Liverpool and District Cricket Competition

Liverpool and District Cricket Competition

Countries	United Kingdom
Format	Time (target 110 overs per game)
First edition	1850 (informally), 1892 (known as 'Liverpool Competition'), 2000 (ECB Premier League)
Tournament format	League
Number of teams	12 (ECB Premier League), 12 (First division), 12 (Second division)
Current champion	Northern CC
Website	www.ldcc.org.uk

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

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, or 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.

For over thirty years Liverpool Competition legend Ian Cockbain snr played his club cricket at Bootle before retiring at the end of the 2008 season aged 50. During the winter of 2012-2013, he was persuaded by a friend to come out of retirement and join his club Formby, where Cockbain now lives, with a view to captaining the side in 2014 and, with his vast experience, hopefully take them from the First Division into the ECB Premier League for 2015, the year of the club's 150th anniversary. On the last day of the 2014 season, Formby were proclaimed champions, winning the division by twenty points and thus fulfilling the club's dream for 2015. He retired at the end of the 2017 season.

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 2019

ECB Premier League: Bootle, Colwyn Bay, Formby, Leigh, Lytham, New Brighton, Northern, Ormskirk, Orrell Red Triangle, Rainhill, Southport and Birkdale, and Wallasey.

First Division: Ainsdale, Birkenhead Park, Fleetwood Hesketh, Highfield, Newton le Willows, Northop Hall, Old Xaverians, Prestatyn, Rainford, Sefton Park, Wavertree, and Wigan.

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

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 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 x Colwyn Bay 8 11 2 6 7 5 5 7 11 10 4 9 x Fleetwood Hesketh 9 5 7 5 13 10 11 Formby 11 10 14 5 2 10 3 x 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 x Lytham 5 7 9 4 2 5 11 5 4 4 1 6 1 4 3 8 9 9 7 x 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 x 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 x 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 x Orrell Red Triangle x Prestatyn 9 11 12 Rainford 10 12 11 11 Rainhill 9 7 8 3 6 x 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 x Wallasey 1 3 1 3 6 2 8 10 11 6 11 6 5 10 6 8 8 x Wigan 9 8 10 11 Worsley 12 References See also List of English and Welsh cricket league clubs External links Liverpool and District Cricket Competition site Liverpool and District Cricket Competition ECB play-cricket site