1953 English cricket season
Encyclopedia
The 1953 English cricket season saw a tight Test
series between England
and Australia
that was settled, after four drawn matches, in the final Test at The Oval
, where England won to reclaim The Ashes
for the first time since the Bodyline
series of 1932/33.
The match between Northamptonshire and Middlesex at Peterborough ended in a tie, and both sides were awarded six points.
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
series between England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
and Australia
Australian 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...
that was settled, after four drawn matches, in 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...
, where England won to reclaim The Ashes
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...
for the first time since the Bodyline
Bodyline
Bodyline, also known as fast leg theory bowling, was a cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team for their 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia, specifically to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia's Don Bradman...
series of 1932/33.
Honours
- County Championship - Surrey for the second consecutive season
- Minor Counties Championship - BerkshireBerkshire County Cricket ClubBerkshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Berkshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and MCCA Knockout Trophy....
- Wisden (honour awarded in 1954 Wisden Cricketer's Almanack for deeds done in 1953 English season) - Neil HarveyNeil HarveyRobert Neil Harvey MBE is a former Australian cricketer who represented the Australian cricket team between 1948 and 1963, playing in 79 Test matches. He was the vice-captain of the team from 1957 until his retirement...
, Tony LockTony LockGraham Anthony Richard Lock was an English cricketer, who played primarily as a left-arm spinner. He played in forty nine Tests for England taking 174 wickets at 25.58 each.-Life and career:...
, Keith MillerKeith MillerKeith Ross Miller MBE was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. Because of his ability, irreverent manner and good looks he was a crowd favourite...
, Johnny WardleJohnny WardleJohnny Wardle was an English spin bowler of post-war cricket. His Test bowling average of 20.39, is the lowest in Test cricket by any recognised spin bowler, since World War I....
, Willie WatsonWillie Watson (England cricketer)William "Willie" Watson, was an English cricketer, who played for Yorkshire, Leicestershire and England. He was a double international, as Watson was also a footballer who played for England's national team.-Cricket career:...
County Championship Table
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | No Dec | 1st inn lead match L |
1st inn lead match D |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pts | – | – | 12 | – | – | – | 4 | 4 | – |
| 1 | Surrey Surrey County Cricket Club Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions... |
28 | 13 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 184 |
| 2 | Sussex Sussex County Cricket Club Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a... |
28 | 11 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 168 |
| =3 | Lancashire Lancashire County Cricket Club Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then... |
28 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 156 |
| =3 | Leicestershire Leicestershire County Cricket Club Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland.... |
28 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 156 |
| 5 | Middlesex Middlesex County Cricket Club Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the... |
28 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 150 |
| =6 | Derbyshire Derbyshire County Cricket Club Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire... |
28 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 136 |
| =6 | Gloucestershire Gloucestershire County Cricket Club Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators.... |
28 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 136 |
| 8 | Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws... |
28 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 128 |
| 9 | Warwickshire Warwickshire County Cricket Club Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor... |
28 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 124 |
| 10 | Glamorgan Glamorgan County Cricket Club Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County... |
28 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 120 |
| 11 | Northamptonshire Northamptonshire County Cricket Club Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the... |
28 | 6 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 114 |
| =12 | Essex Essex County Cricket Club Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games... |
28 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 100 |
| =12 | Yorkshire Yorkshire County Cricket Club Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure.... |
28 | 6 | 6 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 100 |
| 14 | Hampshire Hampshire County Cricket Club Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it... |
28 | 6 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 96 |
| 15 | Worcestershire Worcestershire County Cricket Club Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire... |
28 | 5 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 72 |
| 16 | Kent Kent County Cricket Club Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent... |
28 | 4 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 64 |
| 17 | Somerset Somerset County Cricket Club Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset... |
28 | 2 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 36 |
The match between Northamptonshire and Middlesex at Peterborough ended in a tie, and both sides were awarded six points.
