Val Romney

Valentine (Val) Romney (born c.1718, probably at Sevenoaks, Kent; died December 1773 at Sevenoaks) was a famous English cricketer of the mid-Georgian period. He excelled at both the single wicket and eleven-a-side versions of the game.

Romney was lauded as a "mighty play’r" ("sic") in "Cricket, An Heroic Poem" (1745) by James Love. This poem was written to commemorate the famous match between Kent and All-England at the Artillery Ground in 1744, in which Romney was captain of the Kent XI Arthur Haygarth, "Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744-1826)", Lillywhite, 1862] .

Romney lived mostly at Sevenoaks and was employed by the 1st Duke of Dorset as gardener at Knole House, a post later occupied by John Minshull David Underdown, "Start of Play", Allen Lane, 2000] .

Val Romney's last recorded appearance was in a "fives" match for Kent against Surrey at the Artillery Ground on Monday 3 June 1751 H T Waghorn, "The Dawn of Cricket", Electric Press, 1906] .

References

External links

* [http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/77/77431/77431.html CricketArchive profile of Val Romney]
* [http://www.jl.sl.btinternet.co.uk/stampsite/cricket/ladstolords/biog.html#romney From Lads to Lord's – biography of Val Romney]