title: 1879 English cricket season
text: # 1879 English cricket season
  
  1879 was the 93rd season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Lancashire claimed a share of the Champion County title for the first time.
  
  The summer was the coolest and wettest 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)
  
  | 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 batsmen :
  
  | Name | Team | Matches | Innings | Not outs | Runs | Highest score | Average | 100s | 50s |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | WG Grace | Gloucestershire | 18 | 28 | 3 | 880 | 123 | 35.20 | 2 | 5 |
  | A. N. Hornby | Lancashire MCC | 17 | 22 | 2 | 606 | 64 not out | 30.30 | 0 | 3 |
  | Alfred Lyttelton | Cambridge University Middlesex | 16 | 27 | 3 | 688 | 102 | 28.66 | 1 | 4 |
  | Allan Steel | Cambridge University Lancashire | 15 | 23 | 3 | 553 | 93 | 27.65 | 0 | 3 |
  | William Oscroft | Nottinghamshire | 19 | 31 | 2 | 763 | 140 | 26.31 | 1 | 3 |
  
  ## Leading bowlers (qualification 1,000 balls)
  
  1879 English season leading bowlers :
  
  | Name | Team | Balls bowled | Runs conceded | Wickets taken | Average | Best bowling | 5 wickets in innings | 10 wickets in match |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Arnold Rylott | MCC | 1234 | 291 | 37 | 7.86 | 6/67 | 1 | 1 |
  | William Mycroft | Derbyshire MCC | 3052 | 738 | 88 | 8.38 | 8/32 | 7 | 3 |
  | Alfred Shaw | Nottinghamshire MCC | 6381 | 1277 | 133 | 9.60 | 8/21 | 13 | 3 |
  | Tom Emmett | Yorkshire | 1901 | 622 | 63 | 9.87 | 7/54 | 6 | 1 |
  | James 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.
  