1864 English cricket season
1864 was the 78th season of cricket in England. It was a significant year in cricket history, as it saw the legalisation of overarm bowling and the first edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.
Inter-county cricket
The first-class county teams in 1864 were: Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Kent, Middlesex, Notts, Surrey, Sussex and Yorkshire. The unofficial concept of a "champion county" took a new turn when periodicals began publishing tables of inter-county results, although there was still no formal or agreed method of deciding positions in the table. Haygarth usually refers to 'generally agreed' when announcing the Champion County.| Team | P | W | L | D | Pts | |
| 1 | Surrey | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | Cambridgeshire | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Sussex | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Middlesex | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | Nottinghamshire | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | -1 |
| 6 | Yorkshire | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | -2 |
| 7 | Hampshire | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | -4 |
| 8 | Kent | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | -7 |
Events
- Law 10 was rewritten by the Marylebone Cricket Club to allow a bowler to bring his arm through at any height providing he kept it straight and did not throw the ball. The issue of overarm bowling had crystallised in the Willsher-Lillywhite incident of August 1862.
- 12 January - formation of Lancashire County Cricket Club at a meeting in Manchester.
- 27–29 January - Otago v. Canterbury at Dunedin was the start of first-class cricket in New Zealand.
- Madras v. Calcutta was the start of first-class cricket in India.
- First issue of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. It was titled John Wisden's Cricketers' Almanack until the 1937 edition.
- 6–7 June - Middlesex County Cricket Club played its initial first-class match v. Sussex at Islington
- 9 June - Playing for MCC against Oxford University, H.E. Bull becomes only the second player, and the first since 1827, to be dismissed hit the ball twice in a first-class game.
- 7–8 July - Hampshire County Cricket Club played its initial first-class match v. Sussex at the Antelope Ground, Southampton
- 11–12 July - First appearance of WG Grace in a "big" match, though his first-class debut would not occur until the following season.
- MCC finally purchased the freehold of Lord's Cricket Ground for £18,333 6s 8d with money advanced by William Nicholson.
Annual reviews
- Fred Lillywhite, The Guide to Cricketers, Lillywhite, 1865John Lillywhite's Cricketer's Companion, Lillywhite, 1865Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1865