1880 was the 94th season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The second tour by a representative Australian team was undertaken and they took part in the (retrospective) first Test match to be played in England. County cricket was dominated by the Nottinghamshire bowlers Alfred Shaw and Fred Morley.
| County | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derbyshire | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| Gloucestershire | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Hampshire | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Kent | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Lancashire | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Middlesex | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Nottinghamshire | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
| Surrey | 14 | 2 | 7 | 5 |
| Sussex | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Yorkshire | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| 1880 English season leading batsmen[2] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Team(s) | Matches | Innings | Not outs | Runs | Highest score | Average | 100s | 50s |
| WG Grace | Gloucestershire England |
16 | 27 | 3 | 951 | 152 | 39.62 | 2 | 5 |
| Lord Harris | Kent MCC England |
16 | 26 | 2 | 772 | 123 | 32.16 | 1 | 5 |
| Alexander Webbe | Middlesex England |
14 | 24 | 1 | 708 | 142 | 30.78 | 1 | 2 |
| Ivo Bligh | Cambridge University Kent |
21 | 38 | 5 | 1013 | 105 | 30.69 | 1 | 8 |
| Billy Barnes | Nottinghamshire MCC England |
28 | 47 | 4 | 1220 | 143 | 28.37 | 2 | 5 |
| 1880 English season leading bowlers[3] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Team | Balls bowled | Runs conceded | Wickets taken | Average | Best bowling | 5 wickets in innings |
10 wickets in match |
| Alfred Shaw | Nottinghamshire MCC England |
8532 | 1589 | 186 | 8.54 | 8/31 | 14 | 5 |
| Frederick Jellicoe | Oxford University Hampshire |
1045 | 301 | 32 | 9.40 | 7/23 | 3 | 1 |
| George Nash | Lancashire | 1501 | 471 | 49 | 9.61 | 8/31 | 4 | 2 |
| Arnold Rylott | MCC | 1162 | 394 | 39 | 10.10 | 7/43 | 6 | 1 |
| Dick Barlow | Lancashire | 2439 | 639 | 62 | 10.30 | 7/16 | 4 | 1 |
|
See also: History of Test cricket (to 1883) and Australian cricket team in England in 1880 |