1887 season
Derbyshire played two county matches each against Lancashire, Yorkshire and Surrey, and one against MCC. They lost all these matches and as a result Wisden decided not to accord them first class status in the following year. However they also played three non first class matches against Essex and Leicestershire and won all three.
The captain for the year was William Chatterton who also played for MCC during the season. The top scorer was George Davidson who also took most wickets.
During the season Derbyshire played their first home fixture away from the County Ground, when they played Lancashire at the Recreation Ground, Long Eaton. This was the only occasion on which they used the venue.
Two important players made their debut in the season whose performance came to the fore once Derbyshire regained first-class status. They were John Hulme who took over 550 wickets for Derbyshire and Bill Storer who was one of the club's long-serving wicket-keepers. Harry Bagshaw who also made his debut gave the club many years service. Other players who made their debut were George Ratcliffe, Joseph Marshall, Henry Street and William Walton. None of these had the chance to play first class cricket for Derbyshire again although some appeared occasionally for the club in the intervening years.
A number of players appeared for Derbyshire for the last time this season. These included Edmund Maynard a former captain and George Barrington who had both joined in 1880. Also departing were Henry Slater who had been a member of the side since 1882 and Edwin Coup who had joined the club in 1885. In addition Thomas Mycroft a stand-in wicket-keeper who had made occasional appearances since 1877 played his last game. Several cricketers continued playing for Derbyshire but had stopped playing by the time the club reached first class status again in 1894. These were James Disney wicket-keeper since 1881, George Ratcliffe, Joseph Marshall, William Walton, three of the players who made their debut in 1887 and William Cropper who died in 1889 as a result of an unfortunate football accident.
Matches
| List of first class matches | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Date | V | Result | Margin | Notes |
| 1 | 12 May 1887 [1] | MCC Lord's Cricket Ground, St John's Wood | Lost | 145 runs | W Cropper 6-50; J Wooton 5-21 |
| 2 | 09 Jun 1887 [2] | Lancashire Old Trafford, Manchester | Lost | 6 wickets | W Cropper 6-54 |
| 3 | 27 Jun 1887 [3] | Yorkshire County Ground, Derby | Lost | Innings and 39 runs | W Bates 103; |
| 4 | 07 Jul 1887 [4] | Lancashire Recreation Ground, Long Eaton | Lost | 54 runs | GG Walker 5-64; J Briggs 7-49 and 5-51; G Davidson 6-43; A Watson 5-39 |
| 5 | 18 Jul 1887 [5] | Yorkshire Bramall Lane, Sheffield | Lost | Innings and 163 runs | G Ullyet 199; W Bates 6-66 |
| 6 | 28 Jul 1887 [6] | Surrey County Ground, Derby | Lost | Innings and 237 runs | W Read 145; G Davidson 5–148; J Beaumont 5-30 |
| 7 | 15 Aug 1887 [7] | Surrey Kennington Oval | Lost | 299 runs | G Davidson 5-67; GG Walker 5-49; G Lohmann 5-55; R Abel 6-15 |
| List of other matches | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Date | V | Result | Margin | Notes |
| 1 | 30 May 1887 [8] | Essex County Ground, Derby | Won | 7 wickets | |
| 2 | 01 Aug 1887 [9] | Leicestershire County Ground, Derby | Won | 74 runs | |
| 3 | 22 Aug 1887 [10] | Essex County Ground, Leyton | Won | 8 wickets | |