The 12th Test Series between England and Australia took place in the 1888 English cricket season. England retained the Ashes with a 2-1 win after losing the First Test.

After a run of disastrous results over a number of seasons, Derbyshire was demoted from first-class status and the 1888 Championship was contested by only eight teams: Gloucestershire, Kent, Lancashire, Middlesex, Notts, Surrey, Sussex and Yorkshire. Derbyshire recovered first-class status in 1894 and rejoined the Championship in 1895.

On 5 July, the formation of Glamorgan CCC took place at a meeting in the Angel Hotel, Cardiff.

Honours

• Champion County – Surrey
• Wisden (Six Great Bowlers of the Year) – George Lohmann
  George Lohmann
  George Alfred Lohmann is regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time...
  
  , Johnny Briggs
  Johnny Briggs (cricketer)
  Johnny Briggs was a left arm spin bowler for Lancashire County Cricket Club between 1879 and 1900 who still stands as the second-highest wicket-taker in the county's history after Brian Statham...
  
  , John Ferris, Charles Turner
  Charles Turner (cricketer)
  Charles Thomas Biass Turner was a bowler who is regarded as one of the finest ever produced by Australia....
  
  , Sammy Woods
  Sammy Woods
  Samuel Moses James "Sammy" Woods was an Australian sportsman who represented both Australia and England at Test cricket, and appeared thirteen times for England at rugby union, including five times as captain. He also played at county level in England at both soccer and hockey...
  
  , Bobby Peel
  Bobby Peel
  Robert "Bobby" Peel was a Yorkshire and England cricketer: a left-arm spinner who ranks as one of the finest bowlers of the 1890s. He was also a capable batsman, who once hit 210 not out...
  
  

Test series

Thanks mainly to the bowling of Bobby Peel

Bobby Peel

Robert "Bobby" Peel was a Yorkshire and England cricketer: a left-arm spinner who ranks as one of the finest bowlers of the 1890s. He was also a capable batsman, who once hit 210 not out...

, England defeated Australia 2-1 to retain the Ashes.

Leading bowlers

Johnny Briggs

Johnny Briggs (cricketer)

Johnny Briggs was a left arm spin bowler for Lancashire County Cricket Club between 1879 and 1900 who still stands as the second-highest wicket-taker in the county's history after Brian Statham...

 topped the averages with 160 wickets @ 10.49

External sources

• CricketArchive – season summaries

Annual reviews

• James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual (Red Lilly), Lillywhite, 1889
• Wisden Cricketers Almanack 1889