1746 English cricket season

The ‘45 Rebellion was effectively over by the time the 1746 English cricket season got under way, the Battle of Culloden having been fought on Wed 16 April.

Honours

• Champion County – Addington/Surrey

Matches

Date	Match Title	Venue	Result
12 May (M)	Bromley v Addington	Bromley Common	Addington won
Addington won "with great difficulty": On Monday next they play their second match at Mr Smith’s, Pyd-Horse (a reference to the pub adjacent to the Artillery Ground).
19 May (M)	Addington v Bromley	Artillery Ground	result unknown
This is the return match referred to above. No match details were reported.
9 June (M)	Addington & Lingfield v Surrey & London	Artillery Ground	A&L won
A Kent man assisted Surrey & London as a given man. The match was reported in the General London Evening Mercury as "Middlesex v Surrey" but the above title seems to be more accurate. Addington & Lingfield (aka Middlesex) won by a considerable number of notches.
23 June (M)	Kent v Surrey	Artillery Ground	result unknown
The Kent team consisted entirely of players from Bromley, Bexley and Eltham.
2 July (W)	London v Westminster	Artillery Ground	result unknown
No information is known.
7 July (M)	Kent & Surrey v Addington & Bromley	Duppas Hill, Croydon	Kent & Surrey won by 4 runs
The crowd was reported as nearly ten thousand. Kipps of Eltham, the well-known wicketkeeper, played as a given man for Addington & Bromley. The title of the fixture indicates the strength of the Addington and Bromley clubs at this time. The London Evening Post on Thurs 3 July announced: No person allowed to bring any liquour that don’t (sic) live in the parish.
14 July (M)	Addington & Bromley v Kent & Surrey	Artillery Ground	result unknown
This was a return fixture. Kipps of Eltham again played as a given man for Addington & Bromley.
30 July (W)	London v Edmonton	Artillery Ground	result unknown
No information is known.
2 August (S)	Kent v All-England	Bromley Common	result unknown
Originally scheduled for the previous day but postponed because it was impossible for the noblemen and gentlemen to be present on the Friday.
4 August (M)	All-England v Kent	Artillery Ground	All-England won
No details known beyond the result.
25 August (M)	London v Edmonton	Artillery Ground	result unknown
No information is known. The game was evidently a return to the one on 30 July.
1 September (M)	London & Chislehurst v Addington	Artillery Ground	result unknown
Played for fifty pounds and started at one o'clock but no other information is known.

Other events

Mon 21 July. There was a four-a-side match at the Artillery Ground between Four Millers of Bray Mills in Berkshire and Four Best Players of Addington. It was played for fifty pounds but the result is unknown. Thomas Waymark was by this time employed at Bray Mills and so he was probably involved .

Wed 6 August. A three-a-side game in the Artillery Ground involving six players esteemed the best in England. The teams were Long Robin’s Side including Robert Colchin, John Bryant (both Bromley) and Joseph Harris (Addington) versus Stephen Dingate (Surrey), Val Romney (Sevenoaks) and Richard Newland (Slindon). Stephen Dingate’s side won the match . Hundreds of pounds were lost and won over the game .

References

External sources

• CricketArchive match lists
• From Lads to Lord's; The History of Cricket: 1300 – 1787

Further reading

• H S Altham, A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914), George Allen & Unwin, 1962
• Derek Birley, A Social History of English Cricket, Aurum, 1999
• Rowland Bowen, Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
• David Underdown, Start of Play, Allen Lane, 2000