Northern Premier Cricket League Division 1

Netherfield were crowned Champions after a season long battle with Leyland, who were looking good until losing to local rivals Chorley on 22^nd August and then Netherfield by 3 wickets a week later at Fox Lane.  Garstang and Blackpool finished 3^rd and 4^th respectively and will be hoping for more consistency next season to be able to fight for the title having finished in similar positions in 2025.   Carlisle had a solid season after promotion from NPCL Division 2, finishing 5^th.  Last year’s Champions Kendal could only finish 6^th in 2026 and will be wanting to get back up the table next season.  Chorley and Longridge continued their 2025 struggles and will be looking to halt the slide towards Division 2.  St Annes could only manage 1 season in the top flight with 5 wins all season.  Settle finished rock bottom after a poor season, unfortunately not able to capitalise on a good 2025. 

Top 3 Performances

Matthew De Villiers (Longridge) 152
Gautam Waghela (Settle) 148
Finlay Richardson (Chorley) 147*

Oli Wileman (Netherfield) 7/59
Lahiru Madushanka (Garstang) 6/5
Joe Lyth (Longridge) 6/17

Northern Premier Cricket League Division 2

Fleetwood put relegation from the top Division behind them by comfortably winning NPCL Division 2.  They almost managed to go fully unbeaten throughout the season but lost against F&B 2 weeks before the end of the season.  Nevertheless, a fantastic season.  Fulwood & Broughton pipped Euxton to 2^nd place.  Another disappointing finish for Euxton, who missed out in similar circumstances in 2025.  They couldn’t chase 99 down against Champions Fleetwood on the final day.    They will be hoping they can get across the line in 2027.  Only 25 points separated Morecambe in 4^th from Carnforth in 10^th place, a really tight midfield battle.  Whalley in their first season finished 5^th giving them a solid foundation to build on in 2027.   Going into the final day, 4 teams were battling for relegation.  In the end, Lytham, Thornton Cleveleys and Carnforth all managed wins while Preston lost to F&B meaning they join Great Eccleston in the Palace Shield Championship in 2027.

Top 3 Performances

Charlie Rossiter (F&B) 151*
Levi Wolfenden (Whalley) 141
Muhammed Hurraira (Fleetwood) 137

Matthew Siddall (Fleetwood) 8/30
Kieran Grimshaw (Penwortham) 8/36
Daniel Salpietro (Fleetwood) 8/41

Palace Shield Championship

Torrisholme won the inaugural Palace Shield Championship (having previously been known as the Premier League) after a season long battle with Heysham and Penrith.  They will enjoy Northern Premier League cricket next season along with Heysham, who were 3 points off relegation to Division 1 in 2025.  Penrith missed out barely, just a point behind but after finishing well down the table last season should be proud of their season.  The midfield was very tight, with 22 points covering 4^th down to the relegation zone.  We had an exciting final day 4 way battle for relegation between Vernon Carus, Fylde, Westgate and Burneside which resulted in Westgate and Burneside going down after Vernon Carus and Fylde managed wins.  Garstang struggled after promotion from Division 1, but Netherfield proved 2^nd XI’s can compete in the Palace Shield’s top division after finishing 7^th.

Top 3 Performances

Suprith Yadav (Lancaster) 163*
Greg Hall (Penrith) 129
Rajit Bose (Netherfield) 119

Thomas Foster (Eccleston) 8/35
James Eccles (Torrisholme) 8/36
Sam Sharp (Penrith) 7/13

Palace Shield Division 1

Leyland triumphed by a point from Longridge after a season long battle between the sides.  Both have battled at the top of Division 1 for years and can finally be promoted to the Palace Shield’s top division.  Longridge will be rueing a final day no result after a freak downpour at Longridge meant only 2 points gained whilst Leyland stumbled at Tarleton, only gaining 3 points.  Leyland only just achieved the first batting point (by 4 runs) which made all the difference.  Withnell Fold, Tarleton and Kirkham & Wesham had a solid season and will be hoping to build on it in 2027.  The battle to avoid the drop was tight, with Penwortham, Shireshead & Forton, and Fleetwood battling it out for the final relegation spot on the final day.  Shireshead & Forton are going back to the WCL next season but where they finished determined how many went down.  In the end, Fleetwood will play in Division 2 along with Croston next season despite a final day victory against local rivals Blackpool.  Penwortham managed an exciting tie against Rufford and Shireshead were called off at Longridge.

Top 3 Performances

Sean Bovington (Kirkham & Wesham) 196
Ryan Hughes (Burscough) 144*
Joe Oliver (Shireshead & Forton) 113

Carter Woodgate (Burscough) 8/16
Will Reader (Fleetwood) 7/19
Jacob Procter (Longridge) 7/31

Palace Shield Division 2

Chorley finished comfortably top of the pile from local rivals Euxton after a storming season with only 3 loses.  Euxton carried the momentum from their promotion in 2025 to make it 2 in a row.  Both clubs closing the gap on their 1^st XI’s in the top Divisions.  Ingol with Freckleton ran Euxton close but fell away at the tail end of the season with 3 losses in the final few games but still a fantastic season for the club.  Thornton Cleveleys were a close 4^th and will be hoping to get back to Division 1 next season.  The midfield battle was pretty close throughout between Hoghton, Grimsargh, Fulwood & Broughton, New Longton and Standish in what is a strong Division.  Walton-le-Dale had a tough season both on and off the field.  They will be hoping to put ground issues behind them and have a stronger 2027.  Preston were in with a shout of climbing out of the relegation zone at the expense of WLD but were unable to capitalise on WLD’s poor end of season form.  Great Eccleston were rooted to the foot of the table 20 points adrift.

