The Lancashire League is a competitive league of local cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

 clubs drawn from the small to middle-sized mill towns, mainly but not exclusively, of East Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

. Its real importance is probably due to the history of employing professional players of international standing to play in the League.

History

The Lancashire Cricket League was formed on March 16, 1892, growing from the North East Cricket League that had been formed 17 months earlier. Currently in membership are Accrington CC

Accrington Cricket Club

Accrington Cricket Club are a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which play their home games at Thorneyholme Road in Accrington. For the 2011 season their captain is Jimmy Hayhurst and their professional is Ashar Zaidi....

, Bacup CC

Bacup Cricket Club

Bacup Cricket Club, based at Lanehead in Bacup, Lancashire, are a cricket club in the Lancashire League.The club started in 1892 when the Lancashire League was formed. Their professional for the 2008 season was Chris Harris. Their captain for the 2011 season is David Warren and their professional...

, Burnley CC

Burnley Cricket Club

Burnley Cricket Club, based at Turf Moor in Burnley, Lancashire, is a cricket club in the Lancashire League.The club was a founder member of the Lancashire League in 1892. Its captain for the 2011 season is Steve Brunt and its professional is Imad Wasim...

, Church CC, Colne CC

Colne Cricket Club

Colne Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at The Horsfield in Colne. For the 2011 season their captain is Matthew Wilson, and their professional is Mansoor Amjad of Pakistan. The club has won the league on four occasions and won the cup six times,...

, East Lancashire CC

East Lancashire Cricket Club

East Lancashire Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Alexandra Meadows in Blackburn. For the 2011 season its captain will be Mark Bolton and its professional will be Ockert Erasmus...

, Enfield CC

Enfield Cricket Club

Enfield Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Dill Hall Lane in Accrington. For the 2011 season its captain is Adam Bracewell, and its professional is Werner Coetsee of South Africa. The club has won the league on 5 occasions and the cup on 4...

, Haslingden CC

Haslingden Cricket Club

Haslingden Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Bentgate in Haslingden. For the 2011 season its captain is Graham Knowles, and its professional is former Ramsbottom amateur Phil Hayes of England. The club has won the league on 12 occasions and the...

, Lowerhouse CC

Lowerhouse Cricket Club

Lowerhouse Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Liverpool Road in Burnley. For the 2011 season its captain is Charlie Cottam, and its professional is South African Francois Hasbroek. The club won the league for the first time in 2005, captained by...

, Nelson CC

Nelson Cricket Club

Nelson Cricket Club, based at Seedhill in Nelson, Lancashire, are a cricket club in the Lancashire League. They play at the Seedhill ground in Nelson. Their captain for the 2011 season is Thomas Lord and their professional is New Zealand international player Luke Woodcock.Nelson Cricket Club was...

, Ramsbottom CC

Ramsbottom Cricket Club

Ramsbottom Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Acre Bottom in Ramsbottom. For the 2011 season its captain is Jon Fielding, and its professional is Shanan Stewart of New Zealand. Usman Khawaja was called up to the Australian test squad and instead...

, Rawtenstall CC

Rawtenstall Cricket Club

Rawtenstall Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at the Worswick Memorial Ground in Rawtenstall. For the 2011 season its captain is Vinny Hanson, and its professional is Sri Lankan Malinga Bandara. The club has won the league on seven occasions and won...

, Rishton CC

Rishton Cricket Club

Rishton Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Blackburn Road in Rishton. For the 2011 season their captain is Jimmy Bibby and their professional is Cameron Delport....

, and Todmorden CC

Todmorden Cricket Club

Todmorden Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Centre Vale in Todmorden, West Yorkshire. For the 2011 season its captain is Simon Newbitt, and its professional is Qaiser Abbas. The club has won the league on five occasions and won the cup eight times...

 (coincidently actually in Yorkshire

West Riding of Yorkshire

The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...

). In the early years Bury CC

Bury Cricket Club

Bury Cricket Club was founded in 1845, initially playing its cricket in the Townside district of the town. However, the arrival of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway required the club to seek pastures new...

 were also members but they withdrew after participating for just two seasons.

The early 1890s saw the sudden emergence of cricket leagues all over Lancashire, with the first in 1888 ‑ the Bolton Association. The North Lancashire League and the Central Lancashire League all started the same year as the Lancashire League in 1892. The Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 had set a trend in season 1888‑89 and also had its heart in Lancashire, and with professionals and regular friendlies and local derbies, the leagues quickly became very popular institutions, with games played at weekends when working people had rare leisure time.

