The earliest known references to cricket in Yorkshire are in 1751. These relate to local matches in Sheffield and to a game on or soon after Mon 5 August at Stanwick, near Richmond, between the Duke of Cleveland’s XI and Earl of Northumberland’s XI (the same teams had earlier played in Durham and this is Durham's earliest cricket reference). Look up Yorkshire in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England. ... is the 217th day of the year (218th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Richmond ward—which includes the districts of Four Lane Ends, Intake, Richmond, and Woodthorpe—is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. ... The Dukedom of Cleveland was a peerage in the Peerage of England, and later in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, named for Cleveland in northern England. ... The title of Earl of Northumberland was created several times in the Peerages of England and Great Britain. ... Durham (IPA: locally, in RP) is a small city and main settlement of the City of Durham district of County Durham in North East England. ...

It is believed that the Sheffield Cricket Club was founded soon after that date and it began to play matches against teams from other northern towns, including some inter-county fixtures. The club was the direct forerunner of Yorkshire CCC. Yorkshire County Cricket Club is a county cricket club based at Headingley in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. ...

Sheffield quickly became the main centre for cricket in Yorkshire. In September 1757 a match took place between between Wirksworth and Sheffield at Brampton Moor, near Chesterfield. This is the earliest reference to cricket in Derbyshire. Wirksworth is a small market town in Derbyshire, England with a population of approximately 9,000. ... Chesterfield, see Chesterfield (disambiguation) Chesterfield is a historic market town and local government district in Derbyshire, a county in England. ... Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. ...

William White's History & General Directory of the Borough of Sheffield (1833) has the following information: "In 1757 we find the Town Trustees attempting the abolition of brutal sports by paying 14s6d to the cricket players on Shrove Tuesday to entertain the populace and prevent the infamous practice of throwing at cocks". Mr White does not give the primary source from which he himself derived the information but it would likely be in parish or town records of some kind which may or may not still exist.

On Tuesday 7 July 1761, the Leeds Intelligencer (now the Yorkshire Post) announced a game to be played at Chapeltown the following Thursday (9 July) and this is the first game we know of in the Leeds area. is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1761 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Yorkshire Post was founded in 1754, as the Leedes Intelligencer, making it one of Britains first daily newspapers. ... , Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. ...

On Thursday 5 September 1765, the London Chronicle reported a "great match" on Monday 26 August: Leeds v Sheffield at Chapeltown Moor, near Leeds. Sheffield won "with great difficulty". As this game was highly rated and was reported by a London newspaper, it shows that cricket was well-established in Yorkshire only 14 years after it was first reported there. is the 248th day of the year (249th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1765 (MDCCLXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... The London Chronicle was an early family newspaper of Georgian London. ... is the 238th day of the year (239th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... , Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. ... Look up Yorkshire in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In August 1771, we have the first of many matches between Sheffield and Nottingham. This one took place on the Forest Racecourse at Nottingham and is surprisingly the earliest known reference to cricket in Nottinghamshire and involving a Nottinghamshire team. The result of the game is unknown because "of a dispute having arisen by one of the Sheffield players being jostled"! The reports mention a Sheffield player called Osguthorpe (sic) who "kept in batting for several hours together". We may tentatively regard this match as the beginning of county-level first-class cricket in Yorkshire. The Sheffield club was representative of the county in a similar fashion to Nottingham and (much later) Manchester. Although standards of play in the south were much higher than in the north at this time, the same scenario can be observed re the Hornchurch, Maidenhead, Chertsey, Dartford and Hambledon clubs in their respective counties. Cricket in Nottinghamshire has been traced to a match between Nottingham Cricket Cluband Sheffield Cricket Club at the Forest Racecourse, Nottingham in 1771. ... For other uses, see Nottingham (disambiguation). ... Nottinghamshire (abbreviated Notts) is an English county in the East Midlands, which borders South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire. ... Cricket may not have reached Lancashire until the 18th century. ... Hornchurch is a town in the London Borough of Havering in East London. ... Statistics Population: 58,848 (2001) Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SU889811 Administration District: Windsor and Maidenhead Region: South East England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Berkshire Historic county: Berkshire Services Police force: Thames Valley Ambulance service: South Central Post office and telephone Post town: MAIDENHEAD... Chertsey Cricket Club in Surrey is one of the oldest in England. ... Dartford Cricket Club is one of the oldest in England and its origins go back to the early 18th Century, perhaps sooner. ... Hambledon (Cricket) Club was formed before 1750 and became prominent by 1756 when it played a series of three matches versus Dartford, which had itself been a major club for at least 30 years. ...

