1884 English cricket season

Cricket season review March 2015 May 2026 1883 1883 English cricket season 1885 1885 English cricket season The 1884 English cricket season was the 21st since the legalisation of overarm bowling. Australia toured England to compete for the Ashes. It was the seventh test series between the two teams.Wynne-Thomas Peter The Hamlyn A-Z of Cricket Records 1983 Hamlyn Publishing Group 0-600-34667-6 Fred Spofforth, an overseas bowler, took the most wickets, but England avenged its loss to the touring Australians in 1882 winning 1 test to 0.note status Some eleven-a-side matches played from 1772 to 1863 have been rated "first-class" by certain sources.https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Seasons/Seasonal_Averages/ENG/1772_f_Match_List.html First-Class matches in England in 1772 CricketArchive 29 November 2025 subscription However, the term only came into common use around 1864, when overarm bowling was legalised. It was formally defined as a standard by a meeting at Lord's, in May 1894, of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the county clubs which were then competing in the County Championship. The ruling was effective from the beginning of the 1895 season, but pre-1895 matches of the same standard have no official definition of status because the ruling is not retrospective.Wisden Preston Hubert Hubert Preston Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 85th Sporting Handbooks Ltd London 1948 813 851705816 Matches of a similar standard since the beginning of the 1864 season are generally considered to have an unofficial first-class status.ACS 1982 4–5 Pre-1864 matches which are included in the ACS' "Important Match Guide" may generally be regarded as top-class or, at least, historically significant.ACS 1981 1–40 For further information, see First-class cricket. Ashes tour Australian cricket team in England in 1884 Cumulative record - Test wins 1876–1884England5Australia7Drawn4 Champion County unofficial a a Nottinghamshire Playing record (by county) County Played Won Lost Drawn Derbyshire 10 0 10 0 Gloucestershire 12 1 8 3death b b Hampshire 8 2 6 0 Kent 16 7 7 2 Lancashire 12 7 4 1death b b Middlesex 10 4 3 3 Nottinghamshire 10 9 0 1 Somerset 6 1 5 0 Surrey 18 9 4 5 Sussex 14 8 5 1 Yorkshire 16 8 4 4 Derbyshire's ignominy of losing every game has been repeated since in county cricket only by the same club in 1920. Wynne-Thomas, Peter; The Rigby A-Z of Cricket Records; p. 54 072701868X Leading batsmen (qualification 20 innings) 1884 English season leading batsmenFirst Class Batting in England in 1884 Name Team Matches Innings Not outs Runs Highest score Average 100s 50sAllan Steel LancashireEnglandMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 16 28 3 967 148 38.68 2 2William Scotton NottinghamshireEnglandMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 19 31 5 897 134 34.50 2 3WG Grace GloucestershireEnglandMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 26 45 5 1361 116 34.02 3 2Lord Harris KentEnglandMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 25 47 5 1417 112 not out 33.73 3 6Billy Newham Sussex 12 23 0 741 137 32.21 2 5 Leading bowlers (qualification 1,000 balls) 1884 English season leading bowlersFirst Class Bowling in England in 1884 Name Team Balls bowled Runs conceded Wickets taken Average Best bowling 5 wicketsin innings 10 wicketsin matchAlfred Shaw Nottinghamshire 2968 744 71 10.47 8/28 7 2Tom Emmett YorkshireEngland 4128 1250 107 11.68 8/32 10 3William Attewell Nottinghamshire 4600 1217 101 12.04 8/22 8 3John Crossland Lancashire 2100 893 71 12.57 7/35 6 3Fred Spofforth Australians 6308 2654 207 12.82 8/62 22 10 Notable events 31 July and 1 August: Alfred Shaw achieved the notable feat of doing the hat-trick in each innings against Gloucestershire.Nottinghamshire v Gloucestershire in 1884 Labels unofficial a aAn 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. death b bThe match between Lancashire and Gloucestershire scheduled for 24 to 26 July was abandoned on the announcement of the death of Mrs Grace, mother of WG and EM Grace. It is shown as a draw. Notes note References Bibliography ACS Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709–1863 1981 ACS Nottingham https://archive.acscricket.com/online_library/match_guides/bi_imp_match_guide/index.html 85045528 ACS 1982 A Guide to First-class Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles ACS Nottingham https://archive.acscricket.com/online_library/match_guides/bi_match_guide/index.html 10586869 Warner Pelham Pelham Warner Lords: 1787–1945 1946 Harrap London 877106024 Annual reviews John Lillywhite's Cricketer's Companion (Green Lilly), Lillywhite, 1885 James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual (Red Lilly), Lillywhite, 1885 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1885 Further reading Altham H. S. Harry Altham E. W. Swanton E. W. Swanton A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914) 5th 1962 George Allen & Unwin London 894274808 Birley Derek Derek Birley A Social History of English Cricket 1999 Aurum Press London 978-18-54107-10-7 https://archive.org/details/socialhistoryofe0000birl_d1n5 Internet Archive Bowen Rowland Rowland Bowen Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development 1970 Eyre & Spottiswoode London 978-04-13278-60-9 Major John John Major More Than A Game 2007 HarperCollins London 978-00-07183-64-7 https://archive.org/details/morethangamestor0000majo_b8t0 Internet Archive Category:1884 in English cricket Category:English cricket seasons in the 19th century