Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1939

Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1939 was the last cricket season before World War II, when the English club Derbyshire had been playing for sixty-eight years. It was their forty first season in the County Championship and they won ten matches in the Championship, to finish ninth.

1939 season
Derbyshire played 28 matches in the County Championship, one against Oxford University and one against the touring West Indians. They won eleven matches altogether, ten in the County Championship. Robin Buckston was in his third season as captain. Denis Smith scored most runs and Bill Copson took most wickets.

Nearly all the players had been members of the 1936 championship winning team and the only player to make his debut was Cliff Gladwin whose low scores and failure to take a wicket gave little inkling that he would turn out to be Derbyshire's main wicket-taker in the years after World War II.

Matches
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;" ! style="background:#efefef;" colspan="6"| List of matches !No. !Date !V !Result !Margin !Notes |10 May 1939 The University Parks, Oxford Queen's Park, Chesterfield |bgcolor="#FFCC00"|Drawn County Ground, Derby Edgbaston, Birmingham Rutland Recreation Ground, Ilkeston Old Trafford, Manchester Queen's Park, Chesterfield County Ground, Derby | Surrey Woodbridge Road, Guildford Park Road Ground, Buxton Queen's Park, Chesterfield Bramall Lane, Sheffield County Ground, Derby Langridge scored a hat-trick Queen's Park, Chesterfield Trent Bridge, Nottingham County Ground, Derby Queen's Park, Chesterfield Tipton Road, Dudley County Ground, Derby Lord's Cricket Ground, St John's Wood Bat and Ball Ground, Gravesend Queen's Park, Chesterfield Ind Coope Ground, Burton-on-Trent County Ground, Northampton Southchurch Park, Southend-on-Sea College Ground, Cheltenham Rutland Recreation Ground, Ilkeston The Saffrons, Eastbourne County Ground, Taunton Aylestone Road, Leicester
 * - style="background:#efefef;"
 * 1
 * 1
 * |Oxford University
 * style="background:#0f0;"|Won
 * 163 runs
 * W H Copson 5-12 and 5-9; Pether 5-7; A V Pope 5-30
 * 2
 * 13 May 1939
 * Surrey
 * Surrey
 * Gregory 5-46; W H Copson 5-47
 * 3
 * 20 May 1939
 * Northamptonshire
 * 20 May 1939
 * Northamptonshire
 * style="background:#0f0;"|Won
 * 10 wickets
 * 4
 * 27 May 1939
 * Warwickshire
 * 27 May 1939
 * Warwickshire
 * style="background:#f00;"|Lost
 * 71 runs
 * Dollery 177; W H Copson 5-47; Hollies 6-48 and 5-79; T. B. Mitchell 5-112
 * 5
 * 31 May 1939
 * Kent
 * Kent
 * style="background:#0f0;"|Won
 * 5 wickets
 * W H Copson 5-39;
 * 6
 * 03 Jun 1939
 * Lancashire
 * Lancashire
 * style="background:#f00;"|Lost
 * Innings and 105 runs
 * Paynter 222; Phillipson 5-38
 * 7
 * 07 Jun 1939
 * Worcestershire
 * Worcestershire
 * style="background:#0f0;"|Won
 * 315 runs
 * D Smith 123; A V Pope6-47
 * 8
 * 10 Jun 1939
 * West Indies
 * West Indies
 * style="background:#fc0;"|Drawn
 * W H Copson 6-73
