Surrey vs Nottinghamshire — The Premier County Rivalry of the Late 1850s

The informal Champion County title of the 1850s rested on the results of a small number of key county fixtures, and the Surrey v Nottinghamshire match was the pivotal one. Surrey, champions for most of the decade, faced their most sustained challenge from Nottinghamshire in 1858 and 1859. The Trent Bridge fixture in August 1858 drew several thousand spectators — exceptional for a county match — and produced a close result that went to Surrey by twenty runs. The return at The Oval in June was equally well attended. George Parr, at his peak, and William Caffyn, in his last great season, were the leading figures of the rival sides. The matches were treated in the press as the de facto championship, and the results were widely reported. The rivalry would intensify in the 1860s as Nottinghamshire, with Daft and Parr together, challenged Surrey more consistently.