Cricket 1893

2 C ricket : a w e ek ly tiEdOKb oi ? the game . jA tt. 26, M S Inns. Ran?. Average per wkt 4425 ..,. 86 518 ... 19.5 8525 .. . 66,570 ... 18 8 3014 ..,. 56,303 ... 18.6 3568 ... 65 868 ... 18.4 429 .. 7,555 ... 17.6 45 9 . , 7J,873 ... 17.4 3470 ... 59.613 ... 17.1 3W5 .. 58,774 ... 16.3 3614 .,.. 57,183 ... 15.6 1877 .,.. 2?,705 ... 12.1 TABLE N o. 2. 1 Surrey ................... 2 Nottinghamshire.. 3 Middlesex ........... 4 Gloucestershire ... 5 Som ersetshire ... 6 Yorkshire ........... 7 Lancashire ........... 8 K ent.......................... 9 Sussex ................... 10 D erbyshire ........... (Calculated to one figure cf decimals). Comparing tables 1 and 2, note : 1. That Notts hav been equally strong in batting and bowling, Lan­ cashire stronger in bowling, Yorkshire also. Whilst Surrey, Gloucestershire, and Middlesex have been stronger in batting. Sussex and Derbyshire have been weak in both departments. Somer­ setshire are too young for any definite “ character.” 2. These figures, in every case, in­ clude extras. 1880 1885 1890 T a b le No. 4. County Championship in each tear. 1 N ottingham shire in 1873 ... 1875 ... 1879 1882 ... 18f3 ... 1881 . 1886 ... 1889 2 Surrey i n ...................1887 ... 1888 ... 1869 .. 1891 ... 1892 3 Lancashire i n ......... 1881 ... 1882 ... 1889 4 Gloucestershire in 1873 ... 1876 ... 1877 j 5 M iddlesex in ...........1878 G Deroj shire in ...........1874 The “ Championship” has in each case been determined by the method in vogue at the time, unfair though it has often proved. Thus, up to 1886, this was I determined by the fewest lost matches ; then, in 1887, lost matches were ignored, whilst a win counted one point, a draw half. Whilst in 1890 (and up to date) drawn games have been rejected, and the losses simply deducted from the wins. Facts to note.— 1. Neither Kent, Yorkshire nor Sussex have been first in 20 years, though in 1883 Yorkshire with 9 wins, 2 losses, and 5 T able No. 3. Highest Inns, for Low est Inns, tor H ighest Inns, against Low est Inns, against 1. Nottinghamshire 590 v. Middlesex 1887 24 v. Yorkshire 18 *8 421 by Yorkshire 1885 * 16 by Surrey 18F0 and Derby 1879 2. Lancashire 481 v Ket fc 1992 35 v. Surrey lf-88 59J by Yorkshire 1887 24 by Sussex 1690 3 Surrey t>y v. Sussex 1888 JO v. Notts 1830 5 JL by Notts 1882 2.5 by yiddlesex 1885 4. Yorkshire 59J v. Lancashire 18R7 v. N otts 1870 5y2 by Som erset 1892 24 by Sussex 1678 and Notts 1888 5. Somersetshire 594 v. Yorkshire 1831 37 v. Surrey 1891 449 by Surrey 1891 v5 by Glos’tershire 1891 6. Middlesex 537 7. G lob’tershire 1683 25 v. Surrey 1885 696 I y Notts 1887 42 ty YoibBhire 1888 7. Gloucestershire 528 v. Yo-kfrhire 1876 25 v. Somerset 1891 537 by Middlesex 1883 27 \ y Surrey 1874 8. Kent 5 1 v. Sussex 1882 25 v. Derbyshire 1874 559 by Yorkshire 1867 35 ly Notts lf-89 9. Sussex 4h2 v. G lcs’tershire 1892 19 v. Notts 1673 69b by Surrey 1888 37 by Glos’terthire 1891 1* Derbyshire 3.8 v. Lancashire 1885 j 6 V. N otts 1879 494 by Surrey 1866 25 I y Kent i 874 Facts to note.—Suney have scored the highest (698) and lowest (16) innings. Surrey have scored the highest innings registered against Somersetshire, Sussex, andDerbyshire; Notts, the highest against Surrey and Middlesex; Yorkshire, the highest against Notts, Lancashire, and K en t; Somersetshire, the highest against Yorkshire; Middlesex, the highest against Gloucestershire. No innings of 500 has been scored against Notts, Somer­ setshire, or Derbyshire. Lancashire, Sussex, and Derbyshire have never scosed an innings of 500. Gloucestershire’s highest was scored as long ago as 1876 ; their lowest a9 lecently as 1891. Derby­ shire tie with Surrey for lowest innings, and in each case against Notts’ bowling. Neither Sussex, Kent, Gloucestershire, nor Derbyshire can claim the credit of scoring the highest innings against any county. draws were manifestly superior to Notts with 4 wins, 1 loss, and 7 draws. 