1873 English cricket season
In the 1873 English cricket season, in only their fourth season as a first-class team, Gloucestershire was proclaimed joint Champion County by the media and went on to claim the still unofficial title four times in five seasons (1873-1874 & 1876-1877).
Player qualification rules came into force, with players having to decide at the start of a season whether they would play for the county of their birth or the county of residence. Before this, it was quite common for a player to play for two counties during the course of a single season, with by far the best-known case being star slow bowler James Southerton who played for his birth county Sussex when they had a match on and otherwise for Surrey. It is only since the residence qualifications were introduced that any quasi-official status can be ascribed to the oft-claimed Champion County title.[1]
Champion County[a]
- Gloucestershire, Nottinghamshire (shared)
Playing record (by county)[2]
| County | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derbyshire | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Gloucestershire | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Kent[b] | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Lancashire | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Middlesex | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Nottinghamshire[c] | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| Surrey | 14 | 2 | 10 | 2 |
| Sussex[b] | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| Yorkshire[c] | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 |
Leading batsmen (qualification 15 innings)
| 1873 English season leading batsmen[3] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Team | Matches | Innings | Not outs | Runs | Highest score | Average | 100s | 50s |
| WG Grace | Gloucestershire MCC | 20 | 32 | 7 | 1805 | 192 not out | 72.20 | 6 | 8 |
| Isaac Walker | MCC Middlesex | 11 | 20 | 3 | 587 | 64 | 34.52 | 0 | 2 |
| Fred Grace | Gloucestershire | 15 | 22 | 3 | 593 | 165 not out | 31.21 | 1 | 3 |
| William Oscroft | Nottinghamshire | 17 | 30 | 1 | 758 | 96 | 26.13 | 0 | 5 |
| Harry Jupp | Surrey | 24 | 45 | 3 | 1052 | 94 | 25.04 | 0 | 8 |
Leading bowlers (qualification 800 balls)
| 1873 English season leading bowlers[4] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Team | Balls bowled | Runs conceded | Wickets taken | Average | Best bowling | 5 wickets in innings |
10 wickets in match |
| William McIntyre | Lancashire | 1517 | 528 | 63 | 8.38 | 7/37 | 7 | 4 |
| Alec Watson | Lancashire | 1119 | 445 | 48 | 9.27 | 6/38 | 5 | 1 |
| Arnold Rylott | MCC | 1772 | 664 | 69 | 9.62 | 9/30 | 6 | 4 |
| Fred Morley | Nottinghamshire | 1235 | 375 | 35 | 10.71 | 6/62 | 3 | 1 |
| John Maude | MCC Oxford University | 844 | 255 | 23 | 11.08 | 6/14 | 2 | 0 |
Notes
a An unofficial seasonal title sometimes proclaimed by consensus of media and historians prior to December 1889 when the official County Championship was constituted. Although there are ante-dated claims prior to 1873, when residence qualifications were introduced, it is only since that ruling that any quasi-official status can be ascribed.
b Includes the "County Cup" match at Lord’s between Kent and Sussex
c Includes a third Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire match organised privately by Nottinghamshire captain Richard Daft
d Hampshire, though regarded until 1885 as first-class, played no inter-county matches between 1868 and 1869 or 1871 and 1874
References
- ↑
- Birley, Derek (1999). A Social History of English Cricket. Aurum.; pp. 119-120
- ↑ Wynne-Thomas, Peter; The Rigby A-Z of Cricket Records; p. 53 ISBN 072701868X
- ↑ First Class Batting in England in 1873
- ↑ First Class Bowling in England in 1873
Bibliography
- John Lillywhite’s Cricketer's Companion (Green Lilly), Lillywhite, 1874
- James Lillywhite’s Cricketers' Annual (Red Lilly), Lillywhite, 1874
- John Wisden's Cricketers' Almanack, 1874