1859 English cricket season

1859 English cricket season

← 1858 1860 →

1859 was the 73rd season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The highlight was one of the sport's most remarkable all-round performances by V. E. Walker.

Important matches

• 1859 match list

Events

• 1 March. Formation of the present Kent CCC.
• 21 to 23 July. V E Walker of Middlesex, playing for England versus Surrey at The Oval, took all ten wickets in the Surrey first innings and followed by scoring 108 in the England second innings, having been the not out batsman in the first (20*). He took a further four wickets in Surrey’s second innings. England won by 392 runs.

The first English touring team pictured on board ship at Liverpool: standing at left Robert Carpenter, William Caffyn, Tom Lockyer; middle row John Wisden, HH Stephenson, George Parr, James Grundy, Julius Caesar, Thomas Hayward, John Jackson; front row Alfred Diver, John Lillywhite.

• 7 September. Departure of cricket’s first-ever touring team. A famous photograph was taken on board ship before they sailed from Liverpool. The team of English professionals went to North America and played five matches, winning them all. There were no first-class fixtures. The 12-man squad was:

George Parr (captain)

James Grundy

John Jackson (all of Nottinghamshire);

Robert Carpenter

Alfred Diver

Thomas Hayward (all of Cambridgeshire);

Julius Caesar

William Caffyn

Tom Lockyer

HH Stephenson (all of Surrey);

John Lillywhite

John Wisden (both of Sussex)

• See also : English cricket team in North America in 1859

Leading batsmen

James Grundy was the leading runscorer with 530 @ 17.09

Other leading batsmen were: FP Miller, Tom Lockyer, V E Walker, John Lillywhite, William Caffyn, John Wisden, JH Hale, Thomas Hayward, HH Stephenson

Leading bowlers

John Jackson was the leading wicket-taker with 83

Other leading bowlers were: V E Walker, Edgar Willsher, William Caffyn, James Grundy, HH Stephenson, John Wisden

Annual reviews

• Fred Lillywhite, The Guide to Cricketers, Lillywhite, 1860
• Arthur Haygarth, Scores & Biographies, Volume 6 (1858-1860), Lillywhite, 1862

Further reading

• H S Altham, A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914), George Allen & Unwin, 1962
• Derek Birley, A Social History of English Cricket, Aurum, 1999
• Rowland Bowen, Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
• John Major, More Than A Game, HarperCollins, 2007

External links

• CricketArchive – season summaries