Top 3 Performances

Alexander Howarth (Chorley) 172
Nazim Kateliya (Hoghton) 146
Mehfuz Patel (Walton-le-Dale) 125*

Thomas Wilcock (Euxton) 8/38
Tousif Patel 7/7
Ayyazahmed Patel (Walton-le-Dale) 7/17

Palace Shield Division 3

Longridge topped Division 3 to make it 2 promotions for the club in 2026.  St Annes ran them close in 2^nd place and were able to keep local rivals Lytham in the Division for another season.  Lytham were in the driving seat going in the final round and had a chance of winning the Division but fluffed their lines by losing to Vernon Carus.  Mawdesley and Wrea Green finished well adrift at the bottom and will be hoping to regroup next season.

Top 3 Performances

Joshua Williams (Fylde) 128
Archie Legge (Lytham) 120*
Luke Smith (Blackpool) 117

Nick Skeen (Lytham) 8/23
AB Bhatti (Vernon Carus) 7/10
Carl Morrison (Longridge) 7/23

Palace Shield Division 4

Tarleton came out on top after a season long battle with Leyland who finally managed to get promotion over the line having been close last season.  Leyland had an outside chance of the title but lost to Lancaster.  Whittingham & Goosnargh New were there or thereabouts all season but fell away towards the end.  They will need to be playing on a grass wicket to be promoted under the current rules.  South Shore had another consistent season in 4^th with Lancaster right behind.  Kirkham & Wesham suffered back to back relegations and will be joined by Whalley who suffered relegation in their first season in the Palace Shield.

Top 3 Performances

Scott Kirby (Vernon Carus) 132*
Raihan Kaduji (Whittingham & Goosnargh New) 115*
Andrew Chubb (Lancaster) 113*

Uvesh Shaikh (Vernon Carus) 7/15
Henry Patrick (Lancaster) 6/13
Daniel Rae (Lancaster) 6/13

Palace Shield Division 5

Preston Strikers claimed 1^st place securing back to back titles for the emerging club which is a remarkable achievement.  White Coppice ran them close and will be rueing the 2 extra no results.  However, still a fantastic season for them.  Leyland finished a lonely 3^rd in what has been a very successful season for the Club as a whole.  Walton-le-Dale and Vernon Carus suffered back to back relegations, both will be hoping to rebuild in Division 6 next season.

Top 3 Performances

Nathan Braithwaite (Leyland) 152*
Carl Glover (Gregson Lane) 146
Phil Woods (Gregson Lane) 120*

Rob Woods (Gregson Lane) 8/50
Mo Patel (Norcross) 7/7
Matt Tinsley (White Coppice) 7/21

Palace Shield Division 6

Whittle & Clayton-le-Woods bounced straight back up to Division 5 at a canter after a fantastic season.  They secured the title with a game to spare.  There was a tight battle for 2^nd place between New Longton, Hoghton and Longridge but all 3 teams couldn’t manage a win so New Longton snuck through having lost to Bretherton in a close game.  Longridge suffered a freak downpour which ended their chances.  At one stage in the season there were 6 teams battling it out for promotion, hopefully the same continues into next year.  St Annes unfortunately couldn’t stay up having been promoted last season.  They were in the driving seat but Penwortham managed to clamber out of the relegation spots on the final day with a win against Ingol with Freckleton, with St Annes losing badly to Whittle. Ingol with Freckleton suffered back to back relegations in what was a poor season for them with only 3 wins.

Top 3 Performances

Will Jackson (Penwortham) 151*
Mike Hadfield (Standish) 132*
Lakhan Peesa (Ingol with Freckleton) 112

Andy Brooks (Whittle & Clayton-le-Woods) 8/40
Walli Ahmed (Hoghton) 7/15
Oliver Birkman (St Annes) 6/11

Palace Shield Division 7

BAC/EE Preston won at a canter and were unbeaten all season which is a remarkable feat.  This was their first season back at the Riverside making it all the more sweeter.  Charnock St James and Garstang both finished on 178 points in 2^nd and 3^rd but Charnock’s superior runs per wicket average saw them promoted.  Tough to take for Garstang who will have to gather themselves and go again next year.  Great Eccleston completed a hat trick of relegations for the club in 2026, hopefully 2027 is much improved for them.  Hesketh Bank finished last by 3 points, both clubs will be in the Palace Shields bottom Division next year.

Top 3 Performances

Waqas Latif (Charnock St James) 248* **League record**
Waqas Jamros (Charnock St James) 146*
Michael Griffiths (Norcross) 130

George Day (Croston) 7/11
Mani Ram Makkapati (BAC/EE Preston) 7/12
Brian Greenwood (Hesketh Bank) 7/33

Palace Shield Division 8

White Coppice triumphed over Preston Royals in a final day showdown for the first ever Division 8 title.  White Coppice looked to be out of it but 30* from number 9 Anto Kuriakose and ably supported by number 10 Matt Phillipson saw them home.  Preston Royals are a brand new club so still a fantastic achievement to gain promotion in their first season.  Blackpool were also in the fight but needed Preston Royals to beat Coppice. 

Top 3 Performances

Siddharth Gaikwad (Preston Royals) 140*
Ryan Lilley (Vernon Carus) 118*
Charles Forshaw-Brady (Vernon Carus) 109*

Anis Haider (White Coppice) 8/29
Jeff Smith (White Coppice) 7/13
Febin Felix (Preston Strikers) 6/1