Cricket Career
Stead, a landowner, was a compulsive gambler who frequently bet on the outcome of cricket matches. Like other patrons, he sought to improve his chances of winning by underwriting select XIs usually made up of players from several Kent parish teams; his teams were therefore of, or near enough, county strength. Dartford Cricket Club, which featured William Bedle, had arguably the best parish team in the game at the time and it is certain that Stead used several Dartford players in his Kent teams, of which he was also the captain.
Stead's teams are recorded in several significant matches from 1724 to 1730. His first known match was probably at Chingford in 1724 and it became the subject of a court case after the Chingford team refused to play to a finish when Kent had the advantage. The court, presided over by Lord Chief Justice Pratt, ruled that the match must be played out so that all wagers could be fulfilled. The match resumed and was completed at Dartford Brent on 5 September 1726, though it seems that was not the original venue. A week earlier, on 29 August 1726, Kent had played a combined London and Surrey team on Kennington Common for 25 guineas but the result is unknown.
Stead was a strong rival to the two major Sussex patrons, Sir William Gage and the 2nd Duke of Richmond. He was very successful in 1728 when the report of a game in August said of Kent's latest victory: "the third time this summer that the Kentish men have been too expert for those of Sussex". But Stead was less successful on 28 August the following year when Gage's XI defeated Kent by an innings at Penshurst Park. There was a return match in September, probably at Lewes, but the result is unknown.
The last definite mentions of Stead in a cricket context are in 1730 concerning his presence at certain matches, although Kent remained prominent in the records for the last five years of his life.
Read more about this topic: Edward Stead
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