Thomas Hayward (21 March 1835 – 21 July 1876) was an English first-class cricketer who was generally reckoned to be one of the outstanding batsmen of the 1850s and 1860s.

In the early 1860s, he and Robert Carpenter, his county colleague, were rated as the two finest batsmen in England.

[2] Hayward played as a right-handed batsman for Cambridge Town Club (Cambridgeshire) 1854–72 and also for numerous representative teams.

[3] He also was member of the first All England XI to tour Australia, and travelled out on the SS Great Britain[4] His overall first-class career record covered 118 matches.

Hayward was also a good right arm medium pace bowler, using the prevailing roundarm style.