Val Romney
Encyclopedia
Valentine "Val" Romney was an English professional cricket
er who played first-class cricket
during the 1740s. A specialist batsman, he was mainly associated with Kent
but also represented All-England
. Although information about his career is limited by a lack of surviving data, he is known to have made 11 single wicket
and 14 first-class appearances between 1743 and 1751.
and the six players were stated to be "the best in England". They were William Hodsoll
, John Cutbush and Romney playing as Three of Kent; and Richard Newland
, William Sawyer and John Bryant playing as Three of All-England. Hodsoll and Newland were the captains. Kent won by 2 runs. The London Evening Post says the crowd was computed (sic) to be 10,000. A return match was arranged at Sevenoaks Vine on Wednesday 27 July but "it did not come off".
. This poem was written to commemorate a celebrated match between Kent
and All-England
at the Artillery Ground
on 18 June 1744, in which Romney was captain of the Kent XI. In August and September of the same year, Romney played for London Cricket Club
as a "given man" in three matches against Surrey
.
At the end of the 1744 season, Romney played in two "threes" matches at the Artillery Ground. The first was billed as "Long Robin's Side v Richard Newland's Side", the teams being Robert Colchin
(aka Long Robin), Romney and John Bryant against Richard Newland, Edward Aburrow senior
(replacing John Mills) and Joe Harris
. The stake was two hundred guineas and the players involved were stated to be the "best in England". In the second match on Monday, 1 October, the sides were Colchin, James Bryant
and Joe Harris versus Romney, John Bryant and Thomas Waymark
.
In the 1745 season, Romney again played in a major "threes" match at the Artillery Ground on Monday, 24 June, when he was teamed with Hodsoll and Newland against Colchin, John Bryant and one of the Harris brothers. Hodsoll, Newland and Romney won by 7 runs. The biggest first-class match of the year took place two days later between Long Robin's XI and Richard Newland's XI at the Artillery Ground. Long Robin's XI, including Romney, won "by over 70 runs".
. On Saturday, 5 September, there was a "threes" game at the Artillery Ground billed as "Long Robin's Side versus Stephen Dingate's Side". The teams were Colchin, John Harris and Romney against Stephen Dingate
, Richard Newland and Thomas Jure
. It was played for sixty guineas per side and the players were specially chosen from those who had played in the two Kent v All-England games.
In 1748, Romney is recorded in two single wicket matches. On Monday, 8 August, he and Colchin opposed Tom Faulkner
and Joe Harris at "twos" in the Artillery Ground for twenty guineas a side. On Monday, 29 August, he took part in a "fives" game at the Artillery Ground in which Tom Faulkner's Side defeated Long Robin's Side by four runs. The prize was 200 pounds. Romney was badly injured and could not run but, the rules being "play or pay", he was obliged to play as well as he could. The teams were Faulkner, Joe Harris, James Bryant, John Bryant and Durling
versus Colchin, Romney, John Larkin
, Jones
and Maynard
.
In 1749, Romney made first-class appearances for All-England against Surrey at Dartford Brent
and for Long Robin's XI against Stephen Dingate's XI at the Artillery Ground
. In July he played for All-England in a "fives" match" against Addington
. There is just one mention of Romney in 1750 when he played in the Kent side that defeated Surrey by 3 wickets in a first-class match at Dartford Brent.
, were well beaten in both games.
Val Romney's last recorded appearance was in a single wicket "fives" match for Kent against Surrey at the Artillery Ground on Monday, 3 June 1751. The Kent team was Tom Faulkner (given man), John & Thomas Bell, Stone
and Romney. The Surrey team was Stephen Dingate, John Harris, Joe Harris, Stephen Harding
and Perry
. Kent won "although the betting was in favour of Surrey".
was shaped like a modern hockey stick, this being the ideal shape for addressing a ball that was "trundled" along the ground, as in lawn bowls. The wicket
consisted of two stumps and a single bail. Bowlers used the underarm
style exclusively but at varying pace. The ball was either rolled along the ground or, if a fast bowler, skimmed across the surface; pitching was not introduced until about 1760, which would have been after Romney retired.
as head gardener at Knole House
, a post later occupied by John Minshull
. By 1768, the Sackvilles still rewarded him with a Christmas gratuity of two guineas.
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 first-class cricket
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...
during the 1740s. A specialist batsman, he was mainly associated with 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...
but also represented 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...
. Although information about his career is limited by a lack of surviving data, he is known to have made 11 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...
and 14 first-class appearances between 1743 and 1751.
