William Francis (21 March 1856 – 28 April 1917) was an English cricketer. Francis was a right-handed batsman. He was born at Little Waltham, Essex. Francis made his first-class debut for Sussex against Lancashire in 1877 at the Old Trafford. He made eight further first-class appearances for Sussex, the last of which came against the Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord's in 1879. In his nine first-class appearances, he scored a total of 83 runs at an average of 6.91, with a high score of 17. He died at Forest Gate, Essex, on 28 April 1917.