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John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset KG (24 March 1745–19 July 1799) was the only son of Lord John Philip Sackville, second son of Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset. He succeeded to the dukedom in 1769 on the death of his uncle, Charles Sackville, 2nd Duke of Dorset. He was the British Ambassador to France between 1783 and 1789 in the lead up to the French Revolution. He is best remembered for his love of cricket. He was both a good player and an important patron, but his interest was sharpened by gambling, cricket being a major attraction for gamblers throughout the 18th century. His other sporting interests included billiards and tennis, while he acquired a reputation as a womaniser. ==Cricket== The young John Sackville was schooled at Westminster, where he first became a noted proponent of cricket. He went on to join Hambledon Cricket Club, based in Hambledon, Hampshire, which was the leading cricket club of the day. He was joined there by Sir Horatio Mann, a Carthusian, and Lord Tankerville of Eton and Surrey, who was his keenest rival. Dorset gained a reputation as a keen competitor. The ''Morning Post'' in 1773 wrote: "The Duke...having run a considerable number of notches from off strokes, the opposing fielders very unpolitely swarmed round his bat so close as to impede his making a full stroke; his Grace gently expostulated with them on this unfair mode, and pointed out their danger, which having no effect, he, with proper spirit made full play at a ball and in so doing brought one of the gentlemen to the ground".〔G. B. Buckley, ''Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket'', Cotterell, 1935.〕 In the same year, Dorset presented the Vine Cricket Ground, at Knole, Sevenoaks, Kent, to the town, at a peppercorn rent, literally. It is one of the oldest cricket grounds in England. The first nationally reported cricket match had taken place here in the 1734 season when "The Gentlemen of Kent" beat "The Gentlemen of Sussex". Sevenoaks Town Council still has the Vine Cricket Club, though the rent doubled to two peppercorns after the pavilion was built in the 19th century. They must also pay the Lord Sackville (if asked) one cricket ball on 21 July each year. In 1775, a full-scale riot broke out at the Artillery Ground when Dorset's side was not performing too well. In 1782 the ''Morning Chronicle'' noted that "His Grace is one of the few noblemen who endeavour to combine the elegance of modern luxury with the more manly sports of the old English times". Dorset's patronage of cricket was expensive — the ''Whitehall Evening Post'' in 1783 noted that the cost to Dorset of maintaining his team, before bets, was £1,000 a year. This was a lot, but less than the amounts some of his contemporaries were spending on racing. The report went to say that Dorset was unrivalled (among noblemen) "at cricket, tennis and billiards".〔G. B. Buckley, ''Fresh Light on Pre-Victorian Cricket'', Cotterell, 1937.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「John Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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