1972 English cricket season

none July 2026 March 2014 1971 1971 English cricket season 1973 1973 English cricket season The 1972 English cricket season was the 73rd in which the County Championship had been an official competition. There was an increase in limited overs cricket with the introduction of the Benson & Hedges Cup, which was part mini-league and part knockout along the lines of soccer's World Cup competition. It caused another reduction in the number of County Championship matches and the B&H (as it was often called) was never popular among cricket's traditional followers. The tournament lasted until 2002, after which it was effectively replaced by Twenty20. The County Championship was won by Warwickshire for the third time in their history. Australia toured England and the Test series was drawn 2–2. Honours County Championship – Warwickshire Gillette Cup – Lancashire Sunday League – Kent Benson & Hedges Cup – Leicestershire Minor Counties Championship – Bedfordshire Second XI Championship – Nottinghamshire II Wisden – Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee, Bob Massie, John Snow, Keith Stackpole Test series Australian cricket team in England in 1972 A very entertaining England v Australia series resulted in a 2–2 draw, which meant that England retained the Ashes. There was an outstanding individual performance by Australian seamer Bob Massie who, assisted by heavy atmospheric conditions that enabled him to "swing" the ball prodigiously, took 16 wickets in the Lord's Test. Cumulative record – Test wins 1876–1972England70Australia82Drawn62 County Championship 1972 County Championship Gillette Cup 1972 Gillette Cup Benson & Hedges Cup 1972 Benson & Hedges Cup Sunday League 1972 John Player League Leading batsmen 1972 English cricket season – leading batsmen by average Name Innings Runs Highest Average 100s Geoffrey Boycott 22 1230 204* 72.35 6 Greg Chappell 28 1260 181 70.00 4 Rohan Kanhai 30 1607 199 64.28 8 Majid Khan 38 2074 204 61.00 8 Mushtaq Mohammad 40 1949 137* 59.06 6 1972 English cricket season – leading batsmen by aggregate Name Innings Runs Highest Average 100s Majid Khan 38 2074 204 61.00 8 Mushtaq Mohammad 40 1949 137* 59.06 6 Glenn Turner 38 1764 170 51.88 7 Keith Fletcher 36 1763 181* 58.76 5 Brian Luckhurst 37 1706 184* 55.03 3 Leading bowlers 1972 English cricket season – leading bowlers by average Name Balls Maidens Runs Wickets Average Ian Chappell 263 14 106 10 10.60 Mike Procter 2557 108 960 58 16.55 Bob Massie 2290 115 851 50 17.02 Chris Old 2273 106 931 54 17.24 Terry Spencer 984 46 333 19 17.52 1972 English cricket season – leading bowlers by aggregate Name Balls Maidens Runs Wickets Average Tom Cartwright 5178 373 1827 98 18.64 Barry Stead 4482 173 1998 98 20.38 Jack Birkenshaw 4983 225 1976 90 21.95 Robin Jackman 4195 141 2076 84 24.71 Pat Pocock 4178 177 2010 83 24.21 References Annual reviews Playfair Cricket Annual 1973 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1973 External links CricketArchive – season and tournament itineraries Category:1972 in English cricket Category:English cricket seasons in the 20th century