Lumpy Stevens - Cricket Career

Cricket Career

The beginning of Stevens' career was before scorecards began to be kept on a regular basis from the 1772 season. He may have come from a line of cricketers as two Surrey players called Stevens are mentioned in connection with the London v Slindon match in the 1744 season. Stevens probably began playing in great matches around the mid-1750s at a time when bowlers still bowled (i.e., trundled) the ball all along the ground, as in crown green bowls. It is not known if Stevens was the first to "give the ball air" but he was certainly around when that particular revolution occurred, probably before 1770. What is known is that Stevens was the bowler who made the most careful study of flight and worked out all the implications of variations in pace, length and direction mentioned above. He became a master of his craft.

Unlike the Hambledon players who tended to represent their club only, Stevens made appearances for just about every team, including Hambledon. He is normally associated with Surrey teams in general and with the famous Chertsey club in particular. He continued as a player until he was 50 and played his last match on 2–5 September 1789 for All-England v Hampshire at Sevenoaks Vine. It is not known what took place in his career following this game, but John Major suspected that Stevens enlisted in the British Army. On May 20, 1793 a letter signed by 'A Kentish Cricketer' written to Sporting Magazine describes an incident where an Ensign Hamilton, a member of the Sevenoaks Vine Club, had a cannonball deflected away from his head by a Sergeant. The magazine and the Maidstone Journal both linked the story to Stevens.