1902 English cricket season
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1902 was the 13th season of County Championship cricket in England. Australia had won a classic Test series against England 2–1. The first two Tests were rained off but the final three were full of drama. Victor Trumper scored a century before lunch in the third Test, Australia won the fourth by just 3 runs and England won the fifth by one wicket following a century in 75 minutes by Gilbert Jessop. It was the 21st series between the two teams.[1] Yorkshire won their third consecutive County Championship title and, as in 1901, went through the season with only one defeat.

Honours

County Championship

Main article: 1902 County Championship

Final table

The final County Championship table is shown below. One point was awarded for a win, none for a draw, and minus one for a loss. Positions were decided on percentage of points over completed games.

County Championship 1902 - Final Standings
Team P W L D A Pts GC1 Pts/GC (as %)
1 Yorkshire 26 13 1 11 1 12 14 85.71
2 Sussex 24 7 3 14 0 4 10 40.00
3 Nottinghamshire 20 6 3 11 0 3 9 33.33
4 Surrey 28 8 5 15 0 3 13 23.08
5 Lancashire 24 7 5 11 1 2 12 16.67
6 Warwickshire 18 6 5 7 0 1 11 9.09
=7 Kent 22 8 8 6 0 0 16 0.00
=7 Somerset 18 7 7 4 0 0 14 0.00
9 Worcestershire 22 5 6 11 0 -1 11 -9.09
10 Derbyshire 16 4 5 7 0 -1 9 -11.11
11 Leicestershire 20 2 4 13 1 -2 6 -33.33
12 Middlesex 18 3 7 7 1 -4 10 -40.00
13 Essex 20 2 5 13 0 -3 7 -42.86
14 Gloucestershire 20 3 9 8 0 -6 12 -50.00
15 Hampshire 16 2 10 4 0 -8 12 -66.67

Points system:

Most runs in the County Championship

1902 County Championship - leading batsmen
Name Team Matches Runs Average 100s 50s
Bobby Abel Surrey 26 1570 47.57 7 1
Cuthbert Burnup Kent 22 1349 40.87 3 10
Johnny Tyldesley Lancashire 20 1291 44.51 3 8
Tom Taylor Yorkshire 22 1276 45.57 4 8
Arthur Shrewsbury Nottinghamshire 20 1153 52.40 4 6

Most wickets in the County Championship

1902 County Championship - leading bowlers
Name Team Matches Balls bowled Wickets taken Average
Fred Tate Sussex 20 5846 153 14.28
Wilfred Rhodes Yorkshire 22 5260 140 12.48
Thomas Wass Nottinghamshire 19 4625 138 15.32
Schofield Haigh Yorkshire 25 3652 123 11.99
Beaumont Cranfield Somerset 18 4131 115 17.15

Ashes tour

Main article: Australian cricket team in England in 1902

In the 1967 Wisden Cricketer's Almanack, A. A. Thomson described this series as "a rubber more exciting than any in history except the Australia v West Indies series in 1960–61".[2] This description came despite the fact that Australia had secured the series after four of five matches, leading 2–0 before the final Test; the first two matches had been drawn due to rain, with the second match at Lord's yielding only 38 overs in three days.

The third Test, the only one ever to be played at Bramall Lane, saw Australia win by 143 runs, following a brilliant century by Victor Trumper before lunch on the first day. In the fourth Test Australia won by three runs, despite 11 wickets from recalled bowler Bill Lockwood. It came down to Fred Tate and Wilfred Rhodes needing to hit eight runs. Tate hit a four, but was bowled by Jack Saunders with the fourth ball of his over.[3] England came back to win the final Test, conceding a first-innings deficit of 141, then going to 48 for five needing 263 to win, before Gilbert Jessop hit a hundred in 75 minutes and England won by one wicket.

Trumper made a great impression on those who saw him bat. Harry Altham wrote: "From start to finish of the season, on every sort of wicket, against every sort of bowling, Trumper entranced the eye, inspired his side, demoralized his enemies, and made run-getting appear the easiest thing in the world."[4]

Cumulative record - Test wins 1876-1902
England 28
Australia 26
Drawn 12

Overall first-class statistics

Leading batsmen

1902 English cricket season - most runs
Name Team(s) Matches Runs Average 100s 50s
Victor Trumper Australians 36 2570 48.49 11 11
Bobby Abel England, Players, South of England, Surrey 41 2299 41.05 9 3
Cuthbert Burnup Gentlemen, Kent, MCC, South of England 33 2048 39.38 6 11
Johnny Tyldesley England, Lancashire, Players 34 1934 40.29 4 13
Tom Hayward England, Players, South of England, Surrey 37 1737 32.77 3 9

Leading bowlers

1902 English cricket season - most wickets
Name Team(s) Matches Balls bowled Wickets taken Average
Wilfred Rhodes England, Players, Yorkshire 37 7845 213 13.15
Fred Tate England, Players, South of England, Sussex 27 7100 180 15.71
Len Braund England, London County, MCC, Players, Somerset, South of England 33 6600 172 19.80
Charles Llewellyn Hampshire, London County, Players 26 6784 170 18.61
Schofield Haigh Players, Yorkshire 34 4794 158 12.55

References

  1. ^ Wynne-Thomas, Peter (1983). The Hamlyn A-Z of Cricket Records. Hamlyn Publishing Group. ISBN 0-600-34667-6.
  2. ^ My favourite summer, by A. A. Thomson, from Cricinfo, retrieved 26 June 2006
  3. ^ Australia in England in 1902 (4th Test)
  4. ^ Quoted in The Cricket Captains of England, Alan Gibson, 1989, The Pavilion Library, ISBN 1-85145-390-3, p76.

Annual reviews

External links

English cricket seasons
County Championship seasons
The Ashes
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