In the early years, until 1899, it was possible for each team to field two professionals, but this was restricted for the 1900 season to one professional. The League Centenary was celebrated in 1992, and in 1998 a major exhibition about the League was mounted by Horse and Bamboo Theatre

Horse and Bamboo Theatre

Horse and Bamboo Theatre or Horse + Bamboo Theatre is a British theatre company founded in 1978 by Bob Frith. The company works with a commitment to strong narratives but using visual, physical, and music-based forms rather than text. In particular it uses distinctive full-head masks...

 at their Centre with the involvement of the author Ron Freethy.

In 1981 the name was amended to include the name of a sponsor, initially Blackburn brewer Mathew Brown, later E.W.Cartons, and currently Sponsorbank.

The Lancashire League has always been a 14 club league but has only ever had 16 clubs play in it. In the late 19th century Todmorden left to be replaced by Bury but later came back and replaced Bury. Edenfield have entered the 20/20 Cup since 2007 but have not entered any other competition.

1st XI League

Each team plays each other team twice, once at home and once away making a total of 26 matches. Games start out as 50 over matches but if rain affects play they can be reduced to a minimum of 20 overs. The method for working out reduced targets is to take 3/4 of the run rate off the first innings score for every over that is lost in the second innings. One over is lost for every 7 minutes in the first innings and every 3½ minutes in the second innings. The second innings can be less than 20 overs as long as there were more than 20 overs bowled in the first innings and the team batting second believe they can chase the full total posted in the first innings or the team bowling second believe they can bowl their opponents out in the allocated overs. If the team batting second get the full total then they win. If the team bowling second get the team batting second all out then they win. If neither team does this then it is a No Result. For example Lowerhouse scored 124-7 off their allocated 31 overs. Nelson opted to chase 125 for victory off 12 overs. They ended up on 82-7 so neither team won and it was a no result. There are 5 dates used to replay abandoned matches. 10 points are awarded for a win, 7 points for a tie, 3 points for a no result and 2 points for bowling the opposition out. Up to 5 bonus points are then awarded to the team who lost. If the team that lost bowled second they get 1 point for 5 wickets, 2 for 6 wickets, 3 for 7 wickets, 4 for 8 wickets and 5 for 9 wickets. If they batted second they get 1 point for being within 50 runs, 2 points for being within 40 runs, 3 points for being within 30 runs, 4 points for being within 20 runs and 5 points for being within 10 runs. There are no bowlers restrictions with the exception that fast bowlers who are:- U19s can only bowl 7 overs in a spell before having to take a 7 over break at that end, U17s can only bowl 7 overs in a spell before having to take a 7 over break at that end, U15s can only bowl 6 overs in a spell before having to take a 6 over break at that end and U13s can only bowl 5 overs in a spell before having to take a 5 over break at that end. This applys to every Lancashire League tournament. All U18s have to wear a helmet when batting and when standing up to the stumps wicketkeeping. Again this applys to all tournaments. 1 point is deducted for slow over rate in an innings of more than 40 overs. One over is expected to be bowled in 3¾ minutes.

Worsley Cup

Every club in the league competes in this knockout tournament with 2 teams being given a random bye to the 2nd Round. There are 4 rounds. All games have to be 50 overs and if not completed on the given date have to be continued on weeknights or if still in the first innings the following Saturday. The first game is generally played on a Sunday and the reserve date is always a Saturday. Bowlers can bowl no more than 10 overs.

Ron Singleton Colne Trophy

The League winner plays the Worsley Cup winner in this competition. If a team wins both competitions then the Double winners play the team that finished second the previous year. It is played on the Saturday before the League starts. It is played to the same match rules as the Worsley Cup except that overs are deducted for bad weather. The Colne Trophy has to be a minimum of 20 overs. If the game cannot be completed then the trophy is shared.

