Contents
Introduction
A wonderful ground in the centre of one of the great villages of London. The green was created early in the Seventeenth Century and remains wonderfully unchanged. Cricket is still played there to this day.
One of the very earliest prints of a cricket match, a view of the green, taken from the terrace in the Royal Gardens, 1740. The ruins of Richmond Palace (dismantled by Charles II) can just be seen, far left.
History
The earliest reference to cricket on The Green is from May 1666 when Sir Robert Paston, a resident of Richmond, wrote a letter to his wife and mentioned that their son had taken part in “a game of criquett on Richmond Green”.
The first match that is definitely known to have been played on The Green was between Surrey and Middlesex in June 1730. Surrey won but no details have survived.
The following year, on 23 August, a match between Mr Chambers’ XI (a Richmond team) and the Duke of Richmond’s XI (a Sussex team) is the earliest in cricket history of which team scores are known. Richmond’s XI totalled 79 runs in their first innings and Chambers’ XI replied with 119 to take a first innings lead of 40. Richmond’s XI were all out for 72 in their second innings, so Chambers’ XI needed 33 to win. The game ended promptly at a pre-agreed time when Chambers’ XI had “four or five more to have come in” and needed “about 8 to 10 notches”. The result was, therefore, a draw and this caused a fracas among the crowd who were incensed by the prompt finish because the Duke of Richmond had arrived late and delayed the start of the game. The riot resulted in some of Richmond’s players “having their shirts tore off their backs: and ’tis said a law suit will commence about the play”. The stake was 200 guineas.
On 22 July 1741, a match between Surrey and London resulted in cricket’s earliest known tie.
The first time Richmond Cricket Club are known to have played on The Green was on 4 July 1743 when a combined Richmond & Kingston team was defeated by London. The noted Kent player Robert Colchin guested for London and the match is his earliest recorded mention.] Later matches on The Green involved the Richmond club against other parish teams – for example, Chertsey in 1761, 1765 and 1771; Kingston in 1767; and Montpelier in 1799 and 1800.
Present day
The Green is presently home to two cricket teams, both of which affiliated to Richmond pubs – The Prince’s Head and The Cricketers.
Important Matches
| Jun 1730 | Surrey | Middlesex |
| 23 Aug 1731 | Chambers’ XI | Duke of Richmond’s XI |
| 05 Jul 1736 | Chertsey | Croydon |
| 22 Jul 1741 | Surrey | London |
| 04 Jul 1743 | Richmond and Kingston | London |
| 31 Aug 1761 | Richmond | Chertsey |
| 16 Sep 1765 | Richmond | Chertsey |
| 23 Sep 1767 | Richmond | Kingston |
| 05 Jun 1770 | Brentford and Richmond | Essex |
| 15 Jul 1771 | Richmond, Hampton and Brentford | Chertsey |
| 27 Jun 1799 | Brentford and Richmond | Montpelier |