Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1881 was the

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 when 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 ...

had been playing for ten years. The team played nine first class matches and won two of them.

1881 season

By 1881 Derbyshire had become established in the county cricket circuit and played eight county games, two each 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 ...

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 ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

and

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 ...

. Derbyshire won one game against each of Sussex and Kent. They also had a match against MCC which was lost. The captain for the year was Robert Smith in his fifth year as captain. Making their debuts were the Docker brothers who founded an important business in Birmingham -

Ludford Docker Ludford Charles Docker (26 November 1860 – 1 August 1940) was a businessman and an English cricketer. He played first-class cricket for Derbyshire between 1881 and 1886, captaining the side in 1884, and for Warwickshire in 1894 and 1895. Earl ...

later became captain although Frank Docker only played occasionally for two seasons.

James Disney James Joseph Disney (20 November 1859 – 24 June 1934) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Derbyshire as wicket-keeper between 1881 and 1890. Disney was born in Butterley near Ripley, Derbyshire and became a plumber as ...

, who was plumber, joined to fill the wicket keeping slot for many years. "G G" Walker, a farmer, began his successful career with the club and

George Porter George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham (6 December 1920 – 31 August 2002) was a British chemist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1967. Education and early life Porter was born in Stainforth, near Thorne, in the then West ...

, a

chimney sweep A chimney sweep is a person who clears soot and creosote from chimneys. The chimney uses the pressure difference caused by a hot column of gas to create a draught and draw air over the hot coals or wood enabling continued combustion. Chimneys ...

, put in an early appearance. Other shorter term arrivals were William Page a boilermaker, and

John Clayton John Clayton may refer to: Arts and entertainment Writing *John Clayton (architect) (died 1861), English architect and writer *John Bell Clayton and Martha Clayton, John Bell Clayton (c. 1907–1955), American writer *John Clayton (sportswriter) ( ...

, of a tanning company in Chesterfield, who both played for another year.

Harry Topham Harry Gillespie Topham (17 February 1862 – 28 February 1925) was an English clergyman and cricketer who played for Derbyshire during the 1881 season and for Cambridge University in 1883 and 1884. Topham was born in Ladbroke, Warwickshire the ...

, an Old Reptonian at Cambridge University, made his only appearance in the 1881 season. Players who made their last appearances were

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 ...

who had played his first match in 1873 and retired to become an umpire and coach and John Tye who had first appeared in 1874 and left to run a pub in Yorkshire where he was a notable performer for his local team for many years. The first match of the season was between the first team and the Colts in which the Colts had 22 players and the county side 12. The match ended in a draw but featured strong performances in the Colts from G Porter bowling and JJ Disney batting. Both these players joined the first team in the season but only two other members of the Colts side played for the club -

Wallis Evershed Wallis Evershed (10 May 1863 – 8 May 1911) was an English cricketer who played for Derbyshire between 1882 and 1884. Evershed was born in Stapenhill, the son of Sydney Evershed the brewer and MP for Burton. He was educated at Clifton C ...

in 1882 and

Guy Earle Guy Fife Earle (24 August 1891 – 30 December 1966) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Surrey and Somerset for 20 years before and after the First World War. He also played in India, Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand ...

in 1883. The opening first-class match was against MCC. On the first day MCC were all out for 299 and Derbyshire finished the day on 129 for 4. However Derbyshire only made a further 43 and were forced to follow on. They only made 39 in the second inning falling mainly to Shaw, and MCC won by innings and 88 runs. Against Sussex, Disney made his debut as the regular wicket-keeper. Sussex were all out for 166 and Derbyshire made 73 for 5 in reply on the first day. They ended the first innings on 153 and Sussex made 109 in the second innings. Derbyshire made 123 for five to win by five wickets. Against Lancashire, Derbyshire opened with 102 and Lancashire finished the day on 157 for one. Lancashire eventually made 299 and Derbyshire were all out for 62 in the second innings to give Lancashire a victory by an innings and 135 runs. Against Kent, Derbyshire made 179 all out and Kent ended the day on 149 for 9. Kent's final score was 173. Derbyshire reached 165 in the second innings and Kent replied with 172 for three giving them a 7 wicket victory. In the second match against Lancashire, Hornby opened for Lancashire with 145 and the side was all out for 248. Derbyshire made 48 in reply and followed on with 59. Lancashire won by an innings and 141 runs. Against Yorkshire, Derbyshire batted first to make 174 and Yorkshire were 100 for two at the end of the day. Yorkshire ended on 186 and Derbyshire scored 80 in the second innings. Yorkshire's innings continued into the third day until they made 63 for three to win by 7 wickets. In the second match against Sussex, Sussex made 300 in the first innings, in spite of a hat trick by Henry Evans. Derbyshire made 40 by the end of the day and went on to make 171. Derbyshire had to follow on and were down to ten men with

