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
County Cricket Council County Cricket Council The County Cricket Council was a short lived body intended to regulate county cricket in England. It existed from 1887 to 1890. The Council was the brain-child of Lord Harris. In November 1886 he had sent a letter to the County Secretaries asking the question as to whether the existing two year qualification rule should be reduced to one year. Under this rule players who changed counties generally had to serve a two year residence qualification in their new county during which they were unable to play inter-county matches for either county. The proposal was defeated at