James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1899

1 2 LILLYWHITE'SCRICKETERS' ANNUAL. unfortunately only able to play rarely , a pity considering the marked success that attended their batttng . Somersetshire's record was identical with that of Leicestershire -one win, ten defeats , and five drawn games. But the relative positions of the fourteen first -class Counties will be best understood by a reference to the following table : -- Y o r k s h i r e M i d d l e s e x Gloucestershire Surrey E s s e x L a n c a s h i r e K e n t N o t t s Warwickshire Derbyshire S u s s e x Hampshire Leicestershire Somersetshire Played. W o n. Lost. D r a w n. Points Percent- i n a g e. 2 6 1 6 3 7 1 3 6 8 - 4 2 1 8 1 0 3 5 7 5 3 - 8 4 2 0 9 3 8 6 5 0 2 4 1: 4 9 7 4 6 . 6 6 . . . 2 0 1 0 6 4 4 2 5 2 6 9 6 1 1 3 2 0 2 0 5 6 9 - 1 - 9 . 0 9 1 6 1 2 1 3 - 1 - 3 3 - 3 3 1 7 2 6 9 - 4 - 5 0 1 5 2 6 7 - 4 - 5 0 2 0 3 9 8 - 6 - 5 0 1 8 2 8 S - 6 - 6 0 1 6 1 1 0 5 - 9 - 8 1 - 8 1 1 6 1 1 0 5 - 9 - 8 1 . 8 1 The matches Surrey v. Derbyshire , May 19 , and Warwickshire v. Surrey , May23, were abandoned without a ball being bowled . F o r Against R u n s. Wickets. Average. R u n s. Wickets. Average. Y o r k s h i r e 9 0 5 5 3 2 7 2 7 . 6 9 7 4 1 1 4 3 7 1 6 . 9 5 M i d d l e s e x 6 7 2 3 2 5 0 2 6 . 8 9 6 2 9 8 3 0 0 20.99 Gloucestershire... 7 3 9 9 2 7 0 27.40 7 1 8 9 2 9 4 24-45 Surrey 1 0 2 0 0 3 0 3 3 3 - 6 6 8 7 9 9 3 8 5 22-85 E s s e x 6 8 8 0 2 8 0 24-57 6 3 5 6 3 1 1 20-43 L a n c a s h i r e 9 7 4 1 4 0 2 24-25 8 4 4 5 3 6 5 2 3 - 1 3 K e n t 6 9 9 3 2 7 5 2 5 - 4 2 7 3 5 6 2 9 6 24-85 N o t t s 5523 2 1 6 2 5 . 5 6 6 2 7 0 2 1 2 29.57 Derbyshire 5 1 9 0 - 2 2 8 2 2 - 7 6 6 2 3 5 2 1 0 29.69 Warwickshire 6081 2 5 4 2 3 . 9 4 6 2 3 6 2 1 9 28-47 S u s s e x 7 1 4 7 3 3 0 21.68 8 0 2 2 2 9 2 27-47 Hampshire 5 5 3 0 3 0 5 18.13 6 2 8 4 2 2 4 2 8 . 5 Somersetshire 5 7 9 4 2 6 4 21.94 6 5 6 7 2 2 6 2 9 . 5 Leicestershire 4 9 0 8 2 6 4 18.66 5 7 0 1 2 9 7 28.93 TheMinorCounties Competition was another brilliant triumph for the Worcestershire Eleven, and all along the line . Their success was even more complete than in the previous year, whenthey also had an unbeaten record . O nthe other hand, the retirement of Durham and Northumberland , particu- larly of the former , who were one of the most dangerous competitors in 1897 , left the field clearer for the double victors . It certainly left a blank which the advent of Cambridgeshire could not be said to fill . Anoteworthy feature of the competition was the curiously large proportion of drawn games. As the following table will show, no less than thirty -seven of the seventy -six matches were left unfinished , a matter of nearly fifty per cent . Nine Counties competed- one less than in 1897. P l a y e d. W o n. Lost. D r a w n. Worcestershire B e r k s h i r e Northamptonshire. Glamorganshire N o r f o l k B u c k s Cambridgeshire Wiltshire Hertfordshire 8 4 0 4 8 3 8 3 8 4 1 1 9 4 4 2 2 8 2 1 5 ع 1 2 5 8 1 2 5 1 0 2 5 1 0 1 0 0 3 5 5