58-509: First-class One-day T20 Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Leicestershire . It has also been representative of the county of Rutland . The club's limited overs team is called the Leicestershire Foxes . Founded in 1879, the club had minor county status until 1894, when it
116-475: A 4–1 home win over Norwich City , which gave him the distinction of scoring the club's first ever goal in the second level of English football. He stayed with Carlisle for the next 11 years, the club's most successful period where not only was he a key player but also became club captain. His most notable cup run was in the 1969–70 League Cup where Carlisle made it to the semi-final. He enjoyed other successes in cup competitions, "In 1970 we beat Manchester City in
174-508: A contemporary report (i.e., termed "a great match" in this case) and to have been played for a large sum of money was one in Sussex between two unnamed eleven-a-side teams contesting "fifty guineas apiece" in June 1697, a match of enormous historical significance but with no statistical data recorded. Chris Balderstone John Christopher Balderstone (16 November 1940 – 6 March 2000)
232-410: A delayed cricket career, Balderstone played on for Leicestershire into his mid-40s without noticeably losing batting form or his fielding athleticism. Though he bowled less frequently from 1980 onwards, his batting helped take Leicestershire to runners up in the 1982 County Championship. He picked up a sixth and final winners' medal with a third Benson & Hedges victory in 1985. This makes him winner of
290-728: A first-class match, that the ICC clearly stipulates that its match type list "is not exhaustive and is merely indicative of the matches which would fall into the first-class definition". For example, the list includes matches of recognised first-class teams versus international touring teams; and the leading domestic championships (using their then-current names) such as the County Championship , Sheffield Shield , Ranji Trophy , etc. The absence of any ICC ruling about matches played before 1947 (or before 1895 in Great Britain)
348-617: A line between what was important historically and what should form part of the statistical record. Hence, for pre-1895 (i.e., in Great Britain) cricket matches, "first-class" is essentially a statistical concept while the historical concept is broader and takes account of historical significance. Webber's rationale was that cricket was "generally weak before 1864" (there was a greater and increasingly more organised effort to promote county cricket from about that time) and match details were largely incomplete, especially bowling analyses, which hindered compilation of records. According to Webber's view,
406-497: A long club career, he was a key part of the five trophy winning Leicestershire side of the early and mid-1970s. Balderstone's football career started with Huddersfield Town where he was signed by Bill Shankly in May 1958. He made 117 Football League appearances for Huddersfield, and played a total of 131 senior games for them (scoring 25 goals). In June 1965 he moved for £7,000 to Carlisle United who had just been promoted to
464-846: A single Championship win, the first team to achieve this unwanted feat in back to back seasons since Northamptonshire just before World War II . Recent years have seen an improvement in first-class results, and in 2023 they won their first trophy for 12 years, beating Hampshire at Trent Bridge to lift the One Day Cup. England Australia Bangladesh India New Zealand Pakistan South Africa West Indies Zimbabwe Most first-class runs for Leicestershire Qualification – 17,000 runs Most first-class wickets for Leicestershire Qualification – 600 wickets Most first-team winners medals for Leicestershire Best partnership for each wicket (county championship) The Leicestershire Sub Academy
522-634: Is "taking" the first-class matches to be one against Sydney ( sic ), two each against Victoria , the Combined team and the Australian Eleven, and another against South Australia . In the fourth issue on 1 June 1882, James Lillywhite refers to first-class matches on the tour but gives a different list. The earliest known match scorecards date from 1744 but few have been found before 1772. The cards for three 1772 matches have survived and scorecards became increasingly common thereafter. At
580-399: Is a fairly comprehensive store of data about 19th century matches, certainly since 1825. Subsequently, Webber's view was challenged by Bill Frindall who believed that 1815 should be the startpoint to encompass the entire roundarm bowling phase of cricket's history, although roundarm did not begin in earnest until 1827. In Frindall's view, the inaugural first-class match should have been
638-631: Is designed for young cricketers who have potential to play at the highest level. It is also called the EPP (Emerging Player Programme). Many players who are involved in this set up move on to the LCCC academy, where they will play matches against academies from other counties. First-class cricket First-class cricket One Day International Limited overs (domestic) Twenty20 International Twenty20 (domestic) Other forms First-class cricket , along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket ,
