1878 English cricket season
Encyclopedia
The 1878 English cricket season is remembered for the first official tour by an Australian team, although it played no Test Matches; and for the match that inspired a famous poem.
made the inaugural first-class tour of England by an overseas team. See : Australian cricket team in England in 1878.
25 – 27 July. Lancashire versus Gloucestershire at Old Trafford. This was the first time Gloucestershire visited Old Trafford and it caused ground records to be established. The match was drawn after rain interruptions. It has a special place because it ultimately formed the nostalgic inspiration for the famous poem At Lord's by Francis Thompson
. In the second innings, the famed "run-stealers" Hornby and Barlow
shared an opening stand of 108, with Hornby going on to score 100. He also became involved in a ferocious argument with WG when a contentious "run-out" was claimed after the batsmen had stopped running because the ball had crossed the boundary! The run-out was finally overruled after WG even went so far as to ask the (Lancashire home!) crowd if it had been a four after all. Needless to say, he knew all along that a four had been scored.
31 July. Official formation of Northants CCC at a meeting in the George Hotel, Kettering
.
was the leading runscorer with 1270 runs @ 27.02; next was WG Grace with 1151 @ 28.77
Champion County
- Middlesex, Nottinghamshire (shared)
Events
AustraliaAustralian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
made the inaugural first-class tour of England by an overseas team. See : Australian cricket team in England in 1878.
25 – 27 July. Lancashire versus Gloucestershire at Old Trafford. This was the first time Gloucestershire visited Old Trafford and it caused ground records to be established. The match was drawn after rain interruptions. It has a special place because it ultimately formed the nostalgic inspiration for the famous poem At Lord's by Francis Thompson
Francis Thompson
Francis Thompson was an English poet and ascetic. After attending college, he moved to London to become a writer, but in menial work, became addicted to opium, and was a street vagrant for years. A married couple read his poetry and rescued him, publishing his first book, Poems in 1893...
. In the second innings, the famed "run-stealers" Hornby and Barlow
Dick Barlow
Richard Gorton Barlow was a cricketer who played for Lancashire and England...
shared an opening stand of 108, with Hornby going on to score 100. He also became involved in a ferocious argument with WG when a contentious "run-out" was claimed after the batsmen had stopped running because the ball had crossed the boundary! The run-out was finally overruled after WG even went so far as to ask the (Lancashire home!) crowd if it had been a four after all. Needless to say, he knew all along that a four had been scored.
31 July. Official formation of Northants CCC at a meeting in the George Hotel, Kettering
Kettering
Kettering is a market town in the Borough of Kettering, Northamptonshire, England. It is situated about from London. Kettering is mainly situated on the west side of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene which meets at Wellingborough...
.
Leading batsmen
George UlyettGeorge Ulyett
George Ulyett was an English all-round cricketer, noted particularly for his very-aggressive batsmanship. A well-liked man , Ulyett was popularly known as "Happy Jack", once musing memorably that Yorkshire played him only for his good behaviour and his whistling...
was the leading runscorer with 1270 runs @ 27.02; next was WG Grace with 1151 @ 28.77
External sources
Annual reviews
- John Lillywhite's Cricketer's Companion (Green Lilly), Lillywhite, 1879
- James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual (Red Lilly), Lillywhite, 1879
- Wisden Cricketers Almanack 1879