# 1906 English cricket season

1906 was the 17th season of County Championship cricket in England. The title was decided in the final round of matches with Kent County Cricket Club finishing just ahead of Yorkshire. George Hirst completed a unique "double Double" of 2,385 runs and 208 wickets. Tom Hayward broke Bobby Abel’s 1901 record for the most runs scored in a first-class season.

## County Championship

| | County | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Points | Finished Games | % |
| 1 | Kent | 22 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 77.77 |
| 2 | Yorkshire | 28 | 17 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 20 | 70.00 |
| 3 | Surrey | 28 | 18 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 22 | 63.63 |
| 4 | Lancashire | 26 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 21 | 42.85 |
| 5 | Nottinghamshire | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 13 | 38.46 |
| 6 | Warwickshire | 20 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 11 | 27.27 |
| 7 | Essex | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 15 | 23.00 |
| 8 | Hampshire | 20 | 7 | 9 | 4 | -2 | 16 | -12.50 |
| 9 | Gloucestershire | 20 | 6 | 10 | 4 | -4 | 16 | -25.00 |
| 10 | Sussex | 24 | 6 | 12 | 6 | -6 | 18 | -33.33 |
| 11 | Somerset | 18 | 4 | 10 | 4 | -6 | 14 | -42.85 |
| 11 | Middlesex | 18 | 4 | 10 | 4 | -6 | 14 | -42.85 |
| 11 | Northamptonshire | 16 | 4 | 10 | 2 | -6 | 14 | -42.85 |
| 14 | Worcestershire | 20 | 2 | 8 | 10 | -6 | 10 | -60.00 |
| 15 | Leicestershire | 22 | 3 | 14 | 5 | -11 | 17 | -64.70 |
| 16 | Derbyshire | 20 | 2 | 17 | 1 | -15 | 19 | -78.94 |
Points system:
* 1 for a win
* 0 for a draw, a tie or an abandoned match
* -1 for a loss

## Minor Counties Championship

| | County | Played | Won | Won on 1st inns | No result | Possible points | Points obtained | % |
| 1 | Staffordshire | 12 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 30 | 83.33 |
| 2 | Devon | 10 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 19 | 73.33 |
| 3 | Bedfordshire | 10 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 20 | 66.67 |
| 4 | Berkshire | 10 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 19 | 63.33 |
| 4 | Surrey Second Eleven | 10 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 19 | 63.33 |
| 6 | Yorkshire Second Eleven | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 18 | 60.00 |
| 7 | Hertfordshire | 12 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 21 | 58.23 |
| 8 | Durham | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 15 | 50.00 |
| 8 | Glamorgan | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 18 | 50.00 |
| 8 | Norfolk | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 8 | 50.00 |
| 11 | Monmouthshire | 10 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 30 | 14 | 46.66 |
| 12 | Dorset | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 11 | 45.83 |
| 13 | Wiltshire | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 12 | 40.00 |
| 14 | Suffolk | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 8 | 33.33 |
| 15 | Buckinghamshire | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 6 | 25.00 |
| 15 | Cambridgeshire | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 6 | 25.00 |
| 17 | Cornwall | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 3 | 12.50 |
| 17 | Oxfordshire | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 3 | 12.50 |
| 19 | Lancashire Second Eleven | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 2 | 8.33 |
| 20 | Northumberland | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 1 | 4.16 |
Points system:
* 3 for an outright win
* 2 for a win on the first innings
* 1 for a match with no first innings decision
* 0 for a loss either outright or on the first innings of a drawn match

## Wisden Cricketers of the Year

* Jack Crawford, Arthur Fielder, Ernie Hayes, Kenneth Hutchings, Neville Knox

## Leading batsmen (qualification 20 innings)

1906 English season leading batsmen :
| Name | Team | Matches | Innings | Not outs | Runs | Highest score | Average | 100s | 50s |
| Cuthbert Burnup | Kent | 13 | 21 | 3 | 1207 | 179 | 67.05 | 4 | 6 |
| Tom Hayward | Surrey | 36 | 61 | 8 | 3518 | 219 | 66.37 | 13 | 17 |
| Kenneth Hutchings | Kent | 21 | 34 | 4 | 1597 | 176 | 53.23 | 4 | 11 |
| Ted Arnold | Worcestershire | 21 | 39 | 4 | 1767 | 166 | 50.48 | 6 | 8 |
| James Iremonger | Nottinghamshire | 23 | 43 | 6 | 1794 | 200 not out | 48.48 | 4 | 9 |
| Percy Perrin | Essex | 23 | 43 | 3 | 1893 | 150 | 47.32 | 5 | 11 |
| Johnny Tyldesley | Lancashire | 31 | 52 | 3 | 2270 | 295 not out | 46.32 | 4 | 15 |
| George Hirst | Yorkshire | 35 | 58 | 6 | 2385 | 169 | 45.86 | 6 | 15 |
| Ernie Hayes | Surrey | 35 | 56 | 5 | 2309 | 218 | 45.27 | 7 | 11 |
| Arthur Jones | Nottinghamshire | 21 | 39 | 3 | 1560 | 105 | 43.33 | 1 | 14 |
| William Burns | Worcestershire | 18 | 32 | 4 | 1206 | 165 | 43.07 | 3 | 8 |

## Leading bowlers (qualification 1,000 balls)

1906 English season leading bowlers :
| Name | Team | Balls bowled | Runs conceded | Wickets taken | Average | Best bowling | 5 wickets in innings | 10 wickets in match |
| William Huddleston | Lancashire | 1405 | 613 | 50 | 12.26 | 9/36 | 3 | 2 |
| Willis Cuttell | Lancashire | 2653 | 909 | 67 | 13.56 | 6/43 | 5 | 1 |
| Schofield Haigh | Yorkshire | 5810 | 2540 | 174 | 14.59 | 7/35 | 13 | 4 |
| George Hirst | Yorkshire | 7838 | 3434 | 208 | 16.50 | 7/18 | 19 | 4 |
| Albert Hallam | Nottinghamshire | 4994 | 1723 | 104 | 16.56 | 6/30 | 8 | 1 |
| George Dennett | Gloucestershire MCC | 6875 | 3096 | 175 | 17.69 | 10/40 | 20 | 5 |
| Billy Bestwick | Derbyshire | 4657 | 2123 | 115 | 18.46 | 7/49 | 11 | 4 |
| Thomas Wass | Nottinghamshire | 3656 | 1888 | 100 | 18.88 | 8/25 | 9 | 4 |
| Alfred Morcom | Cambridge University | 1534 | 700 | 37 | 18.91 | 6/25 | 2 | 1 |
| Frank Tarrant | Middlesex MCC | 3696 | 1740 | 91 | 19.12 | 9/54 | 7 | 1 |

## Notable events

* By winning their last eleven county matches, Kent won the Championship for the first time after Gloucestershire beat Yorkshire by a single run at Bristol in the final round of matches
* Kent's Arthur Fielder became the first bowler to take all ten wickets in an innings in the Gentlemen v Players match at Lord's
* Tom Hayward set numerous batting records:
* The highest aggregate of runs in a first-class season – since beaten only by Compton and Bill Edrich in 1947.
* The earliest to score 2,000 runs, on 5 July.
* Two separate hundreds in consecutive matches against Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire.
* George Hirst became the only player to score 2,000 runs and take 200 wickets in a season. Against Somerset at Taunton, Hirst also became the only player to have two centuries and two five-wicket returns in one match.