The 1873 English cricket season was the tenth since the legalisation of overarm bowling. In only their fourth season as a first-class team, Gloucestershire was proclaimed joint Champion County by the media and went on to claim the still unofficial title four times in five seasons (1873, 1874, 1876 and 1877).
Player qualification rules came into force, with players having to decide at the start of a season whether they would play for the county of their birth or the county of residence. Before this, it was quite common for a player to play for two counties during the course of a single season, with by far the best-known case being star slow bowler James Southerton who played for his birth county Sussex when they had a match on and otherwise for Surrey. It is only since the residence qualifications were introduced that any quasi-official status can be ascribed to the oft-claimed Champion County title.* ; pp. 119–120
Champion County
Gloucestershire, Nottinghamshire (shared)
Playing record (by county) Wynne-Thomas, Peter; The Rigby A-Z of Cricket Records; p. 53 County Played Won Lost Drawn Derbyshire 2 0 2 0 Gloucestershire 6 4 0 2 Kent 5 3 2 0 Lancashire 7 4 3 0 Middlesex 3 2 1 0 Nottinghamshire 7 5 1 1 Surrey 14 2 10 2 Sussex 10 2 6 2 Yorkshire 12 7 4 1
Leading batsmen (qualification 15 innings) 1873 English season leading batsmenFirst Class Batting in England in 1873 Name Team Matches Innings Not outs Runs Highest score Average 100s 50sWG Grace GloucestershireMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 20 32 7 1805 192 not out 72.20 6 8Isaac Walker Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)Middlesex 11 20 3 587 64 34.52 0 2Fred Grace Gloucestershire 15 22 3 593 165 not out 31.21 1 3William Oscroft Nottinghamshire 17 30 1 758 96 26.13 0 5Harry Jupp Surrey 24 45 3 1052 94 25.04 0 8
Leading bowlers (qualification 800 balls) 1873 English season leading bowlersFirst Class Bowling in England in 1873 Name Team Balls bowled Runs conceded Wickets taken Average Best bowling 5 wicketsin innings 10 wicketsin matchWilliam McIntyre Lancashire 1517 528 63 8.38 7/37 7 4Alec Watson Lancashire 1119 445 48 9.27 6/38 5 1Arnold Rylott Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 1772 664 69 9.62 9/30 6 4Fred Morley Nottinghamshire 1235 375 35 10.71 6/62 3 1John Maude Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)Oxford University 844 255 23 11.08 6/14 2 0
Labels An unofficial seasonal title sometimes proclaimed by consensus of media and historians prior to December 1889 when the official County Championship was constituted. Although there are ante-dated claims prior to 1873, when residence qualifications were introduced, it is only since that ruling that any quasi-official status can be ascribed. Includes the "County Cup" match at Lord's between Kent and Sussex Includes a third Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire match organised privately by Nottinghamshire captain Richard Daft Hampshire, though regarded until 1885 as first-class, played no inter-county matches between 1868 and 1869 or 1871 and 1874
Notes
References
Bibliography
Annual reviews John Lillywhite's Cricketer's Companion (Green Lilly), Lillywhite, 1874 James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual (Red Lilly), Lillywhite, 1874 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1874
Further reading