The 1986 English cricket season was the 87th in which the County Championship had been an official competition.
Essex won the title for the third time in four seasons.
England were defeated in both their Test series against New Zealand and India.
The Zimbabwe national cricket team made a short visit to England and played a single limited overs match against Northamptonshire, the county winning by 7 wickets.
[1] The Rest of the World XI played a one-day versus a West Indies XI for the Sport Aid charity at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham.