The 1894 English cricket season featured the fifth edition of the County Championship. The championship culminated in a close battle between Surrey and the 1893 champions Yorkshire. Before the round of 23 August, the two teams were tied on 10 points, with one match left to play and all other teams out of contention. Yorkshire travelled to Taunton to play Somerset and, after the first day was rained off, Somerset had to bat on a rain-affected pitch. George Hirst took seven for 32 as Somerset were dismissed for 99, but Yorkshire never got the chance to reply as the third day was rained off. Meanwhile, at Hove, Surrey's Tom Richardson and Bill Lockwood bowling Sussex out for 44 and 109 to secure victory by an innings and 15 runs, giving Surrey their fourth official title.
Although the term had been in common usage for many years, there was no clear understanding of what constituted first-class cricket. The issue was addressed in a meeting at Lord's in May and the official definition was applied from the beginning of the 1895 season.
Honours County Championship – Surrey Wisden (Five Young Batsmen of the Season) – Bill Brockwell, Jack Brown, C B Fry, Tom Hayward, Archie MacLaren
County Championship
Final table County Championship 1894 – Final Standings Team P W L D T A Pts1 Surrey 16132010112 Yorkshire 16122101103 Middlesex 168530034 Lancashire 167711004 Kent 166630106 Somerset 1667300−17 Nottinghamshire 1648400−48 Sussex 16311200−89 Gloucestershire 16213100−11
Points system:
1 for a win 0 for a draw, a tie or an abandoned match -1 for a loss
Most runs in the County Championship
1894 County Championship – leading batsmen Name Team Matches Runs Average 100s 50sBilly Gunn Nottinghamshire 13 851 37.00 2 5Bill Brockwell Surrey 16 754 34.27 3 3Albert Ward Lancashire 16 751 26.82 2 4Lionel Palairet Somerset 16 748 25.79 1 5Frank Sugg Lancashire 16 717 28.68 2 3
Most wickets in the County Championship
1893 County Championship – leading bowlers Name Team Matches Balls bowled Wickets taken AverageArthur Mold Lancashire 16 4094 144 11.36Tom Richardson Surrey 14 2951 120 11.31John Hearne Middlesex 16 4833 119 14.03Walter Hearne Kent 15 3569 99 13.35Ted Wainwright Yorkshire 15 2617 97 10.17
Overall first-class statistics
Leading batsmen
1893 English cricket season – leading batsmen Name Team(s) Matches Runs Average 100s 50sBill Brockwell Players, South of England, Surrey 32 1491 38.23 5 6Bobby Abel Players, South of England, Surrey 31 1447 34.45 4 6Jack Brown North of England, Yorkshire 31 1399 30.41 3 8WG Grace Gentlemen, Gloucestershire, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), South of England 27 1293 29.38 3 5Albert Ward Lancashire, North of England, Players 28 1176 25.02 2 6
Leading bowlers
1893 English cricket season – leading bowlers Name Team(s) Matches Balls bowled Wickets taken AverageArthur Mold England, Lancashire, North of England, Players 28 6493 207 12.30Tom Richardson Surrey 23 4669 196 10.32John Hearne Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), Middlesex, Players, South of England 31 7430 195 14.04Edward Wainwright North of England, Players, Yorkshire 28 5438 166 12.73Bill Lockwood Players, South of England, Surrey 28 4472 150 14.88
Notes
References
Bibliography
Annual reviews James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual (Red Lilly), Lillywhite, 1895 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1895
Further reading