| Previous Year: | 1865 |
| Previous Tournament: | 1865 English cricket season |
| Next Year: | 1867 |
| Next Tournament: | 1867 English cricket season |
1866 was the 80th season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The highlight was the emergence of W. G. Grace as the game's leading batsman with the highest first-class score since William Ward's innings in 1820. James Southerton emerged as an outstanding bowler and the first known "century before lunch" was scored.
| County | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | ||
| 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 1866 English season leading batsmen[3] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Team | Matches | Innings | Not outs | Runs | Highest score | Average | 100s | 50s | |
| Cambridgeshire | 7 | 10 | 4 | 367 | 97 not out | 61.16 | 0 | 2 | ||
| Gentlemen South of England | 8 | 13 | 2 | 581 | 224 not out | 52.81 | 2 | 1 | ||
| MCC Middlesex | 14 | 18 | 4 | 550 | 79 | 39.28 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Oxford University Hampshire | 6 | 10 | 1 | 288 | 86 | 32.00 | 0 | 2 | ||
| Kent Sussex | 10 | 16 | 2 | 471 | 135 not out | 33.64 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1866 English season leading bowlers[4] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Team | Balls bowled | Runs conceded | Wickets taken | Average | Best bowling | 5 wickets in innings | 10 wickets in match | |
| Nottinghamshire All England Eleven | 1446 | 430 | 40 | 10.75 | 6/36 | 4 | 1 | ||
| Sussex | 3366 | 910 | 71 | 12.81 | 7/98 | 6 | 1 | ||
| 2313 | 688 | 52 | 13.23 | 7/24 | 3 | 1 | |||
| Cambridgeshire All England Eleven | 2173 | 809 | 61 | 13.26 | 7/47 | 6 | 2 | ||
| Hampshire | 1012 | 435 | 32 | 13.59 | 7/49 | 5 | 2 | ||