# 1898 English cricket season

1898 was the ninth season of County Championship cricket in England. Yorkshire won the championship for the second time in three years. It was an emphatic victory with a record of sixteen wins and seven draws in 26 games. Middlesex finished second after two wins over Kent in late August to improve five places on their 1897 finish. Derbyshire broke their streak of 22 Championship matches without victory by beating Hampshire in late May. As for individual performances, Surrey batsman Bobby Abel made 1800 runs for the second season in succession, one run shy of his own championship record in 1897.

## Honours

* County Championship – Yorkshire
* Minor Counties Championship – Worcestershire
* Wisden (Five Cricketers of the Year) – Wilfred Rhodes, Bill Storer, Charlie Townsend, Albert Trott, William Lockwood

## County Championship
### Final table

County Championship 1898 – Final Standings :
| | Team | P | W | L | D | | Pts | GC$^1$ | Pts/GC (as %) |
| 1 | Yorkshire | 26 | 16 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 19 | 68.42 |
| 2 | Middlesex | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 53.85 |
| 3 | Gloucestershire | 20 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 50.00 |
| 4 | Surrey | 26 | 11 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 15 | 46.67 |
| 5 | Essex | 20 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 25.00 |
| 6 | Lancashire | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 20.00 |
| 7 | Kent | 20 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 0 | −1 | 11 | −9.09 |
| 8 | Nottinghamshire | 16 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 0 | −1 | 3 | −33.33 |
| 9 | Derbyshire | 16 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 1 | −4 | 8 | −50.00 |
| 9 | Sussex | 20 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 0 | −6 | 12 | −50.00 |
| 9 | Warwickshire | 18 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 1 | −4 | 8 | −50.00 |
| 12 | Hampshire | 18 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | −6 | 10 | −60.00 |
| 13 | Leicestershire | 16 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 0 | −9 | 11 | −81.82 |
| 14 | Somerset | 16 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 0 | −9 | 11 | −81.82 |
* $^1$ Games completed
Points system:
* 1 for a win
* 0 for a draw, a tie or an abandoned match
* -1 for a loss

### Most runs in the County Championship

1898 County Championship – leading batsmen :
| Name | Team | Matches | Runs | Average | 100s | 50s |
| Bobby Abel | Surrey | 24 | 1832 | 57.25 | 7 | 10 |
| Johnny Tyldesley | Lancashire | 26 | 1801 | 39.15 | 2 | 12 |
| CB Fry | Sussex | 16 | 1604 | 59.40 | 6 | 8 |
| John Tunnicliffe | Yorkshire | 24 | 1538 | 46.60 | 4 | 8 |
| Bill Brockwell | Surrey | 24 | 1468 | 43.17 | 5 | 5 |

### Most wickets in the County Championship

1898 County Championship – leading bowlers :
| Name | Team | Matches | Balls bowled | Wickets taken | Average |
| Charlie Townsend | Gloucestershire | 20 | 4905 | 130 | 20.00 |
| Wilfred Rhodes | Yorkshire | 26 | 4949 | 126 | 13.84 |
| Tom Richardson | Surrey | 24 | 5167 | 126 | 21.29 |
| Jack Hearne | Middlesex | 18 | 5663 | 125 | 14.76 |
| Bill Lockwood | Surrey | 21 | 4188 | 109 | 17.06 |

## Overall first-class statistics
### Leading batsmen

1898 English cricket season – leading batsmen :
| Name | Team(s) | Matches | Runs | Average | 100s | 50s |
| Bobby Abel | Players, Surrey | 30 | 2053 | 48.88 | 7 | 11 |
| Johnny Tyldesley | Lancashire, Players | 29 | 1918 | 37.60 | 2 | 13 |
| John Tunnicliffe | Players, Yorkshire | 30 | 1804 | 41.00 | 4 | 9 |
| CB Fry | Gentlemen, Sussex | 19 | 1788 | 54.18 | 6 | 10 |
| Bill Brockwell | Players, Surrey | 30 | 1686 | 38.31 | 6 | 5 |

### Leading bowlers

1898 English cricket season – leading bowlers :
| Name | Team(s) | Matches | Balls bowled | Wickets taken | Average |
| J. T. Hearne | MCC, Middlesex, Players | 30 | 9053 | 222 | 14.05 |
| Tom Richardson | Surrey | 29 | 6119 | 161 | 19.54 |
| Wilfred Rhodes | Players, Yorkshire | 33 | 6149 | 154 | 14.60 |
| Charlie Townsend | Gentlemen, Gloucestershire | 25 | 5587 | 145 | 20.64 |
| Bill Lockwood | Players, Surrey | 26 | 5010 | 134 | 16.62 |