- 1996 English cricket season
The 1996 English cricket season saw England host tours by India and Pakistan, who each played three Tests and three ODIs. Against India, England were unbeaten, winning the Test series 1-0 and the ODI series 2-0. However, against the Pakistanis England lost 2-0 in the Tests, and had to console themselves with a 2-1 ODI series victory.
In Hampshire's game against the Indians just before the third Test, Hampshire's
Kevan James took four wickets in consecutive balls and then scored a century. This was the first time this particular "double" had ever been achieved in a first-class match.The
County Championship was won by Leicestershire for the second time (after 1975), and they celebrated their already certain title by thrashing Middlesex by an innings on the last day of the season. Leicestershire finished 27 points in front of Derbyshire.In
one-day cricket , the AXA Equity and Law League was won by Surrey onrun rate from Nottinghamshire, while Lancashire claimed the honours in both theNatWest Trophy and theBenson & Hedges Cup . The best bowling figures of the season were claimed byGlen Chapple of Lancashire who took 6-18 in the NatWest Trophy final against Essex, in which the southern county were bowled out for an embarrassing 57.Vince Wells ' score of 201 in an earlier round of the NatWest Trophy was at the time only the fourth List A double century to have been scored.Honours
*County Championship - Leicestershire
*NatWest Trophy - Lancashire
*Sunday League - Surrey
*Benson & Hedges Cup -
*Minor Counties Championship - Devon
*MCCA Knockout Trophy - Cheshire
*Second XI Championship - Warwickshire II
*Wisden -Sanath Jayasuriya ,Mushtaq Ahmed ,Saeed Anwar ,Phil Simmons ,Sachin Tendulkar tatistical highlights
First-class
* Highest team total: 686 by Lancashire v Essex at Chelmsford, 7–10 June
* Lowest team total: 67 by Durham v Middlesex at Cardiff, 14 June
* Highest individual innings: 275* byMatthew Walker (Kent) v Somerset at Canterbury, 15–16 August
* Most runs in season: 1,944 byGraham Gooch (Essex)
* Best innings bowling: 9-38 byCardigan Connor (Hampshire) v Gloucestershire at Southampton, 8–9 August
* Most wickets in season: 85 byCourtney Walsh (Gloucestershire)List A
* Highest team total: 406/5 (60 overs) by Leicestershire v Berkshire at Leicester, 25 June
* Lowest team total: 48 by Leicestershire v Surrey atThe Oval , 16 June
* Highest individual innings: 201 byVince Wells (Leicestershire) v Berkshire at Leicester, 25 June
* Most runs in season: 1,151 by Dean Jones (Derbyshire)
* Best innings bowling: 6-18 byGlen Chapple (Lancashire) v Essex at Lord's, 7 September
* Most wickets in season: 56 byAdam Hollioake (Surrey)Tables
County Championship
"Points awarded":Win: 16 points.Draw: 3 points.
Bowling
"Qualification: ten wickets"
External sources
* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Events/ENG.html CricketArchive – season and tournament itineraries]
Annual reviews
*
Playfair Cricket Annual 1997
*Wisden Cricketers Almanack 1997
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.