London Cricket Club - Matches

Matches

In the 1720s, the London club seemed to share its time between Kennington Common and White Conduit Fields but it increasingly began to use the Artillery Ground from 1730.

The 1730s were the glory days of London Cricket Club and it completely dominated the cricket scene, especially given its royal and aristocratic patronage. One of the earliest good players mentioned is "the famous Tim Coleman" who was referred as such in 1731 when it was rare to see any player named in the newspapers.

London's main opponents in the 1730s were Croydon and Dartford. They played matches against various other parish clubs and sometimes took on county sides, mainly Kent, Surrey and Sussex. There is sometimes confusion in the reports when London is identified with Middlesex and vice-versa but, in general, London means the club and Middlesex was a team of players born in the county who were not necessarily of the London club.

The club's best season may have been the 1732 season when it was unbeaten. As a report recounts after the final match: This is the thirteenth match the London gamesters have played this year and not lost one match.

As the 1730s progressed, London continued to be generally successful. From time to time, challengers appeared. Chertsey Cricket Club first made its mark in the 1736 season and London also had some tight contests against Chislehurst in the late 1730s.

But the biggest challenge to London's dominance emerged in the 1741 season. This was Slindon which starred the great all-rounder Richard Newland and was backed by the Duke of Richmond. After Slindon beat Surrey "almost in one innings" at the end of that season, it was inevitable they would come to the Artillery Ground and play London. This happened in 1742 when two matches were played against a background of furious gambling with huge wagers being laid against Newland's expected performance. London prevailed, winning the first match "with great difficulty" and then, having been assisted by the weather, thrashing Slindon by 184 runs in the second.

It was London's turn to be thrashed in 1743 when they played another of the "great little clubs": Addington Cricket Club who, on their first appearance at the Artillery Ground, easily won by an innings and 4 runs. Addington did have the great player Robert Colchin as a given man.

In 1744, Slindon were back and in June they beat London by 55 runs in a match whose scores have been preserved by the earliest known cricket scorecard. Slindon beat London again in September and proceeded to issue their audacious challenge to play against any parish in England. London did not take up the challenge: only Addington and Bromley felt able to respond.

There was a noticeable increase in the popularity of single wicket contests in the late 1740s although the London club often arranged these at the Artillery Ground. In the eleven a side game, county matches or games involving "best elevens" were the norm and, as the 1750s began, London was really playing parish matches only unless it had several given men.