1898 was the ninth season of County Championship cricket in England. Yorkshire won the championship for the second time in three years. It was an emphatic victory with a record of sixteen wins and seven draws in 26 games. Middlesex finished second after two wins over Kent in late August to improve five places on their 1897 finish. Derbyshire broke their streak of 22 Championship matches without victory by beating Hampshire in late May. As for individual performances, Surrey batsman Bobby Abel made 1800 runs for the second season in succession, one run shy of his own championship record in 1897.
County Championship 1898 – Final Standings | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | P | W | L | D | Pts | GC1 | Pts/GC (as %) | ||
1 | Yorkshire | 26 | 16 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 19 | 68.42 |
2 | Middlesex | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 53.85 |
3 | Gloucestershire | 20 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 50.00 |
4 | Surrey | 26 | 11 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 15 | 46.67 |
5 | Essex | 20 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 25.00 |
6 | Lancashire | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 20.00 |
7 | Kent | 20 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 0 | −1 | 11 | −9.09 |
8 | Nottinghamshire | 16 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 0 | −1 | 3 | −33.33 |
9 | Derbyshire | 16 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 1 | −4 | 8 | −50.00 |
9 | Sussex | 20 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 0 | −6 | 12 | −50.00 |
9 | Warwickshire | 18 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 1 | −4 | 8 | −50.00 |
12 | Hampshire | 18 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | −6 | 10 | −60.00 |
13 | Leicestershire | 16 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 0 | −9 | 11 | −81.82 |
14 | Somerset | 16 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 0 | −9 | 11 | −81.82 |
Points system:
1898 County Championship – leading batsmen | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Team | Matches | Runs | Average | 100s | 50s |
Bobby Abel | Surrey | 24 | 1832 | 57.25 | 7 | 10 |
Johnny Tyldesley | Lancashire | 26 | 1801 | 39.15 | 2 | 12 |
CB Fry | Sussex | 16 | 1604 | 59.40 | 6 | 8 |
John Tunnicliffe | Yorkshire | 24 | 1538 | 46.60 | 4 | 8 |
Bill Brockwell | Surrey | 24 | 1468 | 43.17 | 5 | 5 |
1898 County Championship – leading bowlers | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Team | Matches | Balls bowled | Wickets taken | Average |
Charlie Townsend | Gloucestershire | 20 | 4905 | 130 | 20.00 |
Wilfred Rhodes | Yorkshire | 26 | 4949 | 126 | 13.84 |
Tom Richardson | Surrey | 24 | 5167 | 126 | 21.29 |
Jack Hearne | Middlesex | 18 | 5663 | 125 | 14.76 |
Bill Lockwood | Surrey | 21 | 4188 | 109 | 17.06 |
1898 English cricket season – leading batsmen | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Team(s) | Matches | Runs | Average | 100s | 50s |
Bobby Abel | Players, Surrey | 30 | 2053 | 48.88 | 7 | 11 |
Johnny Tyldesley | Lancashire, Players | 29 | 1918 | 37.60 | 2 | 13 |
John Tunnicliffe | Players, Yorkshire | 30 | 1804 | 41.00 | 4 | 9 |
CB Fry | Gentlemen, Sussex | 19 | 1788 | 54.18 | 6 | 10 |
Bill Brockwell | Players, Surrey | 30 | 1686 | 38.31 | 6 | 5 |
1898 English cricket season – leading bowlers | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Team(s) | Matches | Balls bowled | Wickets taken | Average |
J. T. Hearne | MCC, Middlesex, Players | 30 | 9053 | 222 | 14.05 |
Tom Richardson | Surrey | 29 | 6119 | 161 | 19.54 |
Wilfred Rhodes | Players, Yorkshire | 33 | 6149 | 154 | 14.60 |
Charlie Townsend | Gentlemen, Gloucestershire | 25 | 5587 | 145 | 20.64 |
Bill Lockwood | Players, Surrey | 26 | 5010 | 134 | 16.62 |
Martin Bladen Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke, generally known as Lord Hawke, was an English amateur cricketer active from 1881 to 1911 who played for Yorkshire and England. He was born in Willingham by Stow, near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, and died in Edinburgh. He appeared in 633 first-class matches, including five Test matches, as a righthanded batsman, scoring 16,749 runs with a highest score of 166 and held 209 catches. He scored 13 centuries and 69 half-centuries.
Robert Peel was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire between 1883 and 1897. Primarily a left-arm spin bowler, Peel was also an effective left-handed batsman who played in the middle order. Between 1884 and 1896, he was regularly selected to represent England, playing 20 Test matches in which he took 101 wickets. Over the course of his career, he scored 12,191 runs and took 1,775 wickets in first-class cricket. A match-winning bowler, particularly when conditions favoured his style, Peel generally opened the attack, an orthodox tactic for a spinner at the time, and was highly regarded by critics.
Wilfred Rhodes was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests, Rhodes took 127 wickets and scored 2,325 runs, becoming the first Englishman to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in Test matches. He holds the world records both for the most appearances made in first-class cricket, and for the most wickets taken (4,204). He completed the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in an English cricket season a record 16 times. Rhodes played for Yorkshire and England into his fifties, and in his final Test in 1930 was, at 52 years and 165 days, the oldest player who has appeared in a Test match.
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