Sefton Park Cricket Club

Sefton Park Cricket Club
LeagueLiverpool and District Cricket Competition
Personnel
CaptainPaul Horton.[1]
Team information
ColoursMaroon, green and gold
Founded1860
Home groundCroxteth Drive
Official websiteSefton Park CC

Sefton Park Cricket Club in south Liverpool, England was formed as Sefton Cricket Club in 1860.[1] As well as being used for Sefton's senior, women's and junior teams' home fixtures, the club hosts Lancashire age group[2] and junior sides,[3] Liverpool City junior representative games, University of Liverpool cricket[4] and Last Man Stands.[5]

History

[edit]

The club's original ground was on Smithdown Road bounded on one side by what is now Langdale Road. With pressure on the land for development, the club moved to its present ground in the north-eastern corner of Sefton Park shortly after the park's opening in 1876. Sefton became Sefton Park Cricket Club in 1998 and in 2003 the club's second ground with its own pavilion was opened adjacent to the main ground by the city's Lord Mayor.[6]

The club is a founder member of the Liverpool and District Cricket Competition,[1] which became an ECB Premier League[7] in 2000, and currently plays in the Competition's First Division.[8][9] Since league fixtures were standardised in 1949, Sefton have been L&DCC champions in 1967 and 1972 and have since won the First Division (2000)[1] and Second Division (2013)[10] titles as well as winning the Liverpool Echo Knockout in 1978 and reaching the Lancashire Knockout final in 1999. The club fields six sides in the Competition, five on a Saturday and one on a Sunday plus an occasional Midweek XI.[11] The junior section fields seven sides from Under 9s upwards.

Honours and achievements

[edit]

2nd XI

  • 2nd XI L&DCC Champions: 1955, 1975, 1977 (joint), 1983, 1988, 1999[20]
  • First Division Champions: 2004
  • Chester Cup Finalists: 2007, 2010, 2012, 2018[21]
  • Chrysalis T20 Cup Winners: 2018;[22] Finalists: 2016[23]

3rd XI

  • Saturday 3rd XI L&DCC Premier Division Champions: 2013;[24] Runners Up: 2004, 2008
  • Embee Trophy Winners: 1995, 1997, 2002, 2004, 2013; Finalists: 2007, 2012

4th XI

  • Saturday 3rd XI L&DCC First Division Champions: 2016;[25] Runners Up: 2001, 2004, 2009[26]

Sunday XI

  • Sunday 3rd XI L&DCC First Division Runners Up: 2004[27]
  • Sunday 3rd XI L&DCC First Division (South West) Champions: 2014[28]

