Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the
historic county of
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
in
English cricket. The club has held
first-class status since it was founded in 1864. Lancashire's home is
Old Trafford Cricket Ground
Old Trafford is a cricket ground in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. It opened in 1857 as the home of Manchester Cricket Club and has been the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club since 1864. From 2013 onwards it has been known as ...
, although the team also play matches at other grounds around the county. Lancashire was a founder member of the
County Championship
The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...
in 1890 and have won the competition nine times, most recently in 2011. The club's limited overs team is called Lancashire Lightning.
Lancashire were widely recognised as the
Champion County
The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...
four times between 1879 and 1889. They won their first two County Championship titles in the
1897
Events
January–March
* January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City.
* January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a puniti ...
and
1904 seasons. Between 1926 and 1934, they won the championship five times. Throughout most of the inter-war period, Lancashire and their neighbours
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
had the best two teams in England and the
Roses Match
The Roses Match refers to any game of cricket played between Yorkshire County Cricket Club and Lancashire County Cricket Club. Yorkshire's emblem is the white rose, while Lancashire's is the red rose. The associations go back to the Wars of the R ...
es between them were usually the highlight of the domestic season. In 1950, Lancashire shared the title with
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
. The County Championship was restructured
in 2000 with Lancashire in the first division. They won the
2011 County Championship, a gap of 77 years since the club's last outright title in 1934.
In 1895,
Archie MacLaren
Archibald Campbell MacLaren (1 December 1871 – 17 November 1944) was an English cricketer who captained the English cricket team, England cricket team at various times between 1898 and 1909. A right-handed Batting (cricket), batsman, he ...
scored 424 in an innings for Lancashire, which remains the highest score by an Englishman in first-class cricket.
Johnny Briggs, whose career lasted from 1879 to 1900, was the first player to score 10,000 runs and take 1,000 wickets for Lancashire.
Ernest Tyldesley
George Ernest Tyldesley (5 February 1889 – 5 May 1962) was an English cricketer. The younger brother of Johnny Tyldesley and the leading batsman for Lancashire County Cricket Club, Lancashire. He remains Lancashire's most prolific run-getter ...
, younger brother of
Johnny Tyldesley
John Thomas Tyldesley (22 November 1873 – 27 November 1930) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Lancashire and Test cricket for England. He was a specialist professional batsman, usually third in the batting order, wh ...
, is the club's leading run-scorer with 34,222 runs in 573 matches for Lancashire between 1909 and 1936. Fast bowler
Brian Statham
John Brian Statham, (17 June 1930 – 10 June 2000) was an English professional cricketer from Gorton, in Manchester, who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club from 1950 to 1968 and for England from 1951 to 1965.[Cyril Washbrook
Cyril Washbrook (6 December 1914 – 27 April 1999) was an English cricketer, who played for Lancashire and England. He had a long career, split by World War II, and ending when he was aged 44. Washbrook, who is most famous for opening the batt ...]
became Lancashire's first professional captain in 1954.
The Lancashire side of the late 1960s and early 1970s, captained by
Jack Bond and featuring the West Indian batsman
Clive Lloyd
Sir Clive Hubert Lloyd (born 31 August 1944) is a Guyanese-British former cricketer who played for the West Indies cricket team. As a boy he went to Chatham High School in Georgetown. At the age of 14 he was captain of his school cricket team ...
, was successful in
limited overs cricket
Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket or white ball cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day. There are a number of formats, including List A cricket (8-hour games), Twenty ...
, winning the
Sunday League in 1969 and
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
and the
Gillette Cup four times between 1970 and 1975. Lancashire won the
Benson and Hedges Cup
The Benson & Hedges Cup was a one-day cricket competition for first-class counties in England and Wales that was held from 1972 to 2002, one of cricket's longest sponsorship deals.
It was the third major one-day competition established in Englan ...
in 1984, three times between 1990 and 1996, and the Sunday League in
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
,
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
and
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
. They won the
Twenty20 Cup
The T20 Blast, currently named the Vitality Blast for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket competition for English and Welsh first-class counties. The competition was established by the England and Wales Cricket Board (E ...
for the first time in 2015.
Honours
First XI honours
*
County Championship
The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...
(8) – 1897, 1904, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1930, 1934,
2011; shared (1) – 1950
:''Division Two champions'' (3) – 2005, 2013, 2019
*
NatWest T20 Blast
The T20 Blast, currently named the Vitality Blast for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket competition for English and Welsh first-class counties. The competition was established by the England and Wales Cricket Board (E ...
(1) –
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
* Gillette/NatWest/C&G/FP Trophy (7) – 1970, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1990, 1996, 1998
* Sunday/National/Pro40 League (5) – 1969, 1970, 1989, 1998, 1999
:''Division Two champions'' (1) – 2003
*
Benson and Hedges Cup
The Benson & Hedges Cup was a one-day cricket competition for first-class counties in England and Wales that was held from 1972 to 2002, one of cricket's longest sponsorship deals.
It was the third major one-day competition established in Englan ...
(4) – 1984, 1990, 1995, 1996
Second XI honours
* Second XI Championship (4) – 1964, 1986, 1997, 2017; shared (1) – 2013
* Minor Counties Championship (7) – 1907, 1934, 1937, 1948, 1949, 1960, 1964
Other honours
* Refuge Cup (1) – 1988
* Lambert and Butler Floodlit Competition (1) – 1981
Earliest cricket in Lancashire
Cricket may not have reached
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
until the 18th century. As advised by the Association of Cricket Statisticians (ACS), the earliest known reference to the sport being played in the county has been found in the ''Manchester Journal'' dated Saturday, 1 September 1781. It concerned an eleven-a-side match played the previous Monday, 27 August, at
Brinnington Moor between a team of printers and one representing the villages of
Haughton and
Bredbury
Bredbury is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, east of Stockport and south-west of Hyde. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 16,721.
It is on the lower southern ...
, who were the winners. As Bredbury was then in
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
, the match is the earliest reference for that county too.
