Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1873 was the third

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 ...

season which the English club

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

played. Officials and supporters were disappointed that they had been unable to arrange further first-class fixtures than the two 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 Lancashi ...

, but they managed to arrange an extra match against

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

, who were a leading team at the time.W.T. Taylor ''History of Derbyshire cricket Wisden'' 1953
/ref>

1873 season

Derbyshire played two first-class matches in their third year, both against Lancashire, and lost both. They also played a match against Nottinghamshire which they won having five additional players.

Samuel Richardson Samuel Richardson (baptised 19 August 1689 – 4 July 1761) was an English writer and printer known for three epistolary novels: ''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' (1740), '' Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady'' (1748) and ''The History of ...

was captain in his third season. The death of bowler Dove Gregory on 21 May at the age of 35 left a potential hole, but it was amply filled by

William Mycroft William Mycroft (1 February 1841 – 19 June 1894) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Derbyshire and MCC between 1873 and 1886. He was a left-arm fast bowler with a great deal of spin and a dangerous yorker that was ofte ...

' an ironstone miner and later publican, making his debut in the season. Derbyshire further strengthened their side with the arrival of

Alfort Smith Alfort Smith (7 July 1846 – 21 December 1908) was an English cricketer who kept wicket for Lancashire in 1867 and 1871 and for Derbyshire between 1873 and 1880. Life Smith was born in Bank Lane, near Bury Lancashire, but his parents moved to ...

as wicket-keeper from Lancashire, and Thomas Foster, both from the cotton mills of

Glossop Glossop is a market town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is located east of Manchester, north-west of Sheffield and north of the county town, Matlock. Glossop lies near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Manches ...

, and

William Rigley William Rigley (24 March 1852 – 15 April 1897) was an English cricketer who played for Derbyshire between 1873 and 1882. Rigley was born in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, the son of John Rigley and his wife Ann. His father was a blacksmith and mo ...

a blacksmith. These three subsequently saw several years of service with the club. Other new players were Rev. William Humble, a local curate, who played occasionally over a few years,

Thomas Howarth Thomas Howarth (10 May 1845 – 12 October 1897) was an English cricketer who played for Derbyshire in 1873. Howarth was born in Glossop, Derbyshire and became a cotton weaver. He played for Derbyshire in the 1873 season in one first-class ...

another cotton worked from Glossop who put in a single career first class appearance. Veteran president William Jervis, a lawyer, stepped in for one game. Additional players who made up the 16 member side against Nottinghamshire were John Frost, a joiner from Wirksworth, who played first-class for Derbyshire in the following season, Rev. Robert Moncreiff later 3rd Baron Moncreiff and unidentified players W Allen and Edward Tatlow. In their first match against Lancashire, Derbyshire made 88 in the first innings, and Lancashire replied with 118. Derbyshire were all out for 52 in their second innings, no player scoring double figures, and Lancashire took the runs needed to win for the loss of one wicket. In the second match Lancashire set up a score of 238 in their first innings, and Derbyshire made 70 in response and followed on to make 86. In the match against Nottinghamshire, played at Wirksworth, Derbyshire scored 116 in the first innings and got Nottinghamshire out for 14. In the follow-on, Nottinghamshire were all out for 72. Although Derbyshire had an advantage with 16 players to Nottinghamshire's 11, the result was astounding. The story has been handed down that before their innings, Nottinghamshire were lavishly entertained by a keen and generous supporter of Derbyshire who owned a wine and spirit business, where he blended potent and attractive spirit.

William Curgenven William Grafton Curgenven (30 November 1841 – 18 March 1910) was an English surgeon and cricketer who played first-class cricket for Derbyshire between 1872 and 1878. Biography and career Curgenven was born in Plymouth and became a doctor and ...

scored most runs in first-class matches, and

took most wickets in the season.