In 1772, the Daily Messenger carried reports of a match in Sheffield on Monday 1 June in which Sheffield defeated Nottingham. is the 152nd day of the year (153rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Sheffield club continued to play occasional first-class matches, mainly against other northern clubs. In September 1833, we see the first use of Yorkshire as the team name instead of Sheffield. This was in the Yorkshire v Norfolk match at Hyde Park Ground, Sheffield which Yorkshire won by 120 runs. The great Fuller Pilch was still playing for Norfolk. But Yorkshire was by now finding star players of its own, especially the fast bowling all-rounder Tom Marsden. Norfolk County Cricket Club is one of the Minor Counties in English cricket, playing three-day matches at a level below that of the first-class game. ... Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England. ... Fuller Pilch (born March 17, 1804, Horningtoft, Norfolk - died May 1, 1870, Canterbury, Kent) was an English cricketer and the best batsman of his time. ...

Although the Sheffield and Manchester clubs had met previously, there was a significant development on 23, 24 & 25 July 1849 when the match was called Yorkshire versus Lancashire at Hyde Park Ground, Sheffield. This was the first match to involve a Lancashire county team and also, therefore, the first "Roses" match. Yorkshire won by 5 wickets. (Redirected from 23 July) July 23 is the 204th day (205th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 161 days remaining. ... (Redirected from 24 July) July 24 is the 205th day (206th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 160 days remaining. ... is the 206th day of the year (207th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England. ...

On 7 March 1861, a Match Fund Committee to run Yorkshire county matches was established in Sheffield, which had by then been the home of Yorkshire cricket for nearly 100 years. It was from this fund that Yorkshire C.C.C. was founded two years later. This was an exact parallel with the formation of Sussex C.C.C. from a similar fund (1836–1839). is the 66th day of the year (67th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1861 (MDCCCLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar) // January 1 - Benito Juárez captures Mexico City January 2 - Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia dies and is succeeded by... Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England. ... Yorkshire County Cricket Club, who represent the historic county of Yorkshire, are one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic cricket structure. ... Sussex field against Derbyshire at Hove on 24 April 2005 The Arthur Gilligan stand at Hove The Pavilion at Hove Leaving the County Ground at Hove Sussex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county...

On 8 January 1863, the formation of Yorkshire C.C.C. was agreed at a meeting of the Sheffield Match Fund Committee in the Adelphi Hotel, Sheffield. The club was originally based at Bramall Lane, Sheffield. Yorkshire C.C.C. played its initial first-class match versus Surrey CCC at The Oval on 4, 5 & 6 June 1863. It was a rain-affected draw, evenly balanced. January 8 is the 8th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Yorkshire County Cricket Club, who represent the historic county of Yorkshire, are one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic cricket structure. ... Adelphi Hotel was a hotel based in the city centre of Sheffield, England. ... Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England. ... Bramall Lane Stadium is the home of Sheffield United Football Club in Sheffield, England and is the oldest major stadium in the world still to be hosting professional football matches. ... Yorkshire County Cricket Club, who represent the historic county of Yorkshire, are one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic cricket structure. ... Surrey County Cricket Club (SCCC) is an English domestic first-class cricket team based at The Oval in London. ... The famous gasometers, which are now listed buildings. ...

For the history of Yorkshire cricket since the foundation of the current county club, see : Yorkshire County Cricket Club

Yorkshire County Cricket Club, who represent the historic county of Yorkshire, are one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic cricket structure. ...

Records (first-class matches only)

• Highest team total: 282 v Manchester, Botanical Gardens, Manchester, 1854
• Lowest team total: 39 v Nottingham, The Forest New Ground, Nottingham, 1829
• Highest individual innings: 125 by Tom Marsden v Nottingham, Nottingham, 1828
• Best bowling: 7-38 by Henry Wright v Manchester, Hyde Park Ground, Sheffield, 1852

Henry Wright (1878-1936), was an architect and major proponent of the garden city, an idea characterized by green belts and created by Sir Ebenezer Howard. ...

Trivia

• It is possible that cricket was played in North America before it reached Yorkshire. There are 17th century references to the game in America but the earliest known references to cricket in Yorkshire are as late as 1751

External links

• From Lads to Lord's; The History of Cricket: 1300 – 1787

References

• Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket by G B Buckley (FL18)
• From the Weald to the World by Peter Wynne-Thomas (PWT)
• The Dawn of Cricket by H T Waghorn (WDC)
• Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 by Arthur Haygarth (SBnnn)
• A Social History of English Cricket by Derek Birley
• Cricket: History of its Growth and Development by Rowland Bowen