- Source: 1968 English cricket season
- 1968 English cricket season
- English cricket team in Ceylon and Pakistan in 1968–69
- 1967 English cricket season
- England cricket team
- 1926 English cricket season
- 2001 English cricket season
- 1930 English cricket season
- 1965 English cricket season
- 1969 English cricket season
- History of Australian cricket from 1960–61 to 1970
1968 was the 69th season of County Championship cricket in England and it was something of a watershed for it was the last in which the County Championship predominated. From 1969, a new limited overs league began and the number of Championship matches was therefore reduced. A system of batting and bowling bonus points was introduced into the County Championship, replacing the long- established "first innings points". The season was a watershed for Yorkshire too as, although they won their third successive championship title, the team broke up at the end of the season. The great fast bowler Fred Trueman retired and, following a stalemate in his contractual talks, Ray Illingworth left the club. Yorkshire did not win the title again until 2001. England and Australia drew the Test series with one win apiece so Australia retained the Ashes.
County clubs were able to sign one overseas player who would not be subject to the normal residential qualification rules and so could appear for them immediately. All counties, with the notable exception of Yorkshire, took advantage of this. Nottinghamshire pulled off the coup of signing Gary Sobers. Other players signed were Lee Irvine, Majid Khan, Mike Procter, Barry Richards, Asif Iqbal, Farokh Engineer, Hylton Ackerman, Greg Chappell, Rohan Kanhai and Vanburn Holder.
Honours
County Championship – Yorkshire
Gillette Cup – Warwickshire
Minor Counties Championship – Yorkshire II
Second XI Championship – Surrey II
Wisden – Jimmy Binks, David Green, Barry Richards, Derek Underwood, Ossie Wheatley
Test series
County Championship
Gillette Cup
Leading batsmen
Geoff Boycott topped the averages with 1487 runs @ 64.65.
Leading bowlers
Ossie Wheatley topped the averages with 82 wickets @ 12.95.
References
Annual reviews
Playfair Cricket Annual 1969
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1969
External links
CricketArchive – season summary