1879 English cricket season
The 1879 English cricket season saw Lancashire claim a share of the 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.
a 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.
b Hampshire, though regarded until 1885 as first-class, played no inter-county matches
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