{"id":730,"date":"2023-08-12T10:24:32","date_gmt":"2023-08-12T10:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/earlycricket.uk\/?page_id=730"},"modified":"2025-06-04T14:56:20","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T14:56:20","slug":"early-history-of-cricket-introduction","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/early-history-of-cricket-introduction\/","title":{"rendered":"Early cricket history"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pdfprnt-buttons pdfprnt-buttons-page pdfprnt-top-right\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/730?print=print\" class=\"pdfprnt-button pdfprnt-button-print\" target=\"_blank\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-print\/images\/print.png\" alt=\"image_print\" title=\"Print Content\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/early-history-of-cricket-introduction\/#General\" >General<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/early-history-of-cricket-introduction\/#Other_history_topics_with_on_separate_pages\" >Other history topics with on separate pages<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/early-history-of-cricket-introduction\/#Origins_of_Cricket\" >Origins of Cricket<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/early-history-of-cricket-introduction\/#Evolution_of_bowling_bat_and_stumps\" >Evolution of bowling, bat and stumps<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/early-history-of-cricket-introduction\/#Womens_Cricket\" >Women&#8217;s Cricket<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/early-history-of-cricket-introduction\/#Cricket_outside_Britain\" >Cricket outside Britain<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/early-history-of-cricket-introduction\/#School_cricket\" >School cricket<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/early-history-of-cricket-introduction\/#Further_reading_available_on_this_site\" >Further reading available on this site<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"General\"><\/span>General<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This site is not an electronic book. It doesn&#8217;t focus on telling the story of the early history of cricket as a continuous narrative; rather, it seeks to deploy the functionality of the internet to approach the subject in a multi-dimensional way, considering the development of the game though various separate but linked thematic avenues &#8211; club, grounds, players, laws, techniques, equipment etc, supplemented by the presentation of as wide a range of source material as I can find in terms of paintings, engravings, books, poems and the like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This section is, however, something of an exception to this principle, insofar as it attempts to pull the story together by listing key events in date order, as well as tackling key issues. Hopefully, it gives something of an overview to matters with are dealt with in more detail elsewhere:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The general history is dealt with in two ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/early-cricket-detailed-timeline\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"3851\">Detailed timeline of early cricket<\/a> (timelines also available for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/general-historical-timeline\/\">general history<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/timeline-of-cricket\/\">cricket to date<\/a>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/narrative-history\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"3870\">Brief narrative of the period<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Other_history_topics_with_on_separate_pages\"><\/span>Other history topics with on separate pages<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Origins_of_Cricket\"><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/origins-of-cricket\/\">Origins of Cricket<\/a><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This page looks briefly at the vexed question of how the game originated. In truth, it is not an issue which I think is capable of any kind of meaningful resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Evolution_of_bowling_bat_and_stumps\"><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/evolution-of-bowling-bat-and-stumps\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"2139\">Evolution of bowling, bat and stumps<\/a><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The key developments in the eighteenth century were the evolution of bowling, bat and stumps. This page summarises those events in tabular form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Womens_Cricket\"><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/womens-cricket\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"608\">Women&#8217;s Cricket<\/a><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Women&#8217;s cricket was not a huge matter in the Eighteenth Century but it did exist and is well worth consideration. Sadly, in Victorian times, it fell away so needed a completely fresh start around 1900.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cricket_outside_Britain\"><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/cricket-further-afield\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"611\">Cricket outside Britain<\/a><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A consideration of how much the game had spread overseas by 1800. In truth, not much; North America is the only major exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"School_cricket\"><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/public-school-cricket\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"3158\">School cricket<\/a><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Schools were growing in number and accessibility in the Sixteenth Century, and this is when cricket appeared. this article briefly looks at what we know of cricket in schools and what influence it may have had on the wider game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Further_reading_available_on_this_site\"><\/span>Further reading available on this site<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-cricket-field-rev-james-pycroft-1859\/\">The Cricket Field \u2013 Rev James Pycroft \u2013 (1859)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/cricket-and-community-in-england-1800-to-the-present-day-paperback-peter-davies-author-robert-light\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1942\">Cricket and Community in England: 1800 to the Present Day \u2013<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/cricket-and-community-in-england-1800-to-the-present-day-paperback-peter-davies-author-robert-light\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1942\">Peter Davies (Author), Robert Light &#8211; <\/a>Extract relating to Eighteenth Century<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/early-history-of-cricket-e-d-r-edgar\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"158\">Early History of Cricket \u2013 E.D.R. Edgar<\/a> &#8211; from the Barclays World of Cricket<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/a-history-of-cricket-hs-altham-and-ew-swanton-1925\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"2113\">A History of Cricket \u2013 HS Altham and EW Swanton (1925)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-early-history-of-cricket-s-m-toyne-1955\/\">The Early History of Cricket &#8211; S.M. Toyne &#8211; 1955<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Arlott and Truman on Cricket \u2013 edited by Gilbert Phelps &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/john-arlott-on-early-cricket\/\">two chapters of Arlott\u2019s history which deal with the game before 1800<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>General This site is not an electronic book. It doesn&#8217;t focus on telling the story of the early history of cricket as a continuous narrative; rather, it seeks to deploy the functionality of the internet to approach the subject in a multi-dimensional way, considering the development of the game though various separate but linked thematic [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":true,"footnotes":"[]"},"class_list":["post-730","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/PdOpLv-bM","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=730"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/730\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4824,"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/730\/revisions\/4824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}