 Despite these problems, cricket became established in Sussex during the 17th century and the earliest village matches took place before the English Civil War.It is believed that county teams were formed in the aftermath of the Restoration in 1660.Roy Webber, in his "Phoenix History", states that "the period between 1650 and 1700 seems to be that in which the game took a real grip, and it would seem that cricket was centred mainly in the counties of Kent, Sussex and Hampshire".