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1863 was the 77th season ofcricket in England since the foundation ofMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC).^{[note 1]} The foundations of three, and possibly four, county cricket clubs took place.

• 1863 match list

8 January. Foundation ofYorkshire County Cricket Club out of the Sheffield Match Fund Committee that had been established in 1861. Yorkshire played their first match against Surrey at the Oval on 4 to 6 June. It was a rain-affected draw, evenly balanced.

12 August. Foundation ofHampshire County Cricket Club. A number of previous county organisations including the famousHambledon Club had existed in Hampshire during the previous hundred years or more, but none had survived indefinitely.

15 December. Foundation ofMiddlesex County Cricket Club at a meeting in the London Tavern.

An organisation in Cheltenham is believed to have been the forerunner ofGloucestershire County Cricket Club, which had definitely been founded by 1871. Exact details of the club's foundation have been lost.

Will Mortlock was the leading runscorer with 736 @ 26.28

George Wootton was the leading wicket-taker with 87 @ 9.74

• ACS (1981).A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709–1863. Nottingham:ACS.OCLC 85045528.
• ACS (1982).A Guide to FC Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles. Nottingham:ACS.OCLC 10586869.
• Warner, Pelham (1946).Lords: 1787–1945. London: Harrap.OCLC 877106024.

• Fred Lillywhite,The Guide to Cricketers, Lillywhite, 1864
• Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1864

• 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 – viaInternet 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.

• CricketArchive – season summaries

This article about an English cricket season is astub. You can help Wikipedia byadding missing information.

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