1996 English cricket season

The 1996 English cricket season saw England host tours by India and Pakistan, who each played three Tests and three ODIs. Against India, England were unbeaten, winning the Test series 1–0 and the ODI series 2–0. However, against the Pakistanis England lost 2–0 in the Tests, and had to console themselves with a 2–1 ODI series victory.

In Hampshire's game against the Indians just before the third Test, Hampshire's Kevan James took four wickets in consecutive balls and then scored a century. This was the first time this particular "double" had ever been achieved in a first-class match.

The County Championship was won by Leicestershire for the second time (after 1975), and they celebrated their already certain title by thrashing Middlesex by an innings on the last day of the season. Leicestershire finished 27 points in front of Derbyshire.

In one-day cricket, the AXA Equity and Law League was won by Surrey on run rate from Nottinghamshire, while Lancashire claimed the honours in both the NatWest Trophy and the Benson & Hedges Cup. The best bowling figures of the season were claimed by Glen Chapple of Lancashire who took 6–18 in the NatWest Trophy final against Essex, in which the southern county were bowled out for an embarrassing 57.

Vince Wells' score of 201 in an earlier round of the NatWest Trophy was at the time only the fourth List A double century to have been scored.

Honours

Statistical highlights

First-class

List A

Tables

County Championship

Points awarded: Win: 16 points. Draw: 3 points.

Britannic Assurance County Championship, 1996
Pos Team Pld Won Lst Drn BatB BwlB Pts
1 Leicestershire 17 10 1 6 57 61 296
2 Derbyshire 17 9 3 5 52 58 269
3 Surrey 17 8 2 7 49 64 262
4 Kent 17 9 2 6 47 52 261
5 Essex 17 8 5 4 58 57 255
6 Yorkshire 17 8 5 4 50 58 248
7 Worcestershire 17 6 4 7 45 60 222
8 Warwickshire 17 7 6 4 39 55 218
9 Middlesex 17 7 6 4 30 59 213
10 Glamorgan 17 6 5 6 50 43 207
11 Somerset 17 5 6 6 38 61 197
12 Sussex 17 6 9 2 36 58 196
13 Gloucestershire 17 5 7 5 23 59 177
14 Hampshire 17 3 7 7 41 56 166
15 Lancashire 17 2 6 9 49 52 160
16 Northamptonshire 17 3 8 6 36 57 159
17 Nottinghamshire 17 1 9 7 42 52 131
18 Durham 17 0 12 5 22 60 97

AXA Equity & Law League

Points awarded: Win: 4 points. Tie / No Result / Abandoned: 2 points.
NRR = Net Run Rate: runs per 100 balls scored less runs per 100 balls conceded, adjusting to team's full allocation if all out, and including no result matches.

AXA Equity & Law League, 1996
Pos Team Pld Won Tie Lst NoR Abd Pts NRR
1 Surrey 17 12 0 4 0 1 50 16.145
2 Nottinghamshire 17 12 0 4 0 1 50 10.185
3 Yorkshire 17 11 0 6 0 0 44 11.594
4 Warwickshire 17 10 0 6 1 0 42 4.888
5 Somerset 17 10 0 6 0 1 42 1.148
6 Northamptonshire 17 10 0 6 1 0 42 0.421
7 Middlesex 17 9 0 7 0 1 38 −2.035
8 Worcestershire 17 8 0 6 2 1 38 1.885
9 Lancashire 17 9 0 8 0 0 36 −0.162
10 Kent 17 8 1 8 0 0 34 −7.655
11 Derbyshire 17 7 1 7 1 1 34 4.357
12 Leicestershire 17 7 0 7 2 1 34 −0.104
13 Glamorgan 17 7 0 8 1 1 32 2.738
14 Sussex 17 6 0 9 1 1 28 −11.508
15 Hampshire 17 4 0 10 1 2 22 −6.163
16 Gloucestershire 17 4 0 10 1 2 22 −8.190
17 Essex 17 4 0 12 1 0 18 −3.572
18 Durham 17 1 0 15 0 1 6 −15.491

Averages

First-class

Batting

Qualification: eight innings

English first-class batting averages, 1996
Player Team(s) M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50
Sourav Ganguly India 9 14 6 762 136 95.25 3 4
Saeed Anwar Pakistan 10 19 1 1,224 219* 68.00 5 4
Graham Gooch Essex 17 30 1 1,994 201 67.03 8 6
Herschelle Gibbs South Africa A 8 14 1 867 183 66.69 2 5
Adam Hollioake Surrey 17 29 6 1,522 129 66.17 5 8
Inzamam-ul-Haq Pakistan 9 14 2 792 169* 66.00 3 4

Bowling

Qualification: ten wickets

English first-class bowling averages, 1996
Player Team(s) Balls Mdns Runs Wkts BB Ave 5wI 10wM
Shahid Nazir Pakistan 282 8 164 12 4–43 13.66 0 0
Saqlain Mushtaq Pakistan 1,001 43 456 29 6–52 15.72 2 0
Curtly Ambrose Northamptonshire 1,708 80 717 43 6–26 16.67 5 1
Courtney Walsh Gloucestershire 3,159 142 1,432 85 6–22 16.84 7 1
Phil Simmons Leicestershire 2,188 87 1,021 56 6–14 18.23 3 0
Dimitri Mascarenhas Hampshire 552 21 297 16 6–88 18.56 1 0

List A

Batting

Qualification: eight innings

English List A batting averages, 1996
Player Team(s) M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50
Peter Martin England, Lancashire 29 12 11 78 35* 78.00 0 0
Dean Jones Derbyshire 22 21 4 1,151 142 67.70 6 3
Andy Hayhurst Somerset 14 10 6 263 67* 65.75 0 2
Michael Bevan Yorkshire 22 21 5 1,023 98* 63.93 0 9
Robert Cunliffe Gloucestershire 10 10 2 479 137* 59.87 2 2
Paul Johnson Nottinghamshire 21 20 7 765 99* 58.84 0 7

Bowling

Qualification: ten wickets

English List A bowling averages, 1996
Player Team(s) Balls Mdns Runs Wkts BB Ave 5wI
Adam Hollioake England, Surrey 998 4 835 56 5–44 14.91 2
Owen Parkin Glamorgan 300 6 196 12 5–28 16.33 1
Shaun Pollock Warwickshire 1,113 18 726 44 6–21 16.50 2
Michael Bevan Yorkshire 277 3 237 14 5–29 16.92 1
Dermot Reeve Warwickshire 591 9 356 21 4–23 16.95 0
Kevan James Hampshire 690 4 552 31 6–35 17.80 1

External sources

Annual reviews