Lincolnshire County Cricket Club

Lincolnshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Lincolnshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy.

The club is based at Lincoln and plays matches around the county at Lincoln, Bourne, Grantham, Sleaford and Cleethorpes.

The Minor Counties play three-day matches at a level below that of the first-class game. At present, Lincolnshire competes in the Eastern Division of the Minor Counties Championship.

Honours

* Minor Counties Championship (2) - 1966, 2003; shared (1) - 2001
* MCCA Knockout Trophy (0) -

Earliest cricket

Cricket probably reached Lincolnshire in the 18th century. The earliest reference to cricket in the county is dated 1792 (see Bowen, p.267).

Origin of club

A county organisation was set up in 1853.

Grantham's mayor, Arthur Priestley was a prime mover in the development of Lincolnshire cricket, although he played for Nottinghamshire CCC as an amateur. In 1896, he captained an English side in the West Indies.

When the Gentlemen of Philadelphia toured England in 1903, they played a Lincolnshire XVI in Grantham with Bart King scoring 176 runs.

The present Lincolnshire CCC was founded on 28 September 1906. It competed in the Minor Counties Championship from 1907 to 1914 and then again from 1924.

Club history

Lincolnshire has won the Minor Counties Championship twice, and also once shared the title. It won the title outright in 1966 and 2003. It shared the accolade in 2001 with Cheshire.

Knockout Trophy

Lincolnshire has never won the MCCA Knockout Trophy since its inception in 1983.

Famous players

The following Lincolnshire cricketers also made an impact on the first-class game:
* Arthur Priestley MP
* Sonny Ramadhin
* Duncan Fearnley
* Somachandra de Silva
* Norman McVicker
* H Ian Moore
* Arnold Rylott, known as Bobby.
* Peter D Johnson
* Geoff Cope

External sources

* [http://lincscb.play-cricket.com/home/home.asp Lincolnshire County Cricket Club website]
* [http://uk.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/NATIONAL/ENG/MINOR/MCCA/ Minor Counties Cricket Association Official Site]

Further reading

* Rowland Bowen, "Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development", Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
* E W Swanton (editor), "Barclays World of Cricket", Guild, 1986
* Playfair Cricket Annual – various editions
* Wisden Cricketers Almanack – various editions
* KCS Trushell – Lincolnshire Cricketers
* Tony Webb – Minor Counties Championship (various editions commencing 1895)