First mention
The first definite mention of Val Romney is dated Monday, 11 July 1743, when he took part in a single wicket "threes" match 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...
and the six players were stated to be "the best in England". They 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 ....
, John Cutbush and Romney playing as Three of Kent; 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...
, William Sawyer and John Bryant playing as Three of All-England. Hodsoll and Newland were the captains. Kent won by 2 runs. The London Evening Post says the crowd was computed (sic) to be 10,000. A return match was arranged at Sevenoaks Vine on Wednesday 27 July but "it did not come off".
1744 to 1745
Romney was lauded as a "mighty play'r" (sic) in Cricket, An Heroic Poem (1745) by James LoveJames 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...
. This poem was written to commemorate a celebrated match between 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...
and 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...
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...
on 18 June 1744, in which Romney was captain of the Kent XI. In August and September of the same year, Romney played for London Cricket Club
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:...
as a "given man" in three matches against 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:...
.
At the end of the 1744 season, Romney played in two "threes" matches at the Artillery Ground. The first was billed as "Long Robin's Side v Richard Newland's Side", the teams being 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:...
(aka Long Robin), Romney and John Bryant against Richard Newland, Edward Aburrow senior
Edward Aburrow senior
Edward Aburrow senior was a noted English cricketer of the mid-18th century. He was a Sussex man, believed to have been a native of the famous village of Slindon, where his son Edward "Curry" Aburrow was born....
(replacing John Mills) and Joe Harris
Joe Harris (cricketer)
Joseph Harris and his brother John Harris were English cricketers in the 1740s and 1750s...
. The stake was two hundred guineas and the players involved were stated to be the "best in England". In the second match on Monday, 1 October, the sides were Colchin, James Bryant
James Bryant (Kent cricketer)
James Bryant was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket during the 1740s. He was mainly associated with Bromley Cricket Club and Kent. Although information about his career is limited by a lack of surviving data, he is known to have made 11 single wicket and 11...
and Joe Harris versus Romney, John Bryant and Thomas Waymark
Thomas Waymark
Thomas Waymark was an English professional cricketer in the first half of the 18th century...
.
In the 1745 season, Romney again played in a major "threes" match at the Artillery Ground on Monday, 24 June, when he was teamed with Hodsoll and Newland against Colchin, John Bryant and one of the Harris brothers. Hodsoll, Newland and Romney won by 7 runs. The biggest first-class match of the year took place two days later between Long Robin's XI and Richard Newland's XI at the Artillery Ground. Long Robin's XI, including Romney, won "by over 70 runs".
1746 to 1750
Romney is not mentioned in 1746 sources. In 1747 he played for Kent against All-England on Monday, 31 August, at the Artillery Ground; and on Wednesday, 2 September, on Bromley CommonBromley 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...
. On Saturday, 5 September, there was a "threes" game at the Artillery Ground billed as "Long Robin's Side versus Stephen Dingate's Side". The teams were Colchin, John Harris and Romney against Stephen Dingate
Stephen Dingate
Stephen Dingate was a leading English cricketer of the mid-Georgian period. He almost certainly began playing in the 1720s and was one of the best known players in England through the 1740s....
, Richard Newland and Thomas Jure
Thomas Jure
Thomas Jure was a noted English cricketer of the mid-18th century who played for the famous London Cricket Club and also for All-England....
. It was played for sixty guineas per side and the players were specially chosen from those who had played in the two Kent v All-England games.
In 1748, Romney is recorded in two single wicket matches. On Monday, 8 August, he and Colchin opposed 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....
and Joe Harris at "twos" in the Artillery Ground for twenty guineas a side. On Monday, 29 August, he took part in a "fives" game at the Artillery Ground in which Tom Faulkner's Side defeated Long Robin's Side by four runs. The prize was 200 pounds. Romney was badly injured and could not run but, the rules being "play or pay", he was obliged to play as well as he could. The teams were Faulkner, Joe Harris, James Bryant, John Bryant and Durling
Durling (Surrey cricketer)
The Surrey and All-England cricketer called Durling was a noted player in the mid-18th century, although nothing is known of him outside mentions in match reports....
versus Colchin, Romney, John Larkin
John Larkin (cricketer)
John Larkin was a noted English cricketer of the mid-Georgian period at a time when the single wicket version of the game was popular....
