The 1870 English cricket season was the seventh since the legalisation of overarm bowling. 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,England and Wales Seasonal Precipitation Data 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”Death on a Summer’s Day 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 attackRae, Simon; W. G. Grace: A Life; pp. 88-89 ISBN against YorkshireMarylebone Cricket Club v Yorkshire in 1870 – fast bowlers Freeman and Emmett wondered how the champion was not maimed or killed outright.The Memorial biography of W.G. Grace

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 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 seasonBaily’s Magazine of Sports and Pastimes, Volume 20 (1871); p. 286

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) County Played Won Lost Drawn Gloucestershire 2 2 0 0 Hampshire 2 0 2 0 Kent 8 2 6 0 Lancashire 4 3 1 0 Middlesex 2 1 1 0 Nottinghamshire 6 3 2 1 Surrey 14 5 9 0 Sussex 4 2 2 0 Yorkshire 6 5 0 1 Wynne-Thomas, Peter; The Rigby A-Z of Cricket Records; p. 53

Leading batsmen (qualification 15 innings) 1870 English season leading batsmenFirst Class Batting in England in 1870 Name Team Matches Innings Not outs Runs Highest score Average 100s 50sWG Grace GloucestershireMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 21 38 5 1808 215 54.78 5 9Richard Daft Nottinghamshire 9 15 4 565 117 51.36 1 3Isaac Walker Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)Middlesex 13 25 3 820 179 37.27 1 4William Yardley Cambridge UniversityKentMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 13 25 1 643 100 26.79 1 4Cuthbert Ottaway KentCambridge University 9 18 2 427 69 26.68 0 4

Leading bowlers (qualification 800 balls) 1870 English season leading bowlersFirst Class Bowling in England in 1870 Name Team Balls bowled Runs conceded Wickets taken Average Best bowling 5 wicketsin innings 10 wicketsin matchGeorge Freeman Yorkshire 1930 484 68 7.11 8/43 9 4Frank Farrands Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 856 281 28 10.03 6/23 4 2Jem Shaw Nottinghamshire 3302 990 97 10.20 7/30 11 4Walter Anstead Surrey 1063 424 39 10.87 6/27 4 1Edgar Willsher Kent 3675 1062 84 12.64 7/22 9 2

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. 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 YorkshireSurrey v Yorkshire in 1870 4 November: Formation of Derbyshire County Cricket Club at a meeting in the Guildhall, Derby.

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

Notes

References

Bibliography

Annual reviews John Lillywhite's Cricketer's Companion (Green Lilly), Lillywhite, 1871 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1871

Further reading