1876 English cricket season

The 1876 English cricket season saw WG Grace became the first player to score 2000 runs and take 100 wickets in a season: 2622 runs and 130 wickets in 26 matches.

Honours

*Champion County - Gloucestershire

Events

14 January. Formation of Essex CCC at a meeting in the Shire Hall, Chelmsford. There had been previous county organisations in Essex going back to the 18th century, mainly around the famous Hornchurch club.

Leading batsmen

WG Grace was the leading runscorer with 2622 @ 62.42.

During the season, Grace made his highest first-class score of 344, for MCC v Kent at Canterbury in August. Two days later he made 177 for Gloucestershire v Notts, and two days after that 318 not out for Gloucestershire v Yorkshire, the latter two innings against counties with exceptionally strong bowling attacks. Thus in three consecutive innings Grace scored 839 runs, and was only out twice. The 344 was the first triple century scored in first class cricket. William Ward's 278 scored in 1820 had stood as a record for 56 years; within a week Grace had bettered it twice.

Leading bowlers

Alfred Shaw was the leading wicket-taker with 191 @ 13.61

External sources

* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Seasons/1876_ENG.html CricketArchive – season summaries]

Annual reviews

* "John Lillywhite's Cricketer's Companion" (Green Lilly), Lillywhite, 1877
* "James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual" (Red Lilly), Lillywhite, 1877
* Wisden Cricketers Almanack 1877