Английская Википедия:1744 English cricket season

Материал из Онлайн справочника
Перейти к навигацииПерейти к поиску

Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Good article Шаблон:Use British English Шаблон:Use dmy dates

Файл:Artillery Ground in 2008.jpg
The Artillery Ground in Finsbury was the feature venue of English cricket in 1744.

Шаблон:Infobox cricket tournament The 1744 cricket season in England is remembered for the earliest known codification of the Laws of Cricket. This was drafted by members of several cricket clubs, though the code was not published until 1755. Much of its terminology such as no ball, over, toss, umpire and wicket remain in current use. The season is also notable for the two earliest known surviving match scorecards. The second of those matches, played on Monday, 18 June, was a celebrated event in which a Kent county team challenged an England team at the Artillery Ground, Kent winning by one wicket.

In September, Slindon Cricket Club defeated London Cricket Club and then issued a challenge to play "any parish in England". The challenge was accepted by the Addington and Bromley clubs, but there is no record of either challenge match having been completed. The single wicket form of the sport was popular and reports have survived of four top-class matches played at the Artillery Ground. Several eleven-a-side matches are the subject of surviving pre-match announcements or post-match summaries. Some reports mention crowd disturbances and efforts were made to implement control by means of admission charges and limitations on the sale of alcohol. Wagering on cricket was common and some matches are known to have been played for high stakes.

The Laws of Cricket

Шаблон:Main

Файл:Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, by circle of Jean Marc Nattier.jpg
Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond was an influential figure in early cricket.

The earliest known coded issue of the Laws of Cricket was drafted by members of several clubs including London, of which Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, was president. Representatives of the clubs met at the Star and Garter tavern on Pall Mall, London.Шаблон:Sfn[1] The heading of the printed version, published in 1755, reads: "The Game at Cricket, As settled by the Several Cricket-Clubs, Particularly that of the Star and Garter in Pall-Mall".Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn According to Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 1965, these Laws were undoubtedly a recension of a much earlier code.[1] No earlier code has been found. However, there were cases of Articles of Agreement being drawn up, as for the matches in 1727 between Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, and Alan Brodrick, 2nd Viscount Midleton.Шаблон:Sfn

Some of the main points in the 1744 code:Шаблон:Sfn

There are four Laws for bowlers but they do not say he must roll the ball and there is no mention of prescribed arm action, only that he must "deliver the ball" with one foot behind the bowling crease.Шаблон:Sfn Rowland Bowen, writing in the 1965 edition of Wisden, asserts that the ball was bowled in the true sense (all along the ground) through the first half of the 18th century and that this was the rule prior to the 1750s, though it was largely forsaken by the 1770s after bowlers began pitching the ball.[2]

Earliest known scorecards

Файл:Goodwood House.jpg
Goodwood House in Sussex, where the oldest known scorecard was kept.

The season is also notable for the two earliest known surviving match scorecards.[2]Шаблон:Sfn It is not until the 1772 season that more scorecards of top-class matches have survived, although a handful of cards from minor matches have been found.Шаблон:Sfn

London v Surrey and Sussex, Artillery Ground, 2 June

The first, containing individual scores but no details of dismissals, is from a match between the London Cricket Club and a combined Surrey and Sussex team at the Artillery Ground on 2 June.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn[3] No titles were given to the teams at the time and various titles, including London v Slindon, have been applied retrospectively by modern authors. London, whose team included given men, was the host club and their opponents were all from the counties of Surrey and Sussex. The scorecard was kept by the 2nd Duke of Richmond at Goodwood House.Шаблон:Sfn

Шаблон:Two-innings cricket match

The card gives the scores by each player and their surnames only, although it does differentiate between the two pairs of brothers (the Harrises and Newlands) who were playing. The Daily Advertiser carried the names of players expected to play in the match on 1–2 June and reported the same names on 3 June although some of them do not appear on the scorecard.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Surrey and Sussex scored 102 runs in the first of their two innings, and 102 for 6 wickets in their second. London scored 79 in their first innings and 70 in their second so that Surrey and Sussex won by 55 runs.Шаблон:Sfn The highest individual score in the match was 47 by John Harris of Surrey and Sussex in the second innings.[3] This was the first game at which tickets for readmission are known to have been issued to the spectators.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn

England v Kent, Artillery Ground, 18 June

Just over a fortnight later, on 18 June, the scorecard has also survived from a match at the Artillery Ground between an England team and the Kent county team.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn[4] The match was arranged by Lord John Sackville who captained the Kent team. England, batting first, totalled 40 and 70 in their two innings; Kent responded with 53 and 58 for 9 to win by one wicket.Шаблон:Sfn Richard Newland of England made the two highest individual scores in the match with 18 not out and 15.[4] Details of the dismissals are only partially complete; it is known that Kent bowler William Hodsoll took at least eight wickets.[4] It is the first match for which a scorecard has survived that includes some dismissals. It became the first entry in Arthur Haygarth's Scores & Biographies,Шаблон:Sfn although he gave the year as 1746 instead of 1744.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn

Шаблон:Two-innings cricket match

The match was described by the London Daily Advertiser as the "greatest cricket match ever known".Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn It was a noted social occasion as the spectators included the Prince of Wales and his brother, Prince William, Duke of Cumberland. Also present were the 2nd Duke of Richmond and Admiral Vernon.Шаблон:Sfn The poet James Love (1722–1774) commemorated it in his Cricket: An Heroic Poem (1745), written in rhyming couplets. According to cricket historian H. S. Altham, it "should be in every cricket lover's library" and "his description of the game goes with a rare swing".Шаблон:Sfn The poem is one of the first substantial pieces of literature about cricket – in More Than A Game, former prime minister John Major says it is the earliest-known cricket poem.Шаблон:Sfn Love was himself a cricketer and a member of Richmond Cricket Club in Surrey.Шаблон:Sfn

