Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1897

Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1897 was the cricket season when the English club Derbyshire had been playing for twenty-six years. It was their third season in the County Championship and they came fourteenth after failing to win a match, though they were exceptionally unlucky in losing by a single wicket to power clubs Lancashire and Yorkshire and being robbed by time of victory over Leicestershire late in the season.

1897 season
Derbyshire played sixteen games in the County Championship and one against MCC. They did not win a match in the season, losing ten. They were missing two key bowlers: John Hulme, who had taken most wickets in 1896, did not play at all during the season; and George Porter, who underwent surgery in 1896 and retired from the game.

Sydney Evershed was in his seventh season as captain. Levi Wright was top scorer, overtaking Bagshaw's lead in the Championship with a good performance against MCC. George Davidson took most wickets but, apart from three matches on sticky wickets against Lancashire, Warwickshire and Yorkshire, was never difficult, and of the others only wicket-keeper Storer ever took five wickets in one innings.

Of those who made their debuts in the season, Arnold Warren went on to play for the club for 23 years and represented England in 1905, and Maynard Ashcroft, a doctor, went on to become club captain. Most of the remaining newcomers were from mining families. Frank Davidson, Joseph Hancock and William Wilmot each played over several more seasons but more or less occasionally. James Cross, Herbert Bostock, Dick Steeples and Edward Houseman all appeared only in the 1897 season, Cross playing nine matches, Bostock four, Steeples three and Houseman one. Cross and Steeples filled in for the lack of bowling, while Bostock achieved a high average in his three games.

Matches
{| class="wikitable" width="100%" ! bgcolor="#efefef" colspan=6 | List of matches !No. !Date !V !Result !Margin !Notes County Ground, Derby Kennington Oval County Ground, Derby Aigburth, Liverpool County Ground, Southampton Lord's Cricket Ground, St John's Wood County Ground, Derby County Ground, Leyton County Ground, Derby County Ground, Derby Grace Road, Leicester County Ground, Derby County Ground, Derby Trent Bridge, Nottingham County Ground, Derby Park Avenue Cricket Ground, Bradford Edgbaston, Birmingham
 * - bgcolor="#efefef"
 * 1
 * 10 May 1897
 * Lancashire
 * Lancashire
 * bgcolor="#FF0000"|Lost
 * Innings and 220 runs
 * Ward 162; Mold 6-55 and 6-29
 * 2
 * 24 May 1897
 * Surrey
 * Surrey
 * bgcolor="#FF0000"|Lost
 * Innings and 3 runs
 * H Bagshaw 114; W Storer 5-40; Richardson 5-82
 * 3
 * 31 May 1897
 * Warwickshire
 * Warwickshire
 * bgcolor="#FFCC00"|Drawn
 * G Davidson 6-62
 * 4
 * 03 Jun 1897
 * Lancashire
 * 03 Jun 1897
 * Lancashire
 * bgcolor="#FF0000"|Lost
 * 1 wicket
 * Briggs 8-70; G Davidson 6-22
 * 5
 * 07 Jun 1897
 * Hampshire
 * Hampshire
 * bgcolor="#FFCC00"|Drawn
 * Lacey 121; H Bagshaw 105
 * 6
 * 10 Jun 1897
 * MCC
 * 10 Jun 1897
 * MCC
 * bgcolor="#FF0000"|Lost
 * 2 wickets
 * Trott 6-47; Mead 5-67
 * 7
 * 14 Jun 1897
 * Yorkshire
 * Yorkshire
 * bgcolor="#FF0000"|Lost
 * 1 wicket
 * W Storer 104; Peel 5-47
 * 8
 * 28 Jun 1897
 * Essex
 * Essex
 * bgcolor="#FF0000"|Lost
 * 7 wickets
 * W Chatterton 120; Bull 7-93 and 6-63
 * 9
 * 05 Jul 1897
 * Nottinghamshire
 * Nottinghamshire
 * bgcolor="#FFCC00"|Drawn
 * Gunn 152;
 * 10
 * 19 Jul 1897
 * Essex
 * 19 Jul 1897
 * Essex
 * bgcolor="#FFCC00"|Drawn
 * SH Evershed 112; Bull 6-137
 * 11
 * 22 Jul 1897
 * Leicestershire
 * 22 Jul 1897
 * Leicestershire
 * bgcolor="#FF0000"|Lost
 * 5 wickets
 * Stocks 5-49; Woodcock 5-106
 * 12
 * 26 Jul 1897
 * Surrey
 * Surrey
 * bgcolor="#FF0000"|Lost
 * 10 wickets
 * Key 130; Richardson 6-52; Lees 5-63
 * 13
 * 02 Aug 1897
 * Hampshire
 * Hampshire
 * bgcolor="#FF0000"|Lost
 * 186 runs
 * 14
 * 09 Aug 1897
 * Nottinghamshire
 * 09 Aug 1897
 * Nottinghamshire
 * bgcolor="#FFCC00"|Drawn
 * Gunn 230; LG Wright 133; G Davidson 121
 * 15
 * 16 Aug 1897
 * Leicestershire
 * 16 Aug 1897
 * Leicestershire
 * bgcolor="#FFCC00"|Drawn
 * H Bagshaw 124
 * 16
 * 19 Aug 1897
 * Yorkshire
 * 19 Aug 1897
 * Yorkshire
 * bgcolor="#FF0000"|Lost
 * 5 wickets
 * Haigh 6-18 and 5-62; G Davidson 6-23; Wainwright 5-39
 * 17
 * 30 Aug 1897
 * Warwickshire
 * Warwickshire
 * bgcolor="#FFCC00"|Drawn

County Championship batting averages
(a) Figures adjusted for non Championship match

County Championship bowling averages
(a) Figures adjusted for non Championship match

Wicket Keeping

 * William Storer Catches 26, Stumpings 2