Representing Brentford, now in Greater London and then in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, the original Brentford Cricket Club was prominent in the 18th century, taking part in matches from 1730 to 1799. According to surviving records, it had no specific venue and is known to have played at Brentford Court Green,

Kew Green Kew Green is a large open space in Kew in west London. Owned by the Crown Estate, it is leased to the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is roughly triangular in shape, and its open grassland, framed with broadleaf trees, extends to abo ...

Richmond Green Richmond Green is a recreation area near the centre of Richmond, a town of about 20,000 inhabitants situated in south-west London. Owned by the Crown Estate, it is leased to the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The Green, which has bee ...

and

Walworth Common Walworth Common in Surrey was a cricket venue known to have been used in the 18th century. pp.41–45. There are no records of matches on the common after 1732 but a later venue in the area was Aram's New Ground, also known as the Bee Hive Ground ...

. Brentford teams are recorded, either individually or jointly with other clubs, in at least twelve matches.

Matches

The earliest known mention of Brentford as a cricket club is a series of three four-a-side

single wicket 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 ...

matches in 1730 when Brentford played

Edwin Stead Edwin Stead (1701 – 28 August 1735) was a noted patron of English cricket, particularly of Kent teams in the 1720s. He usually captained his teams but nothing is known about his ability as a player. He was born at Harrietsham in Kent and d ...

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 ...

and apparently won. The first mention of Brentford in an eleven-a-side match is when they played Hampton Cricket Club at

Moulsey Hurst Moulsey Hurst is in West Molesey, Surrey on the south bank of the River Thames above Molesey Lock. It is one of England's oldest sporting venues and was used in the 18th and 19th centuries for cricket, prizefighting and other sports. This are ...

on Wednesday, 14 July 1731. The result is unknown but a contemporary newspaper announcement, published a day earlier, states that "above £500 is already laid on their heads, neither side having ever yet been beat". In 1732, a combined Brentford and Sunbury team lost to

London Cricket Club The original London Cricket Club was formed in 1722 and was one of the foremost clubs in English cricket over the next four decades, holding important match status. It is closely associated with the Artillery Ground, where it played most of i ...

.Maun, p. 55. There is then a long gap in the sources until a five-a-side single wicket match against

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

in 1767. The result is unknown. A combined Brentford and Richmond team played

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

in an eleven-a-side match in June 1770. This was on

and the result is unknown. In July 1771, there were two matches involving a combined Richmond, Hampton and Brentford team against

Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in t ...

, one of England's strongest clubs at the time. These were played at

Laleham Burway Laleham Burway is a tract of water-meadow and former water-meadow between the River Thames and Abbey River in the far north of Chertsey in Surrey. Its uses are varied. Part is Laleham Golf Club. Semi-permanent park homes in the west forms reside ...

and Richmond Green. The results are unknown. In August 1776, there was a match at the

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 Com ...

between London and Brentford. The result is unknown but it was one of the last few significant matches both at the Artillery Ground and involving the original London club, the sport's focus having shifted from London to Hambledon. The final known mentions of Brentford's Georgian club occur in June 1799 when the combined Richmond/Brentford team played two matches against Montpelier.

Noted players

Known to have been associated with the Brentford club are Cook and Shock White. Cook was active in the 1730s and was "reckoned one of the best bowlers in England".Buckley, p. 10. Shock White, who was more than once referred to as "Shock White of Brentford", is known to have been active between 1761 and 1773 at least.Buckley, p. 39.

After 1799

Brentford Cricket Club is unrecorded after 1799. It may have disbanded in the early part of the 19th century when cricket went into decline due to the impact of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. There is no modern equivalent. The nearest club to Brentford is

Kew Cricket Club Kew Cricket Club plays matches on Kew Green in Kew, which is now in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The club was formed in 1882 following the amalgamation of two local clubs, Kew Oxford Cricket Club and Kew Cambridge Cricket Club, ...

in neighbouring

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

. This club was established in 1882 through a merger of other local clubs and is currently a member of the

Thames Valley Cricket League The Thames Valley Cricket League is a mostly amateur cricket league, catering to clubs geographically to the west of London, with clubs coming from Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Oxfordshire and Surrey, though m ...

in the

ECB Premier Leagues The ECB Premier Leagues are a series of regional cricket leagues organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) that form the top tier of club cricket in England and Wales. The ECB published "Raising the Standard" in 1997, the ECB Manageme ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{English cricket teams in the 18th century Cricket in London Cricket in Middlesex Club cricket teams in England English cricket teams in the 18th century Former senior cricket clubs Sports clubs and teams established in the 1700s