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#1732787724412696-438: Is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket . A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adjudged to be worthy of the status by virtue of the standard of the competing teams. Matches must allow for the teams to play two innings each, although in practice a team might play only one innings or none at all. The etymology of "first-class cricket"
754-457: Is problematic for those cricket statisticians who wish to categorise earlier matches in the same way. They have responded by compiling their own match lists and allocating a strictly unofficial first-class status to the matches they consider to have been of a high standard. It is therefore a matter of opinion only with no official support. Inevitable differences have arisen and there are variations in published cricket statistics . In November 2021,
812-419: Is the only player to have played League Football and first-class cricket on the same day. He then returned to Chesterfield to complete a century the following morning and take three wickets to wrap up the title. To add to that season's success for Leicestershire was a second Benson & Hedges victory. A runners-up spot in the 1982 County Championship brought some respectability, but the decade's only silverware
870-484: Is unknown, but the term was used loosely before it acquired official status in 1895, following a meeting of leading English clubs. At a meeting of the Imperial Cricket Conference (ICC) in 1947, it was formally defined on a global basis. A significant omission of the ICC ruling was any attempt to define first-class cricket retrospectively. That has left historians, and especially statisticians, with
928-473: The County Championship was restructured into a 14-team competition with the introduction of Essex, Leicestershire and Warwickshire CCC . Leicestershire's first 70 years were largely spent in lower table mediocrity, with few notable exceptions. In 1953, the motivation of secretary-captain Charles Palmer lifted the side fleetingly to third place, but most of the rest of the 1950s was spent propping up
986-570: The Sunday League , bettering their runners-up spot of two years before. Balderstone made history on 15 September 1975 by taking part in a County Championship match and a Football League game on the same day. Balderstone was 51 not out against Derbyshire at the end of day two of Leicestershire's match at Chesterfield. After close of play he changed into his football kit to play for Doncaster Rovers in an evening match 30 miles away (a 1–1 draw with Brentford ). He then returned to Chesterfield
1044-596: The ACS had published its Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles, 1709–1863 in which it listed all the known matches during that period which it considered to have historical importance. The ACS did stipulate that they had taken a more lenient view of importance regarding matches played in the 18th century than they did of matches played in the 19th century. As they explained, surviving details of 18th century matches are typically incomplete while there
1102-464: The ACS' Important Matches guide, which have left no scorecard and for which only a brief announcement or report exists, must be based on other factors. Contemporary importance was often measured by the amount of money at stake and the fact that a match was deemed notable enough to be reported in the press. The 18th century matches in the ACS list were primarily compiled to assist historians. The earliest match known to have been accorded superior status in
1160-419: The ICC and the application of ICC conditions when the match is played. In 2010, the ICC published its Classification of Official Cricket which includes the criteria with which a match must comply to achieve a desired categorisation. In the section on first-class cricket, there is a list of the types of match that should qualify. It is important to note, given the differences in opinion about what constitutes
1218-463: The ICC retrospectively applied first-class status to women's cricket , aligning it with the men's game. A key issue for the statisticians is when first-class cricket for their purpose is deemed to have begun. Writing in 1951, Roy Webber argued that the majority of matches prior to 1864 (i.e., the year in which overarm bowling was legalised) "cannot be regarded as first-class" and their records are used "for their historical associations". This drew
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#17327877244121276-765: The League Cup when they had Lee, Bell and Summerbee. And in '74 we beat Sunderland at Roker Park in the FA Cup when they were the Cup holders. We played against Liverpool in the next round and took them to a replay." In 1973–74 Balderstone enjoyed promotion to the First Division, then the highest level in the English football pyramid. It was Balderstone's penalty against Pat Jennings and Tottenham Hotspur that had Carlisle briefly topping England's Football League after
1334-584: The T20 Cup three times in eight years between 2004-11, and the One Day Cup in 2023. + 1 Bain Hogg Trophy – second XI one-day competition – 1996 Cricket may not have reached Leicestershire until well into the 18th century. A notice in the Leicester Journal dated 17 August 1776 is the earliest known mention of cricket in the county. Soon afterwards, a Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket Club
