1946 English cricket season

1946 English cricket season

Cricket formats	Test, first-class, minor counties

The 1946 English cricket season was the first full season of first-class cricket to be played in England after World War II. It featured a three-match Test series between England and India, which was arranged at short notice. Meanwhile, Yorkshire retained the County Championship title, having been the last pre-war champions in 1939.

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (1947 edition), in its review of the 1946 season, remarked that "the weather in 1946 might have been dreadful, but it didn't stop the crowds flocking to games".

Honours

• County Championship – Yorkshire
• Minor Counties Championship – Suffolk
• Wisden – Alec Bedser, Laurie Fishlock, Vinoo Mankad, Peter Smith, Cyril Washbrook

Test series

Main article: Indian cricket team in England in 1946

England managed to arrange a three-match series against India, whose team was captained by former England player Iftikhar Ali Khan, the Nawab of Pataudi and included Vinoo Mankad, Vijay Merchant and future Pakistan captain Abdul Hafeez Kardar.

England won the First Test thanks to Alec Bedser's 11 wickets on his debut. The Second Test was drawn after India's last two batsmen held out for the final 13 minutes with England well ahead, Bedser again having taken 11 wickets in the match. The Third Test was also drawn after being ruined by persistent rain.

• First Test at Lord's: England won by 10 wickets
• Second Test at Old Trafford: match drawn
• Third Test at The Oval: match drawn

Mankad was recognised by Wisden as one of its "Five Cricketers of the Year".

County Championship

Review

The 1946 County Championship had all teams scheduled to play 26 matches, although there were many incomplete games because of the weather "may be written down as the worst in living memory". Teams were awarded 12 points for a win and could also claim points for first innings lead in matches drawn or lost. In the end, the team with the most wins finished first and the team with the second most wins finished second, so the additional points did not really impact the outcome. According to Wisden in its 1947 edition, Yorkshire retained the title with "something to spare" but the competition was very close until the last few days. Middlesex and Lancashire "gave Yorkshire most reason for anxiety".

Captained by Brian Sellers, Yorkshire's success was chiefly due to its two main bowlers Ellis Robinson and Arthur Booth who took 167 and 111 wickets respectively in all first-class matches. Yorkshire's pace bowlers were the veteran Bill Bowes, who played for England in 1946, and future England player Alec Coxon. They took 65 and 69 wickets respectively. Seamer Frank Smailes, who also played for England against India, took 76 wickets. Booth was the season's surprise success as he was then 43 and had been a Minor Counties player before the war. Yorkshire had recalled him after many years absence as a replacement for the late Hedley Verity and Booth made the most of frequently damp conditions that suited his type of slow left arm bowling. Yorkshire's batting depended heavily on Len Hutton, supported by veterans Wilf Barber and Maurice Leyland. Norman Yardley batted well and took part in a Test trial.

Runners-up Middlesex was captained by Walter Robins and had a very strong batting lineup led by Denis Compton. The best Middlesex bowlers were Jim Sims and Jack Young.

Final table

Position	Team	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	No Dec	1st inn lead match L	1st inn lead match D	Points
Pts	–	–	12	–	–	–	4	4	–
1	Yorkshire	26	17	1	5	3	0	4	216
2	Middlesex	26	16	5	5	0	1	2	204
3	Lancashire	26	15	4	5	2	1	4	200
4	Somerset	26	12	6	7	1	2	3	166
5	Gloucestershire	26	12	6	4	4	1	3	160
=6	Glamorgan	26	10	8	6	2	3	3	144
=6	Kent	26	11	8	7	0	0	3	144
=8	Essex	26	8	9	8	1	2	4	120
=8	Worcestershire	26	9	12	2	3	3	0	120
10	Hampshire	26	8	15	3	0	2	2	112
=11	Leicestershire	26	7	13	4	2	2	2	100
=11	Surrey	26	6	11	7	2	3	4	100
13	Nottinghamshire	26	6	8	11	1	1	5	96
14	Warwickshire	26	7	15	3	1	1	1	92
15	Derbyshire	26	5	12	8	1	3	4	88
16	Northamptonshire	26	2	11	11	2	2	8	64
17	Sussex	26	4	11	10	1	2	1	60

Yorkshire total includes eight points for win on first innings in match reduced by weather to one day. Somerset total includes two points for tie on first innings in match lost.

Leading batsmen – all first-class matches

1946 English cricket season – leading batsmen by average
Name	Innings	Runs	Highest	Average	100s
Walter Hammond	26	1783	214	84.90	7
Vijay Merchant	41	2385	242*	74.53	7
Cyril Washbrook	43	2400	182	68.57	9
Denis Compton	45	2403	235	61.61	10
Martin Donnelly	29	1425	142	52.77	6
Micky Walford	10	472	141*	52.44	2

1946 English cricket season – leading batsmen by aggregate
Name	Innings	Runs	Highest	Average	100s
Denis Compton	45	2403	235	61.61	10
Cyril Washbrook	43	2400	182	68.57	9
Vijay Merchant	41	2385	242*	74.53	7
Laurie Fishlock	46	2221	172	50.47	5
Dennis Brookes	48	2191	200	50.95	7
Jack Robertson	58	2114	128	38.43	5

Leading bowlers – all first-class matches

1946 English cricket season – leading bowlers by average
Name	Balls	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Average
Arthur Booth	5504	423	1289	111	11.61
Johnnie Clay	4874	204	1742	130	13.40
Austin Matthews	4160	215	1329	93	14.29
Ellis Robinson	6830	354	2498	167	14.95
Bill Bowes	3578	203	987	65	15.18

1946 English cricket season – leading bowlers by aggregate
Name	Balls	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Average
Eric Hollies	9168	433	2871	184	15.60
Tom Goddard	7862	358	3095	177	17.48
Ellis Robinson	6830	354	2498	167	14.95
Jack Walsh	5962	144	3012	148	20.35
Sam Cook	6739	327	2477	133	18.62

External links

• CricketArchive – season summary

Bibliography

• Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1947