1745 English cricket season

1745 English cricket season

The 1745 English cricket season was the second season following the earliest known codification of the Laws of Cricket.

Recorded matches

Details of 22 eleven-a-side matches between significant teams have survived:

• 6 May – London v Addington – Kennington Common
• 23 May – Addington v London – Addington Hills
• 24 May – Bromley v London – Bromley Common
• 27 May – London v Addington – Artillery Ground
• 10 June – London v Bromley – Artillery Ground
• 17 June – London v Bromley – Artillery Ground
• 26 June – Long Robin's XI v Richard Newland's XI – Artillery Ground
• 5 July – Long Robin's XI v Richard Newland's XI – Artillery Ground
• 12 July – Kent v England – Bromley Common
• 13 July – Trial Match – Artillery Ground
• 15 July – England v Kent – Artillery Ground
• 22 July – Addington & Lingfield v Surrey – Artillery Ground
• 23 July – Croydon v Lambeth – Kennington Common
• 24 July – Kingston v Lambeth – Kennington Common
• 3 August – Addington v Lingfield – Addington Hills
• 7 August – London v Kingston – Artillery Ground
• 12 August – London v Addington – Artillery Ground
• 19 August – Surrey v Sussex – Artillery Ground
• 21 August – Surrey v Sussex – Moulsey Hurst
• 26 August – Sussex v Surrey – Bury Hill, Arundel
• 16 September – Addington & Lingfield v Surrey – Artillery Ground
• 28 September – Hills of Kent v Dales of Kent – Artillery Ground

Single wicket matches

A single wicket match between two teams of three took place on 24 June at the Artillery Ground.

Other events

On 10 May, the Ipswich Journal reported that: "All lovers of Cricket are hereby desired to meet at Gray's Coffee House (in Norwich) on Friday 17th inst. at 6 pm to settle rules for that manly diversion". The report is the earliest known mention of cricket in the county of Norfolk.

A ladies match took place on Gosden Common, near Guildford, between "XI Maids of Bramley" and "XI Maids of Hambledon" on 26 July. The players dressed in white but the Hambledon team wore red ribbons on their heads and the Bramley team wore blue ribbons. A return match was played on 6 August.

First mentions

Counties

• Norfolk

Clubs and teams

• Dales of Kent
• Hills of Kent
• Lambeth
• William Hodsoll's XI

Players

• Robert Lascoe
• Jacob Mann

Venues

• Addington Hills

Bibliography

• ACS (1981). A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709 – 1863. Nottingham: ACS.
• Ashley-Cooper, F. S. (1900). "At the Sign of the Wicket: Cricket 1742–1751". Cricket: A Weekly Record of the Game. London: Cricket Magazine. OCLC 28863559.
• Bowen, Rowland (1970). Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development. Eyre & Spottiswoode.
• Buckley, G. B. (1935). Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket. Cotterell.
• Buckley, G. B. (1937). Fresh Light on pre-Victorian Cricket. Cotterell.
• Maun, Ian (2009). From Commons to Lord's, Volume One: 1700 to 1750. Roger Heavens. ISBN 978-1-900592-52-9.
• Waghorn, H. T. (1899). Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730–1773). Blackwood.

Further reading

• Altham, H. S. (1962). A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914). George Allen & Unwin.
• Birley, Derek (1999). A Social History of English Cricket. Aurum.
• Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. HarperCollins.
• Underdown, David (2000). Start of Play. Allen Lane.