Gloucestershire County Cricket Club League in 2000. Cricket probably reached Gloucestershire by the end of the 17th century. It is known that the related sport of "Stow-Ball" "aka" "Stob-Ball" was played in the county during the 16th century. In this game, the bat was called a "stave". See Alice B Gomme : "The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland". A game in Gloucester on 22 September 1729 is the earliest definite reference to cricket in the county. From then until the founding of the county club, very little has been found outside parish cricket. In the early 1840s, Dr Henry Grace and his
Yorkshire County Cricket Club G. Grace and his brothers. Conscious of the need to strengthen the club, Yorkshire instituted a Colts team of young players, but replaced Iddison as captain at the end of the 1872 season. Rowbotham, another professional, assumed the position. For the 1873 season, county cricket moved a step closer towards an organised competition when the counties agreed qualification rules for players to be eligible for a team; for many years, this was considered to be start of the County Championship. However, the counties did not organise a formal competition and the "Champion County" was still decided by the press; some