1897 Minor Counties Championship
The 1897 Minor Counties Championship was the third running of the Minor [Counties Cricket Championship], and ran from 7 June to 28 August 1897. Having been unbeaten for the entire season, Worcestershire [County Cricket Club|Worcestershire] won their second consecutive outright title, having also shared the title in 1895. Staffordshire [County Cricket Club|Staffordshire] were level in the table with Worcestershire, but played an insufficient number of matches to be considered co-champions. Sixteen teams competed in the championship, with Cornwall, Dorset and Monmouthshire all competing for the first time, though none of them played the minimum of eight matches.
The leading run-scorer, Arthur Croome of Berkshire, also had the highest individual score of the season, 158 against Hertfordshire. The leading wicket-taker for the second consecutive season, Buckinghamshire's George [Nash (cricketer)|George Nash], took three ten wicket match hauls, including 16/74 against Oxfordshire.
Table
- One point was awarded for a win, and one point was taken away for each loss. Final placings were decided by dividing the number of points earned by the number of completed matches, and multiplying by 100.
- denotes the Champion team.
- denotes a team that failed to play the minimum of eight matches. These teams are sometimes omitted from the table altogether.