Before the 1894 season, MacLaren resigned from the bank to play a whole season of cricket. Lancashire at the time were undergoing a period of transition, and the captaincy was unsettled: three men captained the county in the first part of the season. In the absence of other amateurs with county experience who could play regularly, MacLaren was appointed captain. "Wisden Cricketers' Almanack" observed that MacLaren was young for the position, and largely unproven in cricket, but it supported the decision. After losing his first match in charge, the team improved in the latter part of the season to finish fourth in the Championship. MacLaren finished sixth in the Lancashire averages, and in total scored 1,105 runs at 25.69, but his batting had made little progress since his debut. However, his successful leadership of Lancashire led some press critics to suggest him as a future England captain. At the end of the season, he was a last-minute selection to tour Australia with a team led by Andrew Stoddart.