The 1864 English cricket season was an important year in cricket history, as it saw the legalisation of overarm bowling and the first edition of John Wisden’s Cricketers’ Almanac.
The first-class county teams in 1864 were Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Kent, Middlesex, Notts, Surrey, Sussex and Yorkshire. The unofficial concept of a "champion county" took a new turn when periodicals began publishing tables of inter-county results, although there was still no formal or agreed method of deciding positions in the table. Haygarth usually refers to 'generally agreed' when announcing the Champion County.
Law 10 was rewritten by the MCC to allow a bowler to bring his arm through at any height providing he kept it straight and did not throw the ball. The issue of overarm bowling had crystallised in the Willsher-Lillywhite incident of August 1862.
12 January – formation of Lancashire CCC at a meeting in Manchester.
27–29 January – Otago v. Canterbury at Dunedin was the start of first-class cricket in New Zealand.
Madras v. Calcutta was the start of first-class cricket in India.
First issue of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. It was titled John Wisden’s Cricketers’ Almanac until the 1937 edition.
6–7 June – Middlesex CCC played its initial first-class match v. Sussex at Islington
9 June – Playing for MCC against Oxford University, H.E. Bull becomes only the second player, and the first since 1827, to be dismissed hit the ball twice in a first-class game.
7–8 July – Hampshire CCC played its initial first-class match v. Sussex at the Antelope Ground, Southampton
11–12 July – First appearance of WG Grace in a "big" match, though his first-class debut would not occur till the following season.
MCC finally purchased the freehold of Lord's Cricket Ground for £18,333 6s 8d with money advanced by William Nicholson.
Fred Lillywhite, The Guide to Cricketers, Lillywhite, 1865
John Lillywhite's Cricketer's Companion (Green Lilly), Lillywhite, 1865
Arthur Haygarth, Scores & Biographies, Volume 8 (1863-1864), Lillywhite, 1865
