1731 English Cricket Season - Matches

Advance notice was given of this game and the one below, both at the same venue.

Played in the evening for 30 guineas and won by the London team by great odds.

Played for 50 guineas a side in the old Artillery Ground. Play went on for several hours and bets of between £400 and £500 were laid. Those amounts were a fortune at the time.

Played for 30 guineas. An evening match.

A return match was immediately arranged, to be played on Thu 24 June at the Artillery Ground.

Played for 200 guineas. The report mentions a great deal of good play on both sides.

This was arranged immediately after the game at Dartford Brent on Wed 16 June (according to the St James Evening Post).

Played for 30 guineas a side. The Kent side was organised by Edward Stead of Maidstone. His opponent (for the stakes) may well have been Mr Andrews of Sunbury who organised the match against the Duke of Richmond in 1730.

The match ran out of time but it was thought (London) would have won. They arranged to play again on Monday 5 July (see below).

H T Waghorn reports that play did not finish at Dartford Brent on Wed 30 June and the match was replayed at the Artillery Ground on the following Monday 5 July (result unknown). There was an advert dated Sat 3 July for the re-match on Monday 5 July. Stumps were to be pitched at exactly two o’clock. Time in those days was determined by the local church clock.

This was played for forty guineas a side and won very considerably by (East Grinstead), they having four men to go in when the umpire gave up the game.

This game is the first known to have been played in an enclosed ground. The report says the ground will be roped round and all persons are desired to keep without side of the same.

This was played for 50 guineas and, no, it wasn’t a football game! Mr Waghorn recorded: a person that stood by had the misfortune to receive a blow from the ball which beat out three of his teeth.

Reported in advance only: we hear that above £500 is already laid on their heads, neither party having yet been beat.

Reported in advance only: for £50 a side. The report stresses that the contestants are the County of Kent and the County of Middlesex.

The original report in Fog’s Weekly Journal calls the winning team Surrey but a report of the return match on Mon 26 July refers to Croydon. It was played at Duppas Hill, home venue of the Croydon club, so it does seem likely that Croydon was playing.

Mr Buckley’s source was the Daily Advertiser on Tues 27 July. Another source (Read’s Weekly Journal, quoted in Dawn of Cricket) reports that London were playing Dartford, but this match was almost certainly a return of the one at Duppas Hill on Tues 20 July. Wickets to be pitched at 1 pm under forfeiture of £10 on either side.

.....for 30 guineas; the game being play’d with great judgment on both sides. Chelsea was beat by only 3 notches.

The stake in this game was 100 guineas. No details are reported other than that Mr Chambers’ XI won. It seems Mr Chambers and his team all came from Middlesex.

This return match was played for 200 guineas but it is notable as it seems to be the earliest match where team scores are known: Duke of Richmond 79, Mr Chambers 119; Duke of Richmond 72, Mr Chambers 23-5 (approx.). The game ended promptly at a pre-agreed time although Mr Chambers with four or five more to have come in and needing about 8 to 10 notches clearly had the upper hand. The end result caused a fracas among the crowd at Richmond Green who were incensed by the prompt finish because the Duke of Richmond had arrived late and delayed the start of the game. The riot resulted in some of the Sussex players having the shirts torn off their backs; and it was said a law suit would commence about the play. The source (Buckley) includes a further note which suggests the Duke of Richmond may have later conceded the result to Mr Chambers (see match on Mon 6 Sept below).

Played for 25 guineas a side and some thousands of persons of both sexes were present on this occasion.

Played for 11 guineas. It is reported that a dispute arose and it was agreed to play it again on Mon 13 September..

This game was drawn due to heavy rain. Kent led by 17 on first innings but Surrey, with 3 wickets standing, needed just 12 to win when rain ended it. The report says the participants originally intended to continue another time but it seems they settled for the draw.

The Daily Post Boy reported on Wed 8 September that 11 of Surrey beat the 11 who about a fortnight ago beat the Duke of Richmond’s men. See the game on Mon 23 August above. The report on Wed 8 Sept suggests that the Duke of Richmond conceded his controversial game against Mr Chambers.

Again the confusion between Croydon and Surrey: one report says Croydon, another says Surrey. Croydon is the more likely. This was probably the replay of the game on Thurs 2 Sept (see above), but postponed by two days from the originally agreed date.

No post-match report was found for this match despite its being promoted as likely to be the best performance of this kind that has been seen for some time. It is interesting that for the convenience of the gamesters, the ground is to be staked and roped out so it seems that enclosure quickly became common practice in 1731. In addition, the advertisement refers to the whole county of Surrey as London’s opponents. The Prince of Wales was expected to attend.