Middlesex county cricket teams

Middlesex county cricket teams have been traced back to the 18th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. Given that the first definite mention of cricket anywhere in the world is dated c.1550 in Guildford, it is almost certain that the game had reached Middlesex by the 16th century. Early references to the game in London or Middlesex are often interchangeable and sometimes it is not clear if a particular team represents the city or the county.

As elsewhere in south east England, cricket became established in Middlesex during the 17th century and the earliest village matches took place before the English Civil War. It is believed that the earliest county teams were formed in the aftermath of the Restoration in 1660.

The first definite mention of cricket in London or Middlesex dates from 1680 and is recorded in Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket by G. B. Buckley as that book's first entry. The reference "is quite unfit for publication nowadays" but contains, nevertheless, a clear reference to "the two umpires" (it is also the earliest mention of an umpire in what seems to be a cricket connection) and, as Buckley points out, the reference also strongly suggests that the double wicket form of the game was already well known in London.

The earliest known match in Middlesex took place at Lamb's Conduit Field in Holborn on 3 July 1707 involving teams from London and Croydon (see The Dawn of Cricket by H. T. Waghorn). In 1718, the first reference is found to White Conduit Fields in Islington, which later became a famous London venue. The earliest reference to a team called Middlesex is on 5 August 1729 when it played London Cricket Club "in the fields behind the Woolpack, in Islington, near Sadlers Wells, for £50 a side" (see Waghorn).

Middlesex teams occur throughout the 18th century, although for long periods the county was secondary to the London Cricket Club which played at the Artillery Ground. Middlesex always held important match status, depending on the quality of their opponents. The Middlesex teams played at various grounds throughout what is now the Greater London area. Islington and Uxbridge were often used but "home matches" were also played on Kennington Common and in Berkshire.

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