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 Lancas ...

English cricket English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national i ...

. The club has held first-class status since it was founded in 1864. Lancashire's home is Old Trafford Cricket Ground, 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 b ...

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 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 Matches between them were usually the highlight of the domestic season. In 1950, Lancashire shared the title with

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

. 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 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, younger brother of Johnny Tyldesley, is the club's leading run-scorer with 34,222 runs in 573 matches for Lancashire between 1909 and 1936. Fast bowler Brian Statham took a club record 1,816 wickets in 430 first-class matches between 1950 and 1968. England batsman Cyril Washbrook 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 tea ...

, was successful in limited overs cricket, winning the Sunday League in 1969 and 1970 and the Gillette Cup four times between 1970 and 1975. Lancashire won the Benson and Hedges Cup 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 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 shoot ...

. They won the Twenty20 Cup for the first time in 2015.

Honours

First XI honours

(8) – 1897, 1904, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1930, 1934, 2011; shared (1) – 1950 :''Division Two champions'' (3) – 2005, 2013, 2019 * NatWest T20 Blast (1) – 2015 * 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 (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

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, 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 tow ...

, the match is the earliest reference for that county too. In 1816, the Manchester Cricket Club was founded and soon became the main north country rivals of Nottingham Cricket Club and Sheffield Cricket Club. On 23–25 July 1849, the Sheffield and Manchester clubs played each other at Hyde Park in

Sheffield Sheffield is a 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 historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

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. 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, 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,

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)
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 against

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

; 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 at ...

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. ...

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. The team was further enhanced by A. G. Steel, an amateur sometimes considered second only to W. G. Grace as the country's best all rounder; Johnny Briggs, a professional from Sutton-in-Ashfield and the only player to score 10,000 runs and take 1,000 wickets for Lancashire; and wicket-keeper Dick Pilling, who in 1891 was rated by '' Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'' as the second-best wicket-keeper in the world behind Jack Blackham. 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 ...

. 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 trad ...

were joint champions. Lancashire was the champion county in 1881 and again shared the title with Nottinghamshire in 1882.

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 ...

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. In 1884, Old Trafford became the second ground, after The Oval, to stage a Test match 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 country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

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

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 ge ...

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 (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

in 1889.

The

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 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 , lor ...

at Taunton; 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 scored 429 in February 1923. Again, Lancashire was runner up in 1895, despite Arthur Mold 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,

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 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 and Johnny Tyldesley, both Test batsmen. 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 each scored over 2,000 runs. In 1927, Charlie Hallows scored six centuries and the bowling attack was led by Dick Tyldesley 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 Foo ...

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, Lancashir ...

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 performed the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets (a feat he repeated in 1935) and Cyril Washbrook 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 English ...

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 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, things started badly for Lancashire when the captain and veteran player, Jack Iddon, was killed in a car accident just before the start of the season. Jack Fallows 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 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 – Lancashire shared the county championship with

, 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 Lancas ...

claimed nearly 300 wickets between them. The 1950 season marked the emergence of Brian Statham. In the following three seasons, Lancashire finished third each time. With the retirement of Nigel Howard in 1954, Lancashire appointed its first professional captain, Cyril Washbrook, who would captain the club for the next six years. In 1954

Geoff Pullar Geoffrey Pullar (1 August 1935 – 25 December 2014) was an English cricketer, who played for Lancashire and Gloucestershire and in 28 Tests for England. His affectionate nickname was ' Noddy', not, as often said, because, once he was out, he ...

, Ken Grieves and Alan Wharton all scored over 2,000 runs, whilst Brian Statham, Ken Higgs 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 Je ...

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, 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

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 Harry Pilling (23 February 1943 – 22 September 2012) was an English cricketer. Standing just tall he had the distinction of being the shortest English professional cricketer of modern times. A right-handed batsman, Pilling scored over 15,000 ...

, 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 scor ...

, Ken Shuttleworth, David Hughes and Jack Simmons. In the Gillette Cup semi-final against

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 and Gehan Mendis building a productive opening partnership, while David Hughes and Neil Fairbrother provided support in the middle order. The bowlers were led by Patrick Patterson and

Paul Allott Paul John Walter Allott (born 14 September 1956) is a former English cricketer who played county cricket for Lancashire, Minor Counties cricket for Staffordshire and first-class cricket in New Zealand for Wellington, as well as thirteen Test ma ...

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 instrument ...

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 made his Lancashire debut in 1987 – scoring 600 runs in the second half of the season – and Wasim Akram 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 took 50 wickets each. The batting too looked promising, with John Crawley 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 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

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 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 Ceremonial counties of England, 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 Riv ...

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 ...

, Worcestershire, and

; 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 on ...

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.

was appointed cricket manager, and Stuart Law and Alec Swann both scored over 1,000 first-class runs and Peter Martin and Glen Chapple both took more than 50 wickets; the find of the season was that of James Anderson, 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, Carl Hooper and Mal Loye all scored over 1,000 runs and

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, Andrew Flintoff, 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 c ...

on international duty, while Glen Chapple, Dominic Cork, Kyle Hogg, Peter Martin, and all-rounder Carl Hooper 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 – 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%). Old Trafford 3rd Test June 2007 - geograph

Old Trafford 3rd Test June 2007 - geograph

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 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 quickl ...

complications during the coronavirus pandemic.

Ground

Since its formation, Lancashire has played home matches at Old Trafford Cricket Ground, west of Manchester city centre. Old Trafford has played host to international matches since 1884. Lancashire also play matches at Stanley Park, Blackpool,

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 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. ...

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.

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.

, The Oval,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, 1990 Highest total against – 707 for 9 dec by Surrey, The Oval,

, 1990 Lowest total for – 25 v.

, Old Trafford,

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 ...

, 1871 Lowest total against – 20 by

, County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford,

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 Londo ...

, 2013

Partnership record for each wicket

Notes

References

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