1763 English cricket season
The 1763 English cricket season was an important year for the future of cricket as it marked the end of the Seven Years' War. This meant that French influence in India was reduced to a handful of trading posts and its hopes of an eastern Empire were no more, though Bonaparte certainly tried to revive those hopes. Great Britain expanded its interests in India and the era of the British Raj and the consequent hegemony of cricket in Indian sport began.[1]
In the short term, economic hardship at home meant little for investment in cricket and there were only a couple of historically significant matches in 1763.[1]
Wednesday 30 July. The death of Mr Edmund Chapman of Chertsey in his 69th year, which means he was born in either 1694 or 1695. Chapman was an eminent master bricklayer and "accounted one of the most dextrous cricket players in England". There are no earlier references to Edmund Chapman who must have been active c.1715 to c.1740, presumably playing for Chertsey Cricket Club, or perhaps Croydon Cricket Club, and for Surrey as a county.[2]
Matches
| Date | Match Title | Venue | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 August (W) | Surrey v Middlesex [2] | Ripley Green | Middlesex won "with great ease" | |
|
This was played for £200 and Middlesex won "with great ease" | ||||
| 22 & 23 August (M-Tu) | Middlesex v Surrey [3] | Artillery Ground | Middlesex won | |
|
This was a return match announced in the report of the first. The report says Middlesex won "by a great majority". Another source records that a spectator during play on the Monday lost over £20 to a pickpocket. The Artillery Ground had by this time fallen into disrepute and it would not last much longer as a major venue.[4] | ||||
First mentions
Countries
Counties
- none
Clubs and teams
Players
Venues
References
- 1 2 From Lads to Lord's; The History of Cricket: 1300 – 1787
- 1 2 H T Waghorn, The Dawn of Cricket, Electric Press, 1906
- ↑ H T Waghorn, Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730-1773), Blackwood, 1899
- ↑ G B Buckley, Fresh Light on Pre-Victorian Cricket, Cotterell, 1937
Bibliography
- Buckley, G. B. (1935). Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket. Cotterell.
- Haygarth, Arthur (1862). Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826). Lillywhite.
- McCann, Tim (2004). Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century. Sussex Record Society.
- Waghorn, H. T. (1899). Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730–1773). Blackwood.
- Waghorn, H. T. (1906). The Dawn of Cricket. Electric Press.
- Wilson, Martin (2005). An Index to Waghorn. Bodyline.
Additional reading
- ACS (1981). A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709 – 1863. Nottingham: ACS.
- Altham, H. S. (1962). A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914). George Allen & Unwin.
- Birley, Derek (1999). A Social History of English Cricket. Aurum.
- Bowen, Rowland (1970). Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development. Eyre & Spottiswoode.
- Buckley, G. B. (1937). Fresh Light on pre-Victorian Cricket. Cotterell.
- Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. HarperCollins.
- Maun, Ian (2011). From Commons to Lord's, Volume Two: 1751 to 1770. Martin Wilson. ISBN 978-0-9569066-0-1.
- Mote, Ashley (1997). The Glory Days of Cricket. Robson.
- Underdown, David (2000). Start of Play. Allen Lane.