1897 English cricket season
The 1897 cricket season was the 300th in England since the earliest known definite reference to cricket in January 1597 (i.e., Old Style – 1598 New Style), and the eighth in which the County Championship has been an official competition. Lancashire won the County Championship for the first time, thanks mainly to only three losses in twenty-six matches. Surrey won more games, and beat Lancashire twice, but one more loss than Lancashire meant that they would have to be content with second place. They could have taken the Championship home if they had beaten Sussex in the last game at The County Ground, Hove, but after gaining a five-run lead on first innings, Surrey let Billy Murdoch, C. B. Fry and George Bean make half-centuries, and rain spoiled their chances of winning on the final day. In the bottom of the table, Derbyshire suffered a run of 16 matches without victory, as they finished last in the table, and with the end of 1896 yielding three matches without a win, Derbyshire's streak read 19 matches without a win at the end of the season.
Points system:
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