The 1875 English cricket season was the 12th since the legalisation of overarm bowling. 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"The Memorial Biography of Dr. W.G. Grace" before the heavy roller made for regular bounce there.
Champion County
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 Wynne-Thomas, Peter; The Rigby A-Z of Cricket Records; p. 53
Leading batsmen (qualification 20 innings) 1875 English season leading batsmenFirst Class Batting in England in 1875 Name Team Matches Innings Not outs Runs Highest score Average 100s 50sLord Harris KentMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 13 22 3 682 92 35.89 0 5W. G. Grace GloucestershireMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 26 48 2 1498 152 32.56 3 5A. N. Hornby LancashireMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 13 22 1 646 78 not out 30.76 0 4Fred Grace Gloucestershire 22 39 4 978 180 not out 27.94 3 2Ephraim Lockwood Yorkshire 22 39 4 968 74 27.65 0 5
Leading bowlers (qualification 800 balls) 1875 English season leading bowlersFirst Class Bowling in England in 1875 Name Team Balls bowled Runs conceded Wickets taken Average Best bowling 5 wicketsin innings 10 wicketsin matchWilliam Mycroft Derbyshire 2284 664 90 7.37 9/80 13 6Alfred Shaw NottinghamshireMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 7021 1495 160 9.34 8/25 16 5Alec Watson Lancashire 893 331 28 11.82 5/57 1 0William Clarke Nottinghamshire 919 281 23 12.21 5/19 3 0WG Grace GloucestershireMarylebone Cricket Club (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 team.
Labels 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.
Notes
References
Bibliography
Annual reviews John Lillywhite's Cricketer's Companion (Green Lilly), Lillywhite, 1876 James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual (Red Lilly), Lillywhite, 1876 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1876
Further reading