Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

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 ...

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

1897 Events January * 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 punitive expedit ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

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 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, was successful in

limited overs cricket Limited overs cricket, also known as white ball cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed within one day. There are a number of formats, including List A cricket (8-hour games), Twenty20 cricket (3-h ...

, 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 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

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 Engla ...

in 1984, three times between 1990 and 1996, and the Sunday League in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

,

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 Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

and

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. They won the

Twenty20 Cup The T20 Blast, officially known as the Vitality Blast for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in England and Wales. The competition was established by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003. T20 Blast is ...

for the first time in 2015.

Honours

First XI honours

*

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

(8) –

1897 Events January * 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 punitive expedit ...

,

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

,

1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

,

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

,

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

,

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

,

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

; shared (1) –

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

:''Division Two champions'' (3) – 2005, 2013, 2019 * NatWest T20 Blast (1) –

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

* 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 Engla ...

(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 a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

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, Greater Manchester, Hyde. The Bredbury and Woodley, Greater Manchester, Woodley buil ...

, who were the winners. As Bredbury was then in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, 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 Nottingham Cricket Club was an English cricket club which played in Nottingham during the 18th and 19th centuries. Matches have been recorded between 1771 and 1848 and the team played in 15 first-class matches between 1826 and 1848. The earlie ...

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, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

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 Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

, 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 is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

, Aigburth, 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 Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

against

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

; Lancashire won the match by 62 runs, although Middlesex's V. E. Walker 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’s batting. The team's standard of cricket improved with the arrival of two professional players, Dick Barlow 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 Sutton-in-Ashfield is a market town in Nottinghamshire, England, with a population of 36,404 in 2021. It is the largest town in the district of Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, Ashfield, four miles west of Mansfield, from the Derbyshire border and ...

and the only player to score 10,000 runs and take 1,000 wickets for Lancashire; and

wicket-keeper In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the Cricket player, player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop Delivery (cricket), deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the ...

Dick Pilling, 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" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

'' 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 ...

. 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 Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

. 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 ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

were joint champions. Lancashire was the champion county in 1881 and again shared the title with Nottinghamshire in 1882. Dick Barlow carried his bat for just 5

not out In cricket, a batsman is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batsman 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 The Oval, currently named 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 sinc ...

, 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 country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

resulted in a draw. Controversy emerged during the 1880s;

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

and

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

objected to the bowling actions of John Crossland 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 Events January * January 1 ** Spanish rule formally ends in Cuba with the cession of Spanish sovereignty to the U.S., concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.''The American Monthly Review of Reviews'' (February 1899), p ...

and has not been bettered by Lancashire. The club shared the title of champions with

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

in 1889.

The

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

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 Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

at

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, 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 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 County Cricket Club, Lancashire as a Fast bowling, fast bowler between 1889 and 1901. A Wisden Cricketers ...

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, 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, 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 organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

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 Tasmanian Tigers, Tasmania, Victorian Bushrangers, Victoria, Lancashire County Cricket Club, Lancashire and Australia national cricket team, Australia ...

with support from Frank Sibbles. In 1928, Frank Watson and Ernest Tyldesley scored over 2,000 runs each and George Duckworth 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 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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, 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

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, winning 16 matches; Roy Tattersall and Malcolm Hilton 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, Ken Grieves and Alan Wharton all scored over 2,000 runs, whilst Brian Statham, Ken Higgs and Tommy Greenhough 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 joined Lancashire in 1968, and Clive Lloyd 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, Ken Shuttleworth, David Hughes and Jack Simmons. In the Gillette Cup semi-final against

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

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, 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 with support from David Hughes, Mike Watkinson 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 Wasim Akram (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ; born 3 June 1966) is a Pakistani cricket commentator, Coach (sport), coach, and former cricketer and captain (cricket), captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. Akram is regarded as one of the ...

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 of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

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 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 (born 1972) is a Sri Lankan cricket coach, businessman and former professional cricketer. Averaging over six wickets per Test match, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the ...

, 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 cricket, Test matches for Australia national cricket team, Australia in 1979, ...

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 Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

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, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

,

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

,

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

; the most notable additions to the squad were Stuart Law and David Byas – 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 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 Stuart Law 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 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 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-ord ...

, and Sajid Mahmood 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 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 Trophy. 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 the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include f ...

complications during the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. am On 10 May 2024, it was announced that The King, as

Duke of Lancaster The dukedom of Lancaster is a former Peerage of England, English peerage, created three times in the Middle Ages, which finally merged in the Crown when Henry V of England, Henry V succeeded to the throne in 1413. Despite the extinction of the ...

, had agreed to become the club's patron, taking over from the previous Duke,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

.

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 ...

, west of

Manchester city centre Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England, within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way, which collectively form an inner ring road. The City Centre ward had a ...

. Old Trafford has played host to international matches since 1884. Lancashire also play matches at Blackpool Cricket Club, Liverpool Cricket Club,

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

and an annual fixture at

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school, day school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, North West England. It comprise ...

.

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. They compete in the Premier League, t ...

'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.

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

,

The Oval The Oval, currently named 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 sinc ...

,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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

The Oval The Oval, currently named 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 sinc ...

,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 1990 Lowest total for – 25 v.

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

,

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, 1871 Lowest total against – 20 by

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, 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 Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

, 2013

Partnership record for each wicket

Notes

References

External links

Official club site
{{Cricket in England English first-class cricket teams Cricket in Lancashire Sport in Trafford Cricket clubs established in 1864 1864 establishments in England First-class cricket teams

Honours

First XI honours

Second XI honours

Other honours

Earliest cricket in Lancashire

History of the county club

Origin

Early successes

The golden era

Post-war

Limited-overs success

New century

Ground

Finances

Players

Current squad

Captains

Records

Player records

Team totals

Partnership record for each wicket

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links