The 1747 English cricket season was the fourth season following the earliest known codification of the

Laws of Cricket The ''Laws of Cricket'' is a code which specifies the rules of the game of cricket worldwide. The earliest known code was drafted in 1744 and, since 1788, it has been owned and maintained by its custodian, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in Lond ...

Matches

Details of 14 matches between significant teams have survived.ACS, p.21.Other matches in England 1747
CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 January 2019. *13 May – Addington & Croydon v Deptford & Greenwich –

Duppas Hill Duppas Hill (or Duppa's Hill) is a park, road and surrounding residential area in Waddon, near Croydon in Greater London (and historically in Surrey). Duppas Hill has a long history of sport and recreation. It is said that jousting took place ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

* 29 May and 9 June – Addington & Croydon v

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

– Duppas Hill, Croydon *1–2 June – London v Addington & Croydon –

Artillery Ground The Artillery Ground in Finsbury is an open space originally set aside for archery and later known also as a cricket venue. Today it is used for military exercises, cricket, rugby and football matches. It belongs to the Honourable Artillery Co ...

*12 June –

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

v London –

Dartford Brent Dartford Brent was an extensive area of common land on the outskirts of Dartford in Kent. Historically, it was the scene of a confrontation between King Henry VI and Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York in 1452 and in 1555 thousands of spectat ...

*15 June – London v Addington & Croydon – Artillery Ground *29 June – London v Dartford – Artillery Ground *2 July – Dartford v

Hadlow Hadlow is a village in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. It is situated in the Medway valley, north-east of Tonbridge and south-west of Maidstone. The Saxon name for the settlement was Haeselholte (in the Textus Roffens ...

– Dartford Brent *9 July – Long Robin's XI v William Hodsoll's XI – Artillery Ground *28 July – Tom Faulkner's XI v John Bowra's XI –

Kennington Common Kennington Common was a swathe of common land mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth. It was one of the earliest venues for cricket around London, with matches played between 1724 and 1785.G B Buckley, ''Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket'' ...

*17 August – London v Bromley & Ripley – Artillery Ground *20 August – Bromley & Ripley v London – Ripley Green *24 August – London v Hadlow – Artillery Ground *31 August – England XI v

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

– Artillery Ground *2 September – Kent v England XI –

Bromley Common Bromley Common is the area of south-east London, within the London Borough of Bromley, Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was within the historic county of Kent. It lies south of Bromley town centre and Bickley, west of Southborough and Petts W ...

The two games between Kent and England were due to be played at Bromley Common on 29 June and at the Artillery Ground on 1 July, but the source reports that both matches "are deferred on account of the gentlemen subscribers being engaged at several Elections", referring to the

Parliamentary Election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

of 1747.

Single wicket matches

single wicket cricket Single wicket cricket is a form of cricket played between two individuals, who take turns to bat and bowl against each other. The one bowling is assisted by a team of fielders, who remain as fielders at the change of innings. The winner is the one w ...

match between five players of

Slindon Slindon is a mostly rural village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England, containing a developed nucleus amid woodland. Much of Slindon's woodland belongs to the National Trust on the southern edge of the escarpment of th ...

against five of

at the

on 6 July was the result of a challenge by Slindon, published in the ''Daily Advertiser'' on 29 June, to play "five of any parish in England, for their own Sum". The announcement advised interested parties: "If it is accepted of by any, they are desir'd to go to Mr Smith, who has Orders to make Stakes for them".Ashley-Cooper, p.51. Matches followed against

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

on 8 July and

on 10 and 15 July at the same ground. Another game resulting from Slindon's five-a-side challenge. Details unknown.McCann, pp.38–41. In early August, two single wicket matches at the Artillery Ground which were organised by the 2nd Duke of Richmond and on 5 September a three-a-side game took place, again at the

, between teams led by

Robert Colchin Robert Colchin (1713 – 1750) was an English cricketer and match organiser of the mid-Georgian period at a time when the single wicket version of the game was popular. He was christened at Chailey in Sussex in 1713 and buried at Deptford in ...

and

Stephen Dingate Stephen Dingate (birth and death details unknown) was a leading English cricketer of the mid-Georgian period. He is believed to have begun playing in the 1720s and was one of the best known players in England through the 1740s. Dingate was born a ...

.McCann, p.42.

Other events

According to

Rowland Bowen Major Rowland Francis Bowen (27 February 1916 – 4 September 1978) was a British Army officer and a cricket researcher, historian and writer. Educated at Westminster School, Bowen received an emergency commission in April 1942 into the In ...

, cricket was first played in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

this year. This is, however, doubted by

Ian Maun Ian Maun (born 2 January 1949) is a retired university lecturer who has written two chronological researches of 18th century cricket matches and events. Maun was a senior lecturer at the University of Exeter from 1999 until 2009, teaching French an ...

, who states that "no contemporary record of cricket in New York is known before 1751".

First mentions

Clubs and teams

Buckley, p.2.

Players

* John Bell (Dartford/Kent) * Thomas Bell (Dartford/Kent) * John Larkin (Hadlow/Kent) *

Robert Eures Robert Eures (dates of birth and death unknown) was a noted English cricketer of the mid-18th century. He came from Bexley in Kent and played for Kent county cricket teams as well as for All-England. He is known to have been a good batsman and ...

(Bexley/Kent)

Venues

* Ripley Green

References

Bibliography

* * * * * *