View source for People involved in cricket from 1597 to 1787

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<p>This article lists people who are known to have been involved in the historical development of [[cricket (sport)|cricket]] from its earliest known reference on Monday, 17 January 1597{{Ref label|a|a|none}} to the opening of the original [[Lord's Old Ground|Lord's]] ground and the formation of [[Marylebone Cricket Club]] (MCC) in [[1787 cricket season in England|1787]]. The tables are chronological, and each person's name is given when it was first recorded in surviving sources. The first is [[John Derrick]] who, in January 1597, made the legal deposition which includes the earliest mention of cricket on record. The last name, and the only one in 1787, is [[Thomas Lord]] whose new ground was opened at the beginning of that season;{{Ref label|b|b|none}} MCC was founded soon afterwards.</p>

<p>In the 16th and 17th centuries, the names are those of people who may or may not have been regular players. Many are referenced only in court cases, or are people who witnessed the sport. The town or village given is where their involvement occurred. In the 18th century, more information is available in the sources so it is easier to identify the active players and the clubs or teams (i.e., parish or county) with which they are most usually associated. Although some people like the Dukes of Richmond are remembered primarily as patrons, they were invariably players too and generally [[Glossary of cricket#Captain|captained]] their own teams. Cricket underwent radical changes during the 18th century. Patronage and popular support enabled it to outgrow its roots as a [[Glossary of cricket#Village cricket|village pastime]] and develop into a major sport in southeast England which had begun its spread through the rest of the country by 1787.</p>

<p>There were three watersheds in cricket history during the 18th century, one evolutionary and two revolutionary. First, in 1744, the <i>[[Laws of Cricket]]</i> were formally codified. They were revised in 1774 and then, although it is outside the scope of this article, became the copyright of MCC in 1788 when a further revision was enacted. Cricket underwent a major change in the early 1760s when [[pitched delivery bowling]] was introduced and necessitated the invention of the [[Glossary of cricket#Bat|straight bat]]: an evolution in [[bowling (cricket)|bowling]] and [[batting (cricket)|batting]] techniques. Until then, the sport had been in what may be called its "pioneering period". From about 1763, after the end of the [[Seven Years War]], the "[[Hambledon Club|Hambledon era]]" commenced. It is possible that pitching and straight bats were the basis of Hambledon's erroneous reputation as the "Cradle of Cricket". The third watershed was the creation of MCC in 1787, following the opening of Lord's.</p>

<p>Much of our knowledge about 18th century players has come from [[Scoring (cricket)|match scorecards]]. The earliest known scorecards date from 1744 but only a handful exist from before 1772 when they began to be completed and, more importantly, preserved on a regular basis. As such, the sport's statistical record begins in 1772 but scorecards until c.1825 are often incomplete and, for many matches, remain lost. The key historical sources are the works of [[Arthur Haygarth]], [[F. S. Ashley-Cooper]], [[H. T. Waghorn]], [[G. B. Buckley]], Rowland Bowen and Ian Maun, among others. The online databases, not in any case reliable, are excluded from this work as the scope is historical and not statistical.{{Ref label|d|d|none}}</p>