In 1816, the
Manchester Cricket Club
Manchester Cricket Club was founded in 1816 and was a direct forerunner of Lancashire County Cricket Club which was founded in 1864. Manchester matches are classified with first-class cricket between 1844 and 1858, after which it was superseded by ...
was founded and soon became the main north country rivals of
Nottingham Cricket Club
Nottingham Cricket Club was an English cricket club which played in Nottingham during the 18th and 19th centuries. Matches have been recorded between 1771 to 1848 and the team played in 15 first-class matches between 1826 and 1848.
The earliest ...
and
Sheffield Cricket Club
The Sheffield Cricket Club was founded in the 18th century and soon began to play a key role in the development of cricket in northern England. It was the direct forerunner of Yorkshire County Cricket Club and some of the teams fielded by Sheffi ...
. On 23–25 July 1849, the Sheffield and Manchester clubs played each other at
Hyde Park
Hyde Park may refer to:
Places
England
* Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London
* Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds
* Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield
* Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester
Austra ...
in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
but the fixture was styled Yorkshire v Lancashire. It was the first match to involve a team using Lancashire as its name and is sometimes reckoned to have been the first
Roses Match
The Roses Match refers to any game of cricket played between Yorkshire County Cricket Club and Lancashire County Cricket Club. Yorkshire's emblem is the white rose, while Lancashire's is the red rose. The associations go back to the Wars of the R ...
. Yorkshire won by five wickets. Teams called Yorkshire, though based on the Sheffield club, had been active since 1833. The Roses Match is one of cricket's oldest and most famous rivalries. In 1857, the Manchester club moved to
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
, which has been the home of Lancashire cricket ever since.
[ Retrieved on 20 October 2007.]
History of the county club
Origin
On 12 January 1864, Manchester Cricket Club organised a meeting at the Queen's Hotel in Manchester for the purpose of forming a club to represent the county. Thirteen local clubs were represented: Broughton, Longsight, Manchester and Western from the Manchester area; Huyton, Liverpool and Northern from Merseyside; Accrington, Ashton, Blackburn, Oldham, Whalley and Wigan from other towns. Lancashire County Cricket Club was founded with the object of, it was said, "spreading a thorough knowledge and appreciation of the game throughout Lancashire".
It was intended to stage home matches alternately at
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
,
Aigburth
Aigburth () is a suburb of Liverpool, England. Located to the south of the city, it is bordered by Dingle, Garston, Mossley Hill, and Toxteth.
Etymology
The name Aigburth comes from Old Norse ''eik'' and ''berg'', meaning ''oak-tree hill''. T ...
, Preston, Blackburn and at "other places to help introduce good cricket throughout the county".
[LCCC: The Early Years (1864–1883)](_blank)
Cricket.lancashirecricket.co.uk
The new county club played its first-ever official game at Warrington against Birkenhead Park on Wednesday, 15 June 1864 but that was not a first-class match. The first inter-county match, which was first-class, was played in 1865 at
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
against
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
; Lancashire won the match by 62
runs, although Middlesex's
V. E. Walker
Vyell Edward Walker (20 April 1837 – 3 January 1906) was an English cricketer and administrator.
Teddy Walker was born in Southgate, Middlesex and educated at Harrow School. He was the fifth of seven cricket playing brothers who resided a ...
took all ten wickets in Lancashire's second innings.
Early successes
The early Lancashire side was reliant upon amateurs, which led to problems; although they were happy to play at Old Trafford, they were less willing to travel to away fixtures. During the early 1870s, the team was dominated by
A. N. Hornby
Albert Neilson Hornby, nicknamed Monkey Hornby (10 February 1847 – 17 December 1925) was one of the best-known sportsmen in England during the nineteenth century excelling in both rugby and cricket. He was the first of only two men to captain ...
’s batting. The team's standard of cricket improved with the arrival of two professional players,
Dick Barlow
Richard Gorton Barlow (28 May 1851 – 31 July 1919) was a cricketer who played for Lancashire and England. Barlow is best remembered for his batting partnership with A N Hornby, which was immortalised in nostalgic poetry by Francis Thompson. He ...
and
Alex Watson. The impact of Barlow and Hornby was such that their batting partnership was immortalised in the poem ''At Lord’s '' by
Francis Thompson
Francis Joseph Thompson (16 December 1859 – 13 November 1907) was an English poet and Catholic mystic. At the behest of his father, a doctor, he entered medical school at the age of 18, but at 26 left home to pursue his talent as a writer a ...
. The team was further enhanced by
A. G. Steel
Allan Gibson Steel (24 September 1858 – 15 June 1914) was an English amateur cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club from 1877 to 1893, and in Test cricket for England from 1880 to 1888. He was born in West Derby, Liverpool, ...
, an amateur sometimes considered second only to
W. G. Grace
William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English Amateur status in first-class cricket, amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest players. He played ...
as the country's best all rounder;
Johnny Briggs, a professional from
Sutton-in-Ashfield
Sutton-in-Ashfield is a market town in Nottinghamshire, England, with a population of 48,527 in 2019. It is the largest town in the district of Ashfield,
four miles west of Mansfield, two miles from the Derbyshire border and 12 miles nort ...
and the only player to score 10,000 runs and take 1,000 wickets for Lancashire; and
wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. Th ...
Dick Pilling
Richard Pilling (11 August 1855 – 28 March 1891) was an English professional cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club from 1877 to 1889, and in eight Test matches for England from 1881 to 1888. He was born at Old Warden, Bedford ...
, who in 1891 was rated by ''
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...
'' as the second-best wicket-keeper in the world behind
Jack Blackham
John McCarthy Blackham (11 May 1854 – 28 December 1932) was a Test cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia.
A specialist wicket-keeper, Blackham played in the first Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March 1877 and the fam ...
. As Lancashire's consistency improved, so did their support: in 1878, 28,000 over three days watched Lancashire play
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
.
[ Retrieved on 20 October 2007.]
The club's first success came in 1879, when the majority of the cricket press – except for Wisden – agreed that Lancashire and
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
were joint champions. Lancashire was the champion county in 1881 and again shared the title with Nottinghamshire in 1882.
Dick Barlow
Richard Gorton Barlow (28 May 1851 – 31 July 1919) was a cricketer who played for Lancashire and England. Barlow is best remembered for his batting partnership with A N Hornby, which was immortalised in nostalgic poetry by Francis Thompson. He ...
carried his bat for just 5
not out
In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress.
