The 1884 English cricket season was the 21st since the legalisation of overarm bowling. Australia toured England to compete for the Ashes. It was the seventh test series between the two teams. Fred Spofforth, an overseas bowler, took the most wickets, but England avenged its loss to the touring Australians in 1882 winning 1 test to 0.
Ashes tour
Cumulative record - Test wins 1876–1884England5Australia7Drawn4
Champion County
Nottinghamshire
Playing record (by county) County Played Won Lost Drawn Derbyshire 10 0 10 0 Gloucestershire 12 1 8 3 Hampshire 8 2 6 0 Kent 16 7 7 2 Lancashire 12 7 4 1 Middlesex 10 4 3 3 Nottinghamshire 10 9 0 1 Somerset 6 1 5 0 Surrey 18 9 4 5 Sussex 14 8 5 1 Yorkshire 16 8 4 4 Derbyshire's ignominy of losing every game has been repeated since in county cricket only by the same club in 1920. Wynne-Thomas, Peter; The Rigby A-Z of Cricket Records; p. 54
Leading batsmen (qualification 20 innings) 1884 English season leading batsmenFirst Class Batting in England in 1884 Name Team Matches Innings Not outs Runs Highest score Average 100s 50sAllan Steel LancashireEnglandMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 16 28 3 967 148 38.68 2 2William Scotton NottinghamshireEnglandMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 19 31 5 897 134 34.50 2 3WG Grace GloucestershireEnglandMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 26 45 5 1361 116 34.02 3 2Lord Harris KentEnglandMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 25 47 5 1417 112 not out 33.73 3 6Billy Newham Sussex 12 23 0 741 137 32.21 2 5
Leading bowlers (qualification 1,000 balls) 1884 English season leading bowlersFirst Class Bowling in England in 1884 Name Team Balls bowled Runs conceded Wickets taken Average Best bowling 5 wicketsin innings 10 wicketsin matchAlfred Shaw Nottinghamshire 2968 744 71 10.47 8/28 7 2Tom Emmett YorkshireEngland 4128 1250 107 11.68 8/32 10 3William Attewell Nottinghamshire 4600 1217 101 12.04 8/22 8 3John Crossland Lancashire 2100 893 71 12.57 7/35 6 3Fred Spofforth Australians 6308 2654 207 12.82 8/62 22 10
Notable events 31 July and 1 August: Alfred Shaw achieved the notable feat of doing the hat-trick in each innings against Gloucestershire.Nottinghamshire v Gloucestershire in 1884
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. The match between Lancashire and Gloucestershire scheduled for 24 to 26 July was abandoned on the announcement of the death of Mrs Grace, mother of WG and EM Grace. It is shown as a draw.
Notes
References
Bibliography
Annual reviews John Lillywhite's Cricketer's Companion (Green Lilly), Lillywhite, 1885 James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual (Red Lilly), Lillywhite, 1885 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1885
Further reading