1815 English cricket season

The 1815 English cricket season was the 29th since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). A discernible recovery began as the Napoleonic Wars ended. Details of six historically important eleven-a-side matches are known.^{[note 1]}

Events

The earliest known centuries at the new Lord's Cricket Ground were scored in the Middlesex v Epsom match on 24 & 25 August by Felix Ladbroke and Frederick Woodbridge who scored 116 and 107 respectively for Epsom.
After being severely impacted by loss of both revenue and manpower during the Napoleonic Wars, a reasonable number of matches took place in 1815 as a discernible recovery could begin in the aftermath of Napoleon Bonaparte's defeat:
- 31 May–1 June — Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) v Middlesex at Lord's Cricket Ground^[2]
- 20–22 June — Lord F Beauclerk's XI v W Ward's XI at Lord's Cricket Ground^[3]
- 12–14 July — England v Surrey at Lord's Cricket Ground^[4]
- 17–18 July — Kent v England at Napps, Wrotham^[5]
- 7–9 August — Sussex v Epsom at Royal New Ground, Brighton
- 24–25 August — Middlesex v Epsom at Lord's Cricket Ground^[6]

↑ Any match listed in the ACS' Important Match Guide (1981) is historically important, and therefore of the highest standard, whether or not a scorecard might exist. The same applies to numerous matches discovered by researchers since 1981.^[1] For further information, see First-class cricket.

ACS (1981). A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709–1863. Nottingham: ACS. OCLC 85045528.
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.
Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-00-07183-64-7 – via Internet Archive.