←1741 1743 → |
The highlights of the1742 Englishcricket season were the two famousLondonversusSlindon matches in September. There was another match involving a team calledEngland, and the word "cricketer" was used for the first time.
Details of ten matches are known.[note 1]
In September,London andSlindon played two matches on theArtillery Ground.[5] There has been confusion about the dates, and the margin of London's victory in the second match, due to one source’s misinterpretation of ambiguous reports in theLondon Evening Post dated 9 to 11 September.[6][7] Elsewhere, the references to the second match confirm that 6th and 10th are the correct dates for the two matches. TheDaily Advertiser of Saturday, 11 September 1742, reports the margin in the second match as 184 notches and says it wasplayed yesterday.[8] According to Maun's source, the game was due to commence on Wednesday, 8 September, "but was postponed (to the 10th) on account of rain".[9]
Ashley-Cooper said of the first game on the 6th that "London won with great difficulty". A contemporary report said Slindon came into the match having "played forty-three games and lost but one". Several wagers were laid that one Slindon batter—almost certainlyRichard Newland—would obtain forty runs off his own bat, a feat he failed to achieve.[10][11]
On the 10th, London won the postponed return match by 184 runs. Slindon offered to play a third match against London, either atGuildford or on theSouth Downs for £100, but the challenge wasn't accepted.[10][12]
Surrey met and defeated a multi-county team, 23 August onMoulsey Hurst. Although later sources have called Surrey's opponentsEngland, the original notice described them as "London, Westminster, Middlesex, Southwark and Part of Kent". Ashley-Cooper mentioned that the Moulsey Hurst ground was in 1900 held by theHurst Park Racing Club.[5][10]
Following thetied match betweenLondon and Surrey in 1741, there was another when London metBromley, 14 June 1742, on the Artillery Ground. Waghorn's source remarked that the game "gave so much satisfaction to the spectators".[5][13][14] The teams arranged a rematch on 9 August, also on the Artillery Ground. This was to be "played for a considerable sum", but the result is unknown.[5][14][13]
In addition to the August match against Bromley, London arranged five others which were pre-announced but have no known outcomes. The first was scheduled for 7 July, againstRichmond on the Artillery Ground. A "considerable sum" was at stake.[5][14] The same situation applied to a match againstCroydon on 26 July.[5][14][13]
On 2 August, London were due to play a combined Kent & Surrey atDuppas Hill,Croydon. The pre-match notice describes the counties team as "the Gentlemen of Kent and Surry and theSussex Man from Slending (Slindon)". It is possible, but by no means certain, thatRichard Newland was thegiven man. A large sum of money was at stake, and the announcement says "the booths (retail) are to be set back and the ground to be roped round (i.e., forming aboundary)".[11]
Croydon were due to play London a second time, 16 August, again on the Artillery Ground. It is known that two Kent players and "the noted bowler from Slendon (sic)" were to assist Croydon; while two Surrey players were given men to London. The "noted Slindon bowler" may have beenEdward Aburrow Sr.[5][14][13][11]
The last of these matches was London v Surrey, due 2 September on the Artillery Ground. A Kent player from Bromley (possiblyRobert Colchin) was to be a given man for London. This match was originally scheduled for 6 September. It was rearranged because of the visit of Slindon to London on the 6th.[5][10][13]
A schoolteacher inNew Romney made the earliest known use of the word "cricketer" when completing a diary entry. He bestowed the accolade upon one William Pullen ofCranbrook but it was in connection with Pullen's death. He had just been hanged onPenenden Heath nearMaidstone for stealing a sheep and five bushels of wheat.[15]
On Thursday, 27 May, the poetThomas Gray (1716–1771) wrote a letter to a Mr Richard West and said: "There is my Lords ** and ***, they are Statesmen; Do not you remember them dirty boys playing at cricket"? The two "noble lords" are believed to have beenJohn Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford andJohn Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich.[16]