St Annes Cricket Club

Where It All Began

Cricket was played in St Annes as early as 1870 at Headroomgate Road, now the site of the Parish Rooms. It was thought that St Annes Cricket Club was founded some time between 1879 and 1888 but new evidence shows that the club may have been formed as far back as 1872.

The club had it’s first major success in 1902 when they founded and won the newly formed Palace (Blackpool) Shield.

It Wasn't Rain That Stopped Play

At the time of the club’s foundation, the teams played on fields off St David’s Road North, and did so until the outbreak of the First World War, when play was suspended. During this time, the ground became a Royal Horse Artillary training centre.

Cricket... And Hockey?

The club revived in 1924 and play commenced at the present Highbury Road site which at the time also contained three grass and two hard tennis courts. Later, a second cricket field was added located to the north/airport side of the present ground. Soccer and hockey were also played there until some of the land was sold to developers in the 1970s and early 1980s.

St Annes CC were the founder members of the Northern League in 1952. They were unbeaten in league games which resulted in them becoming League Champions that year. They met their first defeat on 1st August 1953 after being unbeaten in 35 games!

Legends and Celebrities

The legendary former England Test Player (1901-1914) and Wisden Player of the Year recipient (1910), Sydney Barnes, turned out for St Annes in 1937 at the age of 63 years.

1948 saw Bill Lawton (husband of Dora Bryan) score 135 not out against Leyland Motors, which he followed by taking 7 wickets for 28 runs. In 1951, he took 7 wickets for only 3 runs against Lancaster!

Lancashire and England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff made his debut in First XI senior cricket playing for St Annes at the tender age of 14. His first game for St Annes was as a junior player in 1989, aged 12.

Our Talented Professionals

We are very fortunate to have had some wonderful international and first class Professionals here at St Annes CC. Former Pros include Rohan Kanhai (West Indies), Graeme Fowler (England), Jerry Kirton (Barbados), Stuart MacGill (Australia), Eldine Baptiste (West Indies), David Callaghan (South Africa), Geoff Love (South Africa), Jimmy Adams (West Indies) and Shane Harwood (Australia).

Our present Pro is Dinuka Hettiarachchi (Sri Lanka), a left arm, slow bowler and right hand batsmen who’s played test cricket for Sri Lanka. Dinuka has an impressive 1st class tally of 673 wickets at an average of 21.47 with an economy rate of 2.88.

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Stats

Up to the end of the 2009 season, St Annes CC have played in 1288 league matches, won 314, drawn 540 and lost 434.

We have also won the Division One league title 6 times (1952, 1996, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011) and the Division Two league title 3 times (2003, 2005 and 2008).

Batting & Bowling Records - Division One Professionals

Stat	Who	Record	Figures	Year
most runs in a season	rohan kanhai (West Indies)	club record	1085 runs, average of 60.27	1982
most wickets in a season	shane harwood (Australia)	club record	100 wkts, average of 7.88	2005

Batting & Bowling Record - Division One Amateurs

Stat	Who	Record	Figures	Year
most runs in a season	ian austin (England)	club record	1075 runs, average of 63.24	2006
most wickets in a season	donovan malcolm (west Indies)	club record	62 wkts, average of 13.50	1981

Batting & Bowling Records - Division Two

Stat	Who	Record	Figures	Year
most runs in a season	sean bickerdike	club record	882 runs, average of 49	2004
most wickets in a season	stan walker	club record	58 wkts, average of 7.84	1959

Individual Performances - Top 3 St Annes CC Batsmen Scoring 1000 or more runs in a season - Division One

Position	Who	Record	Figures	Year
1st	Rohan Kanhai (West Indies)	club record	1085 runs, average of 60.27	1982
2nd	ian austin (England)		1075 runs, average of 63.24	2006
3rd	atiq uz-Zaman (Pakistan)		1005 runs, average of 55.83	2008

Individual Performances - Top 3 St Annes CC Bowlers taking 90 or more wickets in a season - Division One

Position	Who	Record	Figures	Year
1st	shane harwood (Australia)	club record	100 wickets, average of 7.90	2005
2nd	-	-	-	-
3rd	-	-	-	-

Individual Performances - Highest Individual Scores & Best Bowling

Stat	Who	Record	Figures	Year
Highest Division One Score	bernard reidy (England)	club record	184 not out	1997
Best Division One Bowling	shane harwood (Australia)	club record	9 wkts for 22 runs	2005
Highest Division Two Score	ian james	club record	150 not out	1992
Best Division Two Bowling	ken pike	club record	10 wkts for 10 runs	1961

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