2. No County has won every match in any year. 3. Several counties lune lost no matches in a season, e.g. Gloucestershire in 1873, 1876, 1877 ; Middlesex in 1873, 1878; Notts in 1873,1884, 1886 ; Lanca­ shire in 1881; Derbyshire in 1874. 4. The following have won no matches in a year, though some were drawn : Middlesex in 1875, 1877 ; Derbyshire in 1886 ; Sussex, 1877, 1880. 5. Lost every match played : Kent in 1875; Derbyshire in 1884, 1887. 6. Where two or more Counties are placed first in the same year, the reason is that they tied for the championship; e.g., Gloucestershire and Notts in 1873 ; Notts, Lancashire and Surrey in 1889' etc. TABLE NO. 5. Individual innings o f 100 runs and upivards. There have been 355 in all scored by batsmen in the first-class county cricket, 1873 to 1892. Of these Surrey claim 56; Glo'stershire 55 • Nottinghamshire, 53 ; Yorkshire, 44 ; Sussex, 38 ; Lancashire, 36 ; Kent, 33 ; Middlesex, 33 ; Somersetshire, 5 ; Derby­ shire, 2. In 1887 alone, 45 of these innings were scored, or rather more than one-eighth of the whole. Yorkshire batsmen have scored the most in one season, viz., 11 in l k_87 ; Notts lOin the same year. The largest individual county innings was scored by W. G. Grace: 318 (not out) in 1876. He also scored 221 (not out) in 1885, and 215 in 1888. Shrewsbury’s record, however, is out and away the best, with 7 innings of more than 200 runs apiece : 207 in 1882, 209, 1884; 224 (not out), 1885 ; 227 (not out), 1886; 267, 1887; 267, 1890; 212, 1892. The following have once scored an innings of 200 :—Ephraim Lockwood, 208 in 1883 ; W. W. Head, 247 in 1887; F. M. Lucas, 215 (not out) in 1885; Gunn,205 (notout) in 1887 ; A. J. Webbe 243 (not out) in 1887 ; A. E. Stoddart, 215 (not out) in 1891; Stanley Scott, 224 in 1892; and H. T. Hewett, 201 in 1892, Batsmen from Lancashire, Kent, Sus­ sex, and Derbyshire have no place in this list. In 1887, the following scores of 500 runs were made in those county matches : 596, 570, 515 by Notts: 590, 559 by Yorkshire ; 557 by Surrey ; and 527 by Middlesex. The several county clubs, as they now exist, seem to have been constituted in the following years: Surrey, in 1845; Sussex, 1857 ; Notts, 1859 ; Yorkshire, 1861; Lancashire, 1864; Middlesex, 1868; Kent, 1870 ; Derbyshire, 1870 ; Gloucestershire, 1871 ; Somersetshire, 1886. The foregoing tables are an eloquent testimony to the sustained excellence of Notts cricket. Notts have a record far surpassing all their rivals. Only once (1888) in twenty years have they lost more matches than they won, and then they stood sixth. Sussex have been at, or near, the b ttom right through. Glo'stershire, once so mighty, have never once b3en to the front since 1880. Surrey, on the other hand, hopelessly down for at least twelve years, have for the last six known no superior. The remaining counties have been either consistently strong or weak, or mediocre from first to last of this double decade. But the luck may turn. The first may soon be last, and the last first. Anyhow, let’s all toast “ County Cricket.”