1392-648: The answers. In 1880, the Cricket Reporting Agency was founded. It acquired influence through the decade especially by association with Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ( Wisden ) and the press came to generally rely on its information and opinions. The term acquired official status, though limited to matches in Great Britain, following a meeting at Lord's in May 1894 between the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) committee and
1450-531: The ball. Cloy in particular said Balderstone's passing ability was the best in Cloy's entire career at Queens. He later played for non-league Enderby Town . Balderstone first appeared for Yorkshire on 10 June 1961. Balderstone later remembered, "Ray Illingworth took me to Leicestershire. I might be a decent bloke on the outside but he knew I was mentally hard through football. Cricketers might think they're pretty hard but they're not compared to footballers. It
1508-400: The beginning of the 1860s, there were only four formally constituted county clubs. Sussex was the oldest, formed in 1839, and it had been followed by Kent , Nottinghamshire and Surrey . In the early 1860s, several more county clubs were founded, and questions began to be raised in the sporting press about which should be categorised as first-class, but there was considerable disagreement in
1566-481: The best out of a group of players who were either discarded from other counties or brought through the Leicestershire ranks. This team did not have many stars, but Aftab Habib , Darren Maddy , Vince Wells , Jimmy Ormond , Alan Mullally and Chris Lewis all had chances for England . West Indian all-rounder Phil Simmons was also named as one of Wisden's Cricketers of the year in 1997 while playing for
1624-403: The club. The advent of Twenty20 cricket saw Leicestershire find a new source of success, winning the domestic T20 competition in 2004, 2006 and 2011. However, in the era of two-division County Championship cricket they have found success more difficult to come by, having not played in the top division since 2003 and been regular " wooden spoon " contenders. In 2013 and 2014 they finished without
1682-431: The country's highest playing standard. Later ICC rulings make it possible for international teams from associate members of the ICC to achieve first-class status but it is dependent on the status of their opponents in a given match. According to the ICC definition, a match may be adjudged first-class if: A Test match is a first-class match played between two ICC full member countries, subject to their current status at
1740-411: The crease on his test debut. In his second test, at a parched Oval, he encountered Michael Holding and one of the finest individual fast-bowling performances in history – Holding took 14 wickets in the test. Opposing fast bowler Vanburn Holder later said, "I played against him when we had a pretty ferocious attack and he never blinked. He had plenty of courage." Balderstone moved directly into umpiring
1798-597: The first 3 games of the 1974–75 season. However, Carlisle were relegated at the end of the season, the only relegation in Balderstone's career. In all he made 376 League appearances for the Cumbrian club. Balderstone joined Doncaster Rovers after his top-level season with Carlisle. It was when with Rovers he became the only player to play League Football and first-class cricket on the same day (see Cricket Career under Leicestershire section). Balderstone's next club
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1856-538: The first of five trophies in five years and included Leicestershire's first ever County Championship title in 1975. A couple of runners up spots were also thrown in. The game when Leicestershire won their first ever County Championship, on 15 September 1975, marked something of a personal triumph for Chris Balderstone. Batting on 51 not out against Derbyshire at Chesterfield, after close of play he changed into his football kit to play for Doncaster Rovers in an evening match 30 miles away (a 1–1 draw with Brentford ). Thus he
1914-507: The following morning to complete a century and take three wickets to help wrap up Leicestershire's first ever County Championship title. In 1977 Leicestershire won their last trophy in this period, a second Sunday League victory. Among his many personal notes was in 1976 when he did the hat-trick against Sussex at Eastbourne. Five years later, against Essex at Grace Road, Leicestershire's home ground, he shared an unbroken county record second wicket stand of 289 with David Gower . Having had
1972-530: The front-rank of English batsmen, making 1,222 runs at an average of 42. He passed the 1,000-run mark in 10 of the next 12 seasons, batting either in the middle order or as an opening batsman. His runs were an important part of Leicestershire's first County Championship success in 1975, and he weighed in with 43 useful wickets in that season too. In 1974, he top scored for his side in the Benson and Hedges final but they were defeated by Surrey. However, they did win
2030-542: The highest number of medals in the club's history. Balderstone was given a testimonial benefit season in 1984 and played on for Leicestershire until 1986. Balderstone was one of ten members of Leicestershire's first County Championship winning team in 1975 to have a road in Leicester named after him by the city council. Peter Booth , Brian Davison , Barry Dudleston , Ken Higgs , David Humphries , Ray Illingworth Norman McVicker , John Steele and Roger Tolchard were