Occurrence
At least one batter is not out at t ...
in Lancashire's total of 69 in two and a half hours against Nottinghamshire on a treacherous, rain-affected Trent Bridge pitch in July 1882. Barlow and his longtime opening partner Hornby are the opening batsmen immortalised in the famous poem by
Francis Thompson
Francis Joseph Thompson (16 December 1859 – 13 November 1907) was an English poet and Catholic mystic. At the behest of his father, a doctor, he entered medical school at the age of 18, but at 26 left home to pursue his talent as a writer a ...
. In 1884, Old Trafford became the second ground, after
The Oval
The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...
, to stage a
Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to:
* Test cricket
* Test match (indoor cricket)
* Test match (rugby union)
* Test match (rugby league)
* Test match (association football)
...
in England. Though it rained on the first day, 12,000 spectators attended on the second;
[ Retrieved on 20 October 2007.] the match between England and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
resulted in a draw.
Controversy emerged during the 1880s;
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
and
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
objected to the bowling actions of
John Crossland
John "Jack" Crossland (2 April 1852 – 26 September 1903) was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket between 1878 and 1887. Crossland was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in county cricket, but critics g ...
and George Nash. Nottinghamshire even went as far as refusing to play against Lancashire. Although the 1880s was a period of controversy and modest results for the club, it was also a time in which some club records were established. In 1885
George Kemp George Kemp may refer to:
* George Kemp (baseball), American baseball player
* George Stephen Kemp, electrical engineer and assistant to Guglielmo Marconi
* George Meikle Kemp (1795–1844), Scottish carpenter/joiner, draughtsman, and self-taught ar ...
(later 1st Baron Rochdale) scored Lancashire's first century in a Roses Match. In that same year Johnny Briggs and Dick Pilling set a first-class record partnership for the tenth wicket of 173 that stood until
1899 and has not been bettered by Lancashire.
The club shared the title of champions with
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
in 1889.
The
County Championship
The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...
was founded in 1890, and champions were decided by points rather than the press as had happened previously. Lancashire was one of the eight founding teams of the championship along with Gloucestershire, Kent, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, Surrey, Sussex and Yorkshire.
[ Retrieved on 11 October 2008.] The team was runner up in 1890 and 1891.
Archie MacLaren
Archibald Campbell MacLaren (1 December 1871 – 17 November 1944) was an English cricketer who captained the English cricket team, England cricket team at various times between 1898 and 1909. A right-handed Batting (cricket), batsman, he ...
was appointed captain in 1894, four years after making his debut whilst still captain of
Harrow. In 1895 MacLaren made his record-breaking innings of 424 against
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
at
Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
; his innings remained the highest
first-class score for an Englishman, was the first first-class quadruple century, and was the highest score in first-class cricket until
Bill Ponsford
William Harold Ponsford MBE (19 October 1900 – 6 April 1991) was an Australian cricketer. Usually playing as an opening batsman, he formed a successful and long-lived partnership opening the batting for Victoria and Australia with Bil ...
scored 429 in February 1923. Again, Lancashire was runner up in 1895, despite
Arthur Mold
Arthur Webb Mold (27 May 1863 – 29 April 1921) was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Lancashire as a fast bowler between 1889 and 1901. A ''Wisden'' Cricketer of the Year in 1892, he was selected for ...
taking 192 wickets in the season, a feat bettered only twice for the club. The current pavilion was constructed in 1895 and cost £10,000 (£ in ); it replaced the earlier pavilion, dating from 1857 when Old Trafford was originally built.
Lancashire won its first county championship in 1897, a productive bowling attack made up of Johnny Briggs,
Willis Cuttell
Willis Robert Cuttell (13 September 1863 – 9 December 1929) was an English cricketer. Along with Albert Hallam, his support for Johnny Briggs (cricketer), Briggs and Arthur Mold, Mold gave Lancashire its first official County championship vic ...
,
Albert Hallam
Albert William Hallam (12 November 1869 – 24 July 1940) was an English off spin bowler who is primarily remembered, along with Thomas Wass, for giving Nottinghamshire an astonishing win in the County Championship of 1907. They did not lose a ...
, and Arthur Mold took 420 wickets between them. In 1898 Lancashire bought the ground and some adjoining land from the
de Traffords for £24,732 (£ in ). In 1902, amateur and professional players began walking onto the field side by side in a break with tradition. Lancashire won its second championship title in 1904, going undefeated throughout the season; Wisden described the season as “the brightest in the history of Lancashire cricket”. That season,
James Hallows
James Hallows (14 November 1873 – 20 May 1910) was an English first-class cricketer, active from 1898 to 1907, who played for Lancashire. He was born at Little Lever, near Bolton and died at Farnworth.
Hallows was a left-handed middle-order b ...
completed the feat of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in the season. During the late 1900s and early 1910s, players such as
Walter Brearley
Walter Brearley (11 March 1876 – 30 January 1937) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Lancashire and England.
Brearley was a fast bowler with what ''Wisden'' described as "a rolling gait" who put his full – and substantial ...
,
Harry Dean, and Bill Huddleston were the mainstays of Lancashire bowling. The club began to experience financial problems during this same period; the increased popularity of other sports was blamed for the dip in attendances. In 1914, Lancashire sank to its lowest position of eleventh, whilst during World War I the pavilion was used by the
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
and 1,800 patients were treated there.
The golden era
After the war Lancashire developed a very strong batting side, including
Ernest Tyldesley
George Ernest Tyldesley (5 February 1889 – 5 May 1962) was an English cricketer. The younger brother of Johnny Tyldesley and the leading batsman for Lancashire County Cricket Club, Lancashire. He remains Lancashire's most prolific run-getter ...
and
Johnny Tyldesley
John Thomas Tyldesley (22 November 1873 – 27 November 1930) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Lancashire and Test cricket for England. He was a specialist professional batsman, usually third in the batting order, wh ...
, both Test
batsmen
In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...
