1897 English cricket season

Cricket season review March 2015 March 2015 1896 1896 English cricket season 1898 1898 English cricket season The 1897 English cricket season featured the eighth edition of the County Championship. Lancashire won the championship for the first time, thanks mainly to only three losses in twenty-six matches. Surrey won more games, and beat Lancashire twice, but one more loss than Lancashire meant that they would have to be content with second place. They could have taken the championship if they had beaten Sussex in the last game at Hove but, after gaining a five-run lead on first innings, Surrey let Billy Murdoch, C. B. Fry and George Bean make half-centuries, and rain spoiled their chances of winning on the final day. At the bottom of the table, Derbyshire suffered a run of 16 matches without victory to finish last in the table and, with the end of the 1896 season having yielded three matches without a win, Derbyshire's streak ran to 19 matches without a win. Honours County Championship – Lancashire Minor Counties Championship – Worcestershire Wisden – Frederick Bull, Willis Cuttell, Frank Druce, Gilbert Jessop, Jack Mason County Championship 1897 County Championship Final table County Championship 1897 – Final Standings Team P W L D Pts GC1 Pts/GC (as %) 1 Lancashire 261637131968.422 Surrey 261745132161.903 Essex 16 7 2 7 5 9 55.564Yorkshire 26135881844.445 Gloucestershire 1875621216.676Sussex 20569−111−9.097 Middlesex 16349−17−14.297Warwickshire 18 3 411−17−14.29 9Hampshire 18 4 7 7 −3 11 −27.2710Nottinghamshire 16259−37−42.8611Somerset 16394−612−50.0012Kent 182106−812−66.6713 Leicestershire 14 1 10 3 −9 11 −81.8214Derbyshire 16 0 9 7 −9 9 −100.00 1 Games completed Points system: 1 for a win 0 for a draw, a tie or an abandoned match -1 for a loss Most runs in the County Championship 1897 County Championship – leading batsmen Name Team Matches Runs Average 100s 50sBobby Abel Surrey 26 1833 50.91 6 5Jack Brown Yorkshire 22 1431 43.36 3 6Ted Wainwright Yorkshire 25 1372 39.20 5 4David Denton Yorkshire 26 1328 34.05 2 8Ranjitsinhji Sussex 19 1318 42.51 3 6 Most wickets in the County Championship 1897 County Championship – leading bowlers Name Team Matches Balls bowled Wickets taken AverageTom Richardson Surrey 26 6990 238 14.23Johnny Briggs Lancashire 26 5770 140 16.38Frederick Bull Essex 16 4365 109 20.38Willis Cuttell Lancashire 26 519 102 17.77John Hearne Middlesex 16 5333 102 18.52 Overall first-class statistics Leading batsmen 1897 English cricket season – leading batsmen Name Team(s) Matches Runs Average 100s 50sBobby Abel Players, South of England, Surrey 32 2099 44.65 6 7Ranjitsinhji Gentlemen, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), Sussex 26 1940 45.11 5 7Jack Brown North of England, Players, Yorkshire 29 1809 42.06 3 9George Brann Gentlemen, South of England, Sussex 26 1626 36.95 3 12Ted Wainwright North of England, Players, Yorkshire 32 1612 35.82 5 6 Leading bowlers 1897 English cricket season – leading bowlers Name Team(s) Matches Balls bowled Wickets taken AverageTom Richardson Players, South of England, Surrey 30 8019 273 14.45John Hearne Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), Middlesex, Players 26 8113 173 17.72Johnny Briggs Lancashire 28 6465 155 16.51Cyril Bland South of England, Sussex 26 5703 129 21.66Willis Cuttell Lancashire, North of England 29 5609 120 16.45 References Annual reviews James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual (Red Lilly), Lillywhite, 1898 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1898 External links Cricket in England in 1897 Category:1897 in English cricket 1897