1985 John Player Special League
| Administrator(s) | Test and County Cricket Board |
|---|---|
| Cricket format | Limited overs cricket (40 overs per innings) |
| Tournament format(s) | League |
| Champions | Essex (3rd title) |
| Participants | 17 |
| Matches played | 136 |
| Most runs | 663 Bill Athey (Gloucestershire) |
| Most wickets | 26 Kevin Curran (Gloucs)/Norman Gifford (Warwicks) |
The 1985 John Player Special League was the seventeenth competing of what was generally known as the Sunday League. The competition was won for the third time by Essex County Cricket Club.
Rain affected most rounds of the Sunday League that season with a lot of abandoned, (27 no results, 20% of fixtures) and shortened matches. On July 7, at Knypersley, Derbyshire established a league record by hitting 18 sixes in their score of 292-9 from 40 overs. In the final round of matches on September 15, Essex beat Yorkshire at Chelmsford to retain the Sunday League. Sussex finished second and Hampshire finishing third.
Essex had a great record in that season's three one day competitions. Also winning the NatWest Trophy and finishing runners up in the third competition Benson and Hedges Cup.
Source: CricketArchive
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