Cornelius Nicholls (17 March 1838 – 1895) was an English first-class cricketer and umpire.
Nicholls, who was born at Pendleton in March 1838, made a single appearance in first-class cricket for the North against Surrey at The Oval in 1863.
Batting at number eleven in the North's first-innings, he was unbeaten on 4, while in their second-innings he opened the batting and was dismissed for 14 runs by Tom Sewell.
With the ball, he took figures of 4 for 19 in Surrey's first-innings and followed that up by taking figures of 4 for 44 in their second-innings.
In the return fixture at Salford, Nicholls stood in the match as an umpire.