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Addington
Addington was one of the key names in Early Surrey cricket. It is not known when the team started; most of its known history arises from matches played in central London. This, its earliest known game, on 25 July 1743, was at the Artillery Ground. Addington defeated the London Cricket Club by an innings & 4 runs. London scored 32 & 74; Addington 110. Kent players Robert Colchin and Tom Peake played for Addington as given men, while Surrey’s William Sawyer was given to London.
Addington fielded one of the strongest cricket teams in England from about the 1743 season to the 1752 season, although the village of Addington is a very small place in Surrey, about three miles south-east of Croydon. The team was of county strength and featured the noted players Tom Faulkner, Joe Harris, John Harris, George Jackson and Durling.
One notable incident in their history was in 1744, when the team accepted the Slindon Challenge; the only other club to accept was Robert Colchin’s Bromley. Addington and Slindon met at the Artillery Ground on 12 and 13 September, but it rained and the matches could not be concluded. Addington and London won a home game against each other in 1745. The best Addington players were frequently involved in single-wicket contests, which were hugely popular throughout the 1740s. They also played often in representative teams. Tom Faulkner, in particular, was one of the most influential figures in the sport. In 1746, Addington beat Bromley “with great difficulty” on Bromley Common, but a return match at the Artillery Ground was inconclusive. In 1747, Addington joined forces with nearby Croydon to play three matches against London: they won one, lost one and one had an unknown result. In 1748, the “best five” Addington players took part in a big single wicket contest against “The Rest of England”.
Signs of Addington’s decline can be seen towards the end of the 1740s. On 10 July 1749, “Five of All-England” defeated “Five of Addington” at the Artillery Ground. The match was played for fifty guineas a side and was the result of a challenge by the Addington players to meet any other five in England. Betting was 8â1 in favour of Addington, but the team of Faulkner, Joe Harris, John Harris, George Jackson and Durling was beaten by Colchin, John Bryant, Robert Eures, John Bell and Thomas Waymark. On 17 July, in a return match, the same Addington five beat the same All-England five for fifty guineas. But on 26 July in a deciding match, All-England won by 2 runs, scoring 11 and 12; Addington replied with 16 and 5. The prize this time was 100 guineas. All-England made two changes to its team with James Bryant and Val Romney replacing Bell and Waymark. Addington’s five were unchanged.
On 17 July 1750, Addington lost a sensational match to the re-emerging Dartford by 6 runs on Dartford Brent. Dartford scored 46 and 34; Addington replied with 39 and 35. William Hodsoll and the two Bryants all played for Dartford as given men. According to the London Evening Post on Thursday, 19 July, Dartford lost its last five second innings wickets in five successive deliveries by a mixture of caught and bowled, but still won.
There are more Addington games in the records until the end of the 1752 season, but then there are just occasional mentions of Faulkner and Durling, who played into the 1760s. The Addington cricket ground, which was not used for its great matches as these were in London, is still in use and is held to be one of the oldest in England.
Bromley
Bromley was one of the strongest Kent cricket teams in the mid-eighteenth century when its team was led by Robert Colchin, known as “Long Robin”. The first definite mention of the area in a cricket connection is a 1735 match on Bromley Common between a Kent side and the London Cricket Club. The report of this match states that “a large crowd attended and a great deal of mischief was done. It seems that horses panicked and riders were thrown, while some members of the crowd were ridden over. One man was carried off for dead as HRH passed by at the entrance to the Common. “HRH” was Frederick, Prince of Wales.
Apart from Colchin, Bromley also produced noted players like John Bowra, his son William Bowra and the brothers James and John Bryant. A match took place in June 1742 between London and Bromley at the Artillery Ground which is the second known instance of a match finishing as a tie. The club probably reached its peak in September 1744, a time when Colchin was also at the pinnacle of his career. Following the victory over London by Richard Newland’s Slindon at the Artillery Ground, the “Slindon Challenge” was issued to “play any parish in England”. They received immediate acceptances from Addington Cricket Club and from Bromley, who were due to play Slindon in the same month, but it rained and the matches could not be concluded.
Chertsey
The first matches of this Surrey team date to the 1730s. Three known matches were played in 1736, one against Croydon at Duppas Hill, followed by a return match at Laleham Burway. A deciding game on Richmond Green was played on 5 July. In each of the two matches, the home team won “by a great number of runs”.
The club played a number of matches against the London Cricket Club and Dartford. In the 1760s, they played matches against Hambledon, and in September 1778, Chertsey beat the rest of England (excluding Hampshire) by an innings and 24 runs.
Chertsey produced several famous players in the 18th century including the great bowler Edward “Lumpy” Stevens and the noted wicket-keeper William Yalden.
Dartford
The earliest known match involving a team from Dartford took place in 1722, against London, but the modern club’s own website says it was formally established in 1727.
Dartford players were reckoned by Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, writing in his diary in 1723, to “lay claim to the greatest excellence” among English cricketers. The club played a number of big matches against London and, in 1756, they were involved in a tri-series against the Hambledon Club.
Dartford produced several famous players in the 18th century including cricket’s earliest known great player William Bedle. Later players included William Hodsoll, John Bell, John Frame and Ned Wenman. The club originally used Dartford Brent, an area of common land, as its ground. A club is still in existence and now plays in the Kent Cricket League.
Croydon
The original Croydon team (then part of Surrey) played most of its matches at Duppas Hill (pictured – now a park). The earliest record of the club is in the 1707 season when it played two major matches against London. Croydon had a very strong team in the 1731 season, beating London four times. Croydon continued to be prominent through the 1730s but was less so in the 1740s, and the club was barely mentioned again after that, except in a few minor matches. It is believed to have disbanded in the later part of the 18th century.