1728 English cricket season
The 1728 English cricket season was the 32nd cricket season after the earliest recorded eleven-aside match was played. Details have survived of four matches with another match possibly having been played in this year.
A Swiss traveller in southern England recorded his experiences of watching cricket being played. Teams which played under the names of counties are first noted, although generally organised by patrons such as Edwin Stead, Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond and Sir William Gage.
Recorded matches
Records of the following matches exist:[1][2]
- 25 June: Edwin Stead's XI v 2nd Duke of Richmond's XI at Coxheath Common
- July: Edwin Stead's XI v 2nd Duke of Richmond's XI at Penshurst Park
- August: Edwin Stead's XI v Sir William Gage's XI at Penshurst Park
- unknown date: 2nd Duke of Richmond's XI v Sir William Gage's XI at Lewes. The exact location of the ground in Lewes is unknown.
In several sources, a Gentlemen of Middlesex v Gentlemen of London match is listed as taking place in Islington on 5 August.[2][3] Research suggests that this match may have been played in 1729.[4]
Other events
Swiss traveller César-François de Saussure noted in his journal the frequency with which he saw cricket being played while he was making his journeys across southern England in June.[5] He referred to county matches as "a commonplace" and wrote that "everyone plays it, the common people and also men of rank".[6]
First mentions
Venues
References
- ^ Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (1981) A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709 – 1863, p.19. ACS: Nottingham.
- ^ a b Other matches in England 1728, CricketArchive. Retrieved 3 January 2019. (subscription required)
- ^ Maun I (2009) From Commons to Lord's, Volume One: 1700 to 1750, p.37. Roger Heavens ISBN 9781900592529
- ^ Maun I (2011) From Commons to Lord's, Volume Two: 1751 to 1770, p.248. Martin Wilson. ISBN 9780956906601
- ^ César de Saussure. "Letters from London 1725-1730 : Introduction". Adnax Publications. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
- ^ César de Saussure, A Foreign View of England in the Reigns of George I and George II. The Letters of Monsieur César de Saussure to his Family, General Books LLC, 2010.
Further reading
- Altham HS (1962) A History of Cricket, Volume 1 London: George Allen & Unwin.
- Birley D (1999) A Social History of English Cricket. London: Aurum. ISBN 978 1 78131 1769
- Major J (2007) More Than a Game: The Story of Cricket's Early Years. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-718364-7
- Underdown D (2001) Cricket and Culture in Eighteenth-century England. London: Penguin. ISBN 9780140283549