Notable players

[edit]
  • Edward Roper was first mentioned for taking a team of Seftonites to Redcar in 1863 at the age of 13. Two years later it is recorded that he played for Sefton at Smithdown Road in a game against Birkenhead Victoria.[29] Roper captained Sefton from 1880 to 1893[30] and played for both Lancashire and Yorkshire[31] between 1876 and 1880 and continued to play until 1893 when he received a testimonial of £500 subscribed to by 212 members of the club. After his death in 1921 a memorial tablet was presented to the club and unveiled on 22 April 1923. The names of the clubs who subscribed to the tablet are inscribed around its edge.[29]
  • William Findlay kept wicket for the club for a short time at the beginning of the 20th century[29] before playing for Lancashire and Oxford University.[32] He later became well known as an administrator and was secretary of Surrey CCC until 1920 and then of the MCC during the 1932-3 Bodyline Tour.[33]
  • Ray Digman, one of the finest fast-medium bowlers the Liverpool Competition has produced, joined Sefton as his first club and made his 1st XI debut in 1950.[34] He returned to the club in 1970 and was a key member of the club's 1972 title-winning side. He represented Cheshire in the Minor Counties Championship from 1955 to 1972.[35] A long-standing secretary and later vice-president of the L&DCC, the Competition's 1st XI Knockout Trophy is now named in his honour.[36]
  • Noel Cooke joined Sefton as a schoolboy[37] and made his 1st XI debut [38] in 1952 whilst still at school and topped the Competition bowling averages in 1953 and 1955 despite missing games due to national service in 1954 and 1955. In 1956 he became the first player to score 500 runs (532 at 34.31) and 50 wickets (52 at 10.92) in the same season, including taking four wickets in four balls in the last over against Bootle, and was invited to play for Lancashire 2nd XI, scoring 74 not out against Northumberland. Cooke played 12 first-class games in 1958 and 1959, scoring 242 runs with a highest score of 33, held two catches and took three wickets with a best analysis of 2-10,[39] the only Sefton player to play for Lancashire between 1912 and 2004.
  • Sydney-born Paul Horton joined the club for his second season in English club cricket after moving from Winstanley Park to play a higher standard of cricket and made his 1st XI debut in 2001.[40] He was quickly picked up by the Lancashire youth set-up, captaining their Under 17 and Under 19 teams[41] before becoming Sefton club captain for the 2002 and 2003 seasons. He passed 1000 league runs for Sefton in 2003 and in 2005 broke the L&DCC league record for the first wicket with Ben Moore when they put on 240 against Leigh.[42] Horton, who continued to play for Sefton when availability allowed, became vice-captain at the county in 2014[43] but left at the end of the 2015 season to join Leicestershire.[44]
  • Chris Whelan came through the schoolboy ranks at Sefton, making his first team debut in 2001, before taking a hat-trick at Lytham aged 16 in 2002.[45] Chris was signed by Middlesex, making his second team debut in 2003, List A debut in 2004 and County Championship debut in 2005, a year in which he was named Liverpool Echo Young Sports Personality of the Year and was also his last playing for Sefton. His best bowling figures for Sefton were 5-40 against Leigh in 2004. Whelan left Middlesex for Worcestershire in 2008 where he played until 2011.[46]

Prominent overseas players

[edit]

Lord Gavron Scholarship

[edit]

Since 2010, Sefton has received young players from Barbados on the Lord Gavron Scholarship,[55] an agreement between the Lancashire Cricket Board and Barbados Cricket Association.

  • 2010: Spartan CC, Barbados and West Indies Under 19 wicketkeeper-batsmen Rashidi Boucher[56] was the first recipient of the scholarship to play for Sefton. He scored 514 runs at 42.83 from his 14 league games with a high score of 114 not out[53] plus 41 from 22 balls in the Liverpool Echo T20 Knockout semi-final win against Irby. Boucher returned to Barbados before the end of the season and missed the final defeat against Ormskirk.
  • 2011: Empire left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican[57] had played alongside Boucher for the West Indies at the 2010 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup and enabled Sefton[58] to recover from a poor start to the season to finish seventh with 45 league wickets at a cost of 17.6 and three 50s.[53] Warrican made his West Indies Test debut in Sri Lanka in October 2015, taking four wickets in the first innings.[59]
  • 2012: YMPC, West Indies A and Barbados first-class wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich[60] became the third member of the 2010 West Indies Under 19 World Cup squad to join Sefton; he scored two centuries in draws against local rivals Liverpool as he totalled 733 league runs at an average of 52.35 [61] despite returning to the Caribbean midseason to play for West Indies A. Dowrich made his Test debut for West Indies against Australia in June 2015.
  • 2013: Barbados Youth and West Indies Under 19s all-rounder Justin Greaves had a successful season with Sefton scoring 109 and taking 4-32 on debut against Old Xaverians [62] and finishing with 742 runs at 67.45 and 31 wickets at 15.00 in 18 league games[63] as Sefton convincingly won the second division. Greaves made his first-class debut for Combined Campuses and Colleges in April 2014[64] and his Barbados List A[65] and first-class[66] debuts in early 2016.
  • 2014: Jerome Jones
  • 2015: Jonathan Drakes
  • 2016: Jameel Stuart[67]
  • 2017: Shakeem Clarke[68]
  • 2018: Jermain Davis[69]

