1790 English cricket season

The 1790 English cricket season was a successful one for Hampshire who won all three of their known matches, two against All-England and one against Kent. Samuel Britcher, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) scorer, began his annual publication (to 1805) of A list of all the principal Matches of Cricket that have been played, a compilation of match scorecards. His 1790 edition features fourteen scorecards, including six from matches played at Lord's Old Ground, the MCC venue.

The following matches are classified as important:

The earliest known example of left-handed players in opposition to right-handed. There were three more such fixtures until 1870. Haygarth listed some exceptions on the left-handed team as John Crawte batted with his right and only threw with his left; David Harris and Robert Clifford batted left but bowled right. Since Harris and Clifford took nine wickets between them in the match (i.e., bowled only as catches were not credited to the bowler), the left-handed team's victory was due in considerable part to having two right arm bowlers.

The noted amateur batsman George Leycester made his first known appearance in this match. He was active until 1808. Essex scored 116 and 96; MCC scored 177 (George Louch 43) and 36 for 2.

Haygarth comments on 18th century nomenclature saying that, in one account the teams are called the Earl of Darnley's XI and the Earl of Winchilsea's XI. He explains that "in the old scores the true names were often altered" to those of the team captains or patrons, "thereby creating confusion". This was a low-scoring match in which David Harris and Richard Purchase were dominant as Hampshire's main bowlers. Kent scored 52 and 85; Hampshire scored 119 and 19 for 2. The highest score in the match was 33 by the veteran John Small for Hampshire.

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