1803 was the 17th season of
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
in England since the foundation of
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).
Thomas Howard made his debut in
important matches.
Honours
* Most runs
[Note that scorecards created in the first quarter of the 19th century are not necessarily accurate or complete; therefore any summary of runs, wickets or catches can only represent the known totals and computation of averages is ineffectual.] –
Lord Frederick Beauclerk 284 at 35.50 (HS 74)
* Most wickets
–
Lord Frederick Beauclerk 12
Events
* Prime Minister
William Pitt referred to cricket when introducing his Defence Bill.
* With the
Napoleonic War continuing, loss of investment and manpower impacted cricket and only three first-class matches have been recorded in 1803:
**21–24 June:
All-England
The All England Open Badminton Championships is the world's oldest badminton tournament, held annually in England. With the introduction of the BWF's latest grading system, it was given Super Series status in 2007, upgraded to Super Series Pre ...
v
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
at
Lord's Old Ground[Haygarth, p.305.]
**4–6 July:
Nottinghamshire &
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
v
Hampshire at Lord's Old Ground
[Haygarth, p.307.]
**11–12 July: All-England v Surrey at Lord's Old Ground
[
* 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. It was originally classified as an important match by the ACS (and thus with first-class status), but the ACS subsequently downgraded its status because of the weak standard of Capel's XI (only three players are known to have played in other first-class matches) and it was possibly scheduled for only one day.
]
Debutants
1803 debutants included:
* Thomas Howard (Hampshire)
* Goddard (Hampshire)
* John Pointer (Hampshire)
* John Sparks (Surrey)
* Joseph Dennis
* James Lawrell
References
Bibliography
*
Further reading
*
*
*
*
* Britcher, Samuel, ''A list of all the principal Matches of Cricket that have been played'' (1790 to 1805), annual series
*
{{English cricket seasons
1803 in English cricket
English cricket seasons in the 19th century