Stephen Harding (cricketer) facts for kids

Stephen Harding was a famous English cricket player in the 1700s. He played for teams like Chertsey, All-England, and Surrey. Stephen was a strong batter who hit the ball hard. He was also a good bowler, even though we don't know exactly how he bowled. He played in special "single wicket" games and was a great all-rounder, meaning he was good at both batting and bowling.

Stephen Harding's Cricket Career

Early Career and Big Hits

Stephen Harding first appears in cricket records in May 1751. He played for the All-England team against Kent. This match took place at the Artillery Ground. All-England won the game by 9 runs. Stephen played a very important part in this win.

Even though he was chosen mainly as a bowler, Stephen showed his batting skills. In All-England's second turn at batting, he opened the innings with another player. Together, they scored 51 runs for the first wicket. It seems Stephen scored 50 of those runs himself! He even hit one ball so hard it went out of the playing area. It hit a house across the street. For this amazing hit, he was given four runs. Back then, you could only score six runs if you actually ran that many. This often needed extra runs from mistakes by the other team.

Soon after this game, Stephen played for All-England again in a return match against Kent. All-England won this game by an innings, which means they won by a lot of runs.

Later Matches and Final Records

In 1759, Stephen Harding was still playing for the All-England team. However, in that year, his team lost twice to Dartford Cricket Club.

Stephen continued to make big hits even later in his career. In September 1765, he played for his home team, Chertsey. They played against Richmond on Richmond Green. Stephen helped Chertsey win by a large margin of 106 runs. In that game, he scored 24 runs from just four balls. This included a five, two sixes, and a seven.

This match in 1765 is the last time Stephen Harding is mentioned in cricket records. Most of his career happened in the 1750s. During that time, there were not many detailed reports about cricket games. His playing years also included the Seven Years' War. This war had a very bad effect on the sport of cricket.