Lancashire League (cricket)

The league's 22 current member clubs are divided into two divisions. Games start out as 50 over matches but if rain affects play they can be reduced to a minimum of 20 overs. The method for working out reduced targets is to take 3/4 of the first innings run rate off the first innings score for every over that is lost in the second innings. One over is lost for every 7 minutes in the first innings and every 3½ minutes in the second innings. The second innings can be less than 20 overs as long as there were more than 20 overs bowled in the first innings and the team batting second believe they can chase the full total posted in the first innings or the team bowling second believe they can bowl their opponents out in the allocated overs. If the team batting second get the full total then they win. If the team bowling second bowl out the team batting second then they win. If neither team does this then it is a No Result. For example, Lowerhouse scored 124-7 off their allocated 31 overs. Nelson opted to chase 125 for victory off 12 overs. They ended up on 82-7 so neither team won and it was a no result. 10 points are awarded for a win, 7 points for a tie, 3 points for a no result and 2 points for bowling the opposition out. Up to 5 bonus points are then awarded to the team who lost. If the team that lost bowled second they get 1-point for 5 wickets, 2 for 6 wickets, 3 for 7 wickets, 4 for 8 wickets and 5 for 9 wickets. If they batted second they get 1-point for being within 50 runs, 2 points for being within 40 runs, 3 points for being within 30 runs, 4 points for being within 20 runs and 5 points for being within 10 runs. 1 point is deducted for slow over rate in an innings of more than 40 overs. One over is expected to be bowled in 3¾ minutes. One bowler may bowl up to 17 overs while no other bowlers may bowl more than 14 overs.

Every club in the league competes in this knockout tournament with two teams being given a random bye to the second round (there are four rounds in all). All games have to be 50 overs and if not completed on the given date have to be continued on weeknights or, if still in the first innings, the following Saturday. The first game is generally played on a Sunday and the reserve date is always a Saturday. Bowlers can bowl no more than 10 overs each.

The League winner plays the Worsley Cup winner in this competition. If a team wins both competitions then the Double winners play the team that finished second the previous year. It is played on the Saturday before the League starts. It is played to the same match rules as the Worsley Cup except that overs are deducted for bad weather. The Colne Trophy has to be a minimum of 20 overs. If the game cannot be completed then the trophy is shared.

There are 3 groups, 2 consisting of 6 and one group consisting of 5 and the top 3 clubs from each group (top 2 from the group of 5) go through to the quarter-final. In the group stage each team plays each other team once. 2 points are awarded for a win and 1 point for a tie. Each team must face a minimum of five overs for a game to be valid. The method for working out reduced targets is to subtract the full run rate for every over lost in the second innings. Games are played mainly on a Friday night but are occasionally played on a Thursday night. Teams can play in colours if they wish. Bowlers can bowl no more than 4 overs.

In C.L.R. James' autobiographical Beyond a Boundary, the Trinidadian writer writes about his visits as a young man to his friend Learie Constantine, at that time living in Nelson while playing as a professional for the town Lancashire League team. He gives a vivid sense of what it must have been like for a young West Indian to arrive in the wet and strange East Lancashire. He also describes how his subsequent education at university in Paris is helped by a local baker, and how his gradual politicisation is given a boost by meetings with local socialists, concerned with the harsh treatment and conditions suffered by the local working class millworkers. Although an extreme example, the meetings between other professional cricketers from the British Empire, and the mainly working-class amateurs of the Lancashire League, must have resulted in many other instances of mutual support and understanding.[6]

The league and its relationship with West Indies professional cricketers is the subject of a 2017 BBC television documentary: Race and Pace: West Indians in the East Lancashire League.[7] The film features original footage of the players, shots of the ground and interviews with Wes Hall, Viv Richards, David Lloyd, and Learie Constantine's daughter.[7]