The 1879 English cricket season was the 16th since the legalisation of overarm bowling. Lancashire claimed a share of the Champion County title for the first time.
The summer was the coolestHadley Center Central England Temperature and wettestHadley Center England and Wales Precipitation over the two-and-a-half centuries of climatic records in England, and during the early part of the twentieth century exceptionally wet seasons such as 1903, 1912, 1924 and 1927 were very frequently compared to 1879.
Champion County
Lancashire, Nottinghamshire (shared)
Playing record (by county) Wynne-Thomas, Peter; The Rigby A-Z of Cricket Records; p. 53 County Played Won Lost Drawn Derbyshire 6 2 4 0 Gloucestershire 10 1 3 6 Kent 10 2 7 1 Lancashire 10 5 1 4 Middlesex 8 2 2 4 Nottinghamshire 12 5 1 6 Surrey 10 3 4 3 Sussex 4 1 2 1 Yorkshire 14 7 4 3
Leading batsmen (qualification 20 innings) 1879 English season leading batsmenFirst Class Batting in England in 1879 Name Team Matches Innings Not outs Runs Highest score Average 100s 50sWG Grace Gloucestershire 18 28 3 880 123 35.20 2 5A. N. Hornby LancashireMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 17 22 2 606 64 not out 30.30 0 3Alfred Lyttelton Cambridge UniversityMiddlesex 16 27 3 688 102 28.66 1 4Allan Steel Cambridge UniversityLancashire 15 23 3 553 93 27.65 0 3William Oscroft Nottinghamshire 19 31 2 763 140 26.31 1 3
Leading bowlers (qualification 1,000 balls) 1879 English season leading bowlersFirst Class Bowling in England in 1879 Name Team Balls bowled Runs conceded Wickets taken Average Best bowling 5 wicketsin innings 10 wicketsin matchArnold Rylott Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 1234 291 37 7.86 6/67 1 1William Mycroft DerbyshireMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 3052 738 88 8.38 8/32 7 3Alfred Shaw NottinghamshireMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) 6381 1277 133 9.60 8/21 13 3Tom Emmett Yorkshire 1901 622 63 9.87 7/54 6 1James Lillywhite Sussex 1098 229 23 9.95 8/43 1 1
Notable events 25 March: Formation of Leicestershire County Cricket Club. For the last time to date, no batsman reached 1,000 runs for the season.
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. Hampshire, though regarded until 1885 as first-class, played no inter-county matches
Notes
References
Bibliography
Annual reviews John Lillywhite's Cricketer's Companion (Green Lilly), Lillywhite, 1880 James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual (Red Lilly), Lillywhite, 1880 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1880
Further reading