1775 English cricket season

The 1775 English cricket season was the fourth in which matches have been awarded retrospective first-class cricket status. The scorecards of four first-class matches have survived.

1775 English cricket season

Matches

Four first-class match scorecards survive from 1775.[1][2]

• 14–15 June - Kent XI v Hampshire XI - Sevenoaks Vine[3]
• 29–30 June - Hampshire XI v Kent XI - Broadhalfpenny Down[4]
• 6–8 July - Surrey XI v Hampshire XI - Laleham Burway[5]
• 13–17 July - Hampshire XI v Surrey XI - Broadhalfpenny Down[6]

During the second Hampshire v Surrey match, John Small set a new record for the highest known score in cricket matches, making 136 for the Hampshire XI.[7][8] This beat John Minshull's score of 107 set in 1769 and was the first century scored in a match that has been awarded first-class status. It lasted only until 1777 when James Aylward set a new mark with a score of 167.[7]

Ten other matches are known to have been played during the season, including matches between county teams. Full scorecards do not survive from most of these matches.[9]

Other events

During a single wicket cricket match in May at the Artillery Ground, Lumpy Stevens, bowling, beat John Small at least three times only for the ball to pass through centre of the wicket, which at that time still consisted of two stumps and a single bail crosspiece. This led to calls for the introduction of a third stump to make it impossible for the ball to pass through the centre of the wicket.[8][10]

The earliest known reference to Oldfield Cricket Club in Berkshire and to cricket in Huntingdonshire date from 1774.[11]

First mentions

Players

• Rev Charles Bartholomew (Surrey)
• William Edmeads (Surrey)
• Francis (Hampshire)
• Tom Taylor (Hampshire)

References

1. Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) (1981) A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709 – 1863. Nottingham: ACS.
2. Results, English Domestic Season 1775, CricInfo. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
3. Kent XI v Hampshire XI, Scorecard, CricInfo. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
4. Hsmpshire XI v Kent XI, Scorecard, CricInfo. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
5. Surrey XI v Hampshire XI, Scorecard, CricInfo. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
6. Hmpshire XI v Surrey XI, Scorecard, CricInfo. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
7. Liverman D, Griffiths P (nd) From Minshull to Collins, CricInfo. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
8. Williamson M (nd) John Small, CricInfo. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
9. Other matches in England 1775, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
10. Mukherjee A (2017) The incident that led to the middle-stump in cricket, Cricket Country, 2017-05-23. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
11. Bowen.

Bibliography

• Bowen, Rowland (1970). Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development. Eyre & Spottiswoode.

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.