2088-577: The inaugural first-class match was the opening game of the 1864 season between Cambridge University and MCC at Fenner's on 12 and 13 May, Cambridge winning by 6 wickets. When the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) published its Guide to First-Class Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles in 1982, it tentatively agreed with Webber's 1864 start date by saying that "the line between first-class and other matches becomes more easily discernible about that date". A year earlier,
2146-435: The inaugural first-class match was the opening game of the 1895 season between MCC and Nottinghamshire at Lord's on 1 and 2 May, MCC winning by 37 runs. " Test match " was another loosely applied term at the time but the first list of matches considered to be "Tests" was conceived and published by South Australian journalist Clarence P. Moody in his 1894 book, Australian Cricket and Cricketers, 1856 to 1893–94 . His proposal
2204-717: The internet, the CricketArchive (CA) and ESPN Cricinfo (CI) databases both say the earliest first-class match was Hampshire v England at Broadhalfpenny Down on 24 and 25 June 1772. At that time, cricket matches were played with a two-stump wicket and exclusively underarm bowling , although other features of the modern game had been introduced. The opinion of these databases has been repudiated by both Wisden and Playfair Cricket Annual . Wisden agrees with Frindall by commencing its first-class records in 1815. Playfair supports Webber and begins its records in 1864. The status of earlier matches, including many in
2262-527: The opening game of the 1815 season between MCC and Middlesex at Lord's on 31 May and 1 June, Middlesex winning by 16 runs. Notwithstanding Frindall's reputation, Webber's view has been revived and reinforced in recent times. For example, the Kent researcher Derek Carlaw began his study of Kent cricketers since 1806 by stating: "Part One is confined to players who appeared for Kent in important matches from 1806 to 1863 and first-class matches from 1864 to 1914". On
2320-498: The others. Jack Birkenshaw , Graham McKenzie and Mick Norman missed out as there were already roads using their surnames. In 1976, Balderstone was called into the England Test team to make his international debut aged 35 having focused in his younger days on football. Against other international sides he might have played more Tests, for he was chosen on the strength of consistent quality performances for Leicestershire. It
2378-590: The problem of how to categorise earlier matches, especially those played in Great Britain before 1895. The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) has published a list of early matches which are believed to have been of a high standard. Test cricket , the highest standard of cricket, is statistically a form of first-class cricket, though the term "first-class" is mainly used to refer to domestic competition. A player's first-class statistics include any performances in Test matches. Before 1894 "first-class"
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2436-462: The season after he stopped playing, standing in two One Day Internationals in the mid-1990s. Chris Balderstone died suddenly at his home in Carlisle on 6 March 2000, having suffered from prostate cancer . Barrie Leadbeater , the umpires' chairman and a close friend, said: "He was a fine, positive player who won a lot of friends by his approach. He was a gentleman in everything he did on and off
2494-478: The second tier of English football for the first time in their history. As Balderstone later said, "They gave me a bit of stick at first because I wasn't the quickest player or the hardest tackler. I used to think I made up for it with speed of thought and control of the ball. I always had confidence in my ability and I knew there'd be somebody in the crowd who appreciated a bit of skill. I won them over and they were very good to me after that." He scored on his debut,
2552-486: The secretaries of the clubs involved in the official County Championship , which had begun in 1890. As a result, those clubs became first-class from 1895 along with MCC, Cambridge University , Oxford University , senior cricket touring teams (i.e., Australia and South Africa at that time) and other teams designated as such by MCC (e.g., North v South , Gentlemen v Players and occasional "elevens" which consisted of recognised first-class players). Officially, therefore,
2610-402: The spin of John Savage . Another change was in the captaincy: Tony Lock , the former England and Surrey spinner who had galvanised Western Australia . Ray Illingworth , again from Yorkshire, instilled self-belief to the extent that the county took its first ever trophy in 1972, the Benson & Hedges Cup with Chris Balderstone man of the match. This was start of the first golden era as
2668-617: The status of teams. For example, MCC was authorised to determine the status of matches played in Great Britain. To all intents and purposes, the 1947 ICC definition confirmed the 1894 MCC definition, and gave it international recognition and usage. Hence, official judgment of status is the responsibility of the governing body in each country that is a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The governing body grants first-class status to international teams and to domestic teams that are representative of
