1771 English cricket season


The 1771 English cricket season was the 28th season following the earliest known codification of the Laws of Cricket. Details have survived of 19 eleven-a-side matches between significant teams. The Monster Bat Incident occurred during the season.

Matches

19 eleven-a-side match between significant teams are known to have taken place.
During the match between Chertsey and Hambledon on 23 September, a Chertsey batsman, described as "one White of Reigate", used a cricket bat the width of the wicket. This enabled White, who is usually identified as either Thomas White or Shock White, to block every ball from hitting the wicket, making it difficult for the opposition bowlers to get him out.
At the time there was no limit on the width of a bat and the motivation for White's use of the bat is unknown - it may have been a deliberate attempt to gain an advantage, to challenge the Laws or as a joke. Hambledon's players, led by leading bowler Thomas Brett, protested and two days later a formal written protest was submitted, signed by Brett, Hambledon captain Richard Nyren and leading batsman John Small. Hambledon were the most influential cricket club of the time and quickly brought about a change in the Laws of Cricket covering the dimensions of bats. A metal gauge was created by the club to check the size of any bat used. A formal change in the Laws of Cricket was agreed in 1774, restricting the width of a bat to, a size which remains in force today.

First mentions

The match between Nottingham and Sheffield on 26 August is the first time cricket is known to have taken place in Nottinghamshire.

Players