1875 English cricket season

1875 was the 89th season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Nottinghamshire regained its place as the unofficial "Champion County". It was in many ways the last season before pitches began to improve and produce much heavier scoring: it was definitely the last season where "dead shooters" were frequently seen at Lord's^[1] before the heavy roller made for regular bounce there.

1875 English cricket season

← 1874 1876 →

Champion County

^[a]

• Nottinghamshire

Playing record (by county)

County	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn
Derbyshire	6	2	3	1
Gloucestershire	8	3	4	1
Hampshire	4	1	3	0
Kent	8	2	6	0
Lancashire	6	4	1	1
Middlesex	6	0	4	2
Nottinghamshire	10	6	1	3
Surrey	10	3	5	2
Sussex	8	5	2	1
Yorkshire	10	6	3	1

^[2]

Leading batsmen (qualification 20 innings)

1875 English season leading batsmen^[3]
Name	Team	Matches	Innings	Not outs	Runs	Highest score	Average	100s	50s
Lord Harris	Kent MCC	13	22	3	682	92	35.89	0	5
W. G. Grace	Gloucestershire MCC	26	48	2	1498	152	32.56	3	5
A. N. Hornby	Lancashire MCC	13	22	1	646	78 not out	30.76	0	4
Fred Grace	Gloucestershire	22	39	4	978	180 not out	27.94	3	2
Ephraim Lockwood	Yorkshire	22	39	4	968	74	27.65	0	5

Leading bowlers (qualification 800 balls)

1875 English season leading bowlers^[4]
Name	Team	Balls bowled	Runs conceded	Wickets taken	Average	Best bowling	5 wickets in innings	10 wickets in match
William Mycroft	Derbyshire	2284	664	90	7.37	9/80	13	6
Alfred Shaw	Nottinghamshire MCC	7021	1495	160	9.34	8/25	16	5
Alec Watson	Lancashire	893	331	28	11.82	5/57	1	0
William Clarke	Nottinghamshire	919	281	23	12.21	5/19	3	0
WG Grace	Gloucestershire MCC	6765	2473	191	12.94	9/48	22	8

Events

• Hampshire County Cricket Club returned to first-class county cricket after four seasons absence.
• 18 August: formation of Somerset County Cricket Club by a team of amateurs at a meeting in Sidmouth, Devonshire, immediately after a match against a local side.

Notes

^a An unofficial seasonal title sometimes proclaimed by consensus of media and historians prior to December 1889 when the official County Championship was constituted. Although there are ante-dated claims prior to 1873, when residence qualifications were introduced, it is only since that ruling that any quasi-official status can be ascribed.

References

1. "The Memorial Biography of Dr. W.G. Grace"
2. Wynne-Thomas, Peter; The Rigby A-Z of Cricket Records; p. 53 ISBN 072701868X
3. First Class Batting in England in 1875
4. First Class Bowling in England in 1875

Annual reviews

• John Lillywhite’s Cricketer’s Companion (Green Lilly), Lillywhite, 1876
• James Lillywhite’s Cricketers’ Annual (Red Lilly), Lillywhite, 1876
• John Wisden's Cricketers' Almanack 1876

External links

• CricketArchive – season summaries