1926 English cricket season
Encyclopedia
The 1926 English cricket season saw England regain the Ashes
. Lancashire overcame its eternal rivals and began a hat-trick sequence of county titles.
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", ie 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
topped the averages with 115 wickets @ 14.86, outdoing Hobbs since he was aged 48.
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
. Lancashire overcame its eternal rivals and began a hat-trick sequence of county titles.
Honours
- County Championship - Lancashire
- Minor Counties Championship - Durham
- Wisden - George GearyGeorge GearyGeorge Geary was easily the greatest cricketer Leicestershire produced before the advent of David Gower and one of the best and hardest-working bowlers of the inter-war period...
, Harold LarwoodHarold LarwoodHarold Larwood was an English cricket player, an extremely accurate fast bowler best known for his key role as the implementer of fast leg theory in the infamous "bodyline" Ashes Test series of 1932–33....
, Jack MercerJack Mercer (cricketer)John "Jack" Mercer was the main bowler for Glamorgan in their early years in the County Championship. He bowled medium pace and could swing the ball both ways, whilst when wickets were affected by rain he was able to get on a good deal of off-break...
, Bert OldfieldBert OldfieldWilliam Albert Stanley "Bert" Oldfield was an Australian cricket player. He played for New South Wales and the Australian cricket team as wicket-keeper....
, Bill WoodfullBill WoodfullWilliam Maldon "Bill" Woodfull OBE was an Australian cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s. He captained both Victoria and Australia, and was best known for his dignified and moral conduct during the tumultuous bodyline series in 1932–33 that almost saw the end of Anglo-Australian cricketing ties...
Test series
See also: Australian cricket team in England in 1926Australian cricket team in England in 1926
England won the 1926 Ashes series against Australia. England won the last Test of the series after the first four matches were drawn:*1st Test — drawn - *2nd Test — drawn - *3rd Test — drawn -...
England regained the Ashes by winning the final Test at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
after the first four matches against Australia were all drawn. Because the series was at stake, the match was to be "timeless", ie played to a finish. Australia had a narrow first innings lead of 22. Jack Hobbs
Jack Hobbs
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 from 1908 to 1930....
and Herbert Sutcliffe
Herbert Sutcliffe
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...
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
Sticky wicket
Sticky wicket is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance; it originates from difficult circumstances in the sport of cricket.-Origins:...
. 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
Leading bowlers
Wilfred RhodesWilfred Rhodes
Wilfred Rhodes was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests, Rhodes took 127 wickets in and scored 2,325 runs, becoming the first Englishman to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in Test matches...
topped the averages with 115 wickets @ 14.86, outdoing Hobbs since he was aged 48.
External sources
Further reading
- Bill FrindallBill FrindallWilliam Howard Frindall, MBE was an English cricket scorer and statistician. He was familiar to cricket followers from his appearances on the BBC Radio 4 programme Test Match Special, nicknamed the Bearded Wonder by Brian Johnston for his ability to research the most obscure cricketing facts in...
, The Wisden Book of Test Cricket 1877-1978, Wisden, 1979 - Chris Harte, A History of Australian Cricket, Andre Deutsch, 1993
- Ray Robinson, On Top Down Under, Cassell, 1975
- Ralph BarkerRalph BarkerRalph Hammond Cecil Barker was an English non-fiction author with over twenty-five books to his credit...
& Irving RosenwaterIrving RosenwaterIrving Rosenwater was an English cricket researcher and author whose best-known work was Sir Donald Bradman - A Biography ....
, England v Australia: A compendium of Test cricket between the countries 1877-1968, Batsford, 1969, ISBN 0-7134-0317-9