20/20 Cup

Every club in the league plus Edenfield play in this tournament. There are 3 geographical groups of 5 and the top club from each group plus the best runner-up (decided by points then net run rate) go through to the semi-final. In the group stage each team plays each other team once making for 4 matches. 3 points are awarded for a win. There are no tied games. If a game is tied the team losing the least wickets win. If both teams lose the same amount of wickets the team with the best runs per wicket rate after 10 overs win. If this is equal then after 5 overs. All games have to be a minimum of 10 overs and any game that cannot be completed goes to a bowl out. If the wicket is not suitable for a bowl out the game is decided by the toss of a coin. The method for working out reduced targets is to subtract the full run rate for every over lost in the second innings. Games are played mainly on a Friday night but are occasionally played on a Thursday night. Teams can play in colours if they wish. In Group A (the Blackburn area group) are Accrington, Church, East Lancs, Enfield and Rishton. In Group B (the Rossendale Valley group) are Bacup, Edenfield, Haslingden, Ramsbottom and Rawtenstall. In Group C (the Burnley and Yorkshire area group) are Burnley, Colne, Lowerhouse, Nelson and Todmorden. In the Cup's inaugural year it was a knockout tournament involving 12 clubs as Enfield and Todmorden did not compete. In 2006 it was a 14 club tournament with the same format as today except the Rossendale Valley group only had 4 clubs in it. Edenfield joined the Cup in 2007 to give the Rossendale Valley group 5 clubs. Bowlers can bowl no more than 4 overs. 1 point is deducted for slow over rate. One over is expected to be bowled in 3¾ minutes

2nd XI League

Same rules as the 1st XI League except that no games are replayed and bowlers can bowl no more than 14 overs.

Lancashire Telegraph Cup

All 2nd XIs enter. Same rules as the Worsley Cup with the 1st Round being the reverse fixtures of the Worsley Cup 1st Round. Games are played on the same date as the Worsley Cup with the exception that the Cup final is played the week before the Worsley Cup final.

3rd XI League

Each team plays each other team once with a 7:6 or 6:7 split of home matches to away matches making a total of 13 games. If the 1st XI are at home when the 3rd XI are supposed to be playing at home the 3rd XI will play away from home. Home advantage is switched every year from the scheduled home advantage of the previous year even if the scheduled home team played away from home the previous year. Games start out as 46 over matches but if rain intervenes they can be reduced to a minimum of 20 overs. The method for working out reduced targets is to reduce the full run rate for evey over lost in the second innings. Games can be less than 20 overs subject to the rules of the 1st XI League. The 3rd XI play on bank holidays, Worsley Cup dates and 1st XI league reserve dates. There are 4 reserve dates for games that couldn't be played because of scheduling conflicts. From the 2010 season the same points system as in the 1st and 2nd XI leagues are used. Bowlers can bowl no more than 10 overs.

The Professionals

The existence of the Lancashire League is a testament to local cricketers and their supporters, but the sheer quantity and quality of the professional cricketers that have been drawn to the milltowns of East Lancashire and the surrounding area is astonishing. Players from all over the world have come to live and play in the League. Dik Abed, Bill Alley

Bill Alley

William Edward Alley was a cricketer who played 400 first-class matches for New South Wales, Somerset and a Commonwealth XI....

, Nyron Asgarali

Nyron Asgarali

Nyron Sultan Asgarali was a former West Indian cricketer who played in two Tests in 1957....

, Nathan Astle

Nathan Astle

Nathan John Astle is a former New Zealand cricketer. He was an attacking batsman who liked to play batting shots such as the cover drive and the pull shot. He also scored the world's fastest Test double century in terms of balls faced. This remarkable innings of 222 was scored in just 168 balls...

, Sydney Barnes

Sydney Barnes

Sydney Francis Barnes was an English professional cricketer who is generally regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the sport's history...

, Allan Border

Allan Border

Allan Robert Border AO is a former Australian cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test matches in his career, a record until it was passed by fellow Australian Steve Waugh...

, Chris Cairns, Sir Learie Constantine

Learie Constantine

Learie Nicholas Constantine, Baron Constantine MBE was a West Indian cricketer who played 18 Test matches before the Second World War. He took West Indies' first wicket in Test cricket and was the team's leading all-rounder and opening bowler for the entirety of his career...

, Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj , better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup...

, Allan Donald

Allan Donald

Allan Anthony Donald is a former South African cricketer and one of their most successful pace bowlers.In his prime, he was one of the best fast bowlers ever seen in Test cricket, reaching the top of the ICC Test rankings in 1998 and peaked with a top ICC ranking of 895 points the next year, the...

, Bruce Dooland

Bruce Dooland

Bruce Dooland was an Australian cricketer who played in 3 Tests from 1947 to 1948....

, Roy Gilchrist

Roy Gilchrist

Roy Gilchrist was a West Indian cricketer who played 13 Tests for the West Indies in the 1950s. He was born in Saint Thomas, Jamaica and died of Parkinson's disease in St Catherine, Jamaica at the age of 67....

, Jason Gillespie

Jason Gillespie

Jason Neil Gillespie is an Australian cricketer who formerly represented Australia at international level, in both Tests and One Day Internationals, and South Australia, Yorkshire and Glamorgan at first-class level. His primary role is as a right-arm fast-medium bowler, but he is also a competent...

