1787 English cricket season

The 1787 English cricket season was the 16th in which matches have been awarded retrospective first-class cricket status. It saw the foundation of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Lord's Old Ground in London. The season saw 11 top-class matches played in the country.

1787 English cricket season

Foundation of MCC and Lord's

During 1786, Thomas Lord had been approached to establish his first ground at Dorset Fields in the Marylebone area of London,[1] leasing land from the Portman Estate and fencing it off.[2] Lord was backed financially by George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea and Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, leading members of the White Conduit Club, an aristocratic club based in Islington.[3] The ground opened in May 1787 with White Conduit playing matches on the ground. The club are also believed to have used it as a practice ground.[1][3] The first match on the ground to be considered first-class cricket was played at the end of May between a Middlsex XI and one from Essex.[4]

The Marylebone Cricket Club was formed at Lord's in the same year, partly from members of the White Conduit Club led by Winchelsea.[5][6] It played its first matches the same season before undertaking a reissue of the Laws of Cricket the following year.[6] MCC has developed into the custodian and publisher of the Laws of Cricket.[6][7]

Matches

A total of 11 top-class matches were played during the year, including four at Lord's. Middlesex XIs played in two of the matches at Lord's. Elsewhere, Kent played Hampshire in three matches.[8][9][10]

First mentions

A number of players are first noted during 1787. Among them were some famous names such as John Wells of Surrey and Thomas Lord of Middlesex.

References
  1. Lord's Old Ground, CricInfo. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  2. The man behind the ground, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1955, at CricInfo. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  3. Birley D (1999) A Social History of English Cricket, p.47. London: Aurum Press.
  4. Fay S (2006) The Lord's testament, CricInfo. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  5. Birley op. cit., pp.47–48.
  6. Williamson M (2008) A brief history..., CricInfo. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  7. About MCC, Lord's. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  8. Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) (1981) A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709 – 1863. Nottingham: ACS.
  9. England Domestic Season 1787 - Fixtures and Results, CricInfo. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  10. First-class matches in England, 1787, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2019-11-23. (subscription required)

Further reading
  • Altham, H. S. (1962). A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914). George Allen & Unwin.
  • Bowen, Rowland (1970). Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development. Eyre & Spottiswoode.
  • Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. HarperCollins.
  • Underdown, David (2000). Start of Play. Allen Lane.
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