Captains

[edit]
Years Captain Years Captain Years Captain
1862 - 1863 Charles Fry 1931 – 1932 Rev. John Swift 1989 – 1991 Charlie Blackburn
1873 – 1874 Bryan Roper 1933 – 1946 Mel Coomer 1992 – 1995 Steve Phillips
1876 Charles Fry 1947 – 1952 Alan Wilkinson 1996 – 1998 Stuart Wade
1878 – 1892 Edward Roper 1953 – 1956 Howard Bangs 1999 David Heyes
1893 – 1902 Charles Jones 1957 – 1959 Wilf Johnstone 2000 – 2002 Stuart Wade
1903 – 1904 Gerald Williams 1960 – 1961 Dick Hayes 2003 – 2004 Paul Horton
1905 – 1910 Harvey Blease 1962 Steve Coldwell 2005 Howard Parker
1911 Frank Edwards 1963 – 1969 Geoff Parker 2006 – 2007 Ben Moore
1912 – 1914 Harvey Blease 1970 – 1971 Ralph Osborne 2008 – 2010 Rob Houghton
1915 – 1918 War Period 1972 – 1975 Ted Williams 2011 Paul Squires
1919 – 1922 Freddie Miller 1976 – 1979 Glyn Parker 2012 Philip Calrow
1923 – 1928 Ernie Clare 1980 – 1983 Colin Mitchell 2013 Adam Irwin
1929 – 1930 George Miller 1984 – 1988 John Lonsdale 2014 – 2020 Richard Forsyth 2021 James Dixon

[70]

Club records

[edit]

1000 runs in a season[71]

  • D. J. Heyes 1104 runs in 1996
  • C. L. Jones 1062 runs in 1888
  • P. J. Horton 1021 runs in 2003
  • W. H. Bangs 1009 runs in 1954

