The 1774 English cricket season was the third in which matches have been awarded retrospective

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

status. The scorecards of five first-class matches have survived. 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 ...

were revised during the season, the first major revision since the 1744 season. The revision of the Laws introduced

leg before wicket Leg before wicket (lbw) is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed in the sport of cricket. Following an appeal by the fielding side, the umpire may rule a batter out lbw if the ball would have struck the wicket but was instead in ...

as a means of dismissal and formalised the standard width of a

cricket bat A cricket bat is a specialised piece of equipment used by batters in the sport of cricket to hit the ball, typically consisting of a cane handle attached to a flat-fronted willow-wood blade. It may also be used by a batter who is making ground ...

Laws revision

The Laws of Cricket were revised during a meeting held at the Star and Garter on

Pall Mall, London Pall Mall is a street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster, Central London. It connects St James's Street to Trafalgar Square and is a section of the regional A4 road. The street's name is derived from pall-mall, a ...

during February. This was attended by a range of influential cricket figures who produced "New Articles of the Game of Cricket", essentially a revised version of the 1744 Laws.Ross G (1975
200 years of laws
''

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'', 1975. Retrieved 2019-02-16.Mortimer G (2013) Object 5: Laws of the game], in ''A History of Cricket in 100 Objects''. London: Profile Books. Retrieved 2019-02-16. The revision of the Laws formalised the standard width of a cricket bat at , a measure that had been introduced by the

Hambledon Club The Hambledon Club was a social club that is famous for its organisation of 18th century cricket matches. By the late 1770s it was the foremost cricket club in England. Foundation The origin of the club, based near Hambledon in rural Hampshire, ...

following the Monster Bat Incident of 1771.Vamplew W (2007
Playing with the Rules: Influences on the Development of Regulation in Sport
p.33–34.

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built w ...

. Retrieved 2019-02-16. The size of a

cricket ball A cricket ball is a hard, solid ball used to play cricket. A cricket ball consists of a cork core wound with string then a leather cover stitched on, and manufacture is regulated by cricket law at first-class level. The trajectory of a crick ...

was narrowed to between and , having previously been limited to between and ,Cricket

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

online (revised 2019-01-03). Retrieved 2019-02-16. and the toss of a coin was removed from the game, with the listing team instead having the choice of whether to bat or bowl first.Dates in cricket history
''

'', 1953. Retrieved 2019-02-16. The revision introduced Leg Before Wicket (LBW) as a means of dismissal, stating that "the striker is out if he puts his leg before the wicket with a design to stop the ball and actually prevent the ball from hitting it".Quoted a
The evolution of the lbw

CricInfo ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a d ...

, 2016-12-28. Retrieved 2019-02-16. The introduction of LBW stemmed from batsmen deliberately blocking the ball using their legs rather than attempting to play it with their bat, most notably a player named Ring.Nasim R (2000
LBW -The cause of crisis in cricket

, 2000-09-27. Retrieved 2019-02-16. While the Law was revised nine times between its introduction and 1831, it was not until 1839 that the Law was amended to state that the ball had to pitch in line with the stumps in order for the batsman to be out.The evolution of the lbw, op. cit.

Matches

Five first-class match scorecards survive from 1774.

Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) was founded in England in 1973 for the purpose of researching and collating information about the history and statistics of cricket. Originally called the Association of Cricket Statis ...

(ACS) (1981) ''A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709 – 1863''. Nottingham: ACS.Results
English Domestic Season 1774, CricInfo. Retrieved 2019-02-14. *22–24 June - Hampshire XI v England -

Broadhalfpenny Down Broadhalfpenny Down (pronounced /ˌbrɔ:dˈheɪpniː/; '' brawd-HAYP-nee'') is a historic cricket ground in Hambledon, Hampshire. It is known as the "Cradle of Cricket" because it was the home venue in the 18th century of the Hambledon Club, ...

England v Hampshire
Scorecard,

. Retrieved 2019-02-14. *7–8 July - England v Hampshire XI -

Sevenoaks Vine The Vine Cricket Ground, also known as Sevenoaks Vine, is one of the oldest cricket venues in England. It was given to the town of Sevenoaks in Kent in 1773 by John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset (1745–1799) and owner of nearby Knole ...

*20–21 July - Surrey XI v Hampshire XI -

Guildford Bason Guildford Bason (or Basin) is a former cricket ground on Merrow Down, on the outskirts of Guildford, Surrey. Cricket was played on the ground between 1730 and 1786.Kent XI v Hampshire XI - Sevenoaks Vine *15–18 August - Hampshire XI v Kent XI - Broadhalfpenny DownHampshire v Kent
Scorecard,

. Retrieved 2019-02-14. In the match between Hampshire and England on 7–8 July, bowler William Bullen took the first known

five wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batsman. Taking ...

in first-class matches: note that bowlers in this era were only credited with a wicket when they bowled the batsman. Six other matches are known to have been played during the season, including matches between county teams. Full scorecards do not survive from these matches.Other matches in England 1774
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2019-02-10.

Debutants

The following players made their first known appearance during the 1774 season. * William Brazier (Kent) * Richard Miller (Surrey) * Muggeridge (Surrey) * Waller (Kent)

Laws revision

Matches

Debutants

References

Further reading