Alresford Cricket Club
{{Short description|Cricket team in England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox cricket team
| team_name = Alresford Cricket Club
| image =
| caption =
| home_venue = Itchin Stoke Down
| established = before 1770
| last_match = c.1795
| num_titles =
| notable_players = Tom Taylor
Richard Aubrey Veck
Andrew Freemantle
}}
Alresford Cricket Club was one of the strongest cricket teams in England during the late 18th century.Arlott on Cricket - see "Main source" below. It represented the adjacent small towns of New Alresford and Old Alresford in Hampshire. According to John Arlott, between about 1770 and 1795 Alresford "stood higher in cricket than any town its size has done in the history of the game".
During this period there were four grounds in Alresford. The main one was Itchin Stoke Down, which as of 1978 was part of Itchen Down Farm. Tichborne Down was also used for important games. Matches were also played on The Nythe and on Fob Down. Old Alresford and New Alresford often played each other, the latter usually winning, but for some fixtures they put out a joint team.
Connections with Hambledon
Its period of greatness roughly coincided with that of the even more eminent Hambledon, not too far distant. Many Alresford players also appeared for Hambledon, including Tom Taylor, Richard Aubrey Veck and the Freemantle brothers, Andrew and John. Some of Hambledon's matches, even including some fixtures with All-England, were played at Alresford.
In 1778 Hambledon announcedMost information about matches at this time comes from announcements in the press of matches to be played, with the reporting of scores - and even of results - being scanty. home and away fixtures with Alresford for fifty guineas a match, with no "given" men. At this period it was common for the weaker team to bring in players from outside, or from their opponents, to even things up. That this was not thought necessary in this case indicates Alresford's perceived strength.
References
{{Reflist}}
- {{cite book |last=Arlott |first=John |author-link=John Arlott |title=Arlott on Cricket |year=1984 |editor=David Rayvern Allen |pages=70–74 |publisher=Collins |isbn=0-00-637007-1}} Arlott's piece on Alresford was originally written for the Winter 1978–79 issue of a magazine entitled Alresford Displayed.
Further reading
- {{cite book |last=Haygarth |first=Arthur |author-link=Arthur Haygarth |title=Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826) |year=1862 |publisher=Lillywhite }}
- {{cite book |last=Mote |first=Ashley |author-link=Ashley Mote |title=The Glory Days of Cricket |year=1997 |publisher=Robson }}
- {{cite book |last=Nyren |first=John |author-link=John Nyren |title=The Cricketers of my Time |editor=Ashley Mote |year=1998 |publisher=Robson }}
- {{cite book |last=Underdown |first=David |author-link=David Underdown |title=Start of Play |year=2000 |publisher=Allen Lane }}
- {{cite book |last=Waghorn |first=H. T. |author-link=H. T. Waghorn |title=The Dawn of Cricket |year=1906 |publisher=Electric Press }}
{{English cricket teams in the 18th century}}
Category:Former senior cricket clubs of England
Category:English cricket teams in the 18th century
Category:Sports clubs and teams established in the 18th century