1881 English cricket season

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1881 English cricket season
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1881 was the 95th season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). There was a first outright title win by Lancashire and a strike by the Nottinghamshire professionals, led by their main bowler Alfred Shaw, over benefits and terms.[1]

Champion County[]

[a]

  • Lancashire

Playing record (by county)[]

County Played Won Lost Drawn
Derbyshire 8 2 5 1
Gloucestershire 10 4 2 4
Hampshire 2 0 2 0
Kent 10 3 7 0
Lancashire 13[b] 10 0 3
Middlesex 9[b] 3 3 3
Nottinghamshire 12 4 4 4
Surrey 14 4 9 1
Sussex 12 3 8 1
Yorkshire 16 10 3 3

[2]

Leading batsmen (qualification 20 innings)[]

1881 English season leading batsmen[3]
Name Team Matches Innings Not outs Runs Highest score Average 100s 50s
A. N. Hornby Lancashire
MCC		 25 38 0 1534 188 40.36 3 7
W. G. Grace Gloucestershire 13 22 1 792 182 37.71 2 4
Charles Leslie Oxford University
Middlesex		 13 23 2 741 111 not out 35.28 2 5
George Ulyett Yorkshire 24 40 2 1243 112 32.71 1 9
Walter Read Surrey 16 30 1 931 160 32.10 1 6

Leading bowlers (qualification 1,000 balls)[]

1881 English season leading bowlers[4]
Name Team Balls bowled Runs conceded Wickets taken Average Best bowling 5 wickets
in innings 		10 wickets
in match
Allen Hill Yorkshire 1345 437 43 10.16 6/18 2 0
George Nash Lancashire 1826 557 52 10.71 7/22 4 1
Alec Watson Lancashire 3504 816 69 11.82 7/37 5 2
Dick Barlow Lancashire 2988 940 79 11.89 8/29 5 2
Tom Emmett Yorkshire 2438 919 76 12.09 8/22 6 1

Nottinghamshire strike[]

Nottinghamshire’s professionals, led by Alfred Shaw, held a strike over playing contracts agreed by the MCC and secretary Captain Henry Holden. The players demanded security of contract for all games during the season and the right to organise their own terms[5] rather than those set by the MCC, which during the 1870s as county cricket grew established a strong grip on terms for professional players.[5]

The dispute meant that seven of Nottinghamshire’s top players did not play for the first half of the season, and leading batsman Arthur Shrewsbury played only three first-class games all year.[1] Shaw and Shrewsbury used the dispute to organise an eight-month tour of Australia and New Zealand during the winter.[1]

Notable events[]

  • The scheduled 18 to 20 July county match between Lancashire and Middlesex was cancelled because Harrow Wanderers booked Lord’s ground and no alternative arrangement could be made to play the game.

See also[]

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.
b The match between Middlesex and Lancashire at Lord’s was cancelled because had booked the ground on the same day.

References[]

  1. ^ a b c When cricketers went on strike
  2. ^ Wynne-Thomas, Peter; The Rigby A-Z of Cricket Records; p. 54 ISBN 072701868X
  3. ^ First Class Batting in England in 1881
  4. ^ First Class Bowling in England in 1881
  5. ^ a b Kynaston, David; WG’s Birthday Party; p. 28. ISBN 1408810115

Annual reviews[]

  • John Lillywhite’s Cricketer’s Companion (Green Lilly), Lillywhite, 1882
  • James Lillywhite’s Cricketers’ Annual (Red Lilly), Lillywhite, 1882
  • John Wisden's Cricketers' Almanack 1882

External links[]

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