1803 English cricket season

1803 was the 17th season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Thomas Howard made his debut in historically important matches. Details of ten matches are known.^{[note 1]}

Events

Prime Minister William Pitt referred to cricket when introducing his Defence Bill.^[5]
With the Napoleonic War continuing, loss of investment and manpower impacted cricket and only three matches have been recorded in 1803:
- 21–24 June: England v Surrey at Lord's Old Ground^[6]
- 4–6 July: Nottinghamshire & Leicestershire v Hampshire at Lord's Old Ground^[7]
- 11–12 July: England v Surrey at Lord's Old Ground^[7]
Another match that has sometimes been regarded as important is H. C. Woolridge's XI v W. R. Capel's XI at Clifford's Park, Rickmansworth, on Friday 26 August.

^ Some eleven-a-side matches played from 1772 to 1863 have been rated "first-class" by certain sources.^[1] However, the term only came into common use around 1864, when overarm bowling was legalised. It was formally defined as a standard by a meeting at Lord's, in May 1894, of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the county clubs which were then competing in the County Championship. The ruling was effective from the beginning of the 1895 season, but pre-1895 matches of the same standard have no official definition of status because the ruling is not retrospective.^[2] Matches of a similar standard since the beginning of the 1864 season are generally considered to have an unofficial first-class status.^[3] Pre-1864 matches which are included in the ACS' "Important Match Guide" may generally be regarded as important or, at least, historically significant.^[4] For further information, see First-class cricket.

^ "FC Matches in England in 1772". CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
^ Wisden (1948). Preston, Hubert (ed.). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (85th ed.). London: Sporting Handbooks Ltd. p. 813. OCLC 851705816.
^ ACS 1982, pp. 4–5.
^ ACS 1981, pp. 1–40.
^ Bowen, p.268.
^ Haygarth, p.305.
^ ^a ^b Haygarth, p.307.

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ACS (1982). A Guide to FC Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles. Nottingham: ACS. OCLC 10586869.
Haygarth, Arthur (1996) [1862]. Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826). Kennington: Frederick Lillywhite. ISBN 978-19-00592-23-9.
Warner, Pelham (1946). Lords: 1787–1945. London: Harrap. OCLC 877106024.

Altham, H. S.; Swanton, E. W. (1962). A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914) (5th ed.). London: George Allen & Unwin. OCLC 894274808.
Birley, Derek (1999). A Social History of English Cricket. London: Aurum Press. ISBN 978-18-54107-10-7 – via Internet Archive.
Bowen, Rowland (1970). Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode. ISBN 978-04-13278-60-9.
Britcher, Samuel (1803). A Complete List of all the Grand Matches of Cricket that have been Played (1790–1805; annual series). London: W. S. Blake. OCLC 83523010.
Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-00-07183-64-7 – via Internet Archive.