Matches

{, class="wikitable" width="100%" ! bgcolor="#efefef" colspan=6 , List of first-class matches , - bgcolor="#efefef" !No. !Date !V !Result !Margin !Notes , - , 1 , 21 Jul 1873 ,

County Ground, Derby , bgcolor="#FF0000", Lost , 8 wickets , W Mycroft 6–35; '' W McIntyre'' 6–18 , - , 2 , 22 Aug 1873 ,

Old Trafford, Manchester , bgcolor="#FF0000", Lost , Innings and 82 runs , '' A Watson'' 6–38 and 5–34 , - {, class="wikitable" width="100%" ! bgcolor="#efefef" colspan=6 , List of other matches , - bgcolor="#efefef" !No. !Date !V !Result !Margin !Notes , - , 1 , 4 Sep 1873 ,

Derby Road Ground, Wirksworth , bgcolor="#00FF00", Won , Innings and 30 runs , '' JC Shaw'' 6–40; J Flint 6–7 , -

Statistics

Cricketers who played and their first-class batting performances

{, class="wikitable sortable" width="80%" , - bgcolor="#efefef" ! Name !! Am/
Pro !! Age !! Hand !! Matches !! Inns !! Runs !! High score !! Average !!100s , - , W Hickton , , P , , 30 , , R , , 1 , , 2 , , 26 , , 21*, , 26.00 , , 0 , - , W G Curgenven , , A , , 31 , , R , , 2, , 4 , , 61 , , 39 , , 15.25 , , 0 , - , T Foster , , P , , 24 , , R , , 1, , 2 , , 23, , 17 , , 11.50, , 0 , - , R P Smith , , A , , 24 , , R , , 2, , 4 , , 41, , 20, , 10.25, , 0 , - , S Richardson , , A , , 28 , , R , , 2, , 4, , 36 , , 25 , , 9.00 , , 0 , - , W Rigley , , P , , 21 , , R , , 1, , 2 , , 17 , , 13 , , 8.50 , , 0 , - , J Flint , , , , 23 , , R , , 1, , 2 , , 15 , , 11 , , 7.50 , , 0 , - , WJ Humble , , A , , 26 , , R , , 1, , 2 , , 13 , , 11, , 6.50 , , 0 , - , J T B D Platts , , P , , 34 , , L , , 2, , 4 , , 24 , , 10 , , 6.00 , , 0 , - , U Sowter , , A , , 34 , , R , , 1 , , 2 , , 8, , 6, , 4.00 , , 0 , - , T Howarth , , A , , 27 , , R , , 1, , 2 , , 7, , 5, , 3.50 , , 0 , - , WM Jervis , , A , , 46 , , R , , 1 , , 2 , , 6, , 6, , 3.00 , , 0 , - , J Davidson , , A , , 26 , , R , , 2, , 4 , , 6, , 4 , , 3.00 , , 0 , - , JW Burnham , , A , , 33 , , R , , 1, , 2 , , 4, , 4 , , 2.00 , , 0 , - , W Mycroft , , P , , 32 , , R , , 2 , , 4 , , 4, , 3 , , 1.33, , 0 , - , A Smith , , , , 26 , , R , , 1, , 2 , , 2, , 2, , 1.00 , , 0 , - , J Smith , , A , , 31 , , R , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , JH Frost , , A , , 25 , , R , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , R C Moncreiff , , A , , 29 , , R , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , W Allen , , A , , , , R , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , E TatlowE Tatlow at Cricket Archive
/ref> , , A , , , , R , , , , , , , , , , , ,

First Class bowling averages

{, class="wikitable sortable" width="70%" , - bgcolor="#efefef" ! Name !! Hand !! Balls !! Runs !! Wickets !! BB !! Average , - , W Mycroft , , L F , , 356 , , 108 , , 10, , 6–35 , , 10.80 , - , J T B D Platts , , R F , , 148 , , 66, , 4 , , 2–17 , , 16.50 , - , J Davidson , , R Off , , 152 , , 63 , , 3 , , 2–18, , 21.00 , - , W Rigley , , R M , , 24 , , 10 , , 2, , 2–10 , , 5.00 , - , S Richardson , , , , 56 , , 43, , 1 , , 1–43 , , 43.00 , - , W Hickton , , R F , , 96 , , 48, , 1, , 1–48 , , 48.00 , - , J Flint , , R Sl (round arm), , 64 , , 28, , 1 , , 1–28, , 28.00 , -

Wicket keeping

* S Richardson catches 1, stumping 0

References

{{Derbyshire CCC 1873 in English cricket Derbyshire County Cricket Club seasons English cricket seasons in the 19th century