, Jones
Jones (Kent cricketer)
Jones was an English cricketer who played for Hadlow and Kent during the 1740s.-Career:Jones is mentioned in reports from 1747 to 1749. The first was his appearance for Kent v All-England at the Artillery Ground on Monday, 31 August 1747.In 1748, he took part in a major single wicket match at the...
and Maynard
Maynard (Surrey cricketer)
Maynard was an English cricketer who played for Surrey during the 1740s.-Career:Maynard is mentioned in reports from 1744 to 1750. He was especially prolific in 1748 when he took part in a number of single wicket matches....
.
In 1749, Romney made first-class appearances for All-England against Surrey at Dartford Brent
Dartford Brent
Dartford Brent was an extensive area of common land on the outskirts of Dartford in Kent. In history, it was the scene of a confrontation between King Henry VI and Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York in 1452; and in 1555 thousands of spectators were to witness the burning to death at the stake of...
and for Long Robin's XI against Stephen Dingate's XI 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 he played for All-England in a "fives" match" against 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....
. There is just one mention of Romney in 1750 when he played in the Kent side that defeated Surrey by 3 wickets in a first-class match at Dartford Brent.
Last known season
1751 is Romney's last known season although he may have continued for a few years more. Surviving data about matches in the 1750s is scarce. There was a general reduction in matches through the decade caused initially by the deaths of key patrons and then compounded by the impact of the Seven Years War. Romney made two first-class appearances in May 1751 when he played for Kent against All-England. Kent, weakened by the recent death of Robert ColchinRobert 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:...
, were well beaten in both games.
Val Romney's last recorded appearance was in a single wicket "fives" match for Kent against Surrey at the Artillery Ground on Monday, 3 June 1751. The Kent team was Tom Faulkner (given man), John & Thomas Bell, Stone
Stone (1751 Kent cricketer)
Stone was an English cricketer who played in major cricket matches for Kent in 1751.-Career:Stone played in two major matches in 1751 for Kent against the All-England Eleven. On 20 and 21 May, he was a member of the Kent team that lost by 9 runs at the Artillery Ground...
and Romney. The Surrey team was Stephen Dingate, John Harris, Joe Harris, Stephen Harding
Stephen Harding (cricketer)
Stephen Harding was a noted English cricketer of the mid-18th century who played for Chertsey, All-England and Surrey. Harding was a hard-hitting batsman and a good bowler, although his style and pace is unknown...
and Perry
Perry (Surrey cricketer)
Perry was an English cricketer who played for Surrey during the 1750s. He was possibly related to the player called Perry who, in 1726, took part with Piper of Hampton in the earliest known single wicket contest.-Career:...
. Kent won "although the betting was in favour of Surrey".
Cricket in Romney's time
In Romney's career, the cricket batCricket bat
A cricket bat is a specialised piece of equipment used by batsmen in the sport of cricket to hit the ball. It is usually made of willow wood. Its use is first mentioned in 1624....
was shaped like a modern hockey stick, this being the ideal shape for addressing a ball that was "trundled" along the ground, as in lawn bowls. The wicket
Wicket
In the sport of cricket the word wicket has several distinct meanings:-Definitions of wicket:Most of the time, the wicket is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch...
consisted of two stumps and a single bail. Bowlers used the underarm
Underarm bowling
In cricket, underarm bowling is as old as the sport itself. Until the introduction of the roundarm style in the first half of the 19th century, bowling was performed in the same way as in bowls, the ball being delivered with the hand below the waist...
style exclusively but at varying pace. The ball was either rolled along the ground or, if a fast bowler, skimmed across the surface; pitching was not introduced until about 1760, which would have been after Romney retired.
Legacy
F S Ashley-Cooper says of Romney that "he was a most famous player, his name being found in nearly all the great matches of his time" and that "as a batsman and single wicket player he was very celebrated".Personal life
Romney lived mostly at Sevenoaks and was employed by the 1st Duke of DorsetLionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset
Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset, PC was an English political leader and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. He was the son of the 6th Earl of Dorset and 1st Earl of Middlesex and the former Lady Mary Compton, younger daughter of the 3rd Earl of Northampton...
as head gardener at Knole House
Knole House
Knole is an English country house in the town of Sevenoaks in west Kent, surrounded by a deer park. One of England's largest houses, it is reputed to be a calendar house, having 365 rooms, 52 staircases, 12 entrances and 7 courtyards...
, a post later occupied by John Minshull
John Minshull
John Minshull aka Minchin was a famous English cricketer during the 1770s...
. By 1768, the Sackvilles still rewarded him with a Christmas gratuity of two guineas.