The Palace Shield is a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

league based in Preston and surrounding districts in

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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It recently celebrated its centenary, and is continuing to expand in size and improve in quality. There are 7 divisions in the main Saturday competition, 2 Sunday leagues, Twenty20 Competition and a thriving junior competition. Current Test stars such as

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

Simon Kerrigan Simon Christopher Kerrigan (born 10 May 1989) is an English cricketer who plays for Northamptonshire. He bowls slow left arm orthodox spin. Kerrigan signed for Lancashire in September 2008, and made his debut for the first team in 2010, fillin ...

began their careers in the Palace Shield, though it remains a competition for amateurs only. Teams such as Vernon Carus, Thornton Cleveleys, Fulwood & Broughton, Freckleton and Longridge have dominated in latter years, but an influx of new clubs such as Walton-le-Dale ensures that competition remains keen and standards of facilities and play continue to improve. In 2011

applied to once again play in the Palace Shield for his brother's club Penwortham. The League has 40 registered clubs playing in its Senior and/or Junior Competitions.

External links

Palace Shield website
English domestic cricket competitions {{cricket-competition-stub