. In 1920, Lancashire finished runner up and bowlers Harry Dean and
Lawrence Cook took 274 wickets between them. During 1921, interest in cricket reached an all-time high, with over 250,000 people attending Old Trafford and over 4,500 members. 1922 was a year of contradictions, a strong team winning seven out of fifteen matches by an innings, but still managing to lose seven and finish 5th; that season
Cec Parkin and Lawrence Cook mustered 308 wickets between them and Ernest Tyldesley scored over 2,000 runs. Lancashire's steady progress was capped by a hat trick of championship titles between 1926 and 1928 under the captaincy of
Leonard Green. In the 1926 victory, Ernest Tyldesley and
Harry Makepeace
Joseph William Henry Makepeace (22 August 1881 – 19 December 1952) was an English sportsman who appeared for his country four times at each of cricket and football. He is one of just 12 English double internationals.
Cricket
Makepeace playe ...
each scored over 2,000 runs. In 1927,
Charlie Hallows
Charles Hallows (4 April 1895 – 10 November 1972) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Lancashire and England.
A tall left-handed opening batsman, Hallows provided the attacking flair in the successful Lancashire side in the 19 ...
scored six centuries and the bowling attack was led by
Dick Tyldesley
Richard Knowles Tyldesley (11 March 1897 – 17 September 1943) was a Lancashire cricketer who was one of the most important figures in Lancashire breaking Yorkshire's stronghold on the County Championship between 1926 and 1930.
He was the yo ...
and
Ted McDonald
Edgar Arthur "Ted" McDonald (6 January 1891 – 22 July 1937) was a cricketer who played for Tasmania, Victoria, Lancashire and Australia, as well as being an Australian rules footballer who played with Launceston Football Club, Essendon Footb ...
with support from Frank Sibbles. In 1928,
Frank Watson and Ernest Tyldesley scored over 2,000 runs each and
George Duckworth
George Duckworth (9 May 1901 – 5 January 1966) was a professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Lancashire and England.
Duckworth, who won his cricketing fame as a wicket-keeper, was born and died in Warrington, Lancashire, an ...
claimed 107 victims and earned recognition as one of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year. At the end of the season Leonard Green decided to retire with a record of three successive championships and 42 wins against just three defeats.
[ Retrieved on 20 October 2007.]
Under the captaincy of
Peter Eckersley, Lancashire finished second in the championship in 1929 and reclaimed the title in 1930, with ten victories and no defeats that season. After four titles in five seasons, the early 1930s saw a number of retirements including McDonald and Dick Tyldesley in 1931 and Ernest Tyldesley in 1935: no Lancashire batsman has matched Tyldesley's 100 centuries in first-class cricket. Lancashire won the championship outright for the last time in 1934, the same year that
Len Hopwood
John Leonard Hopwood (30 October 1903 – 15 June 1985) was a Lancashire cricketer who was the focal point of the county's Championship win in 1934. During this period he was an effective if unattractive all-rounder and played twice for England ...
performed the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets (a feat he repeated in 1935) and
Cyril Washbrook
Cyril Washbrook (6 December 1914 – 27 April 1999) was an English cricketer, who played for Lancashire and England. He had a long career, split by World War II, and ending when he was aged 44. Washbrook, who is most famous for opening the batt ...
began to work his way into the team. The captain, Peter Eckersley, retired in 1935 to become an MP. The later half of the 1930s was a period of rebuilding up until the war, with the opening partnership of Cyril Washbrook and
Eddie Paynter
Edward Paynter (5 November 1901 – 5 February 1979) was an English cricketer: an attacking batsman and excellent fielder. His Test batting average of 59.23 is the seventh highest of all time, and second only to Herbert Sutcliffe amongst Englis ...
the highlight.
Paynter scored 322 in five hours for Lancashire against Sussex in 1937 having come down on the sleeper train from the victorious Old Trafford Test against New Zealand. He put on 268 in 155 minutes with
Cyril Washbrook
Cyril Washbrook (6 December 1914 – 27 April 1999) was an English cricketer, who played for Lancashire and England. He had a long career, split by World War II, and ending when he was aged 44. Washbrook, who is most famous for opening the batt ...
and celebrated his innings that evening at Brighton's Ice Palace.
Post-war
When play began in 1946, after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, things started badly for Lancashire when the captain and veteran player,
Jack Iddon
John Iddon (8 January 1902 – 17 April 1946) was an English professional cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club from 1924 to 1945, and in five Test matches for England in 1935. He was born at Mawdesley, Lancashire, and died f ...
, was killed in a car accident just before the start of the season.
Jack Fallows
John Armstrong Fallows (25 July 1907 – 20 January 1974) was a cricketer who played one season of first-class cricket when he captained Lancashire in 1946.
Life and career
Jack Fallows was born in Cheshire and educated at Worksop College. A ...
stood in as captain for the season. His successor,
Ken Cranston
Kenneth Cranston (20 October 1917 – 8 January 2007) was an English amateur cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Lancashire and eight times for England, in 1947 and 1948. He retired from playing cricket to concentrate on his career as ...
, was an unusual choice as he had no prior first-class experience; despite this his captaincy was not unsuccessful as Lancashire finished third and fifth during his two years in charge. In 1947 Cyril Washbrook and
Winston Place
Winston Place (7 December 1914 − 25 January 2002) was an English cricketer who played in three Tests in 1948. An opening batsman for Lancashire, he shared a prolific partnership with Cyril Washbrook and was part of the county championship wi ...
both scored over 2,500 runs and scored 19 centuries between them. Washbrook's benefit took place in August 1948 and was watched by 50,000 people; he received £14,000 (£ in ), beating the previous record by over £10,000. Despite finishing 11th in 1949, in 1950 – under the captaincy of
Nigel Howard
Nigel David Howard (18 May 1925 – 31 May 1979) was an English cricketer, who played for Lancashire and England. Born in Gee Cross, Hyde, Cheshire, he captained England on the tour to India in 1951-52. In the only four Test matches he playe ...
– Lancashire shared the county championship with
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, winning 16 matches;
Roy Tattersall
Roy Tattersall (17 August 1922 – 9 December 2011) was an English cricketer who played for Lancashire and played sixteen Tests for England as a specialist off spin bowler. He was born at Tonge Moor, Bolton, Lancashire, England.
Tattersa ...
and
Malcolm Hilton
Malcolm Jameson Hilton (2 August 1928 – 8 July 1990) was an English left-arm spin bowler, who played for Lancashire and in four Test matches for England.
