page_title: Birkenhead Park Cricket Club
section_title: Early years (19th Century)
hierarchical_section_title: Birkenhead Park Cricket Club / History / Early years (19th Century)
caption_attribution_description: English: William Barnes (167 n.o) &amp; Cecil Holden (100 n.o) in the club record opening partnership of 278
context_page_description: Birkenhead Park Cricket Club, based on the Wirral in Merseyside, England, was founded in 1846.
  The clubhouse, which is situated in Birkenhead Park, is 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.
context_section_description: 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.
  During the period, Park also had two amateur players who would tour Australia with England and play one test each. They were Sandford Schultz, born in Birkenhead, and Reginald Wood, born in Woodchurch.
  In 1877, George Dunlop scored the club's first double century as he made 201 in a fixture against Rock Ferry. The team's total of 508 is Park's highest and still stands to this day.
  1881 saw one of Park's greatest players Cecil Holden make his debut against Southport Cricket Club. Over the next fifty years, he was to dominate the club, first as a player and then as its President. He played first class cricket for Lancashire on several occasions and also represented the Liverpool & District and Cheshire sides. During his prolonged Park career, he ended up compiling almost 20,000 runs and took over 650 wickets.
  One of Holden's biggest contributions came in 1898 when he and William Barnes forged a new competition opening partnership record of 278 in a two-day evening game at Oxton.
  Holden also struck the club's second double century (202) in a home match against Northern. The hosts had been reduced to 83 for 9 when Holden and number eleven batsman C E Steen put on a club record 178 run partnership for the final wicket as Park eventually finished up on 261 all out.
  1892 brought about the formation of the Liverpool and District Cricket Competition after a Liverpool newspaper began publishing a weekly table in order to create more interest in the game.
  Park were one of eleven senior clubs to make up the original table with the other teams being Bootle, Formby, Huyton, New Brighton, Northern, Ormskirk, Oxton, Rock Ferry and Sefton.
  The century ended with the 3rd XI being formed in 1898.
caption: William Barnes (167 n.o) & Cecil Holden (100 n.o) in the club record opening partnership of 278
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