Cricket 1900

J a n . 25, 1900. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 5 person who endeavours to beat it down with a hard leather ball from a certain stand. The farther the distance is to which the ball is driveD, the oftener is the defender able to run between the wicket and the stand. This is called gaining so many notches, and he who gets the most is the victor.” It has already been stated that the most famous ground in London before Lord’s existed was the Artillery-Ground. This ground was presented to the Hon. Artillery Company in 1638. Two years later an additional portion of adjoining land was leased to the company for one hundred and thirty-nine years at a yearly rental of six shillings and eight-pence. In 1727 the lease was renewed for fifty- three years. Stow, in his “ Survey of London,” states that the Artillery- Ground was ‘ ‘ in Finsbury Fields, adj oin- ing to the upper quarters of Moorjields on the east, and Bun-Hill on the west, containing about, ten acres, enclosed by a high brick wall.” Some additional par­ ticulars of interest concerning the ground are furnished by Howe in his “ Continua­ tion of Stow.” “ It was,” says he, “ a noysome and offensive place, being a general laystall, a rotten moorish ground. . . . . This field, and two others adjoining, had been infectious and very grievous to the city and to passengers, who by all means endeavoured to shun those fields as loathsome both to sight and smell.” The ground was afterwards greatly improved by Sir Leonard Holli­ day and Mr. Nicholas Leate, especially by the latter, who improved the high­ ways, etc., at his own expense. In October, 1689, games were forbidden to be played on the ground. The company stated that it “ should not suffer any person to try engine j or play pall-mall, or make any other use of it that what had been formerly allowed.” No men­ tion was made of erioket, but it is quite possible that the game was played there even before 1689. It was during the life-time of Frederick L'swis, Prince of Wales, that the ground became famous for its cricket matches. Many important foot-races and hurling matches were also decided there. James Love refers to the ground in the following lines* :— ‘‘ A Place there is where City-Warriors meet, Wisely determin’d, not to fight, but eat. Where harmless Thunder rattles to the Skies, While the plump Buff-coat fires, and shuts his Eyes, lo the pleased Mob the bursting Cannons tell At ev’ry circ’ling Glass, how much they swi.l. Jttere, in the Intetvals of bloodless War, I he Swains with milder Pomp their Arms prepare.’* The above remarks were evidently dis­ tasteful to the Hon. Artillery Company, for in the first week of July, 1744, we hear that the Company “ are determined to prosecute in the severest manner the author of ‘ Cricket: A Poem ’ for pre­ suming to jest upon that serviceable society.” Tne Company’s threats, how­ ever, appear to have been as harmless as Love’s remarks, for no action was taken 111 the matter. When a match was in progress the ground was roped round in order to keep the spectators from en­ croaching too near the wickets. The P acket: An Heroic Poem. London, 1744. Book II,, Lines 47-54. length of the ground was one-sixth part of a mile, and a hit out of it counted b u t four. That there were no boundaries in th o s 9 days is proved by the following lines (Love, Book III., Lines 41-44): — *‘ He wav’d his Bat wi h goureeful Swing, And drove the batter’d Pellet o’er the fiing. Then rapid five times cross’d the shining Plain, E ’er the departed Ball return’d again.” In May, 1744, and on several subsequent occasions, it was requested that no dogs be taken into the ground, as play was frequently interrupted by them, and the following month we hear for the first tioce of passes being given to those who desired to leave the ground, but wished to return later. George Smith, who was the master of the ground and who appears to have done his utmost to provide comfort for the spectators, frequently caused rather curious notices to be brought before the public. One such notice ran as follows :—“ All per­ sons are desired to have their twopences ready before they come to the gate, it being impossible to give change in a hurry.” Admission was charged to the ground even in those early days. The usual charge was twopence, but, when the match was an important one, this was sometimes (though rarely) increased to sixpence. When sixpence had been charged for admission Smith used to apologise for having made the extra charge, generally winding up with a promise not to offend in that respect again. In 1748 he caused the following to be published:— “ Numbers of my Friends have intimated, that the taking Six-pence Admittance has been very prejudicial to me; these are to inform them, that for the future they shall be admitted for Two-pence, and the Favour of their Company greatly acknowledged by Tneir very humble Servant, G e o r g e S m i t h .” On June 10, 1751, appeared a notice forbidding persons climbing over the walls and so entering the ground without paying gate-money “ Whereas divers Persons do get over the Walls and through Windows that look into the said Ground, on publick Occisions, to the great detriment of the Proprietor : These are to advertise, that if any Person, or Persons, will detect anyone in committing the said Offence, they shall, upon Conviction, receive Five Shillings for each Person so Convicted.— This publick Notice is given, that no one may plead Ignorance.” A notable feature connected with early cricket is the large sums of money which depended on the results of the matches. We often read of matches being made for several hundred pounds a side, aud find in the Press frequent mention of the betting at the beginning of a match and when half over. The Earl of Bess- borough and the Hon. Robert Grimston used to declare that the stakes were imaginary, but there can be no doubt that the statements that matches were played for large sums were correct for, at least, many years. John Nyren, in his book, says that the Hambledon matches were generally played for five hundred pounds aside, whilst it is a matter of history that the Duke of Richmond, Sir Horace Mann, the Duke of Dorset and others frequently made matches on which great sums depended. There was a time when betting was as prevalent On cricket grounds as it is to-day on race­ courses, but, fortunately, times have altered and now-a-days betting in con­ nection with cricket is a thing of the past. In the earliest rules no mention was made of betting and, in c jnsequence, so many disputes occurred that when the rules were revised in 1774 it was con­ sidered necessary to lay down the law on the point. In the following list of matches only those (with a few exceptions) which were played in or near London will be found recorded. Details of matches played by various villages in Surrey, Kent, and Sussex can be seen in the newspapers published in those counties. Kent was certainly very “ fertile in cricketers,” whilst as far as Sussex was concerned, Slindon, Hasting*, E vsib mrne, Battle, Pevensey, L^wes, Lindfield, Chailey, Warbleton, Mayfield, Brighton, Newick, Riugmer, Eist H ithley, Rottingdean, Hamsey, etc., all possessed representative elevens in the middle of the eighteenth century. (Note .—The Bromley referred referred to in the following compilation is always the Bromley in Kent.) 1 7 4 2 . This year Gray, the poet, in a letter to Richard West, Esq., dated “ Loudon, May 27th, 1742,” wrote :—“ There ismy Lords * * and * * *, they are Statesmen : Do not you remember them dirty hoys playing at cricket ? ” t The noblemen referred to were very probably the Duke of Bedford and the Earl of Sandwich. In the Artillery-Ground, Monday, June 14th, 1742. BROMLEY v. LONDON. This match ended in a tie. In the Artillery-Ground, Wednesday, July 7th, 1742. RICHMOND r. LONDON. Played for a considerable sum. The wickets were pitched at one o’clock. In the Artillery-Ground, Monday, July 26th, 1742. CROYDON v. LONDON. Played for a considerable sum. The wickets were pitched at one o’clock. In the Artillery-Ground, Monday, August 9th, 1742. BROMLEY v. LONDON. Played for a considerable sum. The wickets were pitched at twelve o’clock. In the Artillery-Ground, Monday, August 16th, 1742. CROYDON v. LONDON. Played for a considerable sum. The wickets were pitched at twelve o’clock. Two Kent players and a famous bowler from Slindon assisted Croydon, and two Surrey players were included in the London team as given men. + Poem i and Letters by Thomas Gray. (Private circulation.) London, 1879. P. 405.