The 1871 English cricket season was the eighth since the legalisation of overarm bowling. Derbyshire County Cricket Club became a first-class club and the last matches were played by Cambridgeshire, who in the days of Bob Carpenter, the first Tom Hayward and George Tarrant had been one of the leading cricket counties.
W. G. Grace surpassed his previous season's record of 1,808 runs and his 1869 average of 57.39 by scoring 2,739 at the outstanding average of 78.25 at a time when most pitches were still unrolled and very dangerous to batsmen – though the heavy roller was already producing major improvements to Lord's and eliminating the bottom-of-the-stump shooters.Baily’s Magazine of Sports and Pastimes, Volume 20 (1871); p. 286 These records were not beaten until Arthur Shrewsbury averaged 78.71 in 1887 and Ranjitsinhji scored 2,780 runs in 1896.
Playing record (by county) County Played Won Lost Drawn Cambridgeshire 1 0 0 1 Derbyshire 2 1 1 0 Gloucestershire 4 2 1 1 Kent 6 2 3 1 Lancashire 6 4 2 0 Middlesex 2 1 0 1 Nottinghamshire 6 4 1 1 Surrey 13 0 9 4 Sussex 4 4 0 0 Yorkshire 6 2 3 1 Wynne-Thomas, Peter; The Rigby A-Z of Cricket Records; p. 53
Leading batsmen (qualification 15 innings) 1871 English season leading batsmenFirst Class Batting in England in 1871 Name Team Matches Innings Not outs Runs Highest score Average 100s 50sWG Grace GloucestershireMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 25 39 4 2739 268 78.25 10 9Richard Daft NottinghamshireAll England Eleven 12 19 4 565 92 37.66 0 6Robert Carpenter All England ElevenCambridgeshire 9 16 4 446 87 not out 37.16 0 3Fred Grace Gloucestershire 14 24 4 716 98 35.80 0 6Walter Hadow Oxford UniversityMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC)Middlesex 14 22 2 694 217 34.70 1 4
Leading bowlers (qualification 800 balls) 1871 English season leading bowlersFirst Class Bowling in England in 1871 Name Team Balls bowled Runs conceded Wickets taken Average Best bowling 5 wicketsin innings 10 wicketsin matchGeorge Freeman Yorkshire 1060 330 29 11.37 7/30 2 0Samuel Butler Oxford University 1136 446 37 12.05 10/38 4 2Tom Emmett YorkshireAll England Eleven 1502 625 50 12.50 8/31 5 3E. M. Grace Gloucestershire 930 286 22 13.00 6/36 1 0Edgar Willsher Kent 3025 935 70 13.35 7/46 7 2
Events Cambridgeshire County Cricket Club played one match in the 1871 season and ceased to be a first-class county thereafter. This was blamed on the reluctance of the leading players in the county to appear for the Cambridgeshire team, preferring to play for the touring elevens.First Class Cricket Matches 1871 – ACS – Nottingham Ed. Robert W Brooke In Derbyshire's opening season the club played its initial first-class match v. Lancashire at Old Trafford on 26 and 27 May. Middlesex County Cricket Club, after being threatened with disbanding due to lack of a ground,Wisden, John (editor); John Wisden’s Cricketers' Almanac; Eighth Edition (1871); p. 121 acquired the Lillie Bridge ground in West Brompton as a "home" venue, but played only one match there. Prince's Cricket Ground was opened on former market gardens in Chelsea by two brothers dissatisfied with the condition of the Lord's pitchRae, Simon; W. G. Grace: A Life; p. 106 – ironically Lord's improved markedly this very season. Prince's was a major ground in the middle 1870s but was built-on between 1877 and 1886. 28 June: William Game, with 281 for Sherborne against Motcombe, hit the first double century in a public school gameWisden, John (editor); John Wisden’s Cricketers' Almanac; Eighth Edition (1871); pp. 148–149 W. G. Grace caused a sensation by scoring 2,739 runs – this being the first time 2,000 was exceeded. He was to repeat the feat in 1876 and 1887, but no other player was to equal Grace until Andrew Stoddart and William Gunn did so in 1893. Grace's dominance is shown by comparing his figures for the season with the next best. Richard Daft had the next highest average among batsmen playing 10 innings or more, with 37.66, less than half Grace's figure. Harry Jupp had the next highest runs aggregate, with 1068. With ten centuries, Grace beat his 1869 record of six in one season. This was not equalled until Ranjitsinhji in 1896 and beaten by Ranji in 1900. No other batsman made more than a single hundred. Surrey played thirteen county games without a single win, an ignominy not surpassed until Derbyshire in 1897 played sixteen winless games. Surrey were not to fail to win a single county game again until 2008.
Labels Hampshire, though regarded until 1885 as first-class, played no inter-county matches between 1868 and 1869 or 1871 and 1874
Notes
References
Bibliography
Annual reviews John Lillywhite's Cricketer's Companion (Green Lilly), Lillywhite, 1872 James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual (Red Lilly), Lillywhite, 1872 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1872
Further reading