| Previous Year: | 1790 |
| Previous Tournament: | 1790 English cricket season |
| Next Year: | 1792 |
| Next Tournament: | 1792 English cricket season |
The 1791 English cricket season was the 20th in which matches have been awarded retrospective first-class cricket status and the fifth after the foundation of the Marylebone Cricket Club. The season saw 14 top-class matches played in the country.
A total of 14 top-class matches were played during the season.[1] [2] [3] These included matches played by teams from Hampshire, Kent, Middlesex and Surrey as well as by club sides at Hornchurch in Essex and Brighton in Sussex. MCC played seven first-class matches. Other teams included England sides, the Gentlemen of Kent and Old Etonians.[2] [3]
A number of matches below top-level were played, including the first by a team from Leicestershire.[4]
Players who made their first appearances in 1791 included Lord Frederick Beauclerk, who went on to be an influential, albeit controversial, figure in the development of MCC,[5] and Charles Cumberland.