←1747 1749 → |
The1748 Englishcricket season was the zenith ofsingle wicket, never so popular before or since. A total of 18 significant single wicket matches are in the records, compared with a mere handful of eleven-a-side games.[note 1]
June (date unknown).Tom Faulkner beatRobert Colchin atsingle wicket by one wicket. Colchin scored 40 and 5; Faulkner scored 45 and 1*. It was played sometime in June onBromley Common.[5]
Monday, 6 June. A "fives" game on theArtillery Ground betweenAddington andThe Rest, excluding Kent. Addington's players were Tom Faulkner,Joe Harris,John Harris,George Jackson andDurling ("the shoemaker that lately came out of Kent"). Their opponents wereStephen Dingate,Little Bennett,Maynard,Collins, andThomas Waymark.[6] This appears to be the first time that a team specifically called "The Rest" was ever assembled.
Friday, 24 June. Three "servants of theDuke of Richmond" playedThree of London at the Artillery Ground. The result is unknown but the match started quite late at four o'clock. Richmond's team was Stephen Dingate,Joseph Rudd, andPye; London's three were Little Bennett,Tall Bennett, andWilliam Anderson. Reported in theLondon Evening Post on Saturday, 25 June.[5][6][7]
Saturday, 25 June. A return single-wicket match between Robert Colchin and Tom Faulkner on Addington Hill. This time Colchin won by 2 runs. He made 7 and 12; Faulkner replied with 11 and 6.[6][5]
Monday, 4 July. A third game between Colchin and Faulkner, “each having previously won one”, on the Artillery Ground. Unfortunately, there are no match details this time.[5]
Monday, 4 July. Also on the Artillery Ground, Thomas Waymark and Darville played as Two ofBerkshire against Little Bennett and George Smith of London. Smith was allowed an unnamedsubstitute in the field. Waymark and Darville won. Darville was the owner of Bray Mills, where Waymark worked at this time. Smith, evidently having resolved his financial problems, was still the landlord of the famousPy'd Horse and keeper of the Artillery Ground.[5]
Wednesday, 6 July. A "fives" match on the Artillery Ground: Tom Faulkner's team beat Stephen Dingate's team by one wicket. Two runs were required when the last man went in. The teams were: Tom Faulkner, Joe Harris, William Anderson, Little Bennett and Tall Bennett versus Stephen Dingate, Joseph Rudd, Pye,James Bryant andJohn Bryant.[5][7]
Wednesday, 13 July & Friday, 15 July. The same two teams of "fives" met again on the Artillery Ground. Play was interrupted by rain on the Wednesday after one team had completed its first innings, scoring 13. The match continued on the Friday. No further details are known but, as an apparent "decider" was played on Wednesday, 27 July, perhaps Dingate's team won this one.[5]
Wednesday, 27 July. Another "fives" game between Tom Faulkner's team and Stephen Dingate's team on the Artillery Ground. Faulkner's team won. This match may have been a decider; in which case Dingate's team must have won the second match on Friday, 15 July. The teams were not the same as before: Stephen Dingate,Richard Newland, Joseph Rudd, Maynard (of Surrey), and Little Bennettversus Tom Faulkner, Joe Harris, Durling (of Addington), James Bryant, and John Bryant.[5]
Monday, 8 August. Tom Faulkner and Joe Harris played Robert Colchin andVal Romney at "twos" in the Artillery Ground for twenty guineas a***ALERT***. Result unknown.[5]
Monday, 8 August. Immediately after the previous game, there was the return of the Waymark/Darville versus Bennett/Smith game, with Smith again allowed a substitute fielder.[5]
Saturday, 20 August. A "fives" game in the Artillery Ground. The teams were: Robert Colchin,John Colchin, James Bryant, John Bryant andRobert Lascoeversus Joe Harris, Maynard,John Capon, William Anderson, and Walker.[5] This is the only known mention of the player called Walker.
Monday, 22 August. A "fives" game in the Artillery Ground for 20 guineas a***ALERT***: Five of Berkshire (Thomas Waymark, Darville and three others) versus Five of London (William Anderson, Little Bennett, Tall Bennett, John Capon, andGeorge Carter). London won.[6][5]
Monday, 29 August. A "fives" game at the Artillery Ground in which Tom Faulkner's team defeated Long Robin's team by four runs. The prize was 200 pounds. Val Romney was badly injured and could not run but, the rules beingplay or pay, he was obliged to play as well as he could. Teams were Tom Faulkner, Joe Harris, James Bryant, John Bryant and Durling versus Robert Colchin, Val Romney,John Larkin,Jones and Maynard.[5]
Monday, 5 September.Three of England versus Five of Berkshire played for 20 guineas in the Artillery Ground. The teams were Robert Colchin, Tom Faulkner and George Smith versus Thomas Waymark and four others of Berkshire. George Smith was not allowed a substitute (termed a "Seeker-out" in the primary source) as in previous games and had to do his share of the fielding. Result unknown.[5]
Friday, 16 September. Robert Colchin and Thomas Waymark defeated Tom Faulkner and Joe Harris in the Artillery Ground. It was announced beforehand that "in case of rain, there is good shelter for the spectators". Apparently the match gave such great satisfaction that an immediate return was arranged. Colchin & Waymark scored 10 and 17 against 0 and 15. In their first innings, Faulkner and Harris were both bowled second ball. Details were reported in theLondon Evening Post on Sat 17 September.[5][7]
Saturday, 17 September. In the return of the previous day's "twos" match, Colchin and Waymark again defeated Faulkner and Joe Harris. The prize was fifty guineas.[5]
Friday, 23 September. A "threes" game played in the Artillery Ground "for a considerable sum": Robert Colchin, Thomas Waymark and Maynardversus Tom Faulkner, Joe Harris and John Bryant. Result unknown.[8]
TwoKent v England matches were played 10 and 13 June onDartford Brent and the Artillery Ground respectively.[9] Kent won the first by 11 runs, and the second by an unknown margin.[5]
London defeatedLambeth 14 June onPeckham Rye Common, as reported by theWhitehall Evening Post on Thursday, 16 June.[6][9] London also played againstCroydon on 18 July, and Deptford & Greenwich on 15 August. Both matches were on the Artillery Ground, but the results are unknown.[10][9][5]
On 23 August, Deptford & Greenwich hosted London on "Mr Siddle's new cricket-ground atDeptford". Again, the result is unknown.[10][9][5]
George Smith, keeper of the Artillery Ground and landlord of the adjoiningPyed Horse in Chiswell Street, declared bankruptcy. Evidently his pricing problems of recent years did have some basis in needing to balance the books after all. A number of notices appeared in the press during the first six months of 1748 but Smith eventually resolved his problems, perhaps through the sale of other property, and was able to retain control of the Artillery Ground until 1752.[11]
There was a game played 4 August onCoxheath Common between teams representing "the Hill" and "the Valley". This sounds like a similar idea to the early match atChevening in the year 1610; and may have been commemorative.[10][9]
In 1748, an action of Jeffreys v Parsons was heard before the King's Bench. The case concerned wagers that were almost certainly made on the above two Kent v England games, with Jeffreys claiming 25 guineas won from Parsons on each game. The parties came to an out of court agreement after the case was held over.[5]