1,000 first-class runs before the end of May

A batsman has scored 1,000 first-class runs before the end of May in an English cricket season on only eight occasions. In five of these occasions, the batsman reached 1,000 runs with innings played in April and May, but three scored 1,000 runs in the month of May alone. These were: W.G. Grace in 1895, Wally Hammond in 1927, and most recently Charlie Hallows in 1928.[1]

Donald Bradman is the only person to have scored 1,000 runs before the end of May twice, in 1930 and 1938.[1] Uniquely, a second batsman also reached 1,000 runs before the end of May in 1938, Bill Edrich, mainly thanks to a sporting declaration by Australia at 5.09pm on the third and final day of the match against Middlesex at Lord's on 28–30 May, when Edrich needed another 10 runs.[2]

The feat has become rare since the Second World War, with only Glenn Turner and Graeme Hick reaching 1,000 runs before the end of May since 1938. In part, this is due to the reduced schedule of first-class cricket since the introduction of domestic one-day cricket competitions in the 1970s, and a reduction in the number of first-class matches played by English county teams and touring international teams. The start of the English cricket season has crept earlier in April in recent years, and Nick Compton came close to achieving 1,000 runs before the end of May 2012, needing 59 runs on 31 May against Worcestershire. Rain intervened with Compton having only scored nine, but he scored a century after resuming his innings the following day to pass 1,000 runs on 1 June. Other near misses include John Langridge who reached 1,000 runs on 1 June 1949, and Brian Lara, who reached 1,000 runs on 2 June 1994 from just seven innings.