The 1969 English cricket season was the 70th in which the County Championship had been an official competition. The Sunday League (now the National League) began, sponsored by the John Player tobacco company. All matches were played on Sundays with each of the 17 first-class counties playing each other once. Matches were of 40 overs a side. One match each Sunday was televised by the BBC and the idea was a commercial success, though it had its critics among cricket's "traditional" supporters.
One effect of the Sunday League was a reduction in the number of matches played by each team in the County Championship from 28 to 24. Glamorgan won the Championship title. England defeated both West Indies and New Zealand in Test series.
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Main article: West Indian cricket team in England in 1969 |
England had a very strong team captained by Ray Illingworth. Other notable England players included John Snow, Geoff Boycott, John Edrich, Alan Knott and Derek Underwood. John Hampshire scored a century on his Test debut versus West Indies at Lord's.
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Main article: New Zealand cricket team in England in 1969 |
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Main article: 1969 County Championship |
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Main article: 1969 Gillette Cup |
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Main article: 1969 Player's County League |
John Edrich topped the averages with 2238 runs at 69.93.
Other leading batsmen were Basil Butcher, Mushtaq Mohammed and Barry Richards, who all averaged over 50.
Alan Ward was the leading bowler, with an average of 14.82, but he took only 69 wickets, whereas four bowlers took over 100 wickets each. These were Mike Procter, Derek Underwood, Tom Cartwright and Don Wilson, who all averaged less than 17.50.