Cricket events from 1601 to 1700

1601
Following the earliest known reference to cricket at Guildford in 1597, the seventeenth century saw the transition of the sport from a children's game to a professional game via the evolutionary processes of village cricket and county cricket, the key developments being the interest taken by the gentry as patrons and occasionally as players; and their recognition of the opportunities for gambling that the game affords. This escalated in the years following the Restoration, when investment in cricket created the professional player and the first major clubs, thus establishing the sport as a popular social activity in London and the south of England. Meanwhile, English colonists had introduced cricket to North America and the West Indies; and the sailors and traders of the East India Company had taken it to the Indian subcontinent.

1610
The first definite mention of cricket in Kent comes from a court case in 1640 which records a "cricketing" of "Weald and Upland" versus "Chalkhill" at Chevening "about thirty years since". As in 1597, the case concerned the land on which the game was played. It is the earliest known organised match anywhere in the world and is the known beginning of village cricket.

1611
The first definite mention of cricket in Sussex relates to ecclesiastical court records which state that Bartholomew Wyatt and Richard Latter, two parishioners of Sidlesham in West Sussex, failed to attend church on Easter Sunday because they were playing cricket. They were fined 12 pence each and made to do penance.

A French-English dictionary was published by Randle Cotgrave. The noun crosse is defined as "the crooked staff wherewith boys play at cricket". The verb form of the word is crosser, defined as "to play at cricket". It is interesting that cricket was defined as a boys' game in the dictionary, as per the Guildford schoolboys of the sixteenth century, but that adults were playing it in Sussex at the beginning of the seventeenth century. It almost seems as if Mr Cotgrave was "overtaken by events" here. No sooner did he publish his dictionary than his definition was updated by the involvement of adults in cricket.

1613
A court case recorded that someone was assaulted with a "cricket staffe" at Wanborough, near Guildford.

1616
John Bullokar (1574–1627) was the author of An English Expositor, in which he defined cricket as "a kind of game with a ball".

1617
James I issued the Declaration of Sports (also known as The Book of Sports) which listed the sports and recreations that were permitted "on Sundays and other holy days". Initially, the declaration was effective in Lancashire only, partly as a reaction to Puritan suppression there of football (i.e., "mob football" in those days), blood sports and other activities which encouraged gambling. In 1618, the declaration was issued nationally and then reissued by Charles I in 1633. Cricket is not mentioned, although its near relation bowls is on the prohibited list. The omission of cricket provides evidence as such that it was still an obscure regional activity.

The Declaration of Sports was strongly opposed by the Puritans, then an increasingly influential sect. Although the stated purpose of the declaration per se may seem sinister to our eyes, it was in fact an attempt to rebuke Puritans and prevent them from interfering in the people's lawful recreations. It had limited success until the Civil War began in 1642. The Puritans were by then in control of Parliament which closed the theatres and issued sanctions against other recreational activities although, again, there was no mention of cricket except when individual players were accused of "breaking the Sabbath". The manuscript was publicly burned by order of the Puritan Parliament in 1643.

Meanwhile, the future leader of the Puritans, 18-year old Oliver Cromwell, was reportedly playing cricket and football in London, where he was training at one of the Inns of Court. This is the earliest known reference to cricket in London.

1620
Introduction of Gunter's chain, 22 yards long, for purposes of land survey. It was designed by English mathematician Edmund Gunter (1581–1626). Gunter's chain was probably adopted at a very early stage by cricketers for measuring the length of the pitch. The pitch length was specified as 22 yards in the first known code of Laws in 1744 and it must have been a firmly-established rule long before then. Having a set length for the pitch probably enabled cricketers to determine some of the other rules which are related to the length, position and usage of the pitch. For example, the origin of the over is completely unknown, as is the practice of switching ends between overs but, from time immemorial until 1889, the over always consisted of four deliveries (it was increased to five in 1889 and to six in 1900).