1870 English cricket season

1870 was the 84th season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). It was in many ways a bridge between two eras of the game and, in a summer comparable for hot and dry weather to 1887, 1911, 1976 or 1995,[1] saw W.G. Grace for the second of three successive years establish a record run aggregate, late-blooming slow bowler James Southerton become the first bowler to take 200 first-class wickets in a season and the first use of the heavy roller at Lord's. Although the heavy roller had been patented several decades earlier, its use was never seriously considered by MCC management despite many protests over the danger posed by the Lord's pitch where extremely frequent “shooters” alternated with balls that “flew”[2] over the batsman's head. These dangerous pitches were viewed as a symbol of virility by many amateur batsmen, however; though when remembering one of W.G.’s finest innings – 66 on one of the roughest Lord’s pitches against a very strong Yorkshire attack[3] against Yorkshire[4] – fast bowlers Freeman and Emmett wondered how the champion was not maimed or killed outright.[5]

1870 English cricket season

An unfortunate accident to George Summers which led to his death from head injuries four days after being hit by a sharply rising ball from John Platts that had struck a loose pebble[2] showed that in its first year the heavy roller had not radically altered the Lord’s pitch; though it was to do so from the following season[6]

A number of thrilling finishes occurred, most famously the University Match where a hat-trick by Frank Cobden gave Cambridge the match when Oxford looked certain to win.

Playing record (by county)

CountyPlayedWonLostDrawn
Gloucestershire2200
Hampshire2020
Kent8260
Lancashire4310
Middlesex2110
Nottinghamshire6321
Surrey14590
Sussex4220
Yorkshire6501

[7]

Leading batsmen (qualification 15 innings)

1870 English season leading batsmen[8]
Name Team Matches Innings Not outs Runs Highest score Average 100s 50s
WG GraceGloucestershire
MCC
21385180821554.7859
Richard DaftNottinghamshire915456511751.3613
Isaac WalkerMCC
Middlesex
1325382017937.2714
William YardleyCambridge University
Kent
MCC
1325164310026.7914
Cuthbert OttawayKent
Cambridge University
91824276926.6804

Leading bowlers (qualification 800 balls)

1870 English season leading bowlers[9]
Name Team Balls bowled Runs conceded Wickets taken Average Best bowling 5 wickets
in innings
10 wickets
in match
George FreemanYorkshire1930484687.118/4394
Frank FarrandsMCC8562812810.036/2342
Jem ShawNottinghamshire33029909710.207/30114
Walter AnsteadSurrey10634243910.876/2741
Edgar WillsherKent367510628412.647/2292

Events

  • 2–4 June: Gloucestershire County Cricket Club played its initial first-class match v. Surrey at Durdham Downs, near Bristol.
  • 15 June: George Summers, during the MCC v Nottinghamshire match at Lord's, is hit on the temple and dies four days later. It is generally thought that Summers should have been taken to hospital rather than ride a bumpy train to Nottingham.[2]
  • 27, 28 June: "Cobden's Match". William Yardley scores the first century in the University Match, which Cambridge won by two runs after a hat-trick by Cobden when Oxford needed only three runs
  • 29 August: James Southerton becomes the first bowler to take 200 wickets in an English season when he takes his first wicket in Surrey's last match against Yorkshire[10]
  • 4 November: Formation of Derbyshire County Cricket Club at a meeting in the Guildhall, Derby.

Notes

a Cambridgeshire, though still regarded in 1870 as first-class, played no inter-county matches

References

  1. England and Wales Seasonal Precipitation Data
  2. Death on a Summer’s Day
  3. Rae, Simon; W. G. Grace: A Life; pp. 88-89 ISBN
  4. Marylebone Cricket Club v Yorkshire in 1870
  5. The Memorial biography of W.G. Grace
  6. Baily’s Magazine of Sports and Pastimes, Volume 20 (1871); p. 286
  7. Wynne-Thomas, Peter; The Rigby A-Z of Cricket Records; p. 53 ISBN 072701868X
  8. First Class Batting in England in 1870
  9. First Class Bowling in England in 1870
  10. Surrey v Yorkshire in 1870

Annual reviews

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