Cricket writer, Colin Bateman, stated, "he was the best slow left-arm bowler Lancashi ...
claimed nearly 300 wickets between them. The 1950 season marked the emergence of
Brian Statham
John Brian Statham, (17 June 1930 – 10 June 2000) was an English professional cricketer from Gorton, in Manchester, who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club from 1950 to 1968 and for England from 1951 to 1965.[Geoff Pullar
Geoffrey Pullar (1 August 1935 – 25 December 2014) was an English cricketer, who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, Lancashire and Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, Gloucestershire and in 28 Test cricket, Tests for England cricket t ...]
,
Ken Grieves
Kenneth James Grieves (27 August 1925 – 3 January 1992) was an Australian first class cricketer who played for Lancashire. A middle order batsman, he made 452 first-class appearances for Lancashire and made a county record 555 catches. He oft ...
and
Alan Wharton
Alan Wharton (30 April 1923 – 26 August 1993) was an English cricketer, who played for Lancashire, Leicestershire and England.
Life and career
Wharton was born in Heywood, Lancashire, England.
An attacking left-handed batsman, Wharton appe ...
all scored over 2,000 runs, whilst Brian Statham,
Ken Higgs
Kenneth Higgs (14 January 1937 – 7 September 2016) was an English fast-medium bowler, who was most successful as the opening partner to Brian Statham with Lancashire in the 1960s. He later played with success for Leicestershire.
Cricket wr ...
and
Tommy Greenhough
Thomas Greenhough (9 November 1931 – 15 September 2009) was an English cricketer, who represented Lancashire during the 1950s and 1960s, as well as playing four Tests for England.
After the retirement of Doug Wright, Eric Hollies and Roly Jen ...
all took over 100 wickets; despite this, Lancashire managed to finish only 5th. Lancashire came close to reclaiming the county championship in 1960 under a new captain,
Bob Barber. Five batsmen scored more than 1,000 runs in the season, and Statham, Higgs and Greenhough all took over 100 wickets; Lancashire finished runner up due to a poor run of form towards the end of the season: losing four and drawing two of the last six matches after topping the table in August. The following year, however, Lancashire dropped to 13th, due in part to Barber's inexperience and Statham's and Geoff Pullar's England commitments. Things declined further in 1962, under the leadership of
Joe Blackledge
Joseph Frederick Blackledge (15 April 1928 – 19 March 2008) was a first-class cricketer who played for Lancashire. He played for just one season – 1962 – captaining the team as an amateur in the year before the players and gentlemen disti ...
, who had had no previous first-class experience, as Lancashire dropped to second last, winning only two matches. After a period of unrest, Brian Statham was appointed captain between 1965 and 1967 and Lancashire's results improved. Statham retired in 1968 with 1,816 first-class wickets, a record for the club.
Limited-overs success
Jack Bond became Lancashire captain in 1968 and remained in the position until 1972. During his tenure, Lancashire performed well in the championship, finishing third in 1970 and 1971. His biggest triumph as captain was the five one day trophies he secured during his five-year captaincy.
Farokh Engineer
Farokh Maneksha Engineer (born 25 February 1938) is an Indian former cricketer. He played 46 Test matches for India, played first-class cricket for Bombay in India from 1959 to 1975 and for Lancashire County Cricket Club in England from 196 ...
joined Lancashire in 1968, and
Clive Lloyd
Sir Clive Hubert Lloyd (born 31 August 1944) is a Guyanese-British former cricketer who played for the West Indies cricket team. As a boy he went to Chatham High School in Georgetown. At the age of 14 he was captain of his school cricket team ...
joined in 1969; together Lloyd and Engineer helped establish Lancashire as one of the best one day sides in England. The silverware included a hat-trick of
Gillette Cups (1970–72) and the
Sunday League twice in successive seasons (1969–1970). Mainstays of the successful one day side included Clive Lloyd,
David Lloyd,
Barry Wood,
Harry Pilling,
Frank Hayes,
Peter Lever
Peter Lever (born 17 September 1940) is a former English cricketer, who played in seventeen Tests and ten ODIs for England from 1970 to 1975. A fast-medium opening bowler, he took 41 wickets, and was a handy lower-order batsman with a top score ...
,
Ken Shuttleworth,
David Hughes David Hughes may refer to:
Arts
*Dave Hughes (born 1970), Australian comedian
*Dave Hughes (producer), American television producer and editor
*David Hughes (illustrator), British illustrator
*David Hughes (Emmerdale), fictional character in the I ...
and
Jack Simmons. In the Gillette Cup semi-final against
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
in 1971, David Hughes walked to the crease at 8.45pm and hit 24 from an over in near darkness to win the match. David Lloyd was captain from 1973 to 1977 and secured Lancashire's fourth Gillette Cup in 1975, and coming runners up in 1974 and 1976. However, in the late 1970s, the team that had been so dominant in the one day format began to break up. Despite boasting international players such as Lloyd and Engineer, Lancashire's first-class performances never matched the success of the limited overs team.
[ Retrieved on 20 October 2007.]
It wasn't until 1984, under the captaincy of
John Abrahams
John Abrahams (born 21 July 1952) is an English retired cricket player. His brothers Basil and Peter Abrahams, and his late father Cec Abrahams, were also cricketers. During his playing career, Abrahams was known as a left-handed batsman and ...
, that the club won more silverware, this time in the Benson & Hedges Cup. Despite a resurgence in limited overs matches, Lancashire finished in the bottom six of the county championship. After suffering defeat in the final of the 1986 Nat West Trophy, David Hughes was appointed captain. Towards the end of the 1980s, Lancashire's side began to develop, with
Graeme Fowler
Graeme "Foxy" Fowler (born 20 April 1957) is an English former professional cricketer and cricket coach, who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England, and later for Durham. He appeared in 21 Test matches and 26 One Day Internationa ...
and
Gehan Mendis
Gehan Dixon Mendis (born 24 April 1955) is an English former cricketer who was an opening batsman for Sussex and Lancashire between 1974 and 1993. He was part of the Lancashire team that won the 1990 Benson & Hedges Cup and 1990 NatWest Trop ...
building a productive opening partnership, while David Hughes and
Neil Fairbrother
Neil Fairbrother (born Neil Harvey Fairbrother; 9 September 1963) is an English former cricketer who played 75 One Day International matches and 10 Test matches as a batsman for England. Fairbrother, named by his mother after her favourite playe ...
provided support in the middle order. The bowlers were led by
Patrick Patterson and
Paul Allott with support from David Hughes,
Mike Watkinson
Michael Watkinson (born 1 August 1961) is a former English cricketer who played four Test matches and one One Day International in the mid-1990s. A right-handed batsman and right-arm bowler of either medium-pace or off-spin, he was instrumenta ...
and Jack Simmons. In 1987 after eleven successive years in the bottom six, Lancashire finished second in the championship, their highest position in 27 years.
