1773 was Hambledon's worst season. They played nine known matches in first-class cricket (i.e., 8 first-class and 1 single wicket) and lost all of them, some by wide margins including two innings defeats. Nyren led the team in most of the matches, two of which have no surviving scorecard, but he missed the first-class game against Surrey at Laleham Burway in September. Hampshire had better results in 1774 and twice defeated an All-England Eleven but were themselves beaten twice by Kent, a very strong team in the early 1770s. Nyren captained the team in all the games that have surviving scorecards, making 5 known appearances in all.