Henry Rowett
Encyclopedia
Henry Rowett was an English amateur cricket
er who played for Surrey
during the 1760s. He was chiefly noted for his patronage of Caterham Cricket Club
which was prominent at the time and was a close rival of the Hambledon Club
. Nothing is known of Rowett apart from his involvement in major cricket matches.
In the Caterham
v Bourne
match at Caterham Common
on 10 June 1768, Rowett showed himself to be a capable batsman by scoring 30 in Caterham's total of 150, Caterham winning the match by 14 runs. This match has left one of the earliest known scorecards, printed in the 11 June 1768 edition of the Kentish Weekly Post. Despite the match title, it was effectively Surrey v Kent.
Another Caterham v Bourne match took place at Caterham Common
on 26 July 1768. The result is unknown. It was announced in the St James Chronicle on Saturday 23 July. Caterham was to give Bourne two men. The St James Chronicle referred to the teams as "Mr Horatio Mann's Club" and "Mr Henry Rowett's Club". A further match between the two teams took place at Caterham on 2 August 1768.
On 31 July and 1 August 1769, Rowett captained Caterham/Surrey in a first-class
match at Guildford Bason
versus Hambledon/Hampshire
. The match was reported by the Reading Mercury to have attracted a crowd of "near 20,000" and "it is generally allowed by the best judges to have been the finest match that ever was played". Hampshire won by 4 wickets.
This "finest match" was the last time Rowett's name appears in the sources.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who played for 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:...
during the 1760s. He was chiefly noted for his patronage of Caterham Cricket Club
Caterham Cricket Club
Caterham Cricket Club was based at Caterham, Surrey. Caterham at this time was effectively representative of Surrey as a county. Its home venue was on Caterham Common...
which was prominent at the time and was a close rival of the Hambledon Club
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:...
. Nothing is known of Rowett apart from his involvement in major cricket matches.
Career
Rowett is first mentioned in August 1767 in connection with a match between his Surrey team and Sir Horace Mann's XI.In the Caterham
Caterham Cricket Club
Caterham Cricket Club was based at Caterham, Surrey. Caterham at this time was effectively representative of Surrey as a county. Its home venue was on Caterham Common...
v Bourne
Bourne Cricket Club
Bourne Cricket Club was based at Bishopsbourne, near Canterbury in Kent, and played several major cricket matches in the 18th century when it was effectively representative of Kent as a county. Its home venue was Bishopsbourne Paddock. Bourne was patronised by Sir Horatio Mann, owner of the...
match at Caterham Common
Caterham Common
Caterham Common near Caterham, Surrey was used as a cricket venue for 3 first-class matches between 1767 and 1768.It was the home venue of the Caterham Cricket Club, run by Henry Rowett, which was briefly a major cricket team.-External links:* *...
on 10 June 1768, Rowett showed himself to be a capable batsman by scoring 30 in Caterham's total of 150, Caterham winning the match by 14 runs. This match has left one of the earliest known scorecards, printed in the 11 June 1768 edition of the Kentish Weekly Post. Despite the match title, it was effectively Surrey v Kent.
Another Caterham v Bourne match took place at Caterham Common
Caterham Common
Caterham Common near Caterham, Surrey was used as a cricket venue for 3 first-class matches between 1767 and 1768.It was the home venue of the Caterham Cricket Club, run by Henry Rowett, which was briefly a major cricket team.-External links:* *...
on 26 July 1768. The result is unknown. It was announced in the St James Chronicle on Saturday 23 July. Caterham was to give Bourne two men. The St James Chronicle referred to the teams as "Mr Horatio Mann's Club" and "Mr Henry Rowett's Club". A further match between the two teams took place at Caterham on 2 August 1768.
On 31 July and 1 August 1769, Rowett captained Caterham/Surrey in a first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
match at Guildford Bason
Guildford Bason
Guildford Bason is an English former cricket ground on Merrow Down, on the outskirts of Guildford, Surrey. Guildford is the location for the earliest definite reference to cricket in English history...
versus Hambledon/Hampshire
Hampshire county cricket teams
Hampshire county cricket teams have been traced back to the 18th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that...
. The match was reported by the Reading Mercury to have attracted a crowd of "near 20,000" and "it is generally allowed by the best judges to have been the finest match that ever was played". Hampshire won by 4 wickets.
This "finest match" was the last time Rowett's name appears in the sources.
External sources
Further reading
- G B Buckley, Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket, Cotterell, 1935
- H T WaghornH T WaghornHenry Thomas Waghorn , was a cricket statistician and historian. He is best known for his two classic researches into cricket's early history: The Dawn of Cricket and Cricket Scores: 1730 - 1773....
, The Dawn of Cricket, Electric Press, 1906