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.
1788 English cricket season
1788 was the second season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). On Friday, 30 May, MCC published a revised code of the "Laws of Cricket", calling themselves the "Cricket Club at Marylebone". This action confirmed MCC as the body both in sole charge of the Laws and responsible for the sport's governance. Four weeks later, MCC and its predecessor White Conduit Club played each other at Lord's Old Ground in the earliest match featuring MCC to leave a surviving scorecard.