Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1887 was the cricket season when the English club Derbyshire had been playing for sixteen years and was the last season before they lost first class status for seven years.
1887 season
Derbyshire played two county matches each against Lancashire, Yorkshire and Surrey, and one against MCC. They lost all these matches and as a result Wisden decided not to accord them first class status in the following year. However they also played three non first class matches against Essex and Leicestershire and won all three.
The captain for the year was William Chatterton who also played for MCC during the season. The top scorer was George Davidson who also took most wickets.
During the season Derbyshire played their first home fixture away from the County Ground, when they played Lancashire at the Recreation Ground, Long Eaton. This was the only occasion on which they used the venue.
Two important players made their debut in the season whose performance came to the fore once Derbyshire regained first-class status. They were John Hulme who took over 550 wickets for Derbyshire and Bill Storer who was one of the club's long-serving wicket-keepers. Harry Bagshaw who also made his debut gave the club many years service. Other players who made their debut were George Ratcliffe, Joseph Marshall, Henry Street and William Walton. None of these had the chance to play first class cricket for Derbyshire again although some appeared occasionally for the club in the intervening years.
A number of players appeared for Derbyshire for the last time this season. These included Edmund Maynard a former captain and George Barrington who had both joined in 1880. Also departing were Henry Slater who had been a member of the side since 1882 and Edwin Coup who had joined the club in 1885. In addition Thomas Mycroft a stand-in wicket-keeper who had made occasional appearances since 1877 played his last game. Several cricketers continued playing for Derbyshire but had stopped playing by the time the club reached first class status again in 1894. These were James Disney wicket-keeper since 1881, George Ratcliffe, Joseph Marshall, William Walton, three of the players who made their debut in 1887 and William Cropper who died in 1889 as a result of an unfortunate football accident.
Matches
List of first class matchesNo.DateVResult MarginNotes112 May 1887Cricket Archive - Marylebone Cricket Club v Derbyshire 12 May 1887MCC Lord's Cricket Ground, St John's Wood Lost 145 runs W Cropper 6-50; J Wooton 5-21 209 Jun 1887Cricket Archive - Lancashire v Derbyshire 09 Jun 1887 Lancashire Old Trafford, Manchester Lost 6 wickets W Cropper 6-54 327 Jun 1887Cricket Archive - Derbyshire v Yorkshire 27 Jun 1887 Yorkshire County Ground, Derby Lost Innings and 39 runs W Bates 103; 407 Jul 1887Cricket Archive - Derbyshire v Lancashire 07 Jul 1887Lancashire Recreation Ground, Long Eaton Lost 54 runs GG Walker 5-64; J Briggs 7-49 and 5-51; G Davidson 6-43; A Watson 5-39518 Jul 1887Cricket Archive - Yorkshire v Derbyshire 18 Jul 1887Yorkshire Bramall Lane, Sheffield Lost Innings and 163 runs G Ullyet 199; W Bates 6-66 628 Jul 1887Cricket Archive - Derbyshire v Surrey 28 Jul 1887 Surrey County Ground, Derby Lost Innings and 237 runs W Read 145; G Davidson 5–148; J Beaumont 5-30 715 Aug 1887Cricket Archive - Surrey v Derbyshire 15 Aug 1887 SurreyKennington Oval Lost 299 runs G Davidson 5-67; GG Walker 5-49; G Lohmann 5-55; R Abel 6-15
List of other matchesNo.DateVResult MarginNotes130 May 1887Cricket Archive - Derbyshire v Essex 30 May 1887 Essex County Ground, DerbyWon7 wickets2 01 Aug 1887Cricket Archive - Derbyshire v Leicestershire 01 Aug 1887 Leicestershire County Ground, DerbyWon 74 runs322 Aug 1887Cricket Archive - Essex v Derbyshire 22 Aug 1887 Essex County Ground, Leyton Won 8 wickets
Statistics
First-class batting averages Name Am/Pro Age Hand Matches Inns Runs High score Average 100s G Davidson P 20 R 7 14 312 75 22.28 0 W Chatterton P 24 R 12 (7) 22 (14) 334 (151) 66 (32) 15.90 0 W Cropper 24 R 7 14 211 4315.07 0 G Ratcliffe 31 L 5 10 145 64 14.50 0 LG Wright A 25 R 6 12 157 31 13.08 0 J Marshall 24 R 2 4 50 31 12.50 0 J J Hulme 24 L 612 135 31 12.27 0 JJ Disney P 27 R 7 14 100 27* 10.00 0 W Sugg 27 R 7 14 129 48* 9.92 0 GG Walker A 26 L 4 8 51 19* 8.50 0 H Street 24 R 2 4 24 15* 8.00 0 GB Barrington A 30 R 2 4 28 25 7.00 0 W Storer P 20 R 2 4 16 7 5.33 0 H Slater 32 R 2 4 10 6* 5.00 0 E Coup A 26 L 5 10 39 12 4.33 0 EAJ Maynard A 26 R 5 9 25 9 2.77 0 W Walton A 24 R 1 2 4 3 2.00 0 H Bagshaw P 27 L 1 2 0 0 0.00 0
Chatterton also played five matches for MCC during the season.
Leading first-class batsmen for Derbyshire by runs scored Name Mat Inns Runs HS Ave 100 G Davidson 7 14 312 75 22.28 0 W Cropper 7 14 211 4315.07 0 LG Wright 6 12 157 31 13.08 0 W Chatterton 7 14 151 32 6.86 (a) 0 G Ratcliffe 5 10 145 64 14.50 0
(a) Figures recalculated to exclude non Derbyshire matches
First-class bowling averages Name Hand Balls Runs Wickets BB Average G Davidson R MF 1559 789 36 6-43 21.08 W Cropper L M 1248 503 27 6-50 18.62 W Chatterton R S 1171 404 (182) 19 (5) 4-32 21.26 GG Walker L F & Sl 673 319 15 5-49 21.26 J J Hulme L MF 800 388 9 4-120 43.11 W Sugg R M 343 165 4 2-24 41.25 H Bagshaw R M 32 9 2 2-9 4.50 GB Barrington round arm Sl 48 27 1 1-27 27.00 H Slater R M 152 92 1 1-43 92.00 W Storer ? LB 32 18 0 G Ratcliffe 12 8 0
Leading first class bowlers for Derbyshire by wickets taken Name Balls Runs Wkts BBI Ave G Davidson 1559 789 36 6-43 21.08 W Cropper 1248 503 27 6-50 18.62 GG Walker 673 319 15 5-49 21.26 J J Hulme 800 388 9 4-120 43.11 W Chatterton 182 5 3-40 36.40(a)
(a) Figures recalculated to exclude non Derbyshire matches
Wicket keeping
James Disney Catches 12 Stumping 1
See also Derbyshire County Cricket Club seasons 1887 English cricket season
References