Mike Atherton
Michael Andrew Atherton (born 23 March 1968) is a broadcaster, journalist and a former England international first-class cricketer. A right-handed opening batsman for Lancashire and England, and occasional leg-break bowler, he achieved the ca ...
made his Lancashire debut in 1987 – scoring 600 runs in the second half of the season – and
Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram HI (; born 3 June 1966) is a Pakistani cricket commentator, coach, and former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. Akram is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, and several criti ...
first played for the team in 1988. Lancashire defeated Worcestershire in the final of the Refuge Cup in 1988. The following year the club won the Sunday League on the last day of the season in 1989 and finished fourth in the championship. At the age of 48, in 1989 Jack Simmons retired after having taken 985 first-class wickets for the county.
In 1990, Lancashire won both the Nat West Trophy and Benson & Hedges Cup finals at Lord's. This was the first time any county had won both competitions in the same year; Lancashire narrowly missed out on a treble, finishing runners-up in the Sunday League. Lancashire's consistency continued, and the team finished second in the Sunday League and B&H Cup. Paul Allott and Graeme Fowler were released at the end of the 1992 season. The team lost the B&H final to
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
in 1993. In 1994, young bowlers
Peter Martin and
Glen Chapple
Glen Chapple (born 23 January 1974) is an English cricket coach and former cricketer. He is an all-rounder, and represented the national team in a One Day International, as well as performing well for Lancashire over many years. He bowls right- ...
took 50 wickets each. The batting too looked promising, with
John Crawley
John Paul Crawley (born 21 September 1971) is a former English first-class cricketer who played at international level for England and county cricket for Hampshire and Lancashire. Crawley, one of three brothers who all played first-class crick ...
scoring two double centuries and
Jason Gallian
Jason Edward Riche Gallian (born 25 June 1971) is a former English Test cricketer. A right-handed opening batter, he originally hails from Australia and captained their Under-19 side for two Under-19 Tests in 1989 and 1990. He played three Test m ...
steadily improving. In 1995, Lancashire again won the Benson & Hedges Cup. In 1996, Lancashire again won the double of the NatWest Trophy and Benson & Hedges Cup. In 1998, with Wasim Akram as captain, Lancashire won the NatWest Trophy and Axa League, and finished second in the championship despite losing only five games in all competitions throughout the season. Apart from the National League second division title in 2003, this was the last time Lancashire won a trophy.
[ Retrieved on 11 October 2008.] 1999 was an eventful year for Lancashire with the debut of
Muttiah Muralitharan
Deshabandu Muttiah Muralitharan ( si, මුත්තයියා මුරලිදරන්, ta, முத்தையா முரளிதரன், also spelt Muralidaran; born 1972) is a Sri Lankan cricket coach, former professional c ...
, the departure of coach
Dav Whatmore
Davenell Frederick Whatmore (born 16 March 1954) is a Sri Lanka born Australian cricket coach and former cricketer.
A right-handed batsman, Whatmore played seven Test matches for Australia in 1979, and one One Day International in 1980. At ...
after just two years with the club and again the team finished second in the championship and won the National League.
New century
The team that had been so successful in the 1990s began to break up at the start of the 2000s. Since winning their last trophy in 1998, the team has lost eight semi-finals and two finals.
In 2008 Lancashire managed to finish second in the County Championship. The competition was divided into two divisions for the 2000 season, with Lancashire in the first division.
Lancashire's one day form began to fluctuate in 2000, losing to
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
in the semi-finals of both the B&H Cup and the NatWest Trophy, and being relegated in the National League. In 2001, Lancashire avoided relegation by just 5 points and were not promoted in the National League. The end of the season saw the retirement of
Ian Austin
Ian Christopher Austin, Baron Austin of Dudley (born 6 March 1965) is a British politician who sits as a life peer in the House of Lords. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dudley North from the 2005 general election until the 2019 gen ...
from first-class cricket and of Mike Atherton from all forms of cricket. John Crawley left the club in the winter after not being retained as captain. Between 2001 and 2002 saw the squad change significantly, with players recruited from
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
,
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
,
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
, and
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
; the most notable additions to the squad were
Stuart Law
Stuart Grant Law (born 18 October 1968) is an Australian-born cricket coach and former cricketer.
He played one Test and 54 One Day Internationals (ODIs) for Australia. Law also captained Queensland to five Sheffield Shield titles and two one ...
and
David Byas
David Byas (born 26 August 1963)) is an English first-class cricketer, who played for Yorkshire and latterly Lancashire, in a 17-year first-class career.
Byas grew up on a farm in Yorkshire, having attended school at Scarborough College. He wa ...
– the Yorkshire captain of the previous season. After a quiet 2001 season – finishing mid-table in the county championship and again failing to secure promotion in the National League – 2002 was far more encouraging.
Mike Watkinson
Michael Watkinson (born 1 August 1961) is a former English cricketer who played four Test matches and one One Day International in the mid-1990s. A right-handed batsman and right-arm bowler of either medium-pace or off-spin, he was instrumenta ...
was appointed cricket manager,
and Stuart Law and Alec Swann both scored over 1,000 first-class runs and Peter Martin and
Glen Chapple
Glen Chapple (born 23 January 1974) is an English cricket coach and former cricketer. He is an all-rounder, and represented the national team in a One Day International, as well as performing well for Lancashire over many years. He bowls right- ...
both took more than 50 wickets; the find of the season was that of
James Anderson James Anderson may refer to:
Arts
*James Anderson (American actor) (1921–1969), American actor
*James Anderson (author) (1936–2007), British mystery writer
*James Anderson (English actor) (born 1980), British actor
* James Anderson (filmmaker) ...
