1908 was the nineteenth season of County Championship cricket in England.
American John Barton "Bart" King topped the bowling averages as a member of the touring Philadelphian cricket team.
Honours County Championship – Yorkshire Minor Counties Championship – Staffordshire Wisden (Lord Hawke and Four Cricketers of the Year) – Walter Brearley, Lord Hawke, Jack Hobbs, Alan Marshal, John Newstead
County Championship
CountyPlayedWonLostDrawnAbandonedPointsFinished Games %1Yorkshire281601201616100.002Kent2517351142070.003Surrey2913412191752.944Middlesex19631013933.335Sussex286418021020.006Worcestershire1865701119.097Lancashire25109611195.268Nottinghamshire206770 -113 -7.699Hampshire227960 -216 -12.5010Gloucestershire2481150 -319 -15.7811Essex2257100 -212 -16.6712Warwickshire215971 -414 -28.5713Leicestershire214891 -412 -33.3314Derbyshire2251340 -818 -44.4415Northamptonshire2231450 -1117 -64.7116Somerset2021350 -1115 -73.33Details as recorded in John Wisden’s Cricketers’ Almanack Points system:
1 for a win 0 for a draw, a tie or an abandoned match -1 for a loss
Minor Counties Championship Worcestershire Second Eleven dropped out and Carmarthenshire took their place. Dorset moved from the West division in 1907 to the South.
North CountyPlayedWonWon on 1st innsNo resultPossible pointsPoints obtained %1Staffordshire10540503774.002Durham1060503060.003Yorkshire Second Eleven1023501938.004Lincolnshire1031501836.006Northumberland1031501836.006Lancashire Second Eleven1020501020.00
South CountyPlayedWonWon on 1st innsNo resultPossible pointsPoints obtained %1Wiltshire8610403382.502Surrey Second Eleven860403075.003Dorset821401332.504Buckinghamshire820401025.005Berkshire81140820.00
East CountyPlayedWonWon on 1st innsNo resultPossible pointsPoints obtained %1Hertfordshire8330402460.002Bedfordshire841402357.502Suffolk841402357.504Norfolk821401332.505Cambridgeshire8014037.50
West CountyPlayedWonWon on 1st innsNo resultPossible pointsPoints obtained %1Glamorgan8600403090.001Monmouthshire860403090.001Devon860402050.004Cornwall81140827.505Carmarthenshire8004000.00 Points system:
5 for an outright win 3 for a win on the first innings 0 for a loss either outright or on the first innings of a drawn match
Matches with no first innings result are ignored when calculating maximum possible points.
Glamorgan v. Monmouthshire (play-off) Glamorgan and Monmouthshire met in a play-off to decide who should meet Wiltshire. The two were chosen over Devon because Monmouthshire had a better average runs, and Glamorgan had played in the 1907 semi-finals.
Mr. F.E. Lacey awarded the right to meet Wiltshire to Glamorgan after the washout of the second day.
Semi-Finals Staffordshire v. Hertfordshire
Wiltshire v. Glamorgan
Final
Leading batsmen (qualification 20 innings) 1908 English season leading batsmenNameTeamMatchesInningsNot outsRunsHighest scoreAverage100sBernard BosanquetMiddlesex14222108121454.053C.B. FrySussex13201100021452.633Henry FosterWorcestershire14211110521548.042Tom HaywardSurrey37521233717545.825Plum WarnerMiddlesex MCC29455182212045.555RanjitsinhjiSussex MCC18283113820045.523Johnny TyldesleyLancashire26452189124343.976Gilbert JessopGloucestershire26483188516441.884Frank TarrantMiddlesex MCC33497172415741.045Alan MarshalSurrey33502193117640.225
Leading bowlers (qualification 1,000 balls) 1908 English season leading bowlers Name TeamMatches Balls bowled Runs conceded Wickets taken Average Best bowling 5 wicketsin innings 10 wicketsin matchBart King Philadelphians10 2028958 87 11.01 7/28 103Schofield Haigh Yorkshire26 3740 1380 103 13.39 7/23 8 2George Hirst Yorkshire 35 6731 2445 174 14.05 7/51 15 3Ernest Kirk Surrey5 1236470 30 15.66 6/41 30Razor Smith Surrey15 2244895 57 15.70 6/27 52Wilfred Rhodes Yorkshire 36 4827 1855 115 16.13 6/17 6 0Walter Brearley Lancashire 20 5138 2636 163 16.17 8/61 21 7John Newstead Yorkshire 36 6273 2311 140 16.50 7/18 9 3Frank Tarrant MiddlesexMCC 33 6744 2819 169 16.68 8/120 20 5Colin Blythe Kent 28 8200 3326 197 16.888/83 20 6
References
Annual reviews John Wisden's Cricketers' Almanack, 1909
External links CricketArchive – season summaries