Cricket in England
Cricket in England is one of the most popular sports in the country and is known to have been played in England since the 16th century. The Marylebone Cricket Club, based at Lords, developed the modern rules of play and conduct.There are eighteen professional county clubs, seventeen of them in England and one in Wales. All eighteen counties are named after, and were originally representative of, historic counties. These clubs are heavily dependent on subsidies from the England and Wales Cricket Board, which makes its money from television and endorsement contracts and attendances at international matches. The English cricket season traditionally starts at the beginning of April and runs though to the second half of September although in recent years counties have played pre season friendly matches at the very end of March.
1773 English cricket season
1773 was the 77th English cricket season since the earliest known important match was played. 1773 was the 46th season of competitive cricket in England. It saw a downturn in the fortunes of Hampshire and the Hambledon Club. They lost every known match played in 1773 and some of their defeats were heavy. Their poor results owed much to star bowler Thomas Brett having been injured.