1864 was the 78th season of cricket in England (since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)).
It was a significant year in cricket history, as it saw the legalisation of overarm bowling and the first edition of John Wisden's Cricketers' Almanac.
The first-class county teams in 1864 were: Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Kent, Middlesex, Notts, Surrey, Sussex and Yorkshire.
The unofficial concept of a "champion county" took a new turn when periodicals began publishing tables of inter-county results, although there was still no formal or agreed method of deciding positions in the table.
Haygarth usually refers to 'generally agreed' when announcing the Champion County.