The Minor Counties Championship 1903

12 Newspapers have remained the main sources of information, and yet again well over one hundred and twenty have been consulted in researching the scores for this book. Where an obvious newspaper has not been listed amongst the sources at the foot of a match score, this is likely to be because it has not been possible to gain access to the volume at the British Newspaper Library at Colindale in North London due to its fragile condition, or because it is not held either there or at the relevant county library or record office. The competition received very limited attention in Cricket , the leading magazine for the sport. It only gave the full scores of three championship matches. Missing Details There is one instance where runs batting add incorrectly, and there are eight instances in six matches where runs bowling add incorrectly (7 cases) or are missing (1 case). Despite extensive efforts by many involved, it has not been possible to resolve these discrepancies, which is the highest number in a season since the Championship was inaugurated. The seven matches concerned are: Match 51 – Oxfordshire v Hertfordshire – Oxfordshire second innings – runs batting 1 short Match 53 – Berkshire v Oxfordshire – Berkshire second innings - runs bowling 1 in excess; and Oxfordshire first innings – runs bowling 3 in excess Match 54 – Wiltshire v Buckinghamshire – Buckinghamshire innings – bowling analysis Missing Match 56 – Berkshire v Buckinghamshire – Buckinghamshire second innings – runs bowling 3 in excess Match 67 – Buckinghamshire v Berkshire – Berkshire first innings – runs bowling 2 short Match 68 – Oxfordshire v Bedfordshire – Bedfordshire second innings – runs bowling 1 short Match 74 – Berkshire v Monmouthshire – Monmouthshire first innings – runs bowling 4 in excess; and Monmouthshire second innings – runs bowling 2 in excess. The Averages The averages are given in two forms – by county and by player. In both cases, the players are listed in alphabetical order. 412 players took part in the season, a new record for the competition, exceeding the 406 players in 1901. In the averages, the symbol * indicates a not out innings, + denotes a player making his debut for his team in 1903, of which there are 130, and a name in bold denotes a player making his final appearance for his team in a championship match in 1903, of which there are 126. The career records of all the cricketers making their final appearance for their team in 1903 are also given, both in a separate section after the player alphabetical averages for the season and with the county averages. An addendum and corrigendum for earlier seasons is included after the statistical survey of the season.