, who burst onto the scene with 50 wickets in the second half of the season, earning him a promotion to the England side. At the end of the season, Lancashire stalwarts Neil Fairbrother and
Graham Lloyd retired.
2003 was a promising year, and Lancashire were genuine contenders for the county championship.
Mark Chilton
Mark James Chilton (born 2 October 1976) is an English first-class cricketer. Chilton was educated at Manchester Grammar School and Durham University where he won the British Universities tournament in 1997. The same year he made his debut for ...
,
Carl Hooper
Carl Llewelyn Hooper (born 15 December 1966) is a former Guyanese cricketer who captained the West Indies in Tests and ODIs. An all-rounder, he was a right-handed batsman and off-spin bowler, who came to prominence in the late 1980s in a side ...
and
Mal Loye
Malachy Bernard "Mal" Loye (born 27 September 1972), is an English former cricketer who played first-class cricket for Northamptonshire, Lancashire, and England A. Loye is a right-handed batsman, particularly well known for his slog sweep sho ...
all scored over 1,000 runs and
Stuart Law
Stuart Grant Law (born 18 October 1968) is an Australian-born cricket coach and former cricketer.
He played one Test and 54 One Day Internationals (ODIs) for Australia. Law also captained Queensland to five Sheffield Shield titles and two one ...
was player of the year with 1,820 runs. Altogether, 28 championship centuries were scored for Lancashire, the second highest total in a season for the club.
Gary Keedy
Gary Keedy (born 27 November 1974) is a retired English cricketer. A slow-left arm spin bowler, he played one match for Yorkshire in 1994, having graduated from their cricket academy, before moving to Lancashire in 1995. He played for the club ...
was lead wicket taker with 60 wickets, supported by Martin and Chapple who took 41 and 49 respectively. They were promoted from the second division of the National League, lost in the semi-final of the C&G Trophy, and finished second in the county championship.
In 2004, Lancashire were relegated to the second division of the County Championship for the first time since the competition was restructured into two divisions.
[ Retrieved on 4 October 2008.] This was despite starting the season as the bookmarkers' favourite to win the competition. At one point in the season, the team was without eight bowlers, with
James Anderson James Anderson may refer to:
Arts
*James Anderson (American actor) (1921–1969), American actor
*James Anderson (author) (1936–2007), British mystery writer
*James Anderson (English actor) (born 1980), British actor
* James Anderson (filmmaker) ...
,
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (born 6 December 1977) is an English television and radio presenter and former international cricketer. Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-orde ...
, and
Sajid Mahmood
Sajid Iqbal Mahmood (Urdu: ساجد اقبال محمود, ''Sājid Iqbāl Maḥmūd''; born 21 December 1981) is a former English cricketer, who played all formats of the game. He is a right-arm fast-medium bowler who played international cri ...
on international duty, while Glen Chapple,
Dominic Cork
Dominic is a name common among Roman Catholics and other Latin-Romans as a male given name. Originally from the late Roman-Italic name "Dominicus", its translation means "Lordly", "Belonging to God" or "of the Master". Variations include: Domini ...
,
Kyle Hogg
Kyle William Hogg (born 2 July 1983) is an English former cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler who played for Lancashire from 2001 to 2014. Between 2000–01 and 2002 Hogg represented the England under-19s i ...
,
Peter Martin, and all-rounder
Carl Hooper
Carl Llewelyn Hooper (born 15 December 1966) is a former Guyanese cricketer who captained the West Indies in Tests and ODIs. An all-rounder, he was a right-handed batsman and off-spin bowler, who came to prominence in the late 1980s in a side ...
were all injured. Their problems were not blamed solely on the injuries, Watkinson said "quite simply the opposition have done the basics better than us. In addition we've one or two who are out of form on top of the injury list which ripped us to pieces". Despite being relegated in the County Championship, the team managed finish as runners up in the National League and were expected to be promoted back to the first division of first-class cricket in the 2005 season.
[ Retrieved on 4 October 2008.] While Watkinson expected backlash from the fans, he said that "they were tremendously understanding about the injury situation".
The squad underwent changes, with six players leaving – including Martin and
Chris Schofield
Christopher Paul Schofield (born 6 October 1978) is an English cricketer, who played Tests and Twenty20 Internationals. Schofield is one of the few leg-spinners to play cricket for England in the 21st century.
Early career
Born on 6 Octobe ...
– and six joining, as well as a change of captain from wicket-keeper
Warren Hegg
Warren Kevin Hegg (born 23 February 1968) is an English former professional cricketer. He played County Cricket for Lancashire. Although primarily a wicket-keeper, Hegg was also a handy lower-order batsman, and made several first-class hundreds ...
to batsman Mark Chilton;
Chilton was the club's first Yorkshire-born captain. Between 1864 and 2004, Lancashire played 2,790 matches, winning 1,034, losing 583, drawing 1,170, with three tied matches. In this period, no other team had drawn more matches. The team's percentage of wins was 37.06%, third behind Yorkshire (44.05%) and Surrey (39.74%).
Lancashire were promoted back to the first division of the county championship in 2005, winning the second division title in the process. They stayed up in the National League, progressed to the finals' day of the Twenty20 Cup and were knocked out in the semi-final of the C&G Trophy. Despite winning the second division title, there were concerns that the squad may have been getting too old and that there were limited opportunities for the younger players. Of Lancashire's performance over the season, Watkinson said "I was not happy about our batting and, although we have achieved what we set out to do – get promoted – our performance left a lot to be desired". Lancashire are one of three teams, along with Middlesex and Surrey, never to have finished bottom in the County Championship.
On their return to the first division in the 2006 season, Lancashire finished second in the Championship. They also finished as runners-up in the NatWest Trohpy.
In 2007, although they led the table before the final round of matches, Lancashire were again runners-up in the County Championship. After being knocked out of the Twenty20 competition in the group states and performing poorly in the other one-day competitions early in the season, supporters started to become discontented with the captain and coach.
Sussex ended up winning the title as Lancashire lost their final match of the competition against Surrey.
Chris Adams, the Sussex captain, said "you played well, you had a hard season, there's no shame in your performance and you nearly did it".
[ Retrieved on 11 October 2008.] After the match against Surrey, Chilton was in tears and said "I'm extremely proud of what our guys have achieved though. As captain I'm privileged to have seen the efforts they have put in. To get close to our target was a phenomenal effort but the lads are just broken. Our players have risen to an almighty challenge and to come so close is an enormous effort".
