Right off the bat

The high-octane, big-money world of international cricket today might seem a million miles away from the pastoral setting of the Goodwood Estate. Yet it was here, historians believe, that the foundations of the modern game were laid. In the flurry of sporting activity that followed the restoration of Charles II, cricket grew in popularity – both on its own merits and thanks to the heavy amounts of gambling that took place on the side. As interest developed, the King’s grandson, Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, became one of its most powerful patrons, assisting cricket’s evolution from a village game to a first-class sport.

In the 1720s, the Duke’s team played all over Sussex. But it was his two matches in 1727 against Alan Brodrick, son of the 1st Viscount Midleton (an Irish statesman who had settled in Surrey), that mark a key moment in cricketing history. These matches – one near Godalming on 27 July, the second at Goodwood on 28 August – required articles of agreement to clarify the generally unwritten rules of the game, and the 16-point agreement (pictured above) became the earliest rules to be written down.  In them you can trace the lineaments of today’s cricket, but there are some discrepancies. Players are called “gamesters”, the wickets are 23 yards apart rather than 22, and there are 12 players on each side rather than 11 (unusual even at the time). Best of all, even though there are two umpires overseeing the play, the rules explicitly do not apply to the Duke of Richmond and Mr Brodrick.

Although the 2nd Duke’s cricketing career came to an end when he broke his leg in May 1732, his team remained one of the best in the land, with early stars such as his groom Thomas Waymark impressing with “his extraordinary agility and dexterity”. He also took the neighbouring Slindon team under his wing, and under his patronage it became the greatest team in England, winning 43 out of 44 matches played in 1742, partly thanks to the efforts of the three Newland brothers, who all played for England.

Looking back at the French Revolution, the historian GM Trevelyan famously suggested: “If the French nobility had been capable of playing cricket with their peasants, their châteaux would never have been burnt.” It’s a persuasive thought, although social distinctions were observed at Goodwood: after a match, the gentlemen would go through the house’s front door to enjoy a supper of game pie and meats, followed by plum pudding, with claret to wash it down. But estate workers made their way to the Servants’ Hall by the back door, to eat meat and vegetables, apple pie and cheese, with tankards of ale.

Goodwood’s cricketing tradition persisted with the 4th Duke, an accomplished right-hand bat and noted wicketkeeper, who was a prime mover in the foundation of the MCC, since he and George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea, offered Thomas Lord a guarantee against any losses he might suffer on opening a new cricket ground. And the Estate’s deep roots in the sport mean that through the centuries it has held a special place in every cricket lover’s heart. Its lovely ground has attracted luminaries such as Sir Colin Cowdrey, Graham Gooch and Nasser Hussain to play under the cedar of Lebanon planted by the 3rd Duke in 1761 – a magical setting for this great game. 

This article was taken from the Summer 2019 edition of the Goodwood Magazine.