1797 English cricket season
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The 1797 English cricket season was the 26th in which matches have been awarded retrospective first-class cricket status and the 11th after the foundation of the Marylebone Cricket Club. The season saw 13 top-class matches played in the country.

Richard Nyren, who was a pioneer of the game with the Hambledon Club died in April.[1]

Matches

A total of 13 top-class matches were played during the season,[2][3][4] including matches featuring MCC as well as Hampshire and Surrey sides.[3]

Four matches saw the George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea's XI play a side organised by Charles Lennox.[3] In one of these Winchelsea is reported to have attempted to introduce a fourth stump and to increase the height of the stumps by two inches. The following year saw a new version of the Laws of Cricket introduced which raised the height of the stumps but did not introduce a fourth stump.[5][6]

First mentions

Players who made their first-class cricket debuts in 1797 included:

References

  1. ^ Mitchell A (2017) Signed and delivered: the high cost of 18th century cricket, Scottish Sport History, 2017-05-19. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  2. ^ Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) (1981) A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709 – 1863. Nottingham: ACS.
  3. ^ a b c England Domestic Season 1797, CricInfo. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  4. ^ First-class matches in England, 1797, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2020-07-29. (subscription required)
  5. ^ C Lennox's XI v Earl of Winchilsea's XI, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2020-12-07. (subscription required)
  6. ^ C Lennox's XI v Earl of Winchilsea's XI, CricInfo. Retrieved 2020-12-07.

Further reading

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