Club History
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 sometime between 1879 and 1888 but new evidence shows that the club may have been formed by 1872. Read about the 1872 Firman cricket bat. Local historian Alec Maitland has evidence to show that the town plans were not formed until 1874 suggesting that the bat was presented by another St Annes CC. 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.
The club had its first major success in 1902 when St Annes won the newly formed Palace (Blackpool) Shield. Read an article by Alan Briggs about the Palace Shield from 1902 to 1931.
The club was revived in 1924 and play commenced on the current Highbury Road site which at the time also contained three grass and two hard tennis courts. Later, a second cricket field was added which was located to the north/airport side of the present field. Soccer and hockey were also played at the Highbury Road ground until the land was sold to developers who built the Frobisher Drive housing estate in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Read an article about the first stage of the redevelopment that was published in the Gazette in 1972.
St Annes CC were accepted as members of the Ribblesdale Cricket League at the end of the 1927 season and apart from a short spell during the second World War, played in the League until 1951. The legendary former England test player (1901 -14) and Wisden Player of the Year for 1910, Sydney Barnes turned out for St. Annes in 1937 at the age of 63 years. A year later 8 ball overs were introduced and St. Annes finished as runners up with Crawford White, who later became a leading sports writer, as professional. The Ribblesdale League split into East and West sections in 1940 to reduce travel for the member clubs and Darwen and St. Annes shared the League title. They left the League because of the War, returning in 1946.
1948 saw Bill Lawton, (husband of Dora Bryan) score 135 not out against Leyland Motors and he followed that by taking 7 for 28. In 1951 he took 7 wickets for only 3 runs against Lancaster.
In 1951 the Ribblesdale League had 18 teams and it was only possible for each club to play five teams twice. A proposal to divide the League into two sections, East and West, as had happened during the War was defeated and so Blackpool, Chorley, Darwen, Fleetwood, Lancaster, Leyland, Leyland Motors, Morecambe and St. Annes, left the Ribblesdale League and along with Kendal and Furness from the North Lancashire League and at a meeting at a Whalley Hotel on November 10th 1951 formed the Northern League.
1952 saw St. Annes playing in the newly formed Northern Cricket League. Read about the clubs first season in the new league ST ANNES COMPLETE A NOTABLE DOUBLE!, an article by Gerry Wolstenholme on the clubs title winning season.
St Annes were undefeated champions in the first season of the Northern League and met with their first defeat in the new league on the 1st August 1953 after playing 35 games unbeaten.
Read about the THE BEGINNINGS OF THE NORTHERN CRICKET LEAGUE, an article by Gerry Wolstenholme.
The new clubhouse opened in December 1990.
ST ANNES' NORTHERN LEAGUE RECORD
Gerry Wolstenholme
Season | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points | Position |
1952 | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 38 | 1 |
1953 | 22 | 5 | 15 | 2 | 30 | 4 |
1954 | 22 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 24 | 9 |
1955 | 22 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 27 | 8 |
1956 | 22 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 22 | 11 |
1957 | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 32 | 7 |
Some leading players:
1952: | R A Acton
W Lawton (pro)
H Ellis
W E Greene W Lawton (pro)
H Broomhead | 675 runs at 75.00 top of NL averages
402 runs at 26.80
318 runs at 22.71
139 runs at 17.37 66 wickets at 14.06 9th in NL averages
50 wickets at 14.80 |
1953: | W Lawton (pro)
R A Acton
H Ellis H Broomhead
W Lawton (pro) | 532 runs at 40.90 eighth in NL averages
410 runs at 27.30
443 runs at 26.00 61 wickets at 13.20 third in NL averages
54 wickets at 24.80 |
1954: | R G Garlick professional |
|
1955: | R G Garlick (pro)
H Ellis R G Garlick (pro) | 500 runs at 31.25 14th in NL averages
453 runs at 23.84 52 wickets at 18.12 |
1956: | A E Watts
R G Garlick (pro)
W E Greene R G Garlick (pro)
A E Watts
W J Lofthouse
S Walker | 307 runs at 23.61
416 runs at 19.81
328 runs at 19.30 63 wickets at 12.05 7th in NL averages
21 wickets at14.95
17 wickets at 19.29
16 wickets at 26.62 |
Note: This is an ongoing task and the progress of the club in the Northern League will be continued and updated. In addition, players' performances will be filled in when time permits further research! Apologies for the incompleteness so far!
Can you help us to write a more comprehensive history of the club? If you have any interesting photos, stories or facts about St. Annes CC or the club's former players, please let us know.
