1866 English cricket season
# 1866 English cricket season

1866 was the 80th season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The highlight was the emergence of W. G. Grace as the game's leading batsman with the highest first-class score since William Ward's innings in 1820. James Southerton emerged as an outstanding bowler and the first known "century before lunch" was scored.

## Events

* 30–31 July: W. G. Grace at the age of eighteen played an innings of 224 not out which was the highest first-class score since William Ward's record 278 for MCC against Norfolk in 1820.
* 21 August: John Sewell was the first batsman to score a century before the luncheon interval when he advanced from 29 not out to 166 for Middlesex against Surrey at The Oval.

## Playing record (by county)

| County | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Cambridgeshire | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Hampshire | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Kent | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Lancashire | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Middlesex | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Nottinghamshire | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Surrey | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| Sussex | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Yorkshire | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |

## Leading batsmen (qualification 10 innings)

1866 English season leading batsmen :

| Name | Team | Matches | Innings | Not outs | Runs | Highest score | Average | 100s | 50s |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Bob Carpenter | Cambridgeshire | 7 | 10 | 4 | 367 | 97 not out | 61.16 | 0 | 2 |
| W. G. Grace | Gentlemen South of England | 8 | 13 | 2 | 581 | 224 not out | 52.81 | 2 | 1 |
| Edward Walker | MCC Middlesex | 14 | 18 | 4 | 550 | 79 | 39.28 | 0 | 6 |
| Orlando Spencer-Smith | Oxford University Hampshire | 6 | 10 | 1 | 288 | 86 | 32.00 | 0 | 2 |
| Charles Payne | Kent Sussex | 10 | 16 | 2 | 471 | 135 not out | 33.64 | 1 | 2 |

## Leading bowlers (qualification 800 balls)

1866 English season leading bowlers :

| Name | Team | Balls bowled | Runs conceded | Wickets taken | Average | Best bowling | 5 wickets in innings | 10 wickets in match |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Jem Shaw | Nottinghamshire All England Eleven | 1446 | 430 | 40 | 10.75 | 6/36 | 4 | 1 |
| James Lillywhite | Sussex | 3366 | 910 | 71 | 12.81 | 7/98 | 6 | 1 |
| Edgar Willsher | Kent | 2313 | 688 | 52 | 13.23 | 7/24 | 3 | 1 |
| George Tarrant | Cambridgeshire All England Eleven | 2173 | 809 | 61 | 13.26 | 7/47 | 6 | 2 |
| James Southerton | Hampshire | 1012 | 435 | 32 | 13.59 | 7/49 | 5 | 2 |