 * 9
 * 14 Jun 1939
 * 9
 * 14 Jun 1939
 * style="background:#0f0;"|Won
 * Innings and 43 runs
 * Parker 6-34; A V Pope 6-44; G H Pope 5-46
 * 10
 * 17 Jun 1939
 * Lancashire
 * Lancashire
 * style="background:#fc0;"|Drawn
 * T S Worthington 101
 * 11
 * 21 Jun 1939
 * Leicestershire
 * 21 Jun 1939
 * Leicestershire
 * style="background:#0f0;"|Won
 * 9 wickets
 * H Smith 5-64; L F Townsend 5-45
 * 12
 * 24 Jun 1939
 * Yorkshire
 * Yorkshire
 * style="background:#f00;"|Lost
 * 276 runs
 * Barber 100; G H Pope 6-44; Smurthwaite 5-7; Smailes 10-47
 * 13
 * 28 Jun 1939
 * Sussex
 * Sussex
 * style="background:#f00;"|Lost
 * 13 runs
 * T S Worthington 119; W H Copson 6-64; Duffield 5-38; Langridge 3-5
 * 14
 * 01 Jul 1939
 * Essex
 * Essex
 * style="background:#0f0;"|Won
 * 10 wickets
 * W H Copson 6-57; Stephenson 6-41
 * 15
 * 08 Jul 1939
 * Nottinghamshire
 * Nottinghamshire
 * style="background:#fc0;"|Drawn
 * T. B. Mitchell 5-70
 * 16
 * 12 Jul 1939
 * Middlesex
 * 12 Jul 1939
 * Middlesex
 * style="background:#0f0;"|Won
 * 6 wickets
 * W H Copson 7-39
 * 17
 * 15 Jul 1939
 * Yorkshire
 * Yorkshire
 * style="background:#fc0;"|Drawn
 * 18
 * 19 Jul 1939
 * Worcestershire
 * 18
 * 19 Jul 1939
 * Worcestershire
 * style="background:#fc0;"|Drawn
 * D Smith 132
 * 19
 * 22 Jul 1939
 * Somerset
 * 22 Jul 1939
 * Somerset
 * style="background:#fc0;"|Drawn
 * Buse 5-76; G H Pope 5-59; T. B. Mitchell 5-66; Andrews 5-45
 * 20
 * 26 Jul 1939
 * Middlesex
 * 26 Jul 1939
 * Middlesex
 * style="background:#f00;"|Lost
 * Innings and 24 runs
 * Denis Compton 214; Sims 8-32 and 5-128
 * 21
 * 29 Jul 1939
 * Kent
 * Kent
 * style="background:#f00;"|Lost
 * 171 runs
 * Ames 159; Todd 106; Harding 5-56
 * 22
 * 02 Aug 1939
 * Gloucestershire
 * Gloucestershire
 * style="background:#fc0;"|Drawn
 * Scott 7-63; T. B. Mitchell 6-71
 * 23
 * 05 Aug 1939
 * Warwickshire
 * 05 Aug 1939
 * Warwickshire
 * style="background:#fc0;"|Drawn
 * Grove 5-78
 * 24
 * 09 Aug 1939
 * Northamptonshire
 * 09 Aug 1939
 * Northamptonshire
 * style="background:#fc0;"|Drawn
 * Brookes 101; G H Pope 6-38
 * 25
 * 12 Aug 1939
 * Essex
 * 12 Aug 1939
 * Essex
 * style="background:#f00;"|Lost
 * Innings and 31 runs
 * Nichols 6-18 and 5-26; Farnes 5-52
 * 26
 * 16 Aug 1939
 * Gloucestershire
 * Gloucestershire
 * style="background:#0f0;"|Won
 * 1 run
 * W H Copson 5-45;A V Pope 5-25; Lambert 6-69; T. B. Mitchell 5-75
 * 27
 * 19 Aug 1939
 * Nottinghamshire
 * Nottinghamshire
 * style="background:#0f0;"|Won
 * 147 runs
 * G H Pope 121
 * 28
 * 23 Aug 1939
 * Sussex
 * Sussex
 * style="background:#f00;"|Lost
 * Innings and 39 runs
 * T. B. Mitchell 8-149 Nye 5-49
 * 29
 * 26 Aug 1939
 * Somerset
 * Somerset
 * style="background:#0f0;"|Won
 * 7 wickets
 * A F Townsend 142; Buse 8-41
 * 30
 * 30 Aug 1939
 * Leicestershire
 * Leicestershire
 * style="background:#fc0;"|Drawn
 * Sperry 7-48; W H Copson 6-39
 * Sperry 7-48; W H Copson 6-39

Wicket Keeper

 * Harry Elliott Catches 48, Stumping 11
 * Albert Alderman Catches 17, Stumping 1