Senior Fixtures are Now Online
All available Lancashire League fixtures are now online. You can see the full schedule here, but here are some key dates, after a little refresher on how it will work this season.
Expanded 1st and 2nd XI Leagues and a Split-Phase 3rd XI Division
The expansion is in full effect this season with Rochdale, Milnrow, Walsden, Middleton, Norden, Littleborough, and Crompton (straight outta the Central Lancs League) all joining the fold.
As a result, the Firsts and Seconds will have a 23 league game season, playing each team once, whereas the Thirds will have a two-phase league. The Third XI teams are split into pools and will play each other twice before finishing in a seeded second phase.
Onto the key dates and games...
First Weekend of the 2018 Season - 14th & 15th April
Dan Pickup's Band of Merry First XI Men will be making the trip over to Littleborough on Sunday 15th April to open their Lancashire League campaign. Besides being home to the often-stunning, sometimes-Gothic Hollingworth Lake, did you know that Littleborough once employed Sir Garfield Sobers as their professional?
Aidan Tate's Second XI will host the first competitive match at MyProtein Turf Moor on the same day as they welcome Littleborough Seconds to the Lancashire League.
The Third XI have the honour of raising the curtain on this summer's competitive cricket with a trip away to Crompton on Saturday 14th April. That's a new ground for us, so here are some directions.
Cup Fixtures
The Worsley Cup will begin on 5th May and Burnley 1st XI have been drawn away at Accrington. On the same day, the Second XI will host Accrington 2s in the LET Cup First Round.
T20 will kick-off on Friday 1st June away at East Lancs, and we have also been drawn alongside Colne, Clitheroe, Accrington and Rishton in our group.
The LCB Cup draw so Burnley drawn to play at home against Longridge and the tie will take place on Sunday 20th May (FA Cup Final Weekend, for all you traditionalists out there).
Football and Cricket
The FA Cup Final takes place on 19th May and Burnley 2nd XI are hosting Haslingden. The clubhouse won't have seen as many sweeps since before Blakey was Steward and we had somebody in charge who actually cleaned the place.
There is only one match which clashes with football at the other Turf Moor and that's on the final day of the Premier League season on 13th May. Eddie Howe's Bournemouth are the visitors whilst Burnley 1st XI will be hosting Accrington.
On a side note, England vs Panama at Russia 2018 on 24th June kicks off at the same time as stumps are pitched for Burnley First XI vs Nelson First XI. Though it will be nice for some of the England players to finally meet their accountants, we know which one we'll be watching.
Other Notable Games
Speaking of the World Cup, two Quarter Finals take place on the same day as Burnley vs Lowerhouse on Sunday 7th July. The First XI tie will be at Turf Moor whilst the Seconds will make the trip across town. It promises to be a great day of sport for the town if England can make it that far and a couple of Clarets make an appearance.
When it comes to traveling to new grounds, besides Littleborough on the opening day, the First XI will get to play at Middleton (3rd June), Milnrow (15th July) and Rochdale (2nd September).
The Seconds will follow the Thirds over to Crompton but a week later (14th April for the Thirds and 22nd April for the Seconds) and will be the first Burnley teams to experience playing at Walsden (21st July) and Norden (18th August).
The season will close on 9th September when the Firsts are at home to East Lancs and the Seconds travel to League HQ in the reverse.
So, bring it on. As you can see, the Balcony Ultras and Crusty's Crew are all very excited...