1757 English cricket season

Only two match reports in the 1757 English cricket season have been found.

A match in September between Wirksworth and Sheffield at Brampton Moor, near Chesterfield, is the earliest reference to cricket in Derbyshire. Although cricket is known to have been played in Sheffield since 1751, this may be the earliest indication of the Sheffield Cricket Club that eventually became Yorkshire CCC.[1]

The following reference is contained in William White’s History & General Directory of the Borough of Sheffield (1833). In his introductory history, Mr White says: In 1757 we find the Town Trustees attempting the abolition of brutal sports by paying 14s6d to the cricket players on Shrove Tuesday "to entertain the populace and prevent the infamous practice of throwing at cocks". He does not give the primary source from which he himself derived the information but it would likely be in parish or town records of some kind which may or may not still exist. There is a reference to the same in Waghorn who quotes his source as the much later Records of the Burgery of Sheffield (1897) by Jno. D Leader (p. 382) which dates the contract as 6 February 1757 (which may have been a Julian date as 6 February 1757 in the Gregorian Calendar was a Sunday).[2]

Matches

Date Match Title Venue Result
25 & 26 July (M-Tu) London v Surrey [3] Artillery Ground Surrey won by 50 runs

There would seem to have been a declaration here. Surrey batted first and scored 84 to which London replied with 89. Surrey batted until close of play when they were apparently 126-4. It seems that London batted when play restarted on Tuesday morning and scored 71. The source says: so that Surrey beat London by 50 notches and had six wickets to knock down.

There are conflicting versions because the London Chronicle on Tues 26 July reported the close of play score on Monday as (Surrey) had three hands put out but had got 117 notches ahead. That would make the close of play score 122-3 so it seems they received a slightly premature report, as confirmed in another source.[4]

26 August (F) Chertsey v Hampton [4] Moulsey Hurst Chertsey won

Reported in the General Evening Post next day.

First mentions

Counties

Clubs and teams

Players

Venues

References

  1. Rowland Bowen, Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
  2. H T Waghorn, The Dawn of Cricket, Electric Press, 1906
  3. H T Waghorn, Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730-1773), Blackwood, 1899
  4. 1 2 G B Buckley, Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket, Cotterell, 1935

Bibliography

Additional reading

External links

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