Addington Cricket Club

Addington Cricket Club fielded one of the strongest cricket teams in England from about the 1743 season to the 1752 season although the village of Addington is a very small place in Surrey about three miles south-east of Croydon. The team was of county strength and featured the noted players Tom Faulkner, Joe Harris, John Harris, George Jackson and Durling. The team immediately accepted the Slindon Challenge, in 1744, to play against any parish in England. The only other club to accept was Robert Colchin's Bromley.

It is not known when the Addington club was founded and the team played its earliest known game, in London, in 1743. At the Artillery Ground on 25 July, Addington defeated the foremost London Cricket Club by an innings & 4 runs. London scored 32 & 74; Addington 110. Kent players Robert Colchin, aka "Long Robin", and Tom Peake played for Addington as given men while Surrey's William Sawyer played for London as a given man.

It was after Slindon defeated London in September 1744 that it issued its challenge to the rest of England. Addington and Slindon met at the Artillery Ground on 12 and 13 September but the occasion was ruined by bad weather and the match could not be concluded.

Addington and London won a home game each against each other in 1745. The best Addington players were frequently involved in single wicket contests, which were hugely popular throughout the 1740s. They also played often in representative teams. Tom Faulkner in particular was one of the most influential figures in the sport. In 1746, Addington beat Bromley "with great difficulty" on Bromley Common but a return match at the Artillery Ground was inconclusive. In 1747, Addington joined forces with nearby Croydon to play three matches against London: they won one, lost one and one had an unknown result. In 1748, the "best five" Addington players took part in a big single wicket contest against "The Rest of England". One of the Addington five was described as "the shoemaker that lately came out of Kent". It is possible that this shoemaker was Durling, who first made his presence felt that season. Durling's origins are otherwise unknown.

...
Wikipedia