| Cricket format | First-class cricket (3 days) |
|---|---|
| Tournament format(s) | League system |
| Champions | Lancashire (1st title) |
| Participants | 14 |
| Matches | 132 |
| Most runs | Bobby Abel (1,833 for Surrey) |
| Most wickets | Tom Richardson (238 for Surrey) |
The 1897 County Championship was the eighth officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 3 May to 30 August 1897. Lancashire County Cricket Club won the championship for the first time, narrowly beating Surrey.
| Team | Pld | W | L | D | Pts | Fin | %Fin | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lancashire | 26 | 16 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 19 | 68.42 | ||
| Surrey | 26 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 21 | 61.90 | ||
| Essex | 16 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 55.56 | ||
| Yorkshire | 26 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 44.44 | ||
| Gloucestershire | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 16.67 | ||
| Sussex | 20 | 5 | 6 | 9 | –1 | 11 | –9.09 | ||
| Middlesex | 16 | 3 | 4 | 9 | –1 | 7 | –14.29 | ||
| Warwickshire | 18 | 3 | 4 | 11 | –1 | 7 | –14.29 | ||
| Hampshire | 18 | 4 | 7 | 7 | –3 | 11 | –27.27 | ||
| Nottinghamshire | 16 | 2 | 5 | 9 | –3 | 7 | –42.86 | ||
| Somerset | 16 | 3 | 9 | 4 | –6 | 12 | –50.00 | ||
| Kent | 18 | 2 | 10 | 6 | –8 | 12 | –66.67 | ||
| Leicestershire | 14 | 1 | 10 | 3 | –9 | 11 | –81.82 | ||
| Derbyshire | 16 | 0 | 9 | 7 | –9 | 9 | –100.00 | ||
| Source: CricketArchive [1] | |||||||||
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The 1890 County Championship was the first County Championship held as an official competition, following agreement between Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the leading county clubs at a meeting in December 1889. Surrey became the first official county champions after winning nine out of fourteen games.
The 1891 County Championship was the second officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 18 May to 27 August 1891. Surrey County Cricket Club claimed their second successive title by winning 12 of their 16 games.
The 1893 County Championship was the fourth officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 11 May to 28 August 1893. Yorkshire County Cricket Club claimed their first title, ending Surrey's run of three consecutive titles.
The 1895 County Championship was the sixth officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 6 May to 2 September 1895. Surrey claimed their fifth title, which was decided by the percentage of completed matches by each side.
The 1896 County Championship was the seventh officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 4 May to 31 August 1896. Yorkshire County Cricket Club claimed victory that year, winning 16 of their 26 matches and losing only three. Five of Yorkshire's players made over 1,000 runs in the season, including John Brown who was placed third nationally, while Yorkshireman Bobby Peel was sixth highest wicket taker and Schofield Haigh held one of the leading bowling averages. Although Yorkshire had a crop of players accruing these statistics, Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji of Sussex took the plaudits for the most runs that year, 1,698, at the highest average, 58.55, while Surrey's Tom Richardson took the most wickets – 191, and William Attewell of Nottinghamshire returned the best average – 14.63 for his 87 wickets.
The 1898 County Championship was the ninth officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 9 May to 3 September 1898. Yorkshire County Cricket Club won their third championship title, with Middlesex finishing as runners-up for the first time.
The 1899 County Championship was the tenth officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 1 May to 6 September 1899. Surrey County Cricket Club won their sixth championship title, with Middlesex finishing as runners-up for the second season in a row. Worcestershire were admitted to the Championship, increasing the number of counties with first-class status to 15.
The 1900 County Championship was the 11th officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 7 May to 1 September 1900. Yorkshire County Cricket Club won their fourth championship title, remaining unbeaten throughout the season. Lancashire finished as runners-up, their best position since winning the Championship in 1897.
The 1901 County Championship was the 12th officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 6 May to 4 September 1901. Yorkshire County Cricket Club won their fifth championship title, their second title in successive seasons. Middlesex finished in a distant second place.
The 1902 County Championship was the 13th officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 1 May to 6 September 1902. Yorkshire County Cricket Club won their sixth championship title, their third title in successive seasons. Sussex finished in second place, their best placing yet.
The 1903 County Championship was the 14th officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 4 May to 3 September 1903. Middlesex won their first championship title, ending Yorkshire's run of three successive titles. Sussex finished in second place for the second successive season.
The 1904 County Championship was the 15th officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 9 May to 5 September 1904. Lancashire won their second championship title, while six times champions Yorkshire finished in second place. The previous season's winners, Middlesex, finished in fourth place.
The 1905 County Championship was the 16th officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 4 May to 4 September 1905. Yorkshire won their seventh championship title, while the previous season's winners, Lancashire, finished in fourth place. The number of participants was expanded from fifteen to sixteen, with Northamptonshire gaining first-class status, having previously played with some success in the Minor Counties Championship.
The 1906 County Championship was the 17th officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 3 May to 30 August 1906. Kent won its first championship title, while the previous season's winners, Yorkshire, finished in second place.
The 1907 County Championship was the 18th officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 2 May to 2 September 1907. Nottinghamshire won its first championship title, while Worcestershire and Yorkshire tied for second place. The previous season's winners, Kent, finished in eighth place.
The 1908 County Championship was the 19th officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 4 May to 31 August 1908. Yorkshire won their eighth championship title, while Kent finished in second place. The previous season's winners, Nottinghamshire, finished in eighth place. In May, Yorkshire bowled out Northamptonshire for 27 and 14, the lowest aggregate in first-class cricket at that point.
The 1909 County Championship was the 20th officially organised running of the County Championship. The season ran from 3 May to 30 August 1909. Kent won their second championship title, while Lancashire finished in second place. The previous season's winners, Yorkshire, finished third.
The 1896 Minor Counties Championship was the second running of the Minor Counties Cricket Championship, and ran from 25 May to 29 August 1896. Worcestershire won their first outright title, having shared the previous year's championship. Buckinghamshire were runners-up and were the only other team to win more games than they lost. Thirteen teams competed in the championship, down one from the previous year. Bedfordshire, Cheshire and Lincolnshire were absent, while Glamorgan and Northumberland made their Minor Counties Championship debuts.
The 1897 Minor Counties Championship was the third running of the Minor Counties Cricket Championship, and ran from 7 June to 28 August 1897. Having been unbeaten for the entire season, Worcestershire won their second consecutive outright title, having also shared the title in 1895. Staffordshire were level in the table with Worcestershire, but played an insufficient number of matches to be considered co-champions. Sixteen teams competed in the championship, with Cornwall, Dorset and Monmouthshire all competing for the first time, though none of them played the minimum of eight matches.
The 1910 County Championship was the 21st officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 2 May to 1 September 1910. Kent County Cricket Club won their third championship title, their second title in successive seasons. Somerset finished bottom of the table, failing to win a match all season.
http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Seasons/ENG/1897_ENG_County_Championship_1897.html
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