1963 English cricket season

1963 was the 64th season of County Championship cricket in England. Limited overs cricket began with the first edition of the knockout competition that was originally called the Gillette Cup. The highlight of the season was a memorable Test series between England and West Indies which the tourists won 3–1. Yorkshire won their second consecutive championship title. Off the field, the year saw the publication of the hundredth edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, as well as the deaths of two cricketing knights, Sir Jack Hobbs and Sir Pelham Warner.

Honours

County Championship – Yorkshire
Gillette Cup – Sussex
Minor Counties Championship – Cambridgeshire
Second XI Championship - Worcestershire II
Wisden – Brian Close, Charlie Griffith, Conrad Hunte, Rohan Kanhai, Gary Sobers

Test series

West Indies tour

There was a memorable series between England and West Indies. The tourists won 3–1 with one match drawn. The Lord's Test had one of the most exciting finishes ever and all four results were possible with two balls to be bowled: it ended as a draw with England five runs behind and their last pair batting. Colin Cowdrey had gone in as number 11 with a broken arm, but did not have to face a ball.

As a result of the great success of this series, England's future home Test programme was revised so that West Indies could return in 1966, much earlier than originally planned. This was done by introducing "twin tours", in which two countries would each play three Tests against England in the course of a season.

County Championship

Gillette Cup

Leading batsmen

1963 English cricket season – leading batsmen by average
Name	Innings	Runs	Highest	Average	100s
Gary Sobers	34	1333	112	47.60	4
Mike Smith	39	1566	144*	47.45	3
Geoff Boycott	43	1628	165*	45.22	3
Basil Butcher	34	1294	133	44.62	2
Conrad Hunte	37	1367	182	44.09	3
Clive Inman	51	1708	120*	42.70	1
Brian Bolus	57	2190	202*	41.32	5
Ken Barrington	45	1568	110*	41.26	2

1963 English cricket season – leading batsmen by aggregate
Name	Innings	Runs	Highest	Average	100s
Brian Bolus	57	2190	202*	41.32	5
Peter Richardson	56	2110	172	39.07	5
John Edrich	55	1921	125	40.02	2
Alan Jones	58	1857	187*	34.38	3
Ken Suttle	57	1854	141	34.98	3

Leading bowlers

1963 English cricket season – leading bowlers by average
Name	Balls	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Average
Charlie Griffith	4208	192	1527	119	12.83
Fred Trueman	5067	206	1955	129	15.15
Ken Palmer	6113	289	2234	139	16.07
Alan Moss	3857	249	1355	84	16.13
David Sydenham	4915	239	1753	108	16.23
Brian Statham	4746	168	1874	113	16.58

1963 English cricket season – leading bowlers by aggregate
Name	Balls	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Average
Derek Shackleton	8325	583	2446	146	16.75
Barry Knight	6743	207	3042	140	21.72
Ken Palmer	6113	289	2234	139	16.07
Fred Trueman	5067	206	1955	129	15.15
Don Shepherd	7713	540	2373	126	18.83

1963 English cricket season

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