1868 English cricket season
1868 was the 82nd season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). It featured the tour by the team of Australian Aboriginals.
Playing record (by county)
| County | Played | Won | Lost | Tied | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridgeshire | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Kent | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Lancashire | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Middlesex | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nottinghamshire | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Surrey | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Sussex | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Yorkshire | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Owing to an exceptionally hot and dry summer, and the absence of the forthcoming revolution of the heavy roller,[1] 1868 was to be the last season in which every county match was finished outright. [2]
Leading batsmen (qualification 10 innings)
| 1868 English season leading batsmen[3] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Team | Matches | Innings | Not outs | Runs | Highest score | Average | 100s | 50s |
| W. G. Grace | Gentlemen South of England |
7 | 11 | 2 | 588 | 134 not out | 65.33 | 3 | 2 |
| Isaac Walker | MCC Middlesex |
13 | 24 | 5 | 661 | 165 | 34.78 | 1 | 3 |
| James Lillywhite | Sussex | 13 | 24 | 6 | 631 | 126 not out | 30.04 | 1 | 4 |
| Henry Richardson | Cambridge University Kent Middlesex |
10 | 16 | 1 | 431 | 143 | 28.73 | 1 | 3 |
| George Savile | Cambridge University Yorkshire |
7 | 11 | 0 | 294 | 105 | 26.72 | 1 | 2 |
Leading bowlers (qualification 800 balls)
| 1868 English season leading bowlers[4] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Team | Balls bowled | Runs conceded | Wickets taken | Average | Best bowling | 5 wickets in innings |
10 wickets in match |
| Thomas Hearne | MCC Middlesex |
957 | 279 | 33 | 8.45 | 5/20 | 1 | 0 |
| Tom Emmett | Yorkshire | 1628 | 528 | 60 | 8.80 | 9/34 | 5 | 1 |
| George Freeman | Yorkshire | 1560 | 454 | 46 | 9.86 | 8/11 | 6 | 2 |
| Edgar Willsher | Kent | 3999 | 1128 | 113 | 9.98 | 7/44 | 12 | 6 |
| George Howitt | Middlesex Nottinghamshire |
2262 | 734 | 71 | 10.33 | 6/17 | 6 | 2 |
Events
- A team of Australian Aboriginals was the first overseas side to tour England, under the auspices of Sydney publician/cricketer Charles Lawrence. They were not a first class team.
- 25–26 May: Edward Tylecote hits the first recorded score of 300 in any grade of cricket with 404 for Classicals against Moderns at Clifton College[5]
- 20 June: C.A. Absolom became the first player to be given out obstructing the field when playing for Cambridge University v. Surrey at The Oval.
- 3–5 August: Playing for South of the Thames v North of the Thames at Canterbury, W.G. Grace became the second player to score two centuries in a match after William Lambert in 1817.[6]
- The Cattle Market Ground in Islington, the original home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, was sold by its owner for development following the season. The last game, on 5 and 6 October, was between "Gentlemen of Middlesex" and a 22 called "The Clowns".[7] Middlesex were not to have another home until the equally short-lived Prince's Cricket Ground opened.
Notes
a Hampshire, though regarded until 1885 as first-class, played no inter-county matches between 1868 and 1869 or 1871 and 1874.
References
- ^ Green, Benny; Wisden Anthology 1864–1900 p. 604 ISBN 0354085557
- ^ Wynne-Thomas, Peter; The Rigby A-Z of Cricket Records; p. 53 ISBN 072701868X
- ^ First Class Batting in England in 1868
- ^ First Class Bowling in England in 1868
- ^ Wisden, John (editor); John Wisden’s Cricketers' Almanac; Eighth Edition (1871); pp. 148–149
- ^ Rae, Simon W. G. Grace: A Life; p. 77. ISBN 978-0-571-17855-1.
- ^ Gentlemen of Middlesex v The Clowns in 1868
Annual reviews
- John Lillywhite's Cricketer's Companion (Green Lilly), Lillywhite, 1869
- Arthur Haygarth, Scores & Biographies, Volume 10 (1867–1868), Lillywhite, 1869