Birkenhead Park Cricket Club

Birkenhead Park Cricket Club

Birkenhead Park Cricket Club pavilion
League	Liverpool and District Cricket Competition
Personnel
1st XI captain	Mike Barnes
Team information
Colours
Founded	1846
Home ground	Birkenhead Park
Official website:	Birkenhead Park CC

Birkenhead Park Cricket Club, based on the Wirral in Merseyside, England, was founded in 1846.

The clubhouse, which is situated in Birkenhead Park, boasts one of the oldest cricket pavilions in the country.

They are currently members of the Liverpool and District Cricket Competition. The club runs three senior Saturday teams as well as junior sides at U11, U13, U16 and U21 age groups.

Their 1st and 2nd XI play on the front pitch with the 3rd XI competing on the back pitch which is commonly known as Cannon Hill.

The majority of historical information included on this page is adapted from the 1996 book Birkenhead Park Cricket Club 1846-1996 by Chris Elston. The post-96 era is written by club scorer and archivist Craig Kell.

In 1846, Birkenhead Park Cricket Club was formed on Park Drive, based in the park itself. At the time, it was a very exclusive club in which all the members were Old Boys of the top public schools. Because there were so few clubs in the area, the members arranged matches between themselves, such as married vs. singles. From the start, the ground was enclosed by railings and initially had a tent used as the pavilion. This was later followed by a wooden structure which was then replaced by the present club house that still stands to this very day.

One of Park's first ever fixtures came against Bootle though unfortunately the result is unknown. However this was to mark the beginning of their long rivalry which still continues today. 1847 saw them take on another historic opponent in Liverpool for which both teams celebrated victory in the two games played that season.

The following year saw Park bowled out for 18 by Liverpool which is officially their lowest ever score.

During the first thirty years of their formation, Park played MCC at Lords, Surrey at the Oval and Cambridge and Oxford Universities as well as touring Ireland and Scotland. Perhaps the most significant game of that era was when they played Lancashire in 1864. Staged in Warrington, it was the Red Rose's first ever fixture and ended in a close draw. A return game was later played back in Birkenhead.