1780 English cricket season

1780 English cricket season

Cricket formats	major, including single wicket

In the 1780 English cricket season, Duke & Son of Penshurst made the first-ever six-seam cricket ball.

Matches

Date	Match Title	Venue	Source	Result
27–28 June (Tu-W)	Odiham & Alton v Alresford #	Odiham Down	WDC	Alresford won by 6 wkts
27–28 June (Tu-W)	Duke of Dorset v Sir H Mann	Sevenoaks Vine	SB43	Mann's XI won by 7 wkts
Duke of Dorset’s XI 93 (W Bowra 33) & 92 (W Bullen 34; Berwick 3w); Sir Horace Mann’s XI 105 (J Aylward 47) & 81-3 (J Miller 24*)
11–12 July (Tu-W)	Alresford v Odiham & Alton #	The Nythe, near Alresford	FLPV	O&A won by 100 runs
11 July (Tu)	Kent v Maidstone	Bishopsbourne Paddock	KCM	result unknown
3 August (Th)	Kent v Maidstone	Bishopsbourne Paddock	KCM	result unknown
8 August (Tu)	Maidenhead v Chertsey	Priestwood Common	WDC	Maidenhead won by 5 runs
This was a single innings match. The Maidenhead team here is a forerunner of the noted Oldfield Club which became prominent in the mid-1780s. Oldfield played at Oldfield Bray which is near Maidenhead and their strength was such that they were representative of Berkshire as a county. A handful of Maidenhead’s players in this game later played for the Oldfield Club.
15 August (Tu)	Kent v Maidstone	Bishopsbourne Paddock	CQ	result unknown
21–23 August (M-W)	Duke of Dorset v Sir H Mann	Bishopsbourne Paddock	SB44	Dorset's XI won by 14 runs
Duke of Dorset’s XI 97 (Earl of Tankerville 30, W Bedster 23; Gibson 5w, R Clifford 4w) & 163 (W Pattenden 32, W Bullen 30, E Stevens 25, W Bedster 24; Gibson 3w, R Clifford 2w); Sir Horace Mann’s XI 149 (B Rimmington 62, Mr R Hosmer 36; E Stevens 2w) & 97 (W Yalden 22*; W Bedster 3w, E Stevens 2w)
31 Aug - 1 Sept (Th-F)	All-England v Hampshire	Bishopsbourne Paddock	SB45	All-England won by 165 runs
All-England 197 (W Yalden 52, W Bowra 31, T Rimmington 25, R Clifford 25; R Nyren 3w) & 144 (J Miller 37, W Yalden 34, J Aylward 24; W Lamborn 2w); Hampshire 80 (John Small 22; R Clifford 4w) & 96 (E Aburrow 36, N Mann 33; R Clifford 3w, E Stevens 2w)
20–22 September (W-F)	Hampshire v All-England	Stoke Down	SB46	All-England won by 51 runs
All-England 179 (J Miller 50, R Clifford 33*, E Stevens 31, J Aylward 26, W Bedster 24; W Lamborn 4w) & 101 (B Rimmington 38; R Nyren 4w); Hampshire 169 (E Aburrow 42, T Sueter 36, N Mann 30; E Stevens 4w, R Clifford 2w) & 60 (R A Veck 23; E Stevens 6w) With 10 wickets and a first innings knock of 31, there is no doubt that Lumpy was the man of this match!
21 September (Tu)	Odiham & Alton v Alresford #	Odiham Down	WDC	O&A won by 10 runs

# Hampshire players Richard Veck and Thomas Taylor played for Alresford in these games. The Odiham & Alton teams include players called Beldam and Wells. Wells was probably James, elder brother of John; Beldam must have been George Beldam, elder brother of William who was still only 14 in 1780.

First-class debutants

The following players made their first known appearance in first-class cricket during the 1780 season.

• John Freemantle (Hampshire)
• Gibson (Kent)
• Richard Hosmer (Kent)
• Richard Stanford (Kent)
• B. Rimmington (Kent)
• T. Rimmington (Kent)
• William Pattenden (Kent)

Other events

Duke & Son of Penshurst made the first-ever six-seam cricket ball and it was presented to the Prince of Wales (i.e., the future King George IV of England).

Several games have been recorded between the Duke of Dorset and Sir Horace Mann, though the match titles vary as before. Two of the matches have surviving scorecards which are in S&B.

Leading batsmen

Note that many scorecards in the 18th century are unknown or have missing details and so it is impossible to provide a complete analysis of batting performances: e.g., the missing not outs prevent computation of batting averages. The "runs scored" are in fact the runs known.

runs	player
142	James Aylward
142	Joseph Miller
136	William Yalden
130	B Rimmington
120	William Bedster
108	Robert Clifford
106	William Bullen
79	Edward "Curry" Aburrow
79	Noah Mann
75	William Bowra

Leading bowlers

Note that the wickets credited to an 18th-century bowler were only those where he bowled the batsman out. The bowler was not credited with the wickets of batsmen who were caught out, even if it was "caught and bowled". In addition, the runs conceded by each bowler were not recorded so no analyses or averages can be computed.

wkts	player
18	Lumpy Stevens
16	Robert Clifford
9	Gibson (Mann's XI)
8	Lamborn
8	Richard Nyren

Leading fielders

Note that many scorecards in the 18th century are unknown or have missing details and so the totals are of the known catches and stumpings only. Stumpings were not always recorded as such and sometimes the name of the wicket-keeper was not given. Generally, a catch was given the same status as "bowled" with credit being awarded to the fielder only and not the bowler. There is never a record of "caught and bowled"the bowler would be credited with the catch, not with the wicket.

ct/st	player
8	James Aylward
5	William Bullen
4	Noah Mann
4	John Small
4	William Yalden

External links

• Classification of cricket matches from 1697 to 1825
• CricketArchive – 1780 first-class matches list
• CricketArchive – 1780 other matches list
• From Lads to Lord's; The History of Cricket: 1300 – 1787