Edmund Maynard Edmund Anthony Jefferson Maynard (10 February 1861 – 10 January 1931) was an English cricketer who played for Derbyshire from 1880 to 1887 and captained the side for two seasons. Maynard was the son of Edmund Gilling Maynard, of West House, ...

absent hurt. They made 178 in the second innings, leaving Sussex to make 50 which they achieved with the loss of one wicket. Against Kent, Kent were all out for 169 in the first innings, and Derbyshire who finished the day on 116 for three went on to make 220 in reply. Kent made 124 in their second innings and Derbyshire made 74 for the loss of seven wickets to win by three wickets. In the last match of the season against Yorkshire, Derbyshire made 76. Yorkshire replied with 141 for 9 by the end of the first day, but there was no further play and the match ended in a draw.

was top scorer in his debut season for the club, making 107 against Kent.

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 ...

took most wickets.

Matches

{, class="wikitable" width="100%" ! bgcolor="#efefef" colspan=6 , List of first class matches , - bgcolor="#efefef" !No. !Date !V !Result !Margin !Notes , - , 1 , 12 May 1881 , MCC
Lord's Cricket Ground, St John's Wood , bgcolor="#FF0000", Lost , Innings and 88 runs , '' A Shaw'' 8-14 , - , 2 , 23 May 1881 ,

County Ground, Derby , bgcolor="#00FF00", Won , 5 wickets , W Mycroft 5-50 , - , 3 , 26 May 1881 ,

Old Trafford, Manchester , bgcolor="#FF0000", Lost , Innings 135 runs , ''

A N Hornby Albert Neilson Hornby, nicknamed Monkey Hornby (10 February 1847 – 17 December 1925) was one of the best-known sportsmen in England during the nineteenth century excelling in both rugby and cricket. He was the first of only two men to captain ...

'' 188; '' RG Barlow'' 5-48; '' George Nash'' 6-26 , - , 4 , 06 Jun 1881 ,

County Ground, Derby , bgcolor="#FF0000", Lost , 7 Wickets , '' J Wooton'' 6-81 and 5-72; W Mycroft 8-80 , - , 5 , 27 Jun 1881 ,

County Ground, Derby , bgcolor="#FF0000", Lost , Innings 141 runs , ''

'' 145; J T B D Platts 6-39 , - , 6 , 01 Aug 1881 ,

County Ground, Derby , bgcolor="#FF0000", Lost , 7 Wickets , '' Peate'' 7-59; W Mycroft 6-60; '' W Bates'' 6-37 , - , 7 , 15 Aug 1881 ,

County Ground, Hove , bgcolor="#FF0000", Lost , 9 Wickets , '' RT Ellis'' 103; H Evans 6-60 - Evans completed a hat-trick for Derbyshire; '' J Lillywhite'' 6-49 , - , 8 , 18 Aug 1881 ,

Mote Park, Maidstone , bgcolor="#00FF00", Won , 3 Wickets , LC Docker 107; H Evans 7-47; '' GG Hearne'' 5-34; '' J Wooton'' 5-67; '' W Patterson'' 5-12 , - , 9 , 22 Aug 1881 ,

Park Avenue Cricket Ground, Bradford , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Drawn , , '' T Emmett'' 6–19; W Mycroft 5-61 , {, class="wikitable" width="100%" ! bgcolor="#efefef" colspan=6 , List of other matches , - bgcolor="#efefef" !No. !Date !V !Result !Margin !Notes , - , 1 , 18 Apr 1881 Cricket Archive - Derbyshire v Derbyshire Colts 18 Apr 1881
/ref> , Derbyshire Colts
County Ground, Derby , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Drawn , , Derbyshire had 12 and Colts 22 players , -

