Liverpool and District Cricket Competition

The Love Lane Liverpool and District Cricket Competition is regarded as the top level of competition for recreational club cricket in the Liverpool area and since 2000 has been a designated ECB Premier League.

Liverpool and District Cricket Competition
Countries United Kingdom
FormatTime (target 110 overs per game)
First edition1892 (known as 'Liverpool Competition'), 1949 (officially constituted), 2000 (as ECB Premier League)
Tournament formatLeague
Number of teams12 (ECB Premier League), 12 (First division), 11 (Second division)
Current championBootle
WebsiteLiverpool and District Cricket Competition

The Competition operates a three divisional system with Premier, First and Second Divisions. The Southport and District Amateur Cricket League is its feeder league.

History

Although many of the district's clubs had met regularly as far back as 1850, if not earlier, it was not until 1892 that a Liverpool newspaper began publishing a weekly table and calling it the Liverpool Competition to create more interest in the game.

The eleven senior clubs making up the original table were Birkenhead Park, Bootle, Formby, Huyton, Liverpool, New Brighton, Northern, Ormskirk, Oxton, Rock Ferry and Sefton.

Neston were offered first team fixtures in 1908 and, in 1919, Hightown and Southport and Birkdale joined whilst Wallasey took over the fixtures of the Rock Ferry club who did not resume after the First War. Boughton Hall (later known as Chester Boughton Hall) were invited to join in 1923.

The Competition continued until 1947 when it was decided to admit a sixteenth club and Preston were voted in. Two years later, fixtures were standardised by all clubs agreeing to meet each other, and although there was no suggestion of a league, it was decided to regard the table as official.

Preston resigned at the end of the 1952 season to be replaced by St Helens Recs in 1953.

In recent years, the Liverpool and District Cricket Competition has changed radically. There was an expansion in 1996 that introduced clubs from further afield in Lancashire and North Wales but saw founder members Birkenhead Park, Chester Boughton Hall, Neston and Oxton resign to join the Cheshire County Cricket League for the 1998 season. Of the four, only Oxton had failed to be champions of the Liverpool and District Cricket Competition.

In 1999 a two division structure was introduced, and in 2000 the 1st XI Premier Division was awarded ECB Premier League status.

From the end of the 2004 season, promotion from and relegation to the Merseyside and Southport Cricket Alliance feeder league was introduced, but was then curtailed from the end of the 2009 season. At this time, additional clubs from the Alliance were invited to join, to form a new three divisional structure.

2nd XIs play in a similar three divisional structure but independent of the 1st XIs. There is a two divisional structure for Saturday 3rd XIs and below, with another structure for those clubs preferring to play on Sundays. They have four Divisions, North East, North West, South East and South West.

1st XI Divisions for 2020

ECB Premier League: Bootle, Formby, Leigh, New Brighton, Northern, Ormskirk, Orrell Red Triangle, Rainhill, Sefton Park, Southport and Birkdale, Wallasey, Wigan.

First Division: Ainsdale, Birkenhead Park, Colwyn Bay, Fleetwood Hesketh, Highfield, Liverpool, Lytham, Newton le Willows, Northop Hall, Old Xaverians, Rainford, St Helens Town.

Second Division: Alder, Caldy, Hightown St Mary's, Maghull, Norley Hall, Parkfield Liscard, Prestatyn, Southport Trinity, Spring View, Sutton (St Helens), Wavertree.

The 2020 competition was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A replacement competition was organised for the later part of the season when cricket again became possible, but with the winners not to be regarded as official league champions. It is anticipated that the make up of the divisions will remain the same for 2021.

