Other Events
There is a bat in The Oval pavilion which belonged to John Chitty of Knaphill, Surrey. Dated 1729, it is the oldest known bat. It looks more like a field hockey stick than a modern cricket bat but its curvature was to enable the batsman to play a ball that was always rolled, as in bowls, never pitched. Pitching began about 30 years later and the straight bats used nowadays were invented in response to the pitched delivery.
Dr Samuel Johnson attended Oxford University from October 1728 until the following summer and later told James Boswell that cricket matches were played there. Boswell mentioned this in his Life of Samuel Johnson.
A local game in Gloucester on Monday 22 September is the earliest known reference to cricket in Gloucestershire.
Read more about this topic: 1729 English Cricket Season
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