Great Cricket Matches 1772-1800

Phase 2 runs from 1785 to 1800 (and beyond, but that is outside the scope of the present exercise). In this phase, the focus of activity shifts more and more to London and particularly to Lord’s; far more teams and players are involved in potential ‘great’ matches and classification becomes altogether more complicated. By far the majority of dubious matches fall in this phase. After 1785, the principal new teams are the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and its forerunner the White Conduit Club (WCC); Middlesex; Essex/Hornchurch; Berkshire/ Oldfield; and Sussex/Brighton. The fact that these teams play chiefly against each other, and that matches against the established teams of Hampshire, Kent and Surrey are relatively rare, can obscure the fact that the quality of the new teams is a long way below that of the established ones. However, occasional matches make the disparity clear: when WCC plays Kent in 1786 it is reinforced by no fewer than six top professionals and for several years thereafter MCC enjoys the assistance of between three and five top professionals in all its matches against any of the older counties. Only towards the end of our period does the gap seem to close. Middlesex played Kent in 1796 with only one given man and the next year MCC played Hampshire with no given men at all, but Hampshire and Kent were clearly in decline by this time. This is not the only evidence. In 1791 Middlesex received odds of XXII against XI in playing Hampshire; in 1793 it enjoyed the same odds against England (i.e., a Hambledon side), as did Essex/Hornchurch; and in 1794 Middlesex had odds of XXII against XII in playing England. All these matches are excluded from the list because the odds are so long. Note too that in all these games the XXIIs contain enough familiar names to suggest they are fairly representative (these matches are in SB pp113, 153, 156, 160, 162, 167). There is nothing like this when the established counties play England or each other; in fact, it is the England side, not the county, that often receives odds. All the evidence underlines the point that, at least until the mid-1790s, there is a large gap in quality between the established teams and the new ones. This is not to say that the new teams cannot be included. But it does suggest that they are toward the lower end of the standard for ‘great’ matches and this must be borne in mind when assessing their performances against each other. On this basis the new teams may be summarised as follows. New teams emerging 1785-1800 This section summarises the principal new teams that emerged in the latter part of the period. It should be noted that apparent club sides such as Hornchurch seem also to have organised county games with no discernible change in personnel, in a similar way to Nottingham and Nottinghamshire in the nineteenth century. The side is referred to as Essex/Hornchurch, and similar comments apply to Sussex/Brighton and Berkshire/ Oldfield. 16 John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset and patron of Kent cricket. David Frith Collection.