1926 English cricket season

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1926 English cricket season
1925
1927

1926 was the 33rd season of County Championship cricket in England. England regained the Ashes and Lancashire won the championship.

Contents

Honours

Test series

England regained the Ashes by winning the final Test at The Oval after the first four matches against Australia were all drawn. Because the series was at stake, the match was to be "timeless", i.e. played to a finish. Australia had a narrow first innings lead of 22. Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe took the score to 49–0 at the end of the second day, a lead of 27. Heavy rain fell overnight, and next day the pitch soon developed into a traditional sticky wicket. England seemed doomed to be bowled out cheaply and to lose the match. In spite of the very difficult batting conditions, however, Hobbs and Sutcliffe took their partnership to 172 before Hobbs was out for exactly 100. Sutcliffe went on to make 161 and in the end England won the game comfortably

Cumulative record - Test wins1876-1926
England 42
Australia 47
Drawn25

County Championship

Leading batsmen

Jack Hobbs topped the averages, at the age of 43, with 2949 runs @ 77.60

Leading bowlers

Wilfred Rhodes topped the averages with 115 wickets @ 14.86, outdoing Hobbs since he was aged 48.

Annual reviews

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Hobbs</span> English cricketer

Sir John Berry Hobbs was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Master", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century-maker in first-class cricket, with 61,760 runs and 199 centuries. A right-handed batsman and an occasional right-arm medium pace bowler, Hobbs also excelled as a fielder, particularly in the position of cover point. Hobbs was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century alongside Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Garfield Sobers, Shane Warne, and Sir Viv Richards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilfred Rhodes</span> English cricketer (1877–1973)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert Sutcliffe</span> English cricketer

Herbert Sutcliffe was an English professional cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England as an opening batsman. Apart from one match in 1945, his first-class career spanned the period between the two world wars. His first-class debut was delayed by the First World War until 1919 and his career was effectively terminated in August 1939 when he was called up for military service in the imminent Second World War. He was the first cricketer to score 16 centuries in Test match cricket. He is most famous for being the partner of Jack Hobbs and the partnership between the two, Hobbs and Sutcliffe, is widely regarded as the greatest partnership of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Tyldesley</span> English cricketer

John Thomas Tyldesley was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Lancashire and Test cricket for England. He was a specialist professional batsman, usually third in the batting order, who rarely bowled and generally fielded in outfield positions.

1930 was the 37th season of County Championship cricket in England and will always be remembered for the remarkable batting performances of Australia's Don Bradman. Australia won the Test series 2–1. Lancashire regained the championship to complete four titles in five seasons.

An England team toured Australia between November 1920 and March 1921. The tour was organised by the Marylebone Cricket Club and matches outside the Tests were played under the MCC name. The tour itinerary consisted of 13 first-class matches, including a series of 5 Test matches against Australia in which The Ashes were at stake.

England won the 1926 Ashes series against Australia, winning the last Test of the series after the first four matches were drawn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English cricket team in Australia in 1950–51</span> International cricket tour

Freddie Brown captained the English cricket team in Australia in 1950–51, playing as England in the 1950-51 Ashes series against the Australians and as the MCC in their other matches on the tour. They were regarded as a weak team - some critics wanted to cancel the tour - and failed to regain the Ashes. However, these facts do not tell the whole story as the inspirational Brown exposed flaws in the powerful Australian team. By winning the Fifth and final Test he ended Australia's record of 26 Tests without defeat and paved the way for England's victories in 1953, 1954-55 and 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1919 English cricket season</span>

1919 was the 26th season of County Championship cricket in England and the first since 1914. The authorities had doubted if cricket would remain popular after a four-year break and the strain of war. It was decided that County Championship matches should be reduced from three days' duration to two, but cricket had not lost its popularity and the two-day experiment was a failure. Yorkshire finished the season as champions, topping the table by four percentage points. No Test cricket was played but an Australian Imperial Forces team toured England, playing matches from mid-May until mid-September. Andy Ducat, Patsy Hendren, Percy Holmes, Herbert Sutcliffe and Ernest Tyldesley were named in the 1920 edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack as the Five Cricketers of the Year for their 1919 performances.

1934 was the 41st season of County Championship cricket in England. England lost the Ashes with Don Bradman again the crucial difference between two very strong teams, Australia winning 2–1. Lancashire won the championship.

1961 was the 62nd season of County Championship cricket in England. Australia retained the Ashes by winning the Test series 2–1. Hampshire won their first championship title.