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 , - , LC Docker , , A , , 21 , , R , , 8, , 15, , 447 , , 107, , 31.92 , , 1 , - , R P Smith , , A , , 32 , , R , , 8, , 15 , , 303 , , 66 , , 20.20 , , 0 , - , A Shuker , , A , , 32 , , R , , 3 , , 6 , , 107 , , 45 , , 17.83 , , 0 , - , T Foster , , P , , 33 , , R , , 9 , , 17 , , 282 , , 61 , , 16.59 , , 0 , - , L Jackson , , P , , 33 , , R , , 1 , , 2, , 30, , 28 , , 15.00 , , 0 , - , J T B D Platts , , P , , 32 , , L , , 9 , , 16 , , 182 , , 36 , , 11.38 , , 0 , - , W Rigley , , P , , 29 , , R , , 8 , , 15, , 145, , 25 , , 9.66 , , 0 , - , H Shaw , , A , , 27 , , R , , 3 , , 6, , 30, , 12* , , 7.50 , , 0 , - , GB Barrington , , A , , 24 , , R , , 6, , 11, , 74, , 23 , , 7.40 , , 0 , - , EAJ Maynard , , A , , 20 , , R , , 8, , 15, , 110 , , 34 , , 7.33, , 0 , - , FD Docker , , A , , 19 , , , , 1 , , 1 , , 7 , , 7 , , 7.00 , , 0 , - , SH Evershed , , A , , 20 , , R , , 2, , 4, , 21, , 9 , , 5.25 , , 0 , - , H Evans , , A , , 23 , , R , , 3, , 6, , 31, , 10 , , 5.16 , , 0 , - , W Mycroft , , P , , 40 , , R , , 9, , 16 , , 82 , , 24, , 5.13 , , 0 , - , G Porter , , P , , 19 , , R , , 1, , 2, , 10, , 8, , 5.00 , , 0 , - , W Page , , , , 34 , , R , , 1 , , 2 , , 9, , 9 , , 4.50 , , 0 , - , G Hay , , A , , 30 , , R , , 7 , , 11, , 47 , , 28, , 4.27 , , 0 , - , JJ Disney , , P , , 21 , , R , , 8 , , 13 , , 44 , , 11, , 4.00, , 0 , - , GG Walker , , A , , 20 , , L , , 1 , , 2, , 4, , 2 , , 2.00 , , 0 , - , T Mycroft , , A , , , , R , , 1 , , 2 , , 4 , , 2 , , 2.00 , , 0 , - , G Osborne , , P , , , , , , 2 , , 4, , 5 , , 5 , , 1.25 , , 0 , - , HG Topham , , A , , 19 , , L , , 1 , , 2 , , 5, , 4* , , , , 0 , - , JM Clayton , , A , , 23 , , R , , 1 , , 1, , 0 , , 0, , 0.00, , 0 , - *Smith, Foster, Platts and Mycroft played first class matches for other teams during the season.

First-class bowling averages

{, class="wikitable sortable" width="80%" , - bgcolor="#efefef" ! Name !! Hand !! Balls !! Runs !! Wickets !! BB !! Average , - , W Mycroft , , L F , , 2404 , , 866 , , 49 , , 8-61, , 17.67 , - , J T B D Platts , , R F , , 1579 , , 578 , , 27 , , 6-39 , , 21.40 , - , H Evans , , R , , 428, , 189, , 16, , 7-47, , 11.81 , - , G Hay , , R round-arm F , , 641 , , 341, , 11 , , 4-43, , 31.00 , - , EAJ Maynard , , R S , , 68, , 53, , 2 , , 2-34 , , 26.50 , - , G Osborne , , , , 36 , , 23, , 1 , , 1-23 , , 23.00 , - , HG Topham , , L S , , 92, , 49, , 1, , 1-49, , 49.00 , - , G Porter , , R MF , , 100, , 59, , 1, , 1-59, , 59.00 , - , T Foster , , R round-arm F , , 43 , , 24, , 0 , , , , , - , LC Docker , , R MF , , 44, , 24, , 0 , , , , , - , H Shaw , , R round-arm M , , 112 , , 85, , 0, , , , , - , SH Evershed , , R M , , 16, , 12, , 0, , , , , - , GG Walker , , L , , 12 , , 14, , 0, , , , , - , L Jackson , , R round-arm F , , 52 , , 45, , 0, , , , , -

Wicket keeping

Catches 21, Stumping 1 *

Thomas Mycroft Thomas Mycroft (28 March 1848 — 31 August 1911) was an English cricketer who played for Derbyshire and MCC between 1877 and 1887. Mycroft was born in Brimington, Derbyshire, the son of George Mycroft and his second wife Elizabeth Lowcock. ...

Catches 0, Stumping 1

References

{{Derbyshire CCC 1881 in English cricket Derbyshire County Cricket Club seasons English cricket seasons in the 19th century