2726-517: The table, or thereabouts. Change came in the late 1950s with the recruitment of the charismatic Willie Watson at the end of a distinguished career with England and Yorkshire . Watson's run gathering sparked the home-grown Maurice Hallam into becoming one of England's best opening batsmen . In bowling, Leicestershire had an erratically successful group of seamers in Terry Spencer , Brian Boshier , John Cotton and Jack van Geloven , plus
2784-652: The traditional county boundaries of Leicestershire, and at Oakham , in Rutland. In limited overs cricket, the kit colours are red shirt with green trousers in the One Day Cup and green shirt and green trousers in the T20 Blast. The shirt sponsors in the 2024 season were UptonSteel. Leicestershire are in the second division of the County Championship and in the north group of the T20 Blast. Their best performances in recent years have come in one day cricket, winning
2842-597: Was a common adjective applied to cricket matches in England, used loosely to suggest that a match had a high standard; adjectives like "great", "important" and "major" were also loosely applied to such matches, but there tended to be differences of opinion. In the inaugural issue of Cricket: A Weekly Record of the Game on 10 May 1882, the term is used twice on page 2 in reference to the recently completed tour of Australia and New Zealand by Alfred Shaw's XI . The report says it
2900-462: Was a great move for me." Leicestershire won their first-ever trophy in 1972, the inaugural Benson and Hedges Cup at Lord's , and Balderstone took the man of the match Gold Award. He scored 41 not out and steered the team to the trophy. This marked the beginning of a golden era for Leicestershire, with 5 trophies in 5 seasons, and Balderstone was at the core of the side. In 1973 Balderstone played his first full season of cricket and jumped right to
2958-479: Was an English professional in cricket and football , and one of the last sportsmen to combine both sports over a prolonged period. He played football as a midfielder for Huddersfield Town , Carlisle United , Doncaster Rovers and Queen of the South . He played and umpired in first-class cricket making it to international level – he played in two Tests in 1976 and umpired in two ODIs between 1994 and 1998. In
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#17327877244123016-540: Was formally defined by the then Imperial Cricket Conference (ICC) on 19 May 1947. It was made clear that the definition "will not have retrospective effect". The definition is as follows: A match of three or more days' duration between two sides of eleven players officially adjudged first-class, shall be regarded as a first-class fixture. Matches in which either team have more than eleven players or which are scheduled for less than three days shall not be regarded as first-class. The Governing body in each country shall decide
3074-459: Was his misfortune, however, to come up against the West Indies just as they were reaching that level of intimidation they were to maintain for the next two decades. Against the fearsome pace of Andy Roberts and Michael Holding he struggled, like so many other English batsmen: his four innings produced only 39 runs. He did though score 35 from sticking it out for 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours at
3132-520: Was in Scotland. " Queen of the South rang me up. Carlisle used to play practice matches against them and they remembered me. I caught the train to Dumfries from Leicester every Friday night. It was quite a trek but it gave me another couple of years football." When George Cloy and Crawford Boyd were each later interviewed for the Queen of the South website, each commented on Balderstone's ability with
3190-439: Was in the 1985 Benson & Hedges Cup with Balderstone still on board making him the most successful trophy winner in the club's history with six. Leicestershire won the county championship in 1996, and again in 1998. This was an amazing achievement considering the resources of the club compared to other county teams. This Leicestershire side, led by Jack Birkenshaw and James Whitaker , used team spirit and togetherness to get
3248-545: Was promoted to first-class status pending its entry into the County Championship in 1895. Since then, Leicestershire have played in every top-level domestic cricket competition in England. The club is based at Grace Road in Leicester , known as The Uptonsteel County Ground for sponsorship reasons, and has also played home games at Aylestone Road in Leicester, at Hinckley , Loughborough , Melton Mowbray, Ashby-de-la-Zouch , Coalville and most recently Kibworth inside
3306-434: Was taking part in important matches, mainly against Nottingham Cricket Club and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). This club was prominent from 1781 until the beginning of the 19th century. Little more is heard of Leicestershire cricket until the formation of the present club on 25 March 1879. Essex CCC versus Leicestershire CCC at Leyton on 14, 15 & 16 May 1894 was the first first-class match for both clubs. In 1895,
3364-610: Was widely accepted after a list of 39 matches was reproduced in the 28 December 1894 issue of Cricket magazine. The list began with the Melbourne Cricket Ground match played 15–17 March 1877 and ended with a recent match at the Association Ground, Sydney played 14–20 December 1894. All of Moody's matches, plus four additional ones, were retrospectively recognised as Test matches and also, thereby, as first-class matches. The term "first-class cricket"
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