After three years as captain, Mark Chilton stepped down in October 2007 and was replaced by Stuart Law who is the most successful captain in Australian domestic cricket. However his captaincy lasted for just one season, and Lancashire again failed to claim any silverware. At the end of the season Law and veteran player Cork were released, with Chapple replacing Law as captain. In December 2008, Watkinson's job as cricket manager was changed to that of director of cricket – a job which would focus solely on aspects of cricket, rather than the traditional all-encompassing job of general team management. The move was explained by the club chairman as an effort to modernise.
In February 2009, it was announced that
Peter Moores – who had been sacked as England coach the previous month – would be Lancashire's new coach and had a three-year contract. In 2011 Chapple and Moores took Lancashire to their first outright first-class county championship title since 1934, although they had shared the title with Surrey in 1950. Despite being reigning champions in 2012, Lancashire had a poor season and were relegated to the Second Division. In 2013 they bounced straight back to Division 1 by winning the second division championship with a game to spare. They were once again relegated to Division 2 on the last day of the 2014 season after failing to win a tightly fought game against Middlesex. Ashley Giles (formerly of Warwickshire and England) was appointed as Director of Cricket and Head Coach after Mike Watkinson stepped down from the role in October 2014.
Lancashire gained immediate promotion in 2015, finishing as Division Two runners-up behind Surrey, and enjoyed the bonus of winning the T20 Cup for the first time. They were well served that season by overseas players Kyle Jarvis and Ashwell Prince. They finished seventh in 2016 and then improved to finish second in 2017, though they were a long way behind the runaway winners Essex. The team struggled in 2018 and were relegated. In 2019, the team went unbeaten in Division 2 to comfortably win promotion back up to Division 1.
On 30 March 2020, the chairman of the club
David Hodgkiss
David Michael William Hodgkiss (June 1948 – 29 March 2020) was a British businessman, and Chairman of Lancashire County Cricket Club between April 2017 and March 2020.
He was Chief Executive of structural steel contractor William Hare Grou ...
died at the age of 71 due to
coronavirus disease 2019
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
complications during the
coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
.
Ground
Since its formation, Lancashire has played home matches at
Old Trafford Cricket Ground
Old Trafford is a cricket ground in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. It opened in 1857 as the home of Manchester Cricket Club and has been the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club since 1864. From 2013 onwards it has been known as ...
, west of
Manchester city centre
Manchester City Centre is the central business district of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England situated within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way which collectively form an inner ring road. ...
. Old Trafford has played host to international matches since 1884.
Lancashire also play matches at
Stanley Park, Blackpool
Stanley Park is a public park in the town of Blackpool on the Fylde coast in Lancashire, England. It is the town's primary park and covers an area of approximately . The park was designed to include significant sporting provisions, along with f ...
,
Liverpool Cricket Club
__NOTOC__
Aigburth Cricket Ground in Liverpool, England, is the home of Liverpool Cricket Club. The club was founded in 1807 and is the oldest amateur sports club in Merseyside. The ground hosted its maiden first-class cricket match in 1881, a fi ...
,
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Irish ...
and an annual fixture at
Sedbergh School
Sedbergh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, in North West England. It comprises a junior school for children aged 4 to 13 and the main school for 13 to 18 year olds. It w ...
.
Finances
Lancashire Cricket Club has a record of strong finances which has been attributed to several factors including its diverse facilities and having the largest membership in the country.
[ Retrieved on 11 October 2008.] The Old Trafford Lodge is a hotel which is part of the ground and the ground has been used for conference facilities and has staged music concerts. Another source of income is opening the ground's car park during
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd), or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, ...
's home matches.
Between 2004 and 2006, the club made record profits, each year getting progressively better and in 2006 recorded a profit of £747,370.
While in 2009 more than half of the 18 counties were in profit, 15 in 2010 experienced financial losses, Lancashire included. The total losses of the 18 counties amounted to over £9 million. Lancashire suffered losses of £2.1 million for 2010, primarily because of the club's investment in rebuilding Old Trafford, particularly the construction of The Point. The absence of Test cricket and legal action related to the ground's redevelopment also contributed to the financial loss.
Players
Current squad
* No. denotes the player's squad number, as worn on the back of their shirt.
* denotes players with international caps.
* denotes a player who has been awarded a
county cap
In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...
.
Captains
Records
Player records
;Batting
;Bowling
;Wicket-keeping
Most first-class runs for Lancashire
Qualification – 20,000 runs
Most first-class wickets for Lancashire
Qualification – 1,000 wickets
Team totals
Highest total for – 863 v.
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
,
The Oval
The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, 1990
Highest total against – 707 for 9 dec by Surrey,
The Oval
The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, 1990
Lowest total for – 25 v.
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
,
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, 1871
Lowest total against
– 20 by
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
,
County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford
The Essex County Ground (ECG) is a cricket venue in Chelmsford, Essex, England. It has been used by Essex County Cricket Club for first-class cricket since 1925 and List A matches since 1969, and has been the county's official home ground since ...
,
Chelmsford
Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...
, 2013
Partnership record for each wicket
See also
*
Lancashire County Cricket Club in 2005
Lancashire County Cricket Club played cricket in Division Two of the County Championship and Division One of the totesport League in the 2005 English cricket season. After their shock relegation last season, they were 11–10 favourites to win t ...
*
List of cricket grounds in England and Wales
This is a list of cricket grounds in England and Wales, listed in alphabetical order and based on each Historic counties of England, traditional English and Historic counties of Wales, Welsh county. The venues in this list have all been used for F ...
*
List of Test cricket grounds
One hundred and twenty-one grounds have hosted Test cricket since the first officially recognised Test match between Australia and England in Melbourne in March 1877. The grounds are listed in the order in which they were first used as a venue f ...
Notes
References
Further reading
* Lancashire CCC Yearbook – various editions
Lancashire: Every Day of the Year
– a chronological record of facts, figures and trivia
External links
Official club site
{{English first-class cricket clubs
English first-class cricket teams
Cricket in Lancashire
Sport in Trafford
Cricket clubs established in 1864
1864 establishments in England