, Kerry O'Keeffe

Kerry O'Keeffe

Kerry James "Skull" O'Keeffe is a former Australian cricketer and now a commentator for ABC Radio. O'Keeffe played 24 Tests and 2 ODIs between 1971 and 1977.He was a spin bowler, bowling leg breaks...

, Charlie Griffith

Charlie Griffith

Charles Christopher Griffith is a former West Indian cricketer who played in 28 Tests from 1960 to 1969. He formed a lethal fast bowling partnership with Wes Hall during the 1960s...

, Andrew Hall

Andrew Hall

Andrew James Hall is a South African cricketer and a former member of the South African cricket team . He is an all-rounder who bowls fast-medium pace, and has been used as both an opening batsman and in the lower order. Prior to making it on the South African first class cricket scene he played...

, Wes Hall

Wes Hall

Wesley Winfield Hall is a Barbadian former cricketer and politician. A tall, strong and powerfully built man, Hall was a genuine fast bowler and despite his very long run up, he was renowned for his ability to bowl long spells. Hall played 48 Test matches for the West Indies from 1958 to 1969...

, Roger Harper

Roger Harper

Roger Andrew Harper is a former West Indies cricketer turned coach, who played both Test and ODI cricket for the West Indies...

, Chris Harris

Chris Harris (cricketer)

Chris Zinzan Harris is a former New Zealand cricketer who had become, over the course of the 1990s, a folk-hero in New Zealand cricket....

, George Headley

George Headley

George Alphonso Headley was a West Indian cricketer who played 22 Test matches, mostly before the Second World War. Considered one of the best batsmen to play for West Indies and one of the greatest cricketers of all time, Headley also represented Jamaica and played professional club cricket in...

, Michael Holding

Michael Holding

Michael Anthony Holding is a former West Indian cricketer. One of the fastest bowlers ever to play Test cricket, he was nicknamed 'Whispering Death' by umpires due to his quiet approach to the bowling crease...

, Murali Kartik

Murali Kartik

Murali Kartik is an Indian cricketer who sporadically represented the India national cricket team since 2000...

, Charlie Llewellyn, Clive Lloyd

Clive Lloyd

Clive Hubert Lloyd CBE AO is a former West Indies cricketer. He captained the West Indies between 1974 and 1985 and oversaw their rise to become the dominant Test-playing nation, a position that was only relinquished in the latter half of the 1990s...

, Manny Martindale

Manny Martindale

Emmanuel Alfred Martindale was a West Indian cricketer who played in ten Tests from 1933 to 1939. He was a right-arm fast bowler and a lower-order right-handed batsman....

, Cec Pepper

Cec Pepper

Cecil George Pepper was an Australian first-class cricketer. An allrounder, he was the first to complete the double twice in the Central Lancashire League. With the bat he once hit 38 runs off an eight ball over....

, Viv Richards

Viv Richards

Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, KNH, OBE is a former West Indian cricketer. Better known by his second name, Vivian or, more popularly, simply as Viv or King Viv Richards was voted one of the five Cricketers of the Century in 2000, by a 100-member panel of experts, along with Sir Donald...

, Andy Roberts, Fred Root

Fred Root

Charles Frederick Root was an English cricketer who played for England in 1926 and for Derbyshire between 1910 to 1920 and for Worcestershire between 1921 and 1932.- Early career :...

, Jacques Rudolph

Jacques Rudolph

Jacobus Andries Rudolph , popularly known as Jacques Rudolph, is a South African Test and ODI cricketer currently playing in England with Yorkshire CCC and in South Africa with Titans.He had an unbeaten 222 in his debut Test inning...

, Peter Sleep

Peter Sleep

Peter Raymond Sleep is a former Australian cricketer who played 14 Tests for Australia between 1979 and 1990...

, George Tribe

George Tribe

George Edward Tribe was an Australian cricketer who played in 3 Tests from 1946 to 1947, as well as an Australian rules footballer with the Footscray Football Club in the VFL....

, Lou Vincent

Lou Vincent

Lou Vincent is a professional New Zealand cricketer. He has represented New Zealand in Test match, One Day International and Twenty20 International cricket as well as playing for Auckland in New Zealand domestic cricket and Worcestershire and Lancashire in English domestic cricket.-Early and...

, Shane Warne

Shane Warne

Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...

