1899 was the tenth season of
County Championship
The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
in England.
Surrey won the championship for the first time in four years, but this title was their last until
1914
This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...
. Surrey's season was dominated by draws, with fourteen out of 26 games drawn, just like the season in general – especially the
Australian team's tour. Four of the five
Test matches were drawn during the 19th series between the sides, but Australia won the second Test at
Lord's and the series 1–0. This was their first
Ashes series win in England since the original match in
1882
Events
January–March
* January 2
** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates.
** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in t ...
.
Also,
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...
became the fifteenth county in the County Championship, debuting with an 11-run loss to
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
despite earning a 78-run lead on first innings.
George Wilson took eight for 70 in the first innings, which was a Worcestershire Championship record until Wilson beat it against
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
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in
1905
As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia ( Shostakovich's 11th Symphony ...
. The debutants finished twelfth, though they only earned two wins in 12 games. Finally,
Sussex' Ranjitsinhji
Colonel H. H. Shri Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II, Jam Saheb of Nawanagar, (10 September 1872 – 2 April 1933), often known as Ranji or K. S. Ranjitsinhji, was the ruler of the Indian princely state of Nawanagar from 1907 to 1933, as Ma ...
became the first batsman to hit 2000 runs in a Championship season with 102 against
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
in August.
The season was a notable one for
WG Grace
William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest players. He played first-class cricket for a record-equal ...
. The First Test marked his final appearance for England (and the Test debut of
Wilfred Rhodes
Wilfred Rhodes (29 October 1877 – 8 July 1973) was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests, Rhodes took 127 wickets and scored 2,325 runs, becoming the first Englishman ...
). Also Grace played his last Championship game for
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
, having fallen out with them over his involvement with
London County.
Honours
*
County Championship
The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...
–
Surrey
*
Minor Counties Championship –
Buckinghamshire,
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
(''shared title'')
*Wisden (''Five Cricketers of the Season'') –
Joe Darling
Joseph Darling (21 November 1870 – 2 January 1946) was an Australian cricketer who played 34 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1894 and 1905. As captain, he led Australia in a total of 21 Tests, winning seven and losing four. I ...
,
Clem Hill
Clement "Clem" Hill (18 March 18775 September 1945) was an Australian cricketer who played 49 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1896 and 1912. He captained the Australian team in ten Tests, winning five and losing five. A prolifi ...
,
Arthur Jones,
Monty Noble
Montague Alfred Noble (28 January 1873 – 22 June 1940) was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. A right-hand batsman, right-handed bowler who could deliver both medium pace and off-break bowling, capable field ...
,
Robert Poore
Robert Montagu Poore (20 March 1866 – 14 July 1938) was a cricketer and British army officer who, whilst serving in South Africa in 1896, played in three Test matches for the South African cricket team. Much of his cricket was played when he ...
Ashes tour
County Championship
Final table
*
1 Games completed
Points system:
* 1 for a win
* 0 for a draw, a tie or an abandoned match
* -1 for a loss
Most runs in the County Championship
Most wickets in the County Championship
Overall first-class statistics
Leading batsmen
Leading bowlers
References
Annual reviews
* ''James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual'' (Red Lilly), Lillywhite, 1900
*
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...
1900
External links
Cricket in England in 1899
{{Ashes Test series
1899 in English cricket
1899
Events January 1899
* January 1
** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.
** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City.
* January 2 –
**Bolivia sets up a c ...