Lytham Cricket Club was established in 1855 by Squire Clifton from Lytham Hall. After 91 years of playing friendly matches, the club joined the Manchester & District Association in 1946. In 1963, the estate, including the cricket ground, was sold to the Guardian Royal Insurance Company. By 1967, the club expanded to include cricket, tennis, hockey, and soccer, and by the late 1980s, the club had bought the ground, securing its future for cricket.
First-class cricket arrived at Lytham in the early 1980s, though benefit and second XI county matches had already been held there. The inaugural County Championship match took place in 1985 with Northampton CCC as the opponents. Since then, Lytham has regularly hosted both first and second XI county matches, becoming a popular venue in Lancashire. Lytham CC left the Manchester & District Association in 1997 as champions and joined the Liverpool Competition. By 1999, they had advanced to the Premier Division as that season’s first-division champions. The Liverpool Competition was recognised as an ECB Premier League in 2000, and Lytham became a founder member. The club won the league title in 2010.
The Liverpool Competition ECB Premier League is among the top four ECB leagues in the country. Lytham CC has won the League Cricket Conference Presidents Trophy in 2002 and 2003, defeating the Durham and Nottinghamshire Premier Leagues, respectively. Today, Lytham CC is regarded as one of the top five strategic clubs in Lancashire and ranks among the top 200 clubs nationwide. It achieved Clubmark accreditation in May 2003 and was registered with CCDF in September 2003. In 2003, Lytham CC was recognised as the BBC Community Club of the Year for Fylde, and Steve Perkins was named Coach of the Year for Fylde. The club boasts the largest junior section in the area and the highest number of ECB qualified coaches locally. The juniors compete in the Palace Shield Junior Section, with nine teams across various age groups, from U10 to U17.
Older juniors have the opportunity to play in senior teams at appropriate levels, and many also represent league teams and newly formed Borough teams. Lytham CC is an active participant in the Fylde Borough Council Cricket Development Group, providing coaching to local schools. The club is also involved with the LCB Lancashire Cricket Partnership, which aims to connect top clubs in the region for idea exchange and support.
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Text source: Palace Shield Cricket’swebsite
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