1963 was the 64th season of County Championship cricket in England. Limited overs cricket began with the first edition of the knockout competition that was originally called the Gillette Cup. The highlight of the season was a memorable Test series between England and West Indies which the tourists won 3–1. Yorkshire won their second consecutive championship title. Off the field, the year saw the publication of the hundredth edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, as well as the deaths of two cricketing knights, Sir Jack Hobbs and Sir Pelham Warner.
There was a memorable series between England and West Indies. The tourists won 3–1 with one match drawn. The Lord's Test had one of the most exciting finishes ever and all four results were possible with two balls to be bowled: it ended as a draw with England five runs behind and their last pair batting. Colin Cowdrey had gone in as number 11 with a broken arm, but did not have to face a ball.
As a result of the great success of this series, England's future home Test programme was revised so that West Indies could return in 1966, much earlier than originally planned. This was done by introducing "twin tours", in which two countries would each play three Tests against England in the course of a season.
1963 English cricket season – leading batsmen by average | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Innings | Runs | Highest | Average | 100s | |
Gary Sobers | 34 | 1333 | 112 | 47.60 | 4 | |
Mike Smith | 39 | 1566 | 144* | 47.45 | 3 | |
Geoff Boycott | 43 | 1628 | 165* | 45.22 | 3 | |
Basil Butcher | 34 | 1294 | 133 | 44.62 | 2 | |
Conrad Hunte | 37 | 1367 | 182 | 44.09 | 3 | |
Clive Inman | 51 | 1708 | 120* | 42.70 | 1 | |
Brian Bolus | 57 | 2190 | 202* | 41.32 | 5 | |
Ken Barrington | 45 | 1568 | 110* | 41.26 | 2 |
1963 English cricket season – leading batsmen by aggregate | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Innings | Runs | Highest | Average | 100s | |
Brian Bolus | 57 | 2190 | 202* | 41.32 | 5 | |
Peter Richardson | 56 | 2110 | 172 | 39.07 | 5 | |
John Edrich | 55 | 1921 | 125 | 40.02 | 2 | |
Alan Jones | 58 | 1857 | 187* | 34.38 | 3 | |
Ken Suttle | 57 | 1854 | 141 | 34.98 | 3 |
1963 English cricket season – leading bowlers by average | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Balls | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Average | |
Charlie Griffith | 4208 | 192 | 1527 | 119 | 12.83 | |
Fred Trueman | 5067 | 206 | 1955 | 129 | 15.15 | |
Ken Palmer | 6113 | 289 | 2234 | 139 | 16.07 | |
Alan Moss | 3857 | 249 | 1355 | 84 | 16.13 | |
David Sydenham | 4915 | 239 | 1753 | 108 | 16.23 | |
Brian Statham | 4746 | 168 | 1874 | 113 | 16.58 |
1963 English cricket season – leading bowlers by aggregate | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Balls | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Average | |
Derek Shackleton | 8325 | 583 | 2446 | 146 | 16.75 | |
Barry Knight | 6743 | 207 | 3042 | 140 | 21.72 | |
Ken Palmer | 6113 | 289 | 2234 | 139 | 16.07 | |
Fred Trueman | 5067 | 206 | 1955 | 129 | 15.15 | |
Don Shepherd | 7713 | 540 | 2373 | 126 | 18.83 |
Sir Leonard Hutton was an English cricketer. He played as an opening batsman for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1934 to 1955 and for England in 79 Test matches between 1937 and 1955. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack described him as "one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket". He set a record in 1938 for the highest individual innings in a Test match in only his sixth Test appearance, scoring 364 runs against Australia, a milestone that stood for nearly 20 years. Following the Second World War, he was the mainstay of England's batting. In 1952, he became the first professional cricketer of the 20th century to captain England in Tests; under his captaincy England won the Ashes the following year for the first time in 19 years.
Norman Walter Dransfield Yardley was an English cricketer who played for Cambridge University, Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England, as a right-handed batsman and occasional bowler. An amateur, he captained Yorkshire from 1948 to 1955 and England on fourteen occasions between 1947 and 1950, winning four Tests, losing seven and drawing three. Yardley was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1948 and in his obituary in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, he was described as Yorkshire's finest amateur since Stanley Jackson.
The Wisden Trophy was awarded to the winner of the Test cricket series played between England and the West Indies. It was first awarded in 1963 to commemorate the hundredth edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. Series were played in accordance with the future tours programme, with varying lengths of time between tours. If a series was drawn then the country holding the Wisden Trophy retained it. In 2020, it was announced that the trophy would be replaced by the Richards–Botham Trophy named after Sir Vivian Richards and Sir Ian Botham.
