1745 English cricket season

1745 English cricket season

Cricket formats	major, including single wicket

The 1745 English cricket season was played against the background of the Jacobite Rebellion but this seemingly had little impact on cricket in south-east England. Single wicket contests were very popular with the gamblers.

Matches

Date	Match Title	Venue	Result
6 May (M)	London v Addington	Kennington Common	result unknown
Reported in the Penny London Post dated Mon 6 May. Stakes were one guinea a man and the wickets were to be pitched by 1 pm.
23 May (Th)	Addington v London	Addington Hill	Addington won
No details are known except the result.
24 May (F)	Bromley v London	Bromley Common	Bromley won
The precise venue was "behind the Bell Inn".
27 May (M)	London v Addington	Artillery Ground	London won
The return game to the one on 23 May. The matches were probably arranged as a pair in advance.
10 June (M)	London v Bromley	Artillery Ground	London won by 10 runs
The return game to the one on 24 May. London scored 23 and 75; Bromley scored 52 and 36.
17 June (M)	London v Bromley	Artillery Ground	London won by 7 wkts
Probably arranged after 10 June as a "decider". The prize was 200 guineas. Bromley scored 65 and 29; London scored 48 and then got the match and had only three hands out.
26 June (W)	Long Robin's XI v R Newland's XI	Artillery Ground	Long Robin's XI won by 70+ runs
The teams are known but no details of the scores. Long Robin’s XI: Robert Colchin, Tom Faulkner, James Bryant, Joseph Harris, Broad, Hodge, Val Romney, George Jackson, Robert Lascoe, John Harris, John Bowra. R Newland’s XI: Richard Newland, John Bryant, Norton, Jacob Mann, Little Bennett, Martin, Howlett, Tall Bennett, William Anderson, Norris, Howard. The match was arranged by the noblemen and gentlemen of the London Club. Wickets were pitched at noon but play did not commence until one o’clock.
5 July (F)	Long Robin's XI v R Newland's XI	Artillery Ground	Long Robin's XI won by 5 wkts
Effectively the same fixture as the previous one but it was advertised rather wordily as Sevenoaks, Bromley & Addington versus Slindon, Horsmonden, Chislehurst & London! As before, the match was arranged by the noblemen and gentlemen of the London Club.
12 July (F)	Kent v All-England	Bromley Common	Kent won
Played for a thousand guineas.
13 July (S)	Trial Match	Artillery Ground	result unknown
Advertised simply as a trial match, those cricketers participating who were down to play in the Kent v All-England match on the following Monday.
15 & 16 July (M-Tu)	All-England v Kent	Artillery Ground	All-England won by 119 runs
Played for a thousand guineas. Richard Newland made 88 for All-England but it is not known if this was in one innings or if it was his match total. It was certainly a very high score either way given pitch conditions at the time.
22 July (M)	Addington & Lingfield v Surrey	Artillery Ground	result unknown
John Bryant and "Little" Bennett played for Surrey as given men.
23 July (Tu)	Croydon v Lambeth	Kennington Common	result unknown
Played for a great sum. It was on Tuesday 23 July that Charles Edward Stuart and his companions landed on Eriskay in the Hebrides with the intention of raising an army to overthrow the House of Hanover.
24 July (W)	Kingston v Lambeth	Kennington Common	result unknown
Played for a large sum.
3 August (S)	Addington v Lingfield	Addington	result unknown
No details of the match are known but a report states that there was a cold Collation and the best of Liquours at George Williams’ Red Cap Tent.
7 August (W)	London v Kingston	Artillery Ground	result unknown
No details reported.
12 August (M)	London v Addington	Artillery Ground	result unknown
The report simply says that this was third match played this season between Addington and London.
19 August (M)	Surrey v Sussex	Artillery Ground	Surrey won "by several notches"
Reported in the St James Evening Post on the same and the next day. Richard Newland played for Sussex. It was on Monday 19 August that Charles Edward Stuart raised his standard at Glenfinnan to formally begin the ‘45 Rebellion.
21 August (W)	Surrey v Sussex	Moulsey Hurst	result unknown
The Daily Advertiser on Wed 21 August announced: The Streatham Captain (i.e., George Williams), with his Flying Squadron of Red Caps, will attend at his grand Tent, to entertain Gentlemen with a cold Collation, the best French Wines, and other Liquours.
26 August (M)	Sussex v Surrey	Berry Hill, Arundel	Surrey won?
Berry Hill was also called Bury Hill. It would seem that Surrey won the game in view of a comment made by Lord John Philip Sackville in a letter dated Sat 14 September to the Duke of Richmond, Sussex's patron: I wish you had let Ridgeway play instead of your stopper behind it might have turned the match in our favour.
16 September (M)	Addington & Lingfield v Surrey	Artillery Ground	result unknown
John Bryant and "Little" Bennett played for Surrey as given men. Saturday 21 September. The first battle of the ‘45 Rebellion was fought at Prestonpans in Lothian. The Jacobite army defeated the only government force in Scotland. It is believed about 2500 soldiers fought on each side. The government commander, General Sir John Cope (1690–1760), had been left by the foreign wars with an inexperienced force. The Jacobites attacked at dawn by staging a "Highland charge" and the Hanoverian troops broke at once and fled. Over 300 deaths were recorded.
28 September (S)	Hills of Kent v Dales of Kent	Artillery Ground	result unknown
This match was originally arranged for Mon 23 September and it was stated to have been the third between these sides, each having previously won once. In one report, the venue was given as Mr Smith’s, a reference to George Smith who was the keeper of the Artillery Ground.

Other events

Fri 10 May. The Ipswich Journal reported that: All lovers of Cricket are hereby desired to meet at Gray’s Coffee House (in Norwich) on Friday 17th inst. at 6 pm to settle rules for that manly diversion. A version of the Laws of Cricket having been published the previous year, was this a meeting of dissenters, perhaps?

Mon 24 June. A game between two threes in the Artillery Ground. The teams were William Hodsoll (Dartford), Val Romney (Sevenoaks) and Richard Newland (Slindon) versus Robert Colchin (Bromley), J. Harris (Addington) and John Bryant (Bromley). It is not known which of John or Joe Harris was playing. Hodsoll’s side won by 7 runs.

Fri 26 July. A ladies match took place on Gosden Common, near Guildford, between XI Maids of Bramley and XI Maids of Hambledon. They all dressed in white but the Hambledon lasses wore red ribbons on their heads and the Bramley lasses wore blue. This is Hambledon near Godalming in Surrey, incidentally. Bramley is another Surrey village, also close to Godalming. A further report says the ladies played a return match at Hambledon, Surrey on Tues 6 August.

First mentions

• Broad (Addington/Surrey)
• Howard (Kent)
• Robert Lascoe (Bromley/Kent)
• William Anderson (London)
• Hodge (Colchin's XI)
• Jacob Mann (Newland's XI)
• Martin (Newland's XI)
• Norton (Newland's XI)

External links

• Classification of cricket matches from 1697 to 1825
• CricketArchive – 1745 match list
• From Lads to Lord's; The History of Cricket: 1300 – 1787