The MInor Counties Championship 1900

6 Bedfordshire and Oxfordshire re-qualified for the competition, as did Staffordshire, eventually, but the hopes that Lancashire 2nd XI and Yorkshire 2nd XI would also qualify were not met. As the start of the season approached, it became clear that neither Lancashire 2nd XI or Yorkshire 2nd XI would be able to arrange sufficient fixtures to qualify. Yorkshire 2nd XI had only been able to arrange relevant fixtures with Norfolk, Staffordshire and Surrey 2nd XI. If they withdrew, as a consequence this would mean that Staffordshire would not qualify as they had relied on their two fixtures with Yorkshire 2nd XI to get to the eight required. Norfolk and Surrey 2nd XI had, however, both arranged ten fixtures and would not have been disqualified by the withdrawal of Yorkshire 2nd XI. If Staffordshireís matches had been excluded, then several other teams in turn would have fewer than the minimum number of 8 matches. Facing the risk that the whole competition would unravel, it was decided that for 1900 the matches to be played between Staffordshire and Yorkshire 2nd XI would be treated as being championship matches for Staffordshire, even though this flew in the face of the resolution passed at the Annual Meeting 2 or 3 months before that ìNo county or second eleven [shall] be eligible [to compete in the competition] unless it shall play home and away matches with at least four other teams, themselves being fully qualified [as] competitors .î Subsequently, it was decided that the matches between Surrey 2nd XI and Yorkshire 2nd XI should also be treated as championship matches, but not those between Norfolk and Yorkshire 2nd XI. The reasons for the latter decisions have not yet been unearthed. While a less than satisfactory arrangement, it was a pragmatic one and it enabled a meaningful competition to take place. It also alerted the administrators to ensure that no such problems would be allowed to develop in future years. The impression could be gained from some sources that the decision to include the four Yorkshire 2nd XI matches was taken retrospectively after the matches had been played, but this is not the case. Despite all the problems, the number of counties qualifying for the competition in 1900 rose to 14, which was a record for the Championship, overtaking the 11 in 1899. The Championship The 1900 Championship was won jointly by three teams. They were Durham (for the second time), Glamorgan (for the first time) and Northamptonshire (also for the second time). All three teams went through the season undefeated. There was some muted criticism of the points scoring system, but it did not lead to anything being done about it before the 1902 season. In the 1899 book it was pointed out that it would be wrong to apply the 1902 points system to any season prior to its introduction, believing that it would give an accurate measure of what would have happened in any particular year had the 1902 rules applied. Teams would react differently to differing rules, all the more so as the 1902 system for the first time gave points for drawn games where a team had led on first innings. Allowing for this important caveat, the 1902 system would have given Glamorgan first place and Durham second, Buckinghamshire third, Bedfordshire fourth and Northamptonshire only fifth. The average runs scored per wicket fell to 20.12 in 1900 from 22.26 in 1899, possibly reflecting the adverse effect the weather had on pitches and batting. These figures compared with 19.55 in 1898, 17.50 in 1897, 17.17 in 1896 and 15.04 in 1895.