1865 English cricket season

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The 1865 English cricket season saw the first-class debut of WG Grace

1 Honours
2 Events
3 Leading batsmen
4 Leading bowlers
5 References

[edit] Honours

Champion County - Nottinghamshire

[edit] Events

15 & 16 February. Earliest inter-colonial match in the West Indies was Barbados v. Demerara (now Guyana) at Bridgetown. This is recognised as the start of West Indian first-class cricket.

3 March. Formation of Worcestershire CCC.

22 June. WG Grace made his first-class debut playing for Gentlemen of the South v. Players of the South. This was a two-day match which his team won by an innings and 58 runs. Amazingly, the original bearded wonder began his career with a duck: st HH Stephenson b G Bennett. However, he made up for this disappointment by taking 5-44 and 8-40! He was then aged just 16.

Grace played in five matches during his debut season but he was still not attached to a first-class county (Gloucestershire’s entry into the Championship was not until 1870). His other games in 1865 were for Gentlemen v. Players (twice), England v. Surrey and Gentlemen of England v. Gentlemen of Middlesex.

Grace played till 1908. He remains peerless as a player and is known to history as The Great Cricketer. A massive personality who was the sport’s supreme all-rounder, but he is best remembered as a master batsman who conquered the uncertain pitch conditions of his time. His superiority over his contemporaries is astounding and only Don Bradman has a similar stature in the game's history.

Lancashire CCC joined the County Championship and played its initial first-class match v. Middlesex at Old Trafford on 20, 21 & 22 July.