Articles of Agreement

foot of page Rules are rules | The Articles | Alan Brodrick | Things to come

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Rules are rules

Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond

As we saw in the early editions, the first definite mention of cricket occurred in a 1597 court case. Starting as it meant to go on, perhaps, because it is not until the second quarter of the 18th century that the History of Cricket divorces itself from the History of English Law! In the 130 years from 1597 to 1727, we see cricket entangled in all sorts of legal complications from land settlements to ecclesiastical courts to Star Chambers to press restrictions to criminal arrests to unpaid wagers to readings of the Riot Act. Indeed, a whole plethora of legal headaches in amongst all the runs that were scored and all the wickets that were taken.

Then, in 1727, we encounter the Law of Contract. Don't worry, though, because this legal nicety was a positive which boded well for cricket's future.

The contract in question was the Articles of Agreement drawn up between Charles Lennox, the 2nd Duke of Richmond, and his opponent Alan Brodrick, another nobleman who would shortly become the 2nd Viscount Midleton. The purpose of the Articles was to formalise the rules applicable to matches which they promoted, and their teams met twice that season.

It may be the first time that rules (or some part of the rules as in this case) were formally agreed, although rules as such definitely existed. In early times, they would have been agreed orally and subject to local variations. This syndrome was also evident in football—especially the thorny question of handling the ball—until the FA was founded in 1863.

The Articles

Okay, and bearing in mind the current Laws of Cricket, let's have a look at these Articles, shall we? The agreement was finalised as follows on 11 July 1727 and, as written at the time, outlined sixteen points:

• Imprimis. 'Tis by the aforesaid Parties agreed that the first Match shall be played some day or this instant July in the county of Surrey; the Place to be named by Mr Brodrick; the second match to be played in August next and in the County of Sussex, the Place to be named by the Duke of Richmond.
• 2nd. That the wickets shall be pitched in a fair and even place, at 23 yards from each other.
• 3rd. A ball caught, cloathed or not cloathed the Striker is out.
• 4th. When a Ball is caught out, the Stroke counts nothing.
• 5th. Catching out behind the Wicket allowed.
• 6th. That 'tis lawful for the Duke of Richmond to choose the Gamesters, who have played in either of his Grace's two last matches with Sir William Gage; and that 'tis lawful for Mr Brodrick to choose the Gamesters within three miles of Pepperharowe, provided they actually lived there last Lady day.
• 7th. That 12 Gamesters shall play on each side.
• 8th. That the Duke of Richmond and Mr Brodrick shall determine the Ball or Balls to be played with.
• 9th. If any of the Gamesters shall be taken lame or sick after the match is begun, their places may be supplied by any One chose comformably to the Sixth Article, or in Case that not be done, the other side shall be obliged to leave out one of their Gamesters, whomsoever they please.
• 10th. That each Match shall be for twelve guineas of each Side; between the Duke and Mr Brodrick.
• 11th. That there shall be one Umpire of each Side; and that if any of the Gamesters shall speak or give their opinion, on any point of the Game, they are to be turned out and voided in the Match. This not to extend to the Duke of Richmond and Mr Brodrick.
• 12th. If any Doubt or Dispute arises on any of the aforementioned articles, or whatever else is not settled therein, it shall be determined by the Duke of Richmond and Mr Brodrick on their Honours; by whom the Umpires are likewise to be determined on any Difference between them.
• 13th. The Duke of Richmond's Umpire shall pitch the Wickets when they play in Sussex; and Mr Brodrick's when they play in Surrey; and Each of Them shall be obliged to conform himself strictly to the Agreements strictly contained in the said Article.
• 14th. The Batt Men for every One they count are to touch the Umpires Stick.
• 15th. That it shall not be lawfull to fling down the wickets, and that no Player shall be deemed out by any wicket put down, unless with the Ball in Hand.
• 16th. That both the Matches shall be played upon, and determined by these Articles.

Alan Brodrick, 2nd Viscount Midleton

The one I particularly like is #11. I absolutely agree that anything with a great big hole under its nose (and, yes, I do have one in mind!) should be "turned out and voided".

In any sport, the decision of an umpire or referee must be final, and must be accepted. If they make a mistake, so what? Didn't Gob Open make a mistake when one of his balls was hit for six, or when he dropped an easy catch, or when he was clean bowled first ball? And as for VAR, words fail me, especially after seeing incompetence like the fiasco at Tottenham a few seasons ago when the "adjudicator" agreed that Luis Díaz was onside, and then told the referee that he wasn't!

Looking at the Articles as a whole, it is interesting to compare them with the Laws of 1744, which were widely adopted after their eventual publication in 1755. Worryingly, perhaps, there is no mention in the Articles of batters not being allowed to hit the ball more than once. In the 1744 code, various means of "it is out" are specified, and they include hitting the ball twice and obstructing the field.

Twelve-a-side is intriguing, but the twelves may have included each team's umpire. The stated pitch length of 23 yards may be an error in the original document because the chain (22 yards) was an active measure by 1727. No run outs were allowed unless the fielder had the ball in hand when breaking the wicket, so you had to throw to the bowler or keeper, and not directly at the stumps. Runs were only completed if the batsman touched the umpire's "stick" (which was probably a bat).

Lady Day was 25 March and, in the Julian Calendar, it marked the beginning of the New Year in England and Wales. Pepperharowe (now Peper Harow) is about four miles from Godalming and about five from Guildford. It was the home of the Brodrick family. There is a point-to-point racecourse there now.

Like the ACS and other sources, I assume the two Gage/Lennox matches were played earlier in the 1727 season, but the Articles don't actually say that, and condition #6 might have been referencing matches in a prior season.

Alan Brodrick

Alan Brodrick, 2nd Viscount Midleton (born 31 January 1702; died 8 June 1747) was a Commissioner of Customs, and subsequently Joint Comptroller of Army Accounts. He succeeded his father, also called Alan Brodrick, as Viscount Midleton on 29 August 1728, only a year after his matches with Lennox. He in turn was succeeded by his son George Brodrick. The title relates to Midleton in County Cork and is in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1717 for Brodrick's father, who was the Lord Chancellor of Ireland and a former Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. The title is extant and is today held by Alan Henry Brodrick (born 1949) as 12th Viscount.

A recommended source for Brodrick is John Marshall's The Duke Who Was Cricket, published by Frederick Miller Ltd in 1961.

Things to come

There was a total of eighteen known matches from 1727 to 1729, and then came the milestone 1730 season when cricket took up residence in the Artillery Ground. Through the following thirty years, the sport reached the zenith of its Pioneering Era before, in the 1760s, undergoing the first of several major evolutions. The Pioneering Era ended with the introduction of the pitched delivery, itself the catalyst for the invention of the straight bat—both might have originated at a place called Hambledon.

I'll be looking at the Pioneering Era in the next edition.

top of page Poor Fred | The Pioneering Era

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