Highest individual scores

Best bowling figures

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Clubs - Sefton Park". Liverpool and District Cricket Competition. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  2. ^ "Other matches played on Croxteth Drive, Sefton Park". CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  3. ^ "LCB Fixture Programme 2014" (PDF). Lancashire Cricket Board. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  4. ^ "BUCScore - University of Liverpool Mens 1st Cricket Team". British Universities and Colleges Sport. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  5. ^ "Liverpool T20 - Play Cricket!". Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  6. ^ "Lord Mayor Visit to Open Lower Ground". Sefton Park Cricket Club. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  7. ^ "ECB Premier Leagues". England and Wales Cricket Board. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  8. ^ Edwards, Paul (23 September 2016). "Southport & Birkdale cricketers back in the big time after thrilling promotion". Southportvisiter.co.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  9. ^ "1st XI First Division - 2014: Table". Liverpool and District Cricket Competition. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  10. ^ Bowman, Jamie (9 September 2013). "Northern crowned champions as Sefton Park return to Division One". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  11. ^ "Sefton Park CC - Site". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  12. ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  13. ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". stats.edgbaston.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  14. ^ "Final positions of 1st XIs 1949 to 1995". Ldcc.org.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  15. ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  16. ^ "Final positions of 1st XIs 1996 to date". Ldcc.org.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  17. ^ "00083 14-06-2001 Draw for last 32 of the National Knockout". Ldcc.org.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  18. ^ "1st XI KO winners". Ldcc.org.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  19. ^ "The Liverpool & District Cricket Competition - News - LIVERPOOL CC TRIUMPH OVER LOCAL RIVALS TO WIN 2018 RAY TYLER CUP". Lpoolcomp.co.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  20. ^ "The Liverpool & District Cricket Competition - Clubs - Sefton Park". Lpoolcomp.co.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  21. ^ "Liverpool and District Cricket Competition". Ldcc.play-cricket.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  22. ^ "Liverpool and District Cricket Competition". Ldcc.play-cricket.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  23. ^ "Liverpool and District Cricket Competition". Ldcc.play-cricket.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  24. ^ "Liverpool and District Cricket Competition". Ldcc.play-cricket.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  25. ^ "Liverpool and District Cricket Competition". Ldcc.play-cricket.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  26. ^ "Liverpool and District Cricket Competition". Ldcc.play-cricket.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  27. ^ "Last Day of Season 2004". Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  28. ^ "Liverpool and District Cricket Competition". Ldcc.play-cricket.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  29. ^ a b c "Who are we?". Sefton Park Cricket Club. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  30. ^ Ambrose, Don (2003). "Brief profile of Edward Roper". CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  31. ^ "Edward Roper". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  32. ^ "Player Profile: William Findlay". CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  33. ^ "Obituary: Mr W. Findlay". The Times. 20 June 1953. p. 8.
  34. ^ Miscellaneous Matches played by Raymond Digman. CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  35. ^ "RAY DIGMAN - Dies in Spain". Liverpool and District Cricket Competition. 3 April 2009. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  36. ^ "Saturday: Ray Digman Knockout Trophy". Liverpool Echo. 22 April 2011.
  37. ^ Hall, Peter (2005). "Sefton Cricket Club - Some Personal Aspects of its History". pp. 53-55.
  38. ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  39. ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  40. ^ "Liverpool Premier League Matches played by Paul Horton". CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  41. ^ "Paul Horton". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  42. ^ "ECB Premier League - Moore and Horton too much for Leigh". Liverpool and District Cricket Competition. 4 June 2005. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  43. ^ Hardcastle, Graham (12 December 2013). "Horton's pride at Lancashire vice-captain role". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  44. ^ "Leics sign Lancs opener Horton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  45. ^ "L&DCC 1st XI (ECB Premier League) scorecards - 2002". Liverpool and District Cricket Competition. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  46. ^ "Chris Whelan". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  47. ^ "00106 24-06-2001 Noffke in for the Ashes". Ldcc.org.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  48. ^ "Ashley Noffke profile and biography, stats, records, averages, photos and videos". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  49. ^ "Marlon Black profile and biography, stats, records, averages, photos and videos". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  50. ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  51. ^ "Bowling Averages 1993-2005". Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  52. ^ "Ramesh Powar profile and biography, stats, records, averages, photos and videos". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  53. ^ a b c d "Sefton Park CC - Site". Archived from the original on 9 December 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  54. ^ "Brendan Taylor profile and biography, stats, records, averages, photos and videos". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  55. ^ "BCA and LCB to continue partnership | England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) - the Official Website of the ECB". Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  56. ^ "Rashidi Boucher profile and biography, stats, records, averages, photos and videos". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  57. ^ "Jomel Warrican profile and biography, stats, records, averages, photos and videos". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  58. ^ "Young cricketers off to England". Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  59. ^ "Jomel Warrican grabs four on debut, Sri Lanka all out for 200". 23 October 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  60. ^ "Shane Dowrich profile and biography, stats, records, averages, photos and videos". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  61. ^ "Region & WICB News - Report". Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  62. ^ "25th & 27th May 2013". Archived from the original on 24 November 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  63. ^ "Sefton Park CC". Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  64. ^ "Justin Greaves profile and biography, stats, records, averages, photos and videos". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  65. ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  66. ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  67. ^ "The Liverpool & District Cricket Competition - News - WILKIE, IRWIN AND DRAKES SET TO FIRE SEFTON PARK'S CHALLENGE". Lpoolcomp.co.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  68. ^ "Shakeem Clarke". Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  69. ^ Evans, Tom (18 May 2018). "Overseas players already red hot in Liverpool Competition". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  70. ^ Hall, Peter (2005). "Sefton Cricket Club - Some Personal Aspects of its History". pp. 24.
  71. ^ Hall, Peter (2005). "Sefton Cricket Club - Some Personal Aspects of its History". pp. 72-74.
  72. ^ "Sefton Park CC - 1st XI Vs Wavertree CC - 1st XI". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  73. ^ Hall, Peter (2005). "Sefton Cricket Club - Some Personal Aspects of its History". pp. 27.
  74. ^ Hall, Peter (2005). "Sefton Cricket Club - Some Personal Aspects of its History". pp. 29.
  75. ^ "Sefton Park CC". seftonpark.play-cricket.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  76. ^ "Northern CC - 1st XI Vs Sefton Park CC - 1st XI". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  77. ^ "Elton CC, Lancs - 1st XI Vs Sefton Park CC - 1st XI". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  78. ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  79. ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  80. ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  81. ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  82. ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  83. ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
[edit]