The rules are changed so that gametime is set at two halves of 45 minutes each (as in Association football). Two paid officials, a referee and an umpire, are mandated for each game.
The English cricket team in Australia in 1886–87, generally known as Alfred Shaw's XI, is described by Wisden as "one of the strongest that ever left England for the Colonies". The team plays 10 first-class matches, winning 6 with 2 draws and 2 defeats (both against New South Wales). England win both Test matches played by 13 runs and 71 runs respectively.
7 February — Irish forms of football are formally arranged into an organised playing code by the Gaelic Athletic Association, the rules being drawn up by Maurice Davin and published in the United Ireland magazine. The GAA seeks to promote traditional Irish sports, such as hurling and to reject "foreign" (particularly English) imports.
American champion Richard D. Sears retires from the sport after winning the US singles title for the seventh successive time, a record that still stands
