Richmond Cricket Club, Surrey
Encyclopedia
Richmond Cricket Club was based in Richmond, Surrey and was a leading club during the 18th century, its team taking part in several major cricket matches. Its home venue was at Richmond Green
.
duo in a single wicket
contest. The two Richmond players were unnamed in the newspaper report but were nevertheless "esteemed the best two in England" and so one of them is believed to have been William Sawyer.
"for a considerable sum" but the result is unknown..
The poet James Love
, well known in cricket circles for his Cricket: An Heroic Poem (1744), was a playing member of the Richmond club but probably the greatest ever Richmond player was his team-mate, the innkeeper William Sawyer. He had by this time established himself as "one of the best six players in England" and was a regular choice for big single wicket contests such as the one in 1743 between Three of Kent and Three of All-England. In the same year, there were two more major single wicket contests between Five of Richmond and Five of London, one game on Richmond Green and the return at the Artillery Ground
.. In July 1743, Richmond twice played London in first-class fixtures and were beaten each time, but London needed to have the great Kent player Robert Colchin
as a given man.
Richmond played London in a first-class match on Kennington Common in July 1744 but the result is unknown. Richmond evidently declined in the latter half of the 1740s as there are no further references to the club apart from one match in 1749 when a Richmond & Ripley XI played London at the Artillery Ground, but again the result is unknown.. By 1751, Richmond was playing minor matches only.
and Homerton Cricket Club
.
The original Richmond club went out of existence sometime in the 19th century, possibly during the Napoleonic Wars
as there is no record of it after 1805.
Richmond Green
Richmond Green is a recreation area located near the centre of Richmond, which is a town of about twenty thousand inhabitants situated in south west London. The green is essentially square in shape and its open grassland, framed with broadleaf trees, extends to roughly twelve acres...
.
Earliest mentions
Richmond is first recorded as a major cricket team in June 1736 when two of its players challenged a LondonLondon 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:...
duo in a 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...
contest. The two Richmond players were unnamed in the newspaper report but were nevertheless "esteemed the best two in England" and so one of them is believed to have been William Sawyer.
1740s
In 1740, a combined Richmond and Moulsey team played two matches against London. The first was incomplete due to rain and the second was won by London. In 1742, Richmond played London at the Artillery GroundArtillery 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...
"for a considerable sum" but the result is unknown..
The poet James Love
James Love (poet)
James Love was the pseudonym of British poet, playwright and actor James Dance. He is famous within sporting circles for his Cricket: An Heroic Poem , whose line "The strokes re-echo o'er the spacious ground" has been quoted in the Oxford English Dictionary. Its subtitle reads thus:Illustrated...
, well known in cricket circles for his Cricket: An Heroic Poem (1744), was a playing member of the Richmond club but probably the greatest ever Richmond player was his team-mate, the innkeeper William Sawyer. He had by this time established himself as "one of the best six players in England" and was a regular choice for big single wicket contests such as the one in 1743 between Three of Kent and Three of All-England. In the same year, there were two more major single wicket contests between Five of Richmond and Five of London, one game on Richmond Green and the return at 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...
.. In July 1743, Richmond twice played London in first-class fixtures and were beaten each time, but London needed to have the great Kent player 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:...
as a given man.
Richmond played London in a first-class match on Kennington Common in July 1744 but the result is unknown. Richmond evidently declined in the latter half of the 1740s as there are no further references to the club apart from one match in 1749 when a Richmond & Ripley XI played London at the Artillery Ground, but again the result is unknown.. By 1751, Richmond was playing minor matches only.
Turn of century revival
The club continued to play inter-parish matches until the end of the 18th century and saw something of a revival between 1799 and 1805 when it had a team of near first-class standard that played matches against clubs like Montpelier Cricket ClubMontpelier Cricket Club
The Montpelier Cricket Club was prominent in English cricket from about 1796, when it began to compete against Marylebone Cricket Club and other leading "town clubs", until 1845 when its members were the prime movers in the formation of Surrey County Cricket Club.Montpelier was based at George...
and Homerton Cricket Club
Homerton Cricket Club
Homerton Cricket Club was based in Homerton, Hackney and was recognised as a first-class cricket team during the first decade of the 19th century. The club had been established in the 18th century and it first came to notice in 1800 when it played the strong Montpelier team...
.
The original Richmond club went out of existence sometime in the 19th century, possibly during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
as there is no record of it after 1805.