A batsman has scored 1,000 first-class runs before the end of May in an English cricket season on only eight occasions. In five of these occasions, the batsman reached 1,000 runs with innings played in April and May, but three scored 1,000 runs in the month of May alone. These were: W.G. Grace in 1895, Wally Hammond in 1927, and most recently Charlie Hallows in 1928.

Donald Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman, (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has bee ...

is the only person to have scored 1,000 runs before the end of May twice, in 1930 and 1938. Uniquely, a second batsman also reached 1,000 runs before the end of May in 1938,

Bill Edrich William John Edrich (26 March 1916 – 24 April 1986) was a first-class cricketer who played for Middlesex County Cricket Club, Middlesex, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), Norfolk County Cricket Club, Norfolk and England cricket team, England. Ed ...

, mainly thanks to a sporting declaration by Australia at 5.09pm on the third and final day of the match against Middlesex at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

on 28–30 May, when Edrich needed another 10 runs. The rarely-achieved feat has become even more scarce since the Second World War, with only Glenn Turner and Graeme Hick reaching 1,000 runs before the end of May since 1938. In part, this is due to the reduced schedule of first-class cricket since the introduction of domestic one-day cricket competitions in the 1970s, and a corresponding reduction in the number of first-class matches played by English county teams and touring international teams. Hick, the last player to complete 1,000 first-class runs before the end of May, completed the bulk of the runs in three innings: 212 against Lancashire, 405 not out against Somerset, and 172 against the touring West Indies. He started this last innings, his last of the month, needing 153 to reach the target. The start of the English cricket season has crept earlier in April in recent years, and Nick Compton came close to achieving 1,000 runs before the end of May 2012, needing 59 runs on 31 May against Worcestershire. Rain intervened with Compton having only scored nine, but he scored a century after resuming his innings the following day to pass 1,000 runs on 1 June. Other near misses include John Langridge who reached 1,000 runs on 2 June 1949, and

Brian Lara Brian Charles Lara, (born 2 May 1969) is a Trinidadian former international cricketer, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. He topped the Test batting rankings on several occasions and holds several cricketing reco ...

, who reached 1,000 runs on 2 June 1994 from just seven innings. Coincidentally, exactly ten years later, Ben Compton, the cousin of Nick, also narrowly missed out on the milestone formerly achieved by their grandfather Denis' long-time England and Middlesex team-mate

. In 2022 Ben Compton made 878 first-class runs in the County Championship for Kent in April and May before scoring 158 runs (in two innings combined) in the last match before the end of May, a red-ball two-innings match for a "First Class Counties XI" (or "County Select XI") against the touring New Zealand cricket team. However, unlike in Hick's case in 1988, the tour match was not given first-class status as the sides used more that eleven players at different stages, so this is not recognised as 1,000 first-class runs before the end of May.

1,000 runs before the end of May

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Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, , , , , , 46 , , 13 , , April+May , , , - , Wally Hammond , , Gloucestershire , , , , , , 22 , , 13 , , May , , , - , Charlie Hallows , , Lancashire , , , , , , 27 , , 11 , , May , , 1,000 runs in the Championship in May , - ,

, ,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, , , , , , 34 , , 11 , , April+May , , 926 runs in May , - ,

, ,

, , , , , , 30 , , 7 , , April+May , , 798 runs in May , - ,

, , Middlesex , , , , , , 32 , , 15 , , April+May , , all at

, - , Glenn Turner , , New Zealand , , , , , , 38 , , 18 , , April+May , , , - , Graeme Hick , , Worcestershire , , , , {{dts, 28 May 1988 , , 41 , , 11 , , April+May , , including 405 not out against Somerset

1,000 runs before the end of May

References

Further reading