In English cricket, the years from 1751 to 1775 are notable for the rise of the Hambledon Club and the continuing spread of the sport across England. The Laws of Cricket underwent a re-codification in 1775, including the introduction of the leg before wicket rule and the addition of the third stump to the wicket.
History
1751–1775
The mid-century deaths of some of the game's leading patrons reduced investment and the sport seems to have regressed during the period of the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), but it underwent an evolutionary change around 1760 with the introduction of pitched delivery bowling and the consequent invention of the straight bat. Around the same time, the Hambledon Club was founded and cricket thrived under its leadership for the next 25 years. Cricket continued its spread throughout England with several references in 1751 followed by Derbyshire in 1757, Northumberland in 1766, and Wiltshire in 1769.
In 1769, the Whitehall Evening Post reported that a "great match at Cricket" was to be played at Calais in northern France.
Impact of the Seven Years War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) caused economic hardship in England. Consequently, it would seem, investment in cricket was considerably reduced. The British declaration of war against France was confirmed on 17 May 1756, although military operations had already begun. The war lasted until 10 February 1763 when Britain signed the Treaty of Paris with France and Spain. One outcome of the war was that Great Britain could expand its interests in India at the expense of France. The era of the British Raj began and, in time, ensured the spread of cricket throughout the sub-continent.
There was certainly a reduction in the number of matches recorded during the war years. There were five in 1756, all involving Dartford and including three against Hambledon – these are the earliest Hambledon matches on record. In the later years of the war, the number of eleven-a-side matches ranged from none at all in 1760 to eight in 1762. Records of only two matches have survived from the 1763 season which began soon after the war ended; a post-war recovery is discernible from 1764.
Hambledon
The origin of the Hambledon Club has not been fully established but it had certainly been founded by 1764 as three matches against Chertsey are listed that season. Based at Broadhalfpenny Down, near the village of Hambledon in rural Hampshire, it was actually a social club with a wide range of activities. It is best remembered for its organisation of county cricket matches and it ran the Hampshire county teams of the period. In August 1771, the Hambledon Club played against a team called "All England" but lost by ten wickets.
The earliest known matches involving a team called Hambledon were three against Dartford in the 1756 season. The source for one of them, played on Broadhalfpenny Down, is a newspaper advert placed by the owner of a missing dog which was lost at the match. Given the uncertainty about when the Hambledon Club was founded, it is possible that some kind of parish organisation was operating in 1756, perhaps led by a patron.
1751–1763
Following the death of the Duke of Richmond in 1750, cricket lost another key supporter when Frederick, Prince of Wales died on March 31, 1751.
There were two matches between Kent and an England XI on the Artillery Ground in May 1751. England won the first by nine runs and the second by an innings and nine runs. These seem to have been the last known big matches for many years as there is much less coverage of cricket in the sources after 1751.
The earliest references to cricket in the counties of Durham, Somerset, Warwickshire and Yorkshire all occurred in 1751. There were two matches in Yorkshire: a local game in Sheffield and one patronised by two aristocrats near Richmond.
The earliest known mentions of Hambledon and Broadhalfpenny Down are in August 1753 when Hambledon played a Surrey team and won by 113 runs.
That cricket can be a dangerous game was evident in August 1755 when a player on Kennington Common lost his right eye after being hit by the ball.
Fewer matches were played during the Seven Years' War (1756–1763). Dartford played three matches against an England XI in the 1759 season and the names of several participants are known. Dartford won two of the matches; England won one.