References to English cricket matches in the 1727 season between the 2nd Duke of Richmond and Mr Alan Brodrick mention that they drew up Articles of Agreement between them to determine the rules that must apply in their contests.
Comparison of the Articles to the Laws of 1744, which were widely adopted at that time, reveal that: In Harry Altham's history, he discusses the possibility of a so-called "popping hole" being in use in the early 18th century but disclaims it as "a local and transitory variety of the regulation game".
[2] One of Richmond's regular players was Thomas Waymark whom he ostensibly employed as a groom.
Rowland Bowen in his history comments on the 23-yard pitch length and says the 1744 Laws "expressly refer to twenty-two yards".
[3] In Timothy J. McCann's Sussex Cricket, the original handwritten articles document is pictured in one of the plates.