1909 was the 20th 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 striki ...

in England and featured a Test series between England and Australia.

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

won the championship and Australia, captained by Monty Noble, won the Test series.

Events

The season was the first in which

W. G. Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English Amateur status in first-class cricket, amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest players. He played ...

had not played a first-class match since 1864.Pardon S (1910
English cricketers: dissatisfied and disappointed – Notes by the Editor
''

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 ...

'', 1910. Retrieved 1 June 2016. It saw

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

win their second

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national cou ...

title and the formation of the Imperial Cricket Council, which was later renamed as the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...

, in London with

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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

as the founding members.Chronology of cricket, 1900–1909
Bloomsbury Publishing. Retrieved 1 June 2016.History of the International Cricket Council
,

. Retrieved 1 June 2016.

Honours

–

Wisden ''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 ...

Cricketers of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

–

Warren Bardsley Warren "Curly" Bardsley (6 December 1882 – 20 January 1954) was an Australian Test cricketer. An opening batsman, Bardsley played 41 Tests between 1909 and 1926 and over 200 first-class games for New South Wales. He was Wisden's Cricketer of ...

Sydney Barnes Sydney Francis Barnes (19 April 1873 – 26 December 1967) was an English professional cricketer who is regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. He was right-handed and bowled at a pace that varied from medium to fast-medium with ...

Douglas Carr Douglas Ward Carr (17 March 1872 – 23 March 1950) was an English amateur cricketer who played once for the England cricket team in 1909. Carr only began playing first-class cricket in 1909 aged 37 for Kent County Cricket Club. A leg-break bowl ...

, Arthur Day,

Vernon Ransford Vernon Seymour Ransford (20 March 1885 – 19 March 1958) was an Australian cricketer who played in 20 Test matches between 1907 and 1912. Ransford was a smooth and stylish left-handed batsman who could score with ease all round the wicket or ...

Test series

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 ...

's Australian tourists played 42 first-class matches, including a five

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

series to contest

The Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, ''The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first Te ...

. Matches included five played in Scotland, including one match against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, one in Ireland against SH Cochrane's XI, and one in Wales against a South Wales team. They lost just four matches on the tour.The Australians in England, 1909
''

'', 1910. Retrieved 1 June 2016. The Test series was won 2–1 by Australia with two matches drawn.

, captained by

Archie MacLaren Archibald Campbell MacLaren (1 December 1871 – 17 November 1944) was an English cricketer who captained the English cricket team, England cricket team at various times between 1898 and 1909. A right-handed Batting (cricket), batsman, he ...

, won the first Test at

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family an ...

after an Australian first-innings batting collapse on a wet pitch, with

Colin Blythe Colin Blythe (30 May 1879 – 8 November 1917), also known as Charlie Blythe, was an English professional cricketer who played Test cricket for the England cricket team during the early part of the 20th century. Blythe was a Wisden Cricketer of ...

and

George Hirst George Herbert Hirst (7 September 1871 – 10 May 1954) was a professional English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1891 and 1921, with a further appearance in 1929. One of the best all-r ...

bowling almost unchanged, taking all 20 Australian wickets.England v Australia 1909 – First Test Match
''

'', 1910. Retrieved 1 June 2016. The second and third Tests, played 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 ...

and

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingle ...

respectively, were Australian victories with the final two Tests at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

and

The Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

drawn.England v Australia 1909 – Third Test Match
''

'', 1910. Retrieved 1 June 2016. The final match of the series saw the only Test match appearance by

at the age of 37. Carr became the first man to play for England having made his first-class debut earlier in the same season.England v Australia 1909 – Fifth Test Match
''

'', 1910. Retrieved 1 June 2016.Douglas Carr – Cricketer of the Year 1910
''

'', 1910. Retrieved 1 June 2016.

County Championship

won their second

title, playing 26 matches with 16 wins and only two losses during the season.

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 Lancashi ...

finished in second place whilst the 1908 winners

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

finished in third.

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 ...

finished last of the 16 counties which competed in the Championship, with only one win to their name. After the Championship season was completed there were calls for a move to a two division system. These calls led nowhere in the short term, although for the 1911 County Championship a new system of awarding points was introduced.

Statistics

Ted Arnold Edward George Arnold (7 November 1876 – 25 October 1942) was an English cricketer who played in ten Test Matches from 1903 to 1907, and most of his 343 first-class matches for Worcestershire between 1899 and 1913. His ''Wisden'' obituary ...

and William Burns set a then world record fifth-wicket partnership of 393 runs for

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 His ...

against

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

. Kent's

Frank Woolley Frank Edward Woolley (27 May 1887 – 18 October 1978) was an English professional cricketer who played for Kent County Cricket Club between 1906 and 1938 and for the England cricket team. A genuine all-rounder, Woolley was a left-handed batsman ...

and

Arthur Fielder Arthur Fielder (19 July 1877 – 30 August 1949) was an English professional cricketer who played as a fast bowler for Kent County Cricket Club and the England cricket team from 1900 to 1914. He played a major role in Kent's four County Champi ...

set a record of 235 runs for the tenth-wicket against Worcestershire, an English first-class record which still stands as of 2016.Rice J, Renshaw A (2011
1910
''The Wisden Collector's Guide'', A&C Black, pp.98–99. Retrieved 19 April 2016.

Batting statistics

The batsmen with the highest runs aggregate in 1909 were:

Jack Mason John Richard Mason (26 March 1874 – 15 October 1958), known as Jack Mason, was an English amateur cricketer who played first-class cricket for Kent County Cricket Club between 1893 and 1914, captaining the team between 1898 and 1902. He play ...

topped the

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

s with 783 runs at an average of 65.25 from 14 innings. Australians

Warwick Armstrong Warwick Windridge Armstrong (22 May 1879 – 13 July 1947) was an Australian cricketer who played 50 Test matches between 1902 and 1921. An all-rounder, he captained Australia in ten Test matches between 1920 and 1921, and was undefeated, winn ...

and Bardsley all averaged over 45, the only other batsmen with more than two innings to do so.First-class batting and fielding in England for 1909
''CricketArchive''. Retrieved 1 June 2016.

Bowling statistics

The leading wicket-takers during the 1909 season were: W C Smith topped the averages with 95 wickets at an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

of 12.43.First-class bowling in England for 1909
''CricketArchive''. Retrieved 1 June 2016.

Annual reviews

1910

References

External links

Cricket in England in 1909 – CricketArchive

{{DEFAULTSORT:1909 English Cricket Season 1909 in English cricket English cricket seasons in the 20th century