Stephen Dingate facts for kids

Stephen Dingate was a famous English cricket player from a long time ago, around the 1700s. People think he started playing cricket in the 1720s. He was one of the best-known players in England during the 1740s.

Stephen Dingate was born in a place called Reigate in Surrey. He worked for a very important person, the Duke of Richmond. Some old records say he might have been a barber.

Dingate was especially good at a type of cricket called single wicket. In this game, there are fewer players on each team. He often led his own team and played for big prizes. He played against other famous cricketers of his time. These included players like Tom Faulkner, Robert Colchin, and Richard Newland. It's thought he played for many years before his first game was officially written down in June 1744. His last known game was in July 1752.

Stephen Dingate's Cricket Games

Stephen Dingate's first recorded game was on June 2, 1744. He played in a big match with eleven players on each side. His team, London, played against a combined team from Surrey and Sussex. The game took place at the Artillery Ground.

The Surrey and Sussex team won the match by 55 runs. This game is very special because it has the oldest known scorecard in the world! The scorecard shows how many runs each player scored. However, it doesn't say how they got out.

London was the home team, and their opponents were all from Surrey and Sussex. The visiting team batted first and scored 102 runs. London then batted and scored 79 runs. Dingate was batting second for London, but he got out for 0 runs. This meant Surrey and Sussex had a 23-run lead after the first part of the game.

In their second turn to bat, Surrey and Sussex scored 102 runs for 6 wickets. They then seemed to stop their batting turn on purpose. This is called a declaration today. But back in 1744, the rules of cricket, called the Laws of Cricket, didn't actually allow teams to declare.

In the final part of the game, London needed 126 runs to win. But they were all out for only 70 runs. This time, Dingate scored the most runs for his team with 19. The Duke of Richmond kept this important scorecard at his home, Goodwood House.

Stephen Dingate's last known cricket game was in July 1752.

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