In his history of the club, Peter Wynne-Thomas describes MacLaren as the dominant figure in Lancashire cricket from his debut until the First World War. Gibson accepts that MacLaren was tactically a good captain, but observes that in his 12 seasons as leader of a strong Lancashire team, he only once won the County Championship. In addition, as the appointed captain in four series against Australia, he was beaten in each one, something no other England captain has repeated. Gibson suggests that "the excuses begin to run thin, sieved through such a tale of failure." Gibson summarises that "England under MacLaren must have been a good side to watch, save for the passionate partisans, but an uncomfortable side in which to play ... Bad captain or no, with no doubt ... MacLaren was one of the most entrancing, one of the most glamorous—though that word had not come into fashion in his day—characters of his cricketing epoch."