Several games in the1780 Englishcricket season were between teams selected byJohn Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset andSir Horatio Mann. Duke & Son ofPenshurst made the first-ever six-seamcricket ball. Details of twelve matches are known.^{[note 1]}

On 2 September, there was asingle wicket "fives" match atBishopsbourne Paddock betweenFive of Kent (withWilliam Bedster) andFive of the Hambledon Club (withLumpy Stevens). The other Kent players wereJames Aylward,William Bullen,Robert Clifford, andJoseph Miller. The rest of the Hambledon team wereNoah Mann,John Small,Tom Sueter, andRichard Aubrey Veck. The match was drawn as only one innings each could be completed, presumably because of bad weather. Hambledon scored 23, Kent 22.^[5]

The friendly rivalry between theDuke of Dorset andSir Horatio Mann increased considerably in 1780, as they arranged several matches between their own teams, always for high stakes. However, only two of the matches have known outcomes. One was played 27 and 28 June onSevenoaks Vine, where Mann's XI won by 7 wickets.^[6] By this time,James Aylward was living in Kent, and working on Mann's estate. He was also a fixture in Mann's cricket team. In this match, he made the top score of 47. Dorset's XI scored 93 and 92; Mann's XI scored 105 (Aylward 47) and 81/3.^[7]

The other match with known information was played 21 to 23 August atBishopsbourne Paddock. This time, Dorset's XI won by 14 runs.^[8] They scored 97 and 163 against 149 and 97 by Mann's XI.^[9]

Towards the end of the season, there were two matches betweenEngland andHampshire.^[5]

England won the first, played 31 August and 1 September at Bishopsbourne Paddock, by 165 runs.^[10] They made 197 and 144 against 80 and 96 by Hampshire.William Yalden andRobert Clifford were outstanding. Yalden scored 52 and 34; Clifford took seven wickets in the match (bowled only).^[11]

The return match, 20 to 22 September onItchin Stoke Down, featured an outstanding performance byLumpy Stevens which enabled England to win by 51 runs.^[12] England scored 179 (Miller 50, Clifford 33*, Lumpy 31) and 101. In reply, Hampshire scored 169 (Lumpy 4w) and 60 (Lumpy 6w). So, besides a useful score of 31, Lumpy achieved a10wM which included hisbowled victims only.^[13]

Duke & Son ofPenshurst made the first-ever six-seamcricket ball.^[14]

There were three matches in whichAlresford Cricket Club played a combined Odiham & Alton team. Alresford won the first on Odiham Down by 6 wickets, and Odiham & Alton won the others by margins of 100 runs and 10 runs. Hampshire playersRichard Aubrey Veck andTom Taylor played for Alresford in these games, andNoah Mann for their opponents. The Odiham & Alton teams included players called Beldam (sic) and Wells. Wells may have beenJames, elder brother ofJohn Wells, while Beldam could have been George Beldham, the elder brother ofBilly Beldham, who was still only 14 in 1780.^[15][16]

A single innings match took place 8 August between Maidenhead andChertsey. The venue was Priestwood Common. Maidenhead won by 5 runs. A handful of Maidenhead's players in this game later played for theOldfield club.^[15]

• ACS (1981).A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709–1863. Nottingham:ACS.OCLC 85045528.
• ACS (1982).A Guide to FC Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles. Nottingham:ACS.OCLC 10586869.
• Bowen, Rowland (1970).Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development. London:Eyre & Spottiswoode.ISBN 978-04-13278-60-9.
• Buckley, G. B. (1937).Fresh Light on pre-Victorian Cricket. Birmingham: Cotterell & Co.OCLC 23469107.
• Haygarth, Arthur (1996) [1862].Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826). Kennington:Frederick Lillywhite.ISBN 978-19-00592-23-9.
• Waghorn, H. T. (2005) [1906].The Dawn of Cricket. London: J. W. McKenzie.ISBN 978-09-47821-17-3.

• Altham, H. S.;Swanton, E. W. (1962).A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914) (5th ed.). London:George Allen & Unwin.OCLC 894274808.
• Birley, Derek (1999).A Social History of English Cricket. London:Aurum Press.ISBN 978-18-54107-10-7 – viaInternet Archive.
• Major, John (2007).More Than A Game. London:HarperCollins.ISBN 978-00-07183-64-7 – via Internet Archive.
• Wilson, Martin (2005).An Index to Waghorn. London: Bodyline Books (limited edition, by subscription only).

• 1780s in cricket
• English cricket seasons in the 18th century
• 1780 in England

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