, Chester Watson

Chester Watson

Chester Donald Watson is a Jamaican cricketer. Watson played seven Tests for the West Indies in the early 1960s....

, Steve Waugh

Steve Waugh

Stephen Rodger "Steve" Waugh, AO is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a successful medium-pace bowler...

 and Everton Weekes

Everton Weekes

Sir Everton DeCourcy Weekes, KCMG, GCM, OBE is a leading former West Indian cricketer. Along with Frank Worrell and Clyde Walcott, he formed what was known as "The Three Ws" of West Indian cricket.-Youth and early career:...

 to name but a few,Others, have all made significant contributions to the Lancashire League. For the 2010 season the League will have 4 South Africans, 3 Englishmen, 2 Australians, 2 Pakistanis, 1 New Zealander and 1 West Indian,

Beyond A Boundary

In C.L.R. James' autobiographical Beyond a Boundary

Beyond a Boundary

Beyond a Boundary is a memoir on cricket written by the Trinidadian Marxist intellectual C. L. R. James. It mixes social commentary, particularly on the place of cricket in the West Indies and England, with commentary on the game, arguing that what happened inside the "Boundary Line" in cricket...

, the Trinidadian writer writes about his visits as a young man to his friend Learie Constantine, at that time living in Nelson while playing as a professional for the town Lancashire League team. He gives a vivid sense of what it must have been like for a young West Indian to arrive in the wet and strange East Lancashire. He also describes how his subsequent education at university in Paris is helped by a local baker, and how his gradual politicisation is given a boost by meetings with local socialists, concerned with the harsh treatment and conditions suffered by the local working class millworkers. Although an extreme example, the meetings between other professional cricketers from the British Empire, and the mainly working-class amateurs of the Lancashire League, must have resulted in many other instances of mutual support and understanding.

2011

1st XI Championship - Lowerhouse

Worsley Cup - Ramsbottom

Lancashire Knockout Cup - Greenmount (Bolton Cricket League)(Colne, East Lancashire, Haslingden and Todmorden entered)

20/20 Cup - Ramsbottom

Ron Singleton Colne Trophy - Ramsbottom

2nd XI Championship - Nelson

Lancashire Telegraph Cup - Ramsbottom

3rd XI Championship - Haslingden

2010

1st XI Championship - Ramsbottom

Worsley Cup - Colne

Lancashire Knockout Cup - Farnworth (Bolton Cricket League) (East Lancashire and Ramsbottom entered)

20/20 Cup - Ramsbottom

Ron Singleton Colne Trophy - Ramsbottom

2nd XI Championship - Church

Lancashire Telegraph Cup - Church

3rd XI Championship - Enfield

2009

1st XI Championship - Accrington

Worsley Cup - Ramsbottom

Lancashire Knockout Cup - Bootle (Liverpool & District Cricket Competition) (Accrington, Lowerhouse and Nelson entered)

20/20 Cup - Burnley

Ron Singleton Colne Trophy - Todmorden

2nd XI Championship - Nelson

Lancashire Telegraph Cup - Nelson

3rd XI Championship - Nelson

2008

1st XI Championship - Accrington

Worsley Cup - Accrington

Lancashire Knockout Cup - Walkden (Bolton Cricket League) (East Lancashire and Rawtenstall entered)

20/20 Cup - East Lancashire

Ron Singleton Colne Trophy - East Lancashire

2nd XI Championship - Nelson

Lancashire Telegraph Cup - Nelson

3rd XI Championship - Haslingden

2007

1st XI Championship - Rishton

Worsley Cup - East Lancashire

20/20 Cup - Enfield

Ron Singleton Colne Trophy - Burnley

2nd XI Championship - Ramsbottom

Lancashire Telegraph Cup - Ramsbottom

3rd XI Championship - Nelson

2006

1st XI Championship - Burnley

Worsley Cup - Nelson

Inter League Club Challenge Trophy - East Lancashire

20/20 Cup - Rishton

Ron Singleton Colne Trophy - Ramsbottom

2nd XI Championship - Ramsbottom

Lancashire Telegraph Cup - Ramsbottom

3rd XI Championship - Burnley

2005

1st XI Championship - Lowerhouse

Worsley Cup - Ramsbottom

Inter League Club Challenge Trophy - Littleborough (Central Lancashire League)

20/20 Cup - Haslingden

Ron Singleton Colne Trophy - Match abandoned

2nd XI Championship - Haslingden

Lancashire Telegraph Cup - Ramsbottom

3rd XI Championship - Haslingden

External links

• Lancashire League website
• Lancashire Telegraph