1862 English cricket season
1862 was the 76th season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).[note 1] The overarm bowling issue came to a head in a controversial match at The Oval.
Important matches
Events
26 August. Surrey v. England at The Oval. Edgar Willsher of England was no-balled six times in succession by John Lillywhite (son of FW Lillywhite) for bowling with his hand above the shoulder. For some years previously, Willsher and others had bowled in this way and the incident at The Oval put the issue into context. The drama was exaggerated when Willsher and England's other eight professionals walked off the field. Play continued next day but with a replacement umpire.
Leading batsmen
Thomas Hayward was the leading runscorer with 661 @ 31.47
Leading bowlers
George Tarrant was the leading wicket-taker with 96 @ 10.07
Notes
- ^ Some eleven-a-side matches played from 1772 to 1863 have been rated "first-class" by certain sources.[1] However, the term only came into common use around 1864, when overarm bowling was legalised. It was formally defined as a standard by a meeting at Lord's, in May 1894, of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the county clubs which were then competing in the County Championship. The ruling was effective from the beginning of the 1895 season, but pre-1895 matches of the same standard have no official definition of status because the ruling is not retrospective.[2] Matches of a similar standard since the beginning of the 1864 season are generally considered to have an unofficial first-class status.[3] Pre-1864 matches which are included in the ACS' "Important Match Guide" may generally be regarded as important or, at least, historically significant.[4] For further information, see First-class cricket.
References
- ^ "FC Matches in England in 1772". CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ Wisden (1948). Preston, Hubert (ed.). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (85th ed.). London: Sporting Handbooks Ltd. p. 813. OCLC 851705816.
- ^ ACS 1982, pp. 4–5.
- ^ ACS 1981, pp. 1–40.
Bibliography
- ACS (1981). A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709–1863. Nottingham: ACS. OCLC 85045528.
- ACS (1982). A Guide to FC Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles. Nottingham: ACS. OCLC 10586869.
- Warner, Pelham (1946). Lords: 1787–1945. London: Harrap. OCLC 877106024.
Further reading
- Altham, H. S.; Swanton, E. W. (1962). A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914) (5th ed.). London: George Allen & Unwin. OCLC 894274808.
- Birley, Derek (1999). A Social History of English Cricket. London: Aurum Press. ISBN 978-18-54107-10-7 – via Internet Archive.
- Bowen, Rowland (1970). Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode. ISBN 978-04-13278-60-9.
- Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-00-07183-64-7 – via Internet Archive.