There was crowd disorder at the match. The Daily Advertiser reported on Saturday, 30 June that it was "with difficulty the match was played out".Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn A decision was taken to charge sixpence admission at future matches on the Artillery Ground. Also, the field would be surrounded by a ring of benches to hold over 800 people and no one without prior authorisation would be allowed within the ring.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn

Slindon challenge matches

Файл:Slindon Cricket Sign - geograph.org.uk - 2680307.jpg
Slindon Cricket Sign

On Monday, 10 September, the London club hosted a match against Slindon Cricket Club at the Artillery Ground. Play continued into the Tuesday and, after winning the match by an unknown margin, Slindon issued a challenge to play "any parish in England" and received immediate acceptances from the Addington and Bromley clubs.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn These matches were arranged to take place at the Artillery Ground over the next few days and it is known that Slindon v Addington began on Wednesday, 12 September. It was impacted by bad weather and Slindon led by two runs at close of play. There are no surviving reports of play on the 13th.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Slindon's match against Bromley was scheduled for Friday, 14 September, but there are no surviving reports of it taking place.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn

Single wicket matches

Reports have survived of four top-class matches played at the Artillery Ground under single wicket rules. This form of cricket was popular through the 1740s. On Wednesday, 13 June, there was a one-a-side match between two unnamed players "for a considerable sum of money, in order to determine finally who is the best player".Шаблон:Sfn On Monday, 20 August, there was another one-a-side match "for a large sum" between a Sevenoaks player and a London player.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn

On Monday, 17 September, a three-a-side match was billed as "Long Robin's Side v R. Newland's Side". The participants were described as the six best players in England. The teams were Robert Colchin ("Long Robin"), Val Romney and John Bryant against Richard Newland, Edward Aburrow senior and Joseph Harris. Aburrow replaced John Mills, called the "famous Kent bowler", who was originally chosen. The stake was two hundred guineas.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn There was another "threes" match on Monday, 1 October, again "for a considerable sum" – Robert Colchin, James Bryant and Joseph Harris played against John Bryant, Val Romney and Thomas Waymark.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn

Other eleven-a-side matches

Файл:Moulsey.JPG
The River Thames at Moulsey Hurst, a popular sporting venue in the 18th century.

Reports have survived of three earlier matches between teams called England and Kent. Two of these took place in May at unknown venues and both were won by Kent. They later became the subject of a 1748 court case over unpaid gambling debts.Шаблон:Sfn The famous match on 18 June was the return to one on Friday, 15 June at Coxheath Common. Details of this match, including the result, are unknown. The Kent team challenged "eleven pick'd from any part of England".Шаблон:Sfn

Also in May, an England team was twice matched against Surrey. The first was played at Moulsey Hurst on Monday, 14 May, and Surrey won by four runs. The return on the 21st was played at the Artillery Ground but no details, including the result, have been found. A newspaper announcement before the second match warned spectators against encroaching onto the field of play and bringing dogs into the ground.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn

During the season, there were three matches which modern sources have labelled Two Elevens as each involved unnamed teams.Шаблон:Sfn The first of these matches took place at the Artillery Ground on Thursday, 5 July. It is known that spectators had to pay sixpence – the earliest recorded admission charge.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The second match began at Moulsey Hurst on Friday, 6 July, and was unfinished. Overnight, one team led by 31 runs with two second innings wickets standing. Play continued at the Artillery Ground on the 7th with admission reduced to the "usual" twopence.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Near the end of the season on Wednesday, 19 September, the Artillery Ground staged "a great match between 22 of the best players from Kent, Surrey, Sussex and London".Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn

Файл:Footpath in Duppas Hill Recreational Ground (geograph 2673447).jpg
Duppas Hill Recreation Ground, near Croydon.

The prominent Addington and Bromley clubs, who accepted the Slindon challenge in September, were scheduled to play a match against each other on Friday, 13 July. No post-match reports have survived. The venue was Bromley Common where, as stated in a pre-match announcement, no person was allowed to sell liquor "but who belong to the Parish".Шаблон:Sfn On the previous Monday, a combined Addington and Bromley team were due to play a team called Surrey and the Rest of Kent at Duppas Hill in Croydon. A similar pre-match announcement warned that no person would be allowed to bring liquor into the ground "that don't live in the Parish".Шаблон:Sfn In other surviving announcements, London were to host matches at the Artillery Ground against Addington on Monday, 30 July; and against Bromley on Monday, 3 September. No post-match reports have been found.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn

Reports or announcements have been found of five other eleven-a-side matches which all involved London. On Monday, 9 July, they were due to play Richmond on Kennington Common but no match details have survived.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn London arranged a match against Woburn Cricket Club at the Artillery Ground for Thursday, 19 July, but it had to be postponed for two days because the Honourable Artillery Company required the ground. No post-match report has been found.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn

The other three London matches were against Surrey. They first met at Moulsey Hurst on Friday, 24 August, and London won. Robert Colchin of Bromley and Val Romney of Sevenoaks played as given men for London. The stakes for this match were reported to be "£50 a side".Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn There was a return match the following Monday, 27th, at the Artillery Ground and London with Colchin and Romney were again the winners.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn A third match was scheduled at the Artillery Ground for Friday, 7 September with Romney playing for London but no post-match details are known.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn

References

Шаблон:Reflist

Bibliography

Further reading

Шаблон:English cricket seasons