1939 was the 46th cricket season in England since the introduction of the County Championship in 1890. It was the one and only season in which English cricket adopted the eight-ball over. 1939 was the last season before the Second World War and it was not until 1946 that first-class cricket could resume in England on a normal basis. The West Indies were on tour and England won the Test series 1–0. The West Indian team departed early, with several matches cancelled, because of the growing international crisis.
1950 was the 51st season of County Championship cricket in England. England and West Indies played a memorable Test series which the visitors won 3–1. The championship was shared by Lancashire and Surrey.
The 1969 English cricket season was the 70th in which the County Championship had been an official competition. The Sunday League began, sponsored by the John Player tobacco company. All matches were played on Sundays with each of the 17 first-class counties playing each other once. Matches were of 40 overs a side. One match each Sunday was televised by the BBC and the idea was a commercial success, though it had its critics among cricket's "traditional" supporters.
The 1975 English cricket season was the 76th in which the County Championship had been an official competition. The inaugural Cricket World Cup was won by West Indies, who defeated Australia in an exciting final. Australia toured England to compete for the Ashes and won the series 1-0. Leicestershire won their first County Championship title.
The 1980 English cricket season was the 81st in which the County Championship had been an official competition. West Indies defeated England in the summer's Test series 1–0, rain ensuring that the other four matches were all drawn. A single Test was played between England and Australia to commemorate the centenary of the first Test played in England in 1880. The match was drawn. The County Championship was won by Middlesex.
The 1995 English cricket season was the 96th in which the County Championship had been an official competition. There was a continued dominance of the domestic scene by Warwickshire after they won the Britannic Assurance County Championship and the NatWest Trophy. The West Indies toured England to compete in a test series which was drawn 2-2.
The 2002 English cricket season was the 103rd in which the County Championship had been an official competition. Surrey were crowned champions but 2001 county champions Yorkshire were relegated. Yorkshire did, however, win the C&G Trophy. India and Sri Lanka toured England to compete in a Test series with England. England drew with India 1-1 and beat Sri Lanka 2-0.
The 1991 English cricket season was the 92nd in which the County Championship had been an official competition. West Indies and England drew 2–2 in the main Test series. Sri Lanka also toured England and played one Test which England won. The Britannic Assurance County Championship was won by Essex.
The 1971 English cricket season was the 72nd in which the County Championship had been an official competition. India won a Test series in England for the first time. It was a huge surprise at the time because England, having just won the Ashes in Australia, had a very strong team. England also played Pakistan and won that series 1–0. Surrey won the County Championship.
The 1973 English cricket season was the 74th in which the County Championship had been an official competition. Hampshire win the championship and Kent dominated the limited overs tournaments.
The 1976 English cricket season was the 77th in which the County Championship had been an official competition. Clive Lloyd adopted a new approach to Test cricket as a battery of pace bowlers was used to intimidate the England batsmen. Lloyd adopted the tactic after his own team's experiences against Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee the previous year. England's batsmen were no match for Andy Roberts and Michael Holding, but even more worrying was a dearth of effective England bowlers and it was West Indian batsmen like Viv Richards and Gordon Greenidge who were the real stars of a long, hot, dry summer. Middlesex won the County Championship.
The 1979 English cricket season was the 80th in which the County Championship had been an official competition. The second Cricket World Cup was played and West Indies defeated England in the final. The County Championship was won by Essex for the first time.
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.
1966 was the 67th season of County Championship cricket in England. It featured an entertaining Test series between England and West Indies in which the great West Indian all-rounder Gary Sobers was outstanding. In domestic cricket, Yorkshire, led by Brian Close, won the County Championship. Close became England's captain too.
1967 was the 68th season of County Championship cricket in England. India and Pakistan both toured England and played in three-match Test series. England defeated Pakistan 2–0 and India 3–0. Yorkshire retained the County Championship title.
1965 was the 66th season of County Championship cricket in England. It was the first season since the 1912 Triangular Tournament in which England played Test series against two touring sides. In the first half of a damp summer, New Zealand were the tourists, and England won all three matches. The South African side that toured in the second half of the season were much tougher opposition. South Africa won that three-match series 1–0, with two matches drawn. It was the last tour of England by a South African team until 1993. Fred Trueman's international career ended, although he did not retire from first-class cricket until the end of the 1968 season. Worcestershire won their second consecutive Championship title.
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.