Test series
England recovered the Ashes, having lost them as long ago as 1934, by winning the final Test against Australia after the first four matches were all drawn.Leading batsmen
| 1953 English cricket season – leading batsmen by average | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Innings | Runs | Highest | Average | 100s | |
| Neil Harvey Neil Harvey Robert Neil Harvey MBE is a former Australian cricketer who represented the Australian cricket team between 1948 and 1963, playing in 79 Test matches. He was the vice-captain of the team from 1957 until his retirement... |
35 | 2040 | 202* | 65.80 | 10 | |
| Len Hutton Len Hutton Sir Leonard "Len" Hutton was an English Test cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England in the years around the Second World War as an opening batsman. He was described by Wisden Cricketer's Almanack as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket... |
44 | 2458 | 241 | 63.02 | 8 | |
| Jock Livingston Jock Livingston Leonard "Jock" Livingston, born at Hurlstone Park, Sydney on 3 May 1920 and died there on 16 January 1998, was an Australian cricketer who played most of his first-class cricket in England.-Cricket career:... |
36 | 1710 | 140 | 57.00 | 7 | |
| Keith Miller Keith Miller Keith Ross Miller MBE was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. Because of his ability, irreverent manner and good looks he was a crowd favourite... |
31 | 1433 | 262* | 51.17 | 4 | |
| Peter May | 59 | 2554 | 159 | 51.08 | 8 | |
| Raman Subba Row Raman Subba Row Raman Subba Row is an English former cricketer who played for England, Cambridge University, Surrey and Northamptonshire.-Life and career:... |
46 | 1823 | 146* | 50.63 | 4 | |
| Desmond Barrick | 38 | 1530 | 166* | 49.35 | 3 | |
| 1953 English cricket season – leading batsmen by aggregate | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Innings | Runs | Highest | Average | 100s | |
| Bill Edrich Bill Edrich William John "Bill" Edrich DFC was a distinguished cricketer who played for Middlesex, MCC, Norfolk and England.Edrich's three brothers, Brian, Eric and Geoff, and also his cousin, John, all played first-class cricket... |
60 | 2557 | 211 | 47.35 | 5 | |
| Peter May | 59 | 2554 | 159 | 51.08 | 8 | |
| Reg Simpson Reg Simpson Reginald Thomas Simpson is an English former cricketer, who played in twentry seven Tests from 1948 to 1955.-Life and career:... |
60 | 2505 | 157 | 45.54 | 7 | |
| Len Hutton Len Hutton Sir Leonard "Len" Hutton was an English Test cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England in the years around the Second World War as an opening batsman. He was described by Wisden Cricketer's Almanack as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket... |
44 | 2458 | 241 | 63.02 | 8 | |
| Don Kenyon Don Kenyon Donald Kenyon was an English cricketer, who played in eight Tests for England from 1951 to 1955. He captained Worcestershire between 1959 and 1967.... |
58 | 2439 | 238* | 44.34 | 6 | |
Leading bowlers
| 1953 English cricket season – leading bowlers by average | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Balls | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Average | |
| Jack Bailey J. A. Bailey Jack Arthur Bailey was an English cricketer and administrator.Jack represented Essex and Oxford University as a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler in 112 first-class matches between 1953 and 1958. He took 347 wickets at an average cost of 21.62 per wicket. His best bowling... |
760 | 35 | 326 | 25 | 13.04 | |
| Charles Knott Charles Knott Charles James Knott was an English cricketer. Knott was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm off-break and right-arm medium pace.-Early life:... |
1325 | 65 | 521 | 38 | 13.71 | |
| Les Jackson Les Jackson Les Jackson was an English cricketer. A fast or fast-medium bowler renowned for his accurate bowling and particular hostility on uncovered wickets, he played county cricket for Derbyshire from 1947 to 1963, and was regularly at, or near the top of, the English bowling averages... |
4450 | 230 | 1574 | 103 | 15.28 | |
| Tony Lock Tony Lock Graham Anthony Richard Lock was an English cricketer, who played primarily as a left-arm spinner. He played in forty nine Tests for England taking 174 wickets at 25.58 each.-Life and career:... |
4394 | 282 | 1590 | 100 | 15.90 | |
| Tom Graveney Tom Graveney Thomas William Graveney in Riding Mill, Northumberland, is a former English cricketer and was the President of the Marylebone Cricket Club for 2004/5. He went to Bristol Grammar School... |
567 | 19 | 324 | 20 | 16.20 | |
| 1953 English cricket season – leading bowlers by aggregate | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Balls | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Average | |
| Bruce Dooland Bruce Dooland Bruce Dooland was an Australian cricketer who played in 3 Tests from 1947 to 1948.... |
7995 | 461 | 2852 | 172 | 16.58 | |
| Roy Tattersall Roy Tattersall Roy Tattersall is an English former Lancashire cricketer, who played sixteen Tests for England as a specialist off spin bowler.... |
7086 | 348 | 2974 | 164 | 18.13 | |
| Alec Bedser Alec Bedser Sir Alec Victor Bedser, CBE was a professional English cricketer. He was the chairman of selectors for the English national cricket team, and the president of Surrey County Cricket Club... |
7518 | 340 | 2702 | 162 | 16.67 | |
| Derek Shackleton Derek Shackleton Derek Shackleton was a Hampshire and England bowler. He took over 100 wickets in 20 consecutive seasons of first-class cricket, but only played in seven Tests for England. As of 2007, he has the seventh-highest tally of first-class wickets, and the most first-class wickets of any player who... |
7318 | 328 | 3070 | 150 | 20.46 | |
| Johnny Wardle Johnny Wardle Johnny Wardle was an English spin bowler of post-war cricket. His Test bowling average of 20.39, is the lowest in Test cricket by any recognised spin bowler, since World War I.... |
9633 | 601 | 3540 | 146 | 24.24 | |
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