The 1776 English cricket season was the fifth in which matches have been awarded retrospective first-class cricket status. The scorecards of seven first-class matches have survived. The earliest printed cricket scorecard templates were introduced during 1776.

Matches

Seven first-class match scorecards survive from 1776, all of them involving Hampshire XIs playing either Kent XIs or Surrey XIs.^[1][2]

• 5–7 June - Hampshire XI v Kent XI - Moulsey Hurst^[3]
• 25–26 June - Kent XI v Hampshire XI - Sevenoaks Vine^[4]
• 2–4 July - Hampshire XI v Kent XI - Broadhalfpenny Down^[5]
• 15–17 July - Kent XI v Hampshire XI - Sevenoaks Vine^[6]
• 22–24 July - Hampshire XI v Kent XI - Broadhalfpenny Down^[7]
• 6–8 August - Surrey XI v Hampshire XI - Laleham Burway^[8]
• 26–28 August - Hampshire XI v Surrey XI - Broadhalfpenny Down^[9]

Three other matches not between county sides are known to have been played during the season. Full scorecards do not survive from these matches.^[10]

In the 6–8 August Surrey v Hampshire match at Laleham Burway, John Wood and Lumpy Stevens made a last-wicket partnership of 43 to win the match for Surrey. This was the first known one-wicket margin in a first-class match, while Wood and Stevens' newly established record for the highest last-wicket partnership to win stood until 1877, when the Gentlemen added 46 for the last wicket to win the 2–4 July Gentlemen v Players match at Lord's.

Other events

A notice in the Leicester Journal of 17 August is the earliest known mention of cricket in Leicestershire.^{[citation needed]}

First mentions

Richard Aubrey Veck made his debut in first-class cricket during the season.

References

Further reading

• Altham, H. S. (1962). A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914). George Allen & Unwin.
• Birley, Derek (1999). A Social History of English Cricket. Aurum.
• Bowen, Rowland (1970). Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development. Eyre & Spottiswoode.
• Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. HarperCollins.
• Underdown, David (2000). Start of Play. Allen Lane.