1969 English cricket season
Encyclopedia
The 1969 English cricket season saw the inauguration of the Sunday League (now the National League
), sponsored by the John Player
tobacco company. All matches were played on Sundays with each of the 17 first-class counties playing each other once. They were of 40 overs a side. One match each Sunday was televised by the BBC
and the idea was a commercial success, though it had its critics among cricket's "traditional" supporters.
One effect of the Sunday League was a reduction in the number of matches played by each team in the County Championship
from 28 to 24.
. Other notable England players included John Snow
, Geoff Boycott, John Edrich
, Alan Knott
and Derek Underwood
. John Hampshire
scored a century on his Test debut versus West Indies at Lord's
.
England defeated New Zealand
and West Indies in two three-match series, in both cases by two wins and one draw.
See also: New Zealand cricket team in England in 1969
and West Indian cricket team in England in 1969
topped the averages with 2238 runs @ 69.93.
Other leading batsmen were Basil Butcher
, Mushtaq Mohammed and Barry Richards who all averaged over 50.
was the leading bowler with an average of 14.82 but he took only 69 wickets whereas four bowlers took over 100 wickets each. These were Mike Procter
, Derek Underwood
, Tom Cartwright
and Don Wilson who all averaged less than 17.50.
National League (cricket)
The NatWest Pro40 League was a one-day cricket league for first-class cricket counties in England and Wales. It was inaugurated in 1999, but was essentially the old Sunday League retitled to reflect the fact that large numbers of matches were played on days other than Sunday.-Sunday League:The...
), sponsored by the John Player
John Player & Sons
John Player & Sons, known simply as Player's, was a tobacco and cigarette manufacturer based in Nottingham, England. It is today a part of the Imperial Tobacco Group.-History:...
tobacco company. All matches were played on Sundays with each of the 17 first-class counties playing each other once. They were of 40 overs a side. One match each Sunday was televised by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and the idea was a commercial success, though it had its critics among cricket's "traditional" supporters.
One effect of the Sunday League was a reduction in the number of matches played by each team in the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
from 28 to 24.
Honours
- County Championship - Glamorgan
- Gillette Cup - Yorkshire
- Sunday League - Lancashire
- Minor Counties Championship - BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire County Cricket ClubBuckinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Buckinghamshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy. The Minor Counties play...
- Second XI Championship - Kent II
- Wisden - Basil ButcherBasil ButcherBasil Fitzherbert Butcher is a former West Indian cricketer who played in 44 Tests from 1958 to 1969. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1970....
, Alan KnottAlan KnottAlan Philip Eric Knott is a former Kent County Cricket Club and English cricketer, as a wicket-keeper-batsman....
, Majid KhanMajid Khan (cricket player)Majid Jahangir Khan is a former cricketer, specialist batsman and former captain of the Pakistan cricket team and perhaps the most fearless opening Batsman produced by Pakistan. Khan's first-class career spanned from 1961 to 1985...
, Mike ProcterMike ProcterMichael John Procter is a former South African cricketer. A fast bowler and hard hitting batsman, his chances for a long and productive test career were wrecked by South Africa's banishment from world cricket in the 1970s and 1980s...
, Don ShepherdDon ShepherdDon Shepherd was a Welsh cricketer, who played for Glamorgan. One of the great county bowlers, he took more first-class wickets, 2,218 at 21.32 each, than any other player who never played Test cricket.Shepherd began his county career in 1950 as a fast-medium bowler, and was a regular in the...
Test series
England had a very strong team captained by Ray IllingworthRay Illingworth
Raymond Illingworth, CBE is a former English cricketer, cricket commentator and cricket administrator. He was one of only nine players to have taken 2,000 wickets and made 20,000 runs in First class cricket, and the last one to do so...
. Other notable England players included John Snow
John Snow (cricketer)
John Augustine Snow played cricket for Sussex and England in the 1960s and 1970s. Despite being the son of a country vicar and publishing two volumes of poetry Snow was England's most formidable fast bowler between Fred Trueman and Bob Willis and played Test Matches with both of them at either end...
, Geoff Boycott, John Edrich
John Edrich
John Edrich, MBE is a former English cricketer, who played for Surrey and England. He earned a reputation as a dogged and fearless batsman, and his figures show that he was amongst the best players of his generation...
, Alan Knott
Alan Knott
Alan Philip Eric Knott is a former Kent County Cricket Club and English cricketer, as a wicket-keeper-batsman....
and Derek Underwood
Derek Underwood
Derek Underwood MBE is an English former international cricketer, and a former President of the MCC....
. John Hampshire
John Hampshire
John Harry Hampshire John Harry Hampshire John Harry Hampshire (born 10 February 1941, Thurnscoe (near Barnsley, Yorkshire) better known as Jack Hampshire, is a former English cricketer, who played eight Tests and three ODIs for England between 1969 and 1975. He played first-class cricket for...
scored a century on his Test debut versus West Indies at Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
.
England defeated New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
and West Indies in two three-match series, in both cases by two wins and one draw.
See also: New Zealand cricket team in England in 1969
New Zealand cricket team in England in 1969
The New Zealand cricket team toured England in the 1969 season to play a three-match Test series against England. The New Zealanders played in the second half of the English season: the England cricket team played three Test matches against the West Indies cricket team in the earlier part of the...
and West Indian cricket team in England in 1969
West Indian cricket team in England in 1969
The West Indies cricket team toured England in the 1969 season to play a three-match Test series against England. England won the series 2-0 with one match drawn....
Leading batsmen
John EdrichJohn Edrich
John Edrich, MBE is a former English cricketer, who played for Surrey and England. He earned a reputation as a dogged and fearless batsman, and his figures show that he was amongst the best players of his generation...
topped the averages with 2238 runs @ 69.93.
Other leading batsmen were Basil Butcher
Basil Butcher
Basil Fitzherbert Butcher is a former West Indian cricketer who played in 44 Tests from 1958 to 1969. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1970....
, Mushtaq Mohammed and Barry Richards who all averaged over 50.
Leading bowlers
Alan WardAlan Ward
Alan Ward is an English former cricketer, who played in five Tests for England from 1969 to 1976. He played for Derbyshire from 1966 to 1976, and for Leicestershire from 1977 to 1978. A fast right-arm bowler, he could, with more fortune, have been the perfect foil of his era for John Snow...
was the leading bowler with an average of 14.82 but he took only 69 wickets whereas four bowlers took over 100 wickets each. These were Mike Procter
Mike Procter
Michael John Procter is a former South African cricketer. A fast bowler and hard hitting batsman, his chances for a long and productive test career were wrecked by South Africa's banishment from world cricket in the 1970s and 1980s...
, Derek Underwood
Derek Underwood
Derek Underwood MBE is an English former international cricketer, and a former President of the MCC....
, Tom Cartwright
Tom Cartwright
Thomas William Cartwright MBE was an English cricketer. He played in five Tests for England in 1964 and 1965. His withdrawal from the 1968-69 tour to South Africa, and replacement in the touring team by Basil D'Oliveira, precipitated the sporting isolation of South Africa until apartheid was...
and Don Wilson who all averaged less than 17.50.
External sources
Annual reviews
- Playfair Cricket AnnualPlayfair Cricket AnnualPlayfair Cricket Annual is a compact annual about cricket that is published in the United Kingdom each April, just before the English cricket season is due to begin. Its main purposes are to review the previous English season and to provide detailed career records and potted biographies of current...
1970 - Wisden Cricketers Almanack 1970