ABOUT ST ANNES CC

1st XI St Annes Cricket Club 1950s

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

Soldiers of the Royal Field Artillery 1915 off Headroomgate Road. Houses in the background are on Highbury Rd St Annes on Sea

Photo credit and copyright © amounderness.co.uk

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.

A quote from a May 1915 newspaper report said:

The British soldier stands higher in the estimation of the people of St. Annes since they have had the honour of taking some practical interest in their training and welfare.

Many residents have revised their opinions of their khaki defenders since they have rubbed shoulders with them. The people of St. Annes will he sorry to lose such well-behaved troops, but the best of friends must part. No effort will be relaxed to entertain our soldier friends right up to the farewell.

A fascinating read about the Soldiers of the Royal Field Artillery in St Annes can be found on the amounderness.co.uk website.

St Annes CC 1st XI first ever NPCL home fixture captained by William Green v Leyland 1952

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 & 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!

 

St Annes YMCA CC playiing in Bradford in 1938

Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff

Lancashire and England all-rounder and former England Captain Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff played his first game for St Annes CC as a junior player in 1989, age 12.

He made his debut in 1st XI senior cricket playing for St Annes at the tender age of 14 and after a successful career with us he progressed to play for Lancashire CCC before becoming a formidable force in the England side.  His contribution during the 2005 Ashes was quite spectacular.

Andrew represented England in 79 Tests, 141 one-day internationals and seven Twenty20 games. He also made 80 first-class appearances for the Red Rose, scoring 4,042 runs at 35.14 and taking 92 wickets at 29.16.

 

Flintoff’s Lancashire Twenty20 record consists of 16 games, averaging 13.94 with the ball and 29.64 with the bat, with a high score of 93 against Derbyshire in 2009.

St Annes CC 1st XI 1994 & Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff playing for St Annes CC - 31 May 2014
A young Andrew Flintoff in 1996 playing for St Annes CC
Andrew Flintoff playing for St Annes CC - 31 May 2014

#FredIsBack

In 2014, the former England captain returned to play for St Annes CC in a Northern Premier League fixture against Penrith CC and the hashtag #FredIsBack was born!

Flintoff was using the match as a warm-up to his comeback to the county game with Lancashire and we were delighted to have our most famous team member back in the side!

36 years old at the time, Andrew never thought he would get the chance to play competitive cricket again, having last done so almost five years previous, but he’d been training with Lancashire in recent months and relished the opportunity to return.

That Amazing Catch

As the sun shone on Vernon Road and the crowds swelled by the minute, Freddie certainly gave spectators a day to remember.

Watch his superb, lightning-speed catch which helped him on his way to an impressive 3-26:

Andrew Flintoff & St Annes CC past & present players at our T10 Alzheimer's Society Fundraiser 2 June 2022

Andrew Flintoff & St Annes CC past & present players at our T10 Alzheimer’s Society Fundraiser 2 June 2022

Our International & World Class Professionals

We’re very fortunate to have had some incredible international and first class Professionals here at St Annes CC. Former Pros include:

Rohan Kanhai (West Indies), Graeme Fowler (England), Jerry Kirton (Barbados), Eldine Baptiste (West Indies), David Callaghan (South Africa), Geoff Love (South Africa), Jimmy Adams (West Indies) and Shane Harwood (Australia).

Graeme Fowler 1979 - Photo Credit: Action Images

Graeme Fowler 1979. Photo credit: Action Images

View more St Annes CC club Professionals…

Winning Ways

We’re VERY proud to have won:

  • the Northern Premier League Division 1 league title 6 times: 1952, 1996, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011
  • the Northern Premier League Division 2 league title 3 times: 2003, 2005 and 2008
  • Club Mirror National Cricket Club of the Year Award 2016 & 2017
  • U12s Palace Shield Division 1 Champions 2018
  • U13s Palace Shield Division 1 Champions 2018
  • Under 17’s Palace Shield Cricket Competition Rose Trophy Champions
  • 2021

  • And more…
St Annes CC 1st XI Northern Premier League Champions 2011

View more St Annes CC honours…

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