The 1997 cricket season was the 98th in which the County Championship has been an official competition. The season centred on the six-Test Ashes series against Australia. England won the first, at Edgbaston, by the decisive margin of nine wickets, and the rain-affected second Test at Lord's was drawn, but any English optimism was short-lived. Australia won the next three games by huge margins to secure the series and retain The Ashes, and England's three-day victory in the final game at The Oval was little more than a consolation prize. It was the 68th test series between the two teams with Australia finally winning 3-2 The three-match ODI series which preceded the Tests produced a statistical curiosity, with England winning each match by an identical margin, six wickets.
The Britannic Assurance County Championship went to Glamorgan for the first time since 1969, by a margin of just four points from Kent. The combination of captain Matthew Maynard and Steve James' batting along with Waqar Younis' and Steve Watkin's bowling propelled them to the title, although the matter was not settled until the final match of the season, when Glamorgan's maximum-points thrashing of Somerset at Taunton ensured that Kent's own victory over Surrey was irrelevant.
In one-day cricket, Warwickshire won the AXA Life League by two points from Kent, but were themselves thrashed by nine wickets by Essex in the final of the NatWest Trophy. The honours in the Benson & Hedges Cup went to Surrey, who beat Kent by eight wickets in the final.
Ali Brown's 203 for Surrey in the AXA Life League against Hampshire in July remains the only double century ever scored in a 40-over List A match.
Honours County Championship - Glamorgan NatWest Trophy - Essex Sunday League - Warwickshire Benson & Hedges Cup - Surrey Minor Counties Championship - Devon MCCA Knockout Trophy - Norfolk Second XI Championship - Lancashire II Wisden - Matthew Elliott, Stuart Law, Glenn McGrath, Matthew Maynard, Graham Thorpe
Statistical highlights First-class Highest team total: 631/7 dec by Warwickshire v Hampshire at Southampton, 29–30 May Lowest team total: 31 by Glamorgan v Middlesex at Cardiff, 14 June Highest individual innings: 303* by Graeme Hick (Worcestershire) v Hampshire at Southampton, 18–19 September Most runs in season: 1,775 by Steve James (Glamorgan) Best innings bowling: 9–64 by Melvyn Betts (Durham) v Northamptonshire at Northampton, 28 August Most wickets in season: 83 by Mike Smith (Gloucestershire and England)
List A Highest team total: 371/6 (50 overs) by Leicestershire v Scotland at Leicester, 28 April Lowest team total: 53 by Ireland v Yorkshire at Leeds, 24 June Highest individual innings: 203 by Ali Brown (Surrey) v Hampshire at Guildford, 20 July Most runs in season: 1,088 by Stuart Law (Essex) Best innings bowling: 7–24 by Mushtaq Ahmed (Somerset) v Ireland at Taunton, 2 May Most wickets in season: 53 by Allan Donald (Warwickshire)
Ashes tour
Cumulative record - Test wins 1876–1997England92Australia114Drawn85
County Championship
Sunday League
NatWest Trophy
Benson & Hedges Cup
Averages First-class Batting Qualification: eight innings
English first-class batting averages, 1997PlayerTeam(s)MINO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Graeme HickWorcestershire182861,524303*69.2764Steve JamesGlamorgan183041,77516268.2678Matthew MaynardGlamorgan182571,170161*65.0037Ricky PontingAustralia812357112763.4422Darren LehmannYorkshire172721,57518263.00410Neil JohnsonLeicestershire1218581915063.0025
Bowling Qualification: ten wickets
English first-class bowling averages, 1997PlayerTeam(s)BallsMdnsRunsWkts BB Ave 5wI 10wMHamish AnthonyMCC25211113106-3411.3011Allan DonaldWarwickshire2,327123928606-5515.6331Mike SmithEngland, Gloucestershire3,0741251,464836-4517.6353Paul ReiffelAustralia1,13249520285-4918.2720Kevan JamesHampshire96737504278-4918.6621Saqlain MushtaqSurrey1,52975617325-1719.2842
List A Batting Qualification: eight innings
English List A batting averages, 1997PlayerTeam(s)MINO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Mike RoseberryDurham109525291*63.0002Chris AdamsDerbyshire1919398813861.7553Neil FairbrotherLancashire202077928860.9209Kim BarnettDerbyshire16141751112*57.7623Rob BaileyNorthamptonshire23225859153*50.5218Matthew HaydenHampshire23221920120*46.6634
Bowling Qualification: ten wickets
English List A bowling averages, 1997PlayerTeam(s)BallsMdnsRunsWkts BB Ave 5wI Allan DonaldWarwickshire1,11621718535-1013.543Peter MartinLancashire99820649435-2115.092David LeatherdaleWorcestershire6635512325-1016.001Devon MalcolmDerbyshire3786262167-3516.371Phil NewportWorcestershire60613370224-3716.810Darren GoughEngland, Yorkshire1,06112752417-2718.342
References
External sources CricketArchive – season and tournament itineraries England Domestic Season 1997 at Cricinfo
Annual reviews Playfair Cricket Annual 1998 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1998