Sporting and Athletic Records

THE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP 47 III.—THE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP From 1870 to 1890 there were only eight first-class counties, namely, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, KENT, LANCASHIRE, MIDDLESEX, NOTTINGHAM­ SHIRE, SURREY, SUSSEX, and YORKSHIRE. In 1891 SOMERSETSHIRE was admitted to first-class rank. And in 1895 ANC ^ 1896 five more counties were added to the list, namely, DERBYSHIRE, ESSEX, HAMP­ SHIRE, LEICESTERSHIRE and WARWICKSHIRE, The championship therefore naturally divides itself into three periods. In the first, from 1870—1890, the number of matches played by the different counties varied greatly during the first eleven years: thus in 1870 three of the counties only played two games each, and as late as 1880, one county only played four games. Again during the six years 1870—1875, LANCASHIRE only played 21 games, and MIDDLESEX 22 games—a yearly average of less than four. From 1880 to 1890, however, no county played less than 8 games during the year. During the second period of four years thecontest was very complete; SURREY, MIDDLESEX and GLOUCESTERSHIRE played the full number of games, 64 (16 each year); YORKSHIRE and LANCASHIRE played 63; NOTTS, KENT and SUSSES played 62; and SOMERSET played 60, or only four short of the total possible. In the last two years the large number of counties playing has again brought about considerable difference in the number of games played, and a corresponding difficulty in fairly estimating the relative merits of the different counties. (i) 1870—1890 Champion County 1870—1890 Nottinghamshire 7 years 1873, 75, 80, 84, 85, 86, 89. Surrey 4 „ 1872, 87, 88, 90. Yorkshire 4 „ 1870, 74, 79, 83.