18th-century Cricket
Sevenoaks Vine was a famous venue for major cricket matches in the 18th century and is notable for being the first place in England where cricket was played with three stumps rather than two. Its earliest known use was for Kent v Sussex on Friday 6 September 1734, a game which Kent won.
The world record for the highest (known) individual score was twice established at the Vine. First, Joseph Miller playing for Kent v Hampshire in August 1774 made 95 out of 240 and enabled Kent to win by an innings and 35 runs.
Then in June 1777 came one of the most remarkable innings of cricket's early history when James Aylward scored 167 for Hampshire v All-England. In a contemporary report, it is stated that: "Aylward went in at 5 o’clock on Wednesday afternoon, and was not out till after three on Friday". Hampshire won by an innings and 168 runs.
The last known use of the Vine for major cricket was the Kent v Sussex match in 1829.
In addition to the cricket Club, Sevenoaks Hockey Club also shares the Vine Clubhouse, having done so since 1911.
Read more about this topic: Vine Cricket Ground
Famous quotes containing the word cricket:
“The thing that struck me forcefully was the feeling of great age about the place. Standing on that old parade ground, which is now a cricket field, I could feel the dead generations crowding me. Here was the oldest settlement of freedmen in the Western world, no doubt. Men who had thrown off the bands of slavery by their own courage and ingenuity. The courage and daring of the Maroons strike like a purple beam across the history of Jamaica.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)