1902 English cricket season

The 1902 English cricket season saw the first Ashes series in England since 1899, when Australia had won a series in England for the first time since 1882. Australia won again, this time 2–1, with the first two Tests rained off. The final three matches were full of drama, with Victor Trumper making a hundred before lunch in the third Test, Australia winning the fourth by just 3 runs and England winning the fifth by one wicket following a hundred in 75 minutes by Gilbert Jessop.

Yorkshire won their third consecutive County Championship title as they, as in 1901, went through the season with only one defeat from more than 25 games. Again as in 1901, it was Somerset who were the only side to defeat them.

Honours

*County Championship - Yorkshire
*Minor Counties Championship - Wiltshire
*Wisden - Warwick Armstrong, Cuthbert Burnup, James Iremonger, James Kelly, Victor Trumper

County Championship

Final table

The final County Championship table is shown below. One point was awarded for a win, none for a draw, and minus one for a loss. Positions were decided on percentage of points over completed games.

Ashes tour

In the 1967 Wisden Cricketer's Almanack, A.A. Thomson described this series as "a rubber more exciting than any in history except the Australia v West Indies series in 1960–61" [ [http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/152357.html My favourite summer] , by A.A. Thomson, from Cricinfo, retrieved 26 June 2006. This description came despite the fact that Australia had secured the series after four of five matches, leading 2–0 before the final Test; the first two matches had been drawn due to rain, with the second match at Lord's yielding only 38 overs in three days.

The third Test, the only one at Bramall Lane, saw Australia win by 143 runs, following a brilliant century by Victor Trumper before lunch on the first day. In the fourth Test Australia won by three runs, despite 11 wickets from recalled bowler Bill Lockwood. It came down to Fred Tate and Wilfred Rhodes needing to hit eight runs: Tate hit a four, but was bowled by Jack Saunders on the fourth ball of his over. [ [http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/6/6024.html Australia in England in 1902 (4th Test)] ] England came back to win the final Test, conceding a first-innings deficit of 141, then going to 48 for five needing 263 to win, before Gilbert Jessop hit a hundred in 75 minutes and England won by one wicket.

Trumper made a great impression on those who saw him bat. Harry Altham wrote: "From start to finish of the season, on every sort of wicket, against every sort of bowling, Trumper entranced the eye, inspired his side, demoralized his enemies, and made run-getting appear the easiest thing in the world." [Quoted in "The Cricket Captains of England", Alan Gibson, 1989, The Pavilion Library, ISBN 1-85145-390-3, p76.]

Overall first-class statistics

Leading batsmen

Leading bowlers

Annual reviews

* Wisden Cricketers Almanack 1903

External links

* [http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Seasons/1902_ENG.html Cricket in England in 1902]

Further reference