

(Hampshire; amateur)

Leading batsmen

Note that many scorecards in the 18th century are unknown or have missing details and so it is impossible to provide a complete analysis of batting performances: e.g., the missing not outs prevent computation of batting averages. The "runs scored" are in fact the runs known.

runs	player
423	Tom Walker Thomas Walker (cricketer) Thomas "Tom" Walker was an English cricketer who played for Hampshire in the days of the Hambledon Club and later for Surrey. He was famous for his brilliant defensive batting. He is also credited with introducing, roundarm bowling, the predecessor of modern overarm bowling.-Career:Walker was born...
222	Thomas Taylor Thomas Taylor (cricketer) Thomas Taylor was a famous English cricketer who played for the Hambledon Club. He is generally regarded as one of the most outstanding players of the 18th century....
165	Harry Walker Harry Walker (cricketer) Harry Walker was a noted English cricketer who played mainly for Surrey...
161	John Small
147	James Aylward James Aylward James Aylward was a noted English cricketer who played for the Hambledon Club. He was a left-handed batsman....
141	William Bullen William Bullen William Bullen was an outstanding English cricketer throughout the last quarter of the 18th century. Hailing from Kent, Bullen was a great all-rounder, noted in the key sources as a fast bowler and a "powerful hitter"....
133	Francis Booker Francis Booker Francis Booker was an English cricketer. He was a left-handed batsman who was noted as a fine hitter of the ball and a very good outfielder....
111	Richard Stanford Richard Stanford (cricketer) Richard Stanford was an English cricketer who played for Kent. He was one of the leading amateur batsmen of his time....
109	Stephen Amherst Stephen Amherst Stephen Amherst was an English amateur cricketer who was also a noted patron and organiser of first-class matches....
103	Joey Ring Joey Ring John "Little Joey" Ring was an English cricketer who played for Kent.Joey Ring was one of Kent’s best batsmen in the late 18th century and was employed by Sir Horatio Mann at Bourne as a huntsman...
88	John Boorman John Boorman (cricketer) John Boorman was a famous English cricketer whose career spanned the 1772 season and the 1793 season....

Leading bowlers

Note that the wickets credited to an 18th century bowler were only those where he bowled the batsman out. The bowler was not credited with the wickets of batsmen who were caught out, even if it was "caught and bowled". In addition, the runs conceded by each bowler were not recorded so no analyses or averages can be computed.

wkts	player
23	Robert Clifford
20	Edward "Lumpy" Stevens
15	William Bullen William Bullen William Bullen was an outstanding English cricketer throughout the last quarter of the 18th century. Hailing from Kent, Bullen was a great all-rounder, noted in the key sources as a fast bowler and a "powerful hitter"....
12	David Harris
11	Richard Purchase Richard Purchase Richard Purchase was a famous English cricketer who played for the Hambledon Club.He was only 16 when he made his debut in 1773.Born in Liss, Hampshire, he played for his county in 1773 and 1774 but then did not appear again until 1781...
6	John Boorman John Boorman (cricketer) John Boorman was a famous English cricketer whose career spanned the 1772 season and the 1793 season....

Leading fielders

Note that many scorecards in the 18th century are unknown or have missing details and so the totals are of the known catches and stumpings only. Stumpings were not always recorded as such and sometimes the name of the wicket-keeper was not given. Generally, a catch was given the same status as "bowled" with credit being awarded to the fielder only and not the bowler. There is never a record of "caught and bowled" - the bowler would be credited with the catch, not with the wicket.

ct/st	player
11	Thomas Taylor Thomas Taylor (cricketer) Thomas Taylor was a famous English cricketer who played for the Hambledon Club. He is generally regarded as one of the most outstanding players of the 18th century....
8	William Bullen William Bullen William Bullen was an outstanding English cricketer throughout the last quarter of the 18th century. Hailing from Kent, Bullen was a great all-rounder, noted in the key sources as a fast bowler and a "powerful hitter"....
7	Harry Walker Harry Walker (cricketer) Harry Walker was a noted English cricketer who played mainly for Surrey...
6	James Aylward James Aylward James Aylward was a noted English cricketer who played for the Hambledon Club. He was a left-handed batsman....
5	John Boorman John Boorman (cricketer) John Boorman was a famous English cricketer whose career spanned the 1772 season and the 1793 season....
5	William Bowra William Bowra William Bowra was an English cricketer who played regularly for Kent teams from 1768 until 1788 and then for Sussex until 1792. He had 47 known first-class appearances between 1775 and 1792. His name was pronounced "Borra".In a Hampshire Chronicle report of a 1775 game, his name is spelt "Bower"...
4	George Louch George Louch George Louch was an English cricketer and match organiser during the 18th century. He was especially noted for his fielding and was an early stalwart of Marylebone Cricket Club.He was a native of Chatham and was evidently educated at Westminster...
4	John Small