1964 was the 65th season of County Championship cricket in England. Australia retained The Ashes as Bob Simpson led them through a hard-fought series, with only one match coming to a definite result. In domestic cricket, Worcestershire won the County Championship for the first time and Sussex retained the Gillette Cup List A competition.

1909 was the 20th season of County Championship cricket in England and featured a Test series between England and Australia. Kent won the championship and Australia, captained by Monty Noble, won the Test series.

The New Zealand cricket team toured England in the 1931 season. The tour was the first tour by a New Zealand team in which Test matches were arranged. Originally, only one Test was planned, but New Zealand acquitted themselves so well in the first match and in the game against MCC that matches against Surrey and Lancashire were hastily replaced by two further Test matches. Of the three Tests played, the first was drawn, the second was won comfortably by England; the third was heavily affected by rain and also drawn. The tour as a whole was blighted by poor weather, and 23 of the 32 first-class matches ended as draws.

The England cricket team toured Australia in 1928–29. England, known as the MCC in matches outside the Tests, retained The Ashes, winning the first four Tests and losing the last for a 4–1 series victory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert Sutcliffe's cricket career (1919–1927)</span>

Herbert Sutcliffe made his first-class debut for Yorkshire in the 1919 season, during which he and Percy Holmes developed one of county cricket's greatest opening partnerships. After initial success, Sutcliffe had a couple of relatively lean seasons before fulfilling his promise in 1922. In 1924, he made his debut for England in Test cricket and formed a famous Test opening partnership with Jack Hobbs. He enjoyed personal success on the 1924–25 MCC tour of Australia, although England lost the Test series 4–1 to Australia. In the 1926 Ashes series against Australia, Hobbs and Sutcliffe produced a series-winning partnership at The Oval in difficult batting conditions. By the end of the 1927 season, Sutcliffe was one of the world's premier cricketers and was being considered, although he was a professional, for the captaincy of Yorkshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert Sutcliffe's cricket career (1928–1932)</span>

During the five years 1928 to 1932, Herbert Sutcliffe played throughout the period for Yorkshire, continuing his highly successful opening partnership with Percy Holmes which reached its peak of achievement in 1932 when they set a then world record partnership for any wicket of 555, the stand including Sutcliffe's career highest score of 313. For England in Test cricket, Sutcliffe made his only tour of South Africa in 1927–28 and his second tour of Australia in 1928–29, during which he played arguably the greatest innings of his career. In the winter of 1930–31, he and Jack Hobbs went on a private tour of India and Ceylon which has caused some controversy in terms of their career statistics. Sutcliffe opened the innings for England throughout the period, playing in home series each season but most notably against Australia in 1930.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert Sutcliffe's cricket career (1933–1939)</span>

During the seven years 1933 to 1939, Herbert Sutcliffe played throughout the period for Yorkshire during one of the club's most successful phases. His Test career ended in 1935 but he formed a new opening partnership for Yorkshire with the young Len Hutton. In 1939, he was the first Yorkshire player to be called up for military service as the Second World War loomed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Later cricket career of Jack Hobbs</span> English professional cricketer

Sir John Berry "Jack" Hobbs was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Having established himself as the best batsman in the world before the First World War, Hobbs resumed cricket in 1919 and was immediately successful in County Cricket. He successfully toured Australia with the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in 1920–21 but sustained an injury which affected his batting on that tour and in the subsequent English season. Also in that 1921 season, he fell seriously ill with appendicitis; the effects of the illness and subsequent operation affected his batting for several seasons and his stamina never fully recovered. When he returned from the illness, Hobbs was a far less attacking batsman than he had been in his earlier career, but was much more secure and assured. As a result, his performances were statistically better than before 1914 and his reputation among the public grew. Adulation for Hobbs reached its peak in 1925 when he broke W. G. Grace's record for most first-class centuries, and the following season he made a century in extremely difficult batting conditions which was instrumental in England winning the Ashes. At this time, he also established extremely effective opening partnerships—with Herbert Sutcliffe for England and Andy Sandham for Surrey.

English cricket was completely disrupted by World War I and there were no first-class matches after August 1914 until May 1919. A similar situation arose in World War II with a shutdown of first-class cricket from September 1939 until the summer of 1945 when eleven matches were specially arranged; cricket returned to normal in 1946 with a full domestic programme and a Test series against India.

References