1859 English cricket season

The 1859 English cricket season saw one of the sport's most remarkable all-round performances.

Honours

* Champion County - Surrey

First-class matches

* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Seasons/Seasonal_Averages/ENG/1859_f_Match_List.html 1859 match list]

Events

1 March. Formation of the present Kent CCC.

21, 22 & 23 July. V E Walker of Middlesex, playing for England "versus" Surrey at The Oval, took all ten wickets in the Surrey first innings and followed by scoring 108 in the England second innings, having been the not out batsman in the first (20*). He took a further four wickets in Surrey’s second innings. England won by 392 runs.

7 September. Departure of cricket’s first-ever touring team. A famous photograph was taken on board ship before they sailed from Liverpool. The team of English professionals went to North America and played five matches, winning them all. There were no first-class fixtures. The 12-man squad was:
* George Parr (captain)
* James Grundy
* John Jackson (all of Nottinghamshire);
* Robert Carpenter
* Alfred Diver
* Thomas Hayward (all of Cambridgeshire);
* Julius Caesar
* William Caffyn
* Tom Lockyer
* HH Stephenson (all of Surrey);
* John Lillywhite
* John Wisden (both of Sussex)

"See : English cricket team in North America in 1859

Leading batsmen

James Grundy was the leading runscorer with 530 @ 17.09

Other leading batsmen were: FP Miller, Tom Lockyer, V E Walker, John Lillywhite, William Caffyn, John Wisden, JH Hale, Thomas Hayward, HH Stephenson

Leading bowlers

John Jackson was the leading wicket-taker with 83

Other leading bowlers were: V E Walker, Edgar Willsher, William Caffyn, James Grundy, HH Stephenson, John Wisden

External sources

* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Seasons/1859_ENG.html CricketArchive – season summaries]

Annual reviews

* Fred Lillywhite, "The Guide to Cricketers", Lillywhite, 1860
* Arthur Haygarth, "Scores & Biographies, Volume 6 (1858-1860)", Lillywhite, 1862

Further reading

* H S Altham, "A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914)", George Allen & Unwin, 1962
* Derek Birley, "A Social History of English Cricket", Aurum, 1999
* Rowland Bowen, "Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development", Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
* John Major, "More Than A Game", HarperCollins, 2007