Champions
Year Champions Division One Champions Division Two Champions
1949 Bootle
1950 Bootle
1951 Chester Boughton Hall
1952 Liverpool
1953 Liverpool
1954 Liverpool and Southport and Birkdale (shared)
1955 Birkenhead Park
1956 Bootle
1957 Chester Boughton Hall and Neston (shared)
1958 Hightown and Ormskirk (shared)
1959 Liverpool
1960 Birkenhead Park
1961 Birkenhead Park
1962 Birkenhead Park
1963 Birkenhead Park
1964 Birkenhead Park
1965 Neston
1966 Birkenhead Park
1967 Sefton
1968 Liverpool
1969 Neston
1970 Neston
1971 Ormskirk
1972 Sefton
1973 Ormskirk
1974 New Brighton
1975 Southport and Birkdale
1976 Ormskirk
1977 Ormskirk
1978 St Helens Recs
1979 Southport and Birkdale
1980 Ormskirk
1981 Liverpool
1982 New Brighton
1983 New Brighton
1984 Bootle
1985 Chester Boughton Hall
1986 Birkenhead Park
1987 Bootle
1988 Birkenhead Park
1989 Bootle
1990 Bootle
1991 New Brighton
1992 Neston
1993 New Brighton
1994 Chester Boughton Hall
1995 Bootle
1996 Southport and Birkdale
1997 Bootle
1998 New Brighton
1999 Bootle Lytham
2000 Wallasey Sefton Park
2001 Ormskirk Maghull
2002 Wallasey Newton le Willows
2003 Bootle Southport and Birkdale
2004 Bootle Hightown
2005 Northern Maghull
2006 Bootle St Helens Recs
2007 Bootle Formby
2008 Ormskirk Northop Hall
2009 Bootle Highfield
2010 Lytham Leigh St Helens Recs
2011 Ormskirk Maghull Ainsdale
2012 Lytham Wallasey Birkenhead Park
2013 Northern Birkenhead Park Sefton Park
2014 Ormskirk Formby Prestatyn
2015 New Brighton Colwyn Bay Burscough
2016 Leigh Ainsdale Skelmersdale
2017 Ormskirk Rainford Liverpool
2018 Northern Southport and Birkdale Old Xaverians
2019 Bootle Wigan Liverpool
2020 not played because of COVID-19 pandemic not played because of COVID-19 pandemic not played because of COVID-19 pandemic

Performance by season from 2000
Key
Gold Champions
Red Relegated
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Ainsdale 12
Birkenhead Park 7 6 12
Bootle 2 2 3 1 1 4 1 1 2 1 6 4 5 5 6 4 5 2 4 1
Colwyn Bay 8 11 2 6 7 5 5 7 11 10 4 9 11
Fleetwood Hesketh 9 5 7 5 13 10 11
Formby 11 10 14 5 2 10 3 5
Highfield 4 9 6 11 12 12
Hightown 12 8 6 9 7 8 10 12
Huyton 12 2 9 6 7 13
Leigh 6 4 2 7 4 10 6 14 3 4 3 8 9 1 7 5 9
Lytham 5 7 9 4 2 5 11 5 4 4 1 6 1 4 3 8 9 9 7 12
Maghull 7 9 12 10 11 13 9 7 12
New Brighton 10 5 8 5 8 3 9 2 3 2 3 5 8 8 2 1 7 6 10 4
Newton le Willows 12 10 8 11
Northern 4 9 4 8 3 1 3 4 8 8 9 2 3 1 4 3 4 5 1 3
Northop Hall 7 6 5 10 10 11 7 10 12
Ormskirk 3 1 6 6 5 7 4 3 1 3 2 1 2 2 1 2 3 1 2 2
Orrell Red Triangle 7
Prestatyn 9 11 12
Rainford 10 12 11 11
Rainhill 9 7 8 3 6 8
St Helens Recreation 12 14
Sefton Park 10 11 7 8 12
Southport and Birkdale 12 11 9 12 12 7 9 10 11 11 10
Wallasey 1 3 1 3 6 2 8 10 11 6 11 6 5 10 6 8 8 6
Wigan 9 8 10 11
Worsley 12
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]
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References
  1. "ECB Premier League - 2000".
  2. "ECB Premier League - 2001".
  3. "ECB Premier League - 2002".
  4. "ECB Premier League - 2003".
  5. "ECB Premier League - 2004".
  6. "ECB Premier League - 2005".
  7. "ECB Premier League - 2006".
  8. "ECB Premier League - 2007".
  9. "ECB Premier League - 2008".
  10. "ECB Premier League - 2009".
  11. "ECB Premier League - 2010".
  12. "ECB Premier League - 2011".
  13. "ECB Premier League - 2012".
  14. "ECB Premier League - 2013".
  15. "ECB Premier League - 2014".
  16. "ECB Premier League - 2015".
  17. "ECB Premier League - 2016".
  18. "ECB Premier League - 2017".
  19. "ECB Premier League - 2018".
  20. "ECB Premier League - 2019".

See also
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