Stephen Dingate (birth and death details unknown) was a leading English

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er 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 at

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earliest archaeological evidence for huma ...

in Surrey and was employed by the Duke of Richmond. He is reported in one source to have been a

barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

. Dingate was a prominent

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 ...

player who often led his own team, playing for high stakes with and against famous contemporaries like Tom Faulkner,

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 ...

William Hodsoll William Hodsoll (1718; christened 28 October 1718 at Ash-next-Ridley, Kent – 30 November 1776 at Ash-next-Ridley), was a noted English cricketer of the mid-Georgian period. Hodsoll lived at Dartford for some years and was a tanner. F S Ashle ...

, Richard Newland, Val Romney, William Sawyer,

Thomas Waymark Thomas Waymark (probably born 17 June 1705) was an English professional cricketer in the first half of the 18th century. He is one of the earliest known players on record and is widely accounted the sport's first great all-rounder. Cricket car ...

and the Bryant and Harris brothers. It is believed that he had been an active player for many years before he was first definitely recorded in June 1744. His last known appearance was in July 1752.

Known cricket career

Dingate's first recorded appearance was on 2 June 1744 when he played in an eleven-a-side match for

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

against a combined Surrey and Sussex team 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 ...

. Surrey and Sussex won by 55 runs and the match is now famous for the world's oldest known match scorecard, which lists individual scores but no details of dismissals. London, whose team included

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, was the host club and their opponents were all from the counties of Surrey and Sussex. The visitors batted first and scored 102. London replied with 79 but Dingate who was number 2 in the batting order, was out for 0. Surrey and Sussex had a first innings lead of 23. In their second innings, Surrey and Sussex reached 102/6 and then apparently declared their innings closed, although 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 ...

'' did not allow for

declaration Declaration may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Declaration'' (book), a self-published electronic pamphlet by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri * ''The Declaration'' (novel), a 2008 children's novel by Gemma Malley Music ...

s in 1744. In the final innings, London needed 126 to win but were all out for 70. Dingate had the top score this time with 19. The scorecard was kept by the 2nd Duke of Richmond at Goodwood House."At the Sign of the Wicket"
F. S. Ashley-Cooper, ''Cricket'', issue 531, 22 February 1900, p. 22. Dingate is last known to have played in July 1752.

References

Sources

* * * * Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown English cricketers English cricketers of 1701 to 1786 Surrey cricketers Non-international England cricketers People from Reigate {{England-cricket-bio-1700s-stub