Research// Great Eccleston Cricket Club

Great Eccleston Cricket Club a popular club based in the village of Great Eccleston around 5 miles inland from Blackpool. The club has been in formation since 1876. They have three teams who play on a Saturday, one on a Sunday and a midweek side who play in the Moore and Smalley Palace Shield Competition. The club celebrated its centenary in the Palace Shield Competition in 2006. The club also has a full junior section with sides at u17, 15, 13, 11 and 10. The club is situated on Hall Lane and is a real hub for the local community. The club slogan is “Village Cricket at its Best”.

The club won the palace shield competition in 2006, 2008 and 2015 with the past 20 years seeing the clubs most on and off pitch success. The club house was redeveloped into a modern open design in 2011 by the former Blackpool and England football (and Great Eccleston Cricketer) Sir Jimmy Armfield.

The club is very multicultural with players from a wide variety of ethnic and socio diverse backgrounds. The club is very family orientated with many social functions on throughout the year. It also has a bar that is run during the summer months with strong links with the local community.

The current kit designer is Kukari and has been for the last 5 years. The club is in an entirely amateur league with no players get any remuneration for playing; this keeps the retention of local players as there is not the allure of money elsewhere.  It also keeps the club string financially with all money going to grass roots. The junior section is very large and successful with many players making the transition from the younger sides into the adult ranks. The club crest was redesigned 6 years ago to reflect the simplicity of the local cricket. The crest simply contains two bulls and pitch forks. This represents the White Bull, Black Bull and Farmers Arms which are the local pubs in the village; this badge also reflects the rural location and farming community the club has had historically had.