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1803 was the 17th season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Thomas Howard made his debut in important matches.

Honours

Prime Minister William Pitt referred to cricket when introducing his Defence Bill.^[2]
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 v Surrey at Lord's Old Ground^[3]
- 4–6 July: Nottinghamshire & Leicestershire v Hampshire at Lord's Old Ground^[4]
- 11–12 July: All-England v Surrey at Lord's Old Ground^[4]
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.

1803 debutants included:

^ ^a ^b 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.
^ Bowen, p.268.
^ Haygarth, p.305.
^ ^a ^b Haygarth, p.307.

Haygarth, Arthur (1862). Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826). Lillywhite.

ACS (1981). A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709 – 1863. Nottingham: ACS.
Altham, H. S. (1962). A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914). George Allen & Unwin.
Birley, Derek (1999). A Social History of English Cricket. Aurum.
Bowen, Rowland (1970). Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development. Eyre & Spottiswoode.
Britcher, Samuel, A list of all the principal Matches of Cricket that have been played (1790 to 1805), annual series
Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. HarperCollins.