On the nights of 22-23 and 23-24 December 1940 — the Manchester Blitz — Old Trafford cricket ground was hit by Luftwaffe high-explosive bombs aimed at the Trafford Park industrial complex nearby. The members' dining room and the groundsman's quarters were destroyed; most of the pavilion needed rebuilding. The ground had been requisitioned earlier as a Dunkirk transit camp and a supply depot, and Lancashire CCC effectively closed for the war, redirecting members' subscriptions to a war relief fund.
Old Trafford had hosted Test cricket since 1884. By 1940 it was the home ground of Lancashire CCC, England's most populous county club. The proximity of Trafford Park and its strategic factories (Ford, Westinghouse, Metropolitan-Vickers) made the area a natural Luftwaffe target.
Manchester had been bombed sporadically through 1940; the Christmas raids of 22-24 December were the heaviest and best-coordinated, exploiting the moonlit nights and the absence of strong RAF night-fighter cover.
The Manchester Blitz of 22-24 December 1940 killed an estimated 684 people and injured more than 2,000. Trafford Park, the world's first planned industrial estate, was a primary Luftwaffe target. Old Trafford cricket ground sat alongside Manchester United's football stadium on the south side of the estate; both were caught in the bombing pattern.
Lancashire CCC's archives record direct hits on the members' dining room and the groundsman's quarters. The pavilion's roof was holed, the timber stand on the bowler's-end side splintered, and the playing surface gouged by debris. The football ground next door took a more complete hit on 11 March 1941 — Manchester United did not play home games at Old Trafford until 1949.
The cricket ground had already been requisitioned by the War Office in mid-1940. Returning Dunkirk troops were billeted there in tents in early June; the indoor school became a quartermaster's stores. After December 1940 it was converted to a transit camp and supply depot for the duration. Lancashire's playing programme had effectively ended in September 1939; minor wartime fixtures only resumed in 1944.
Sep 1939 — Lancashire's first-class season ends; ground placed on stand-by
Mid-1940 — War Office requisitions ground for Dunkirk troops, then supply depot
22-24 Dec 1940 — Manchester Blitz; bombs hit pavilion and quarters
11 Mar 1941 — neighbouring football ground takes major hit
1944 — limited cricket resumes
May 1946 — Lancashire reopens for first-class fixtures
1948 — first post-war Test at Old Trafford
Sep 1939
Lancashire's first-class season ends
Jun 1940
Ground requisitioned for Dunkirk troops
Dec 1940
Manchester Blitz; ground bombed
1944
Limited cricket resumes
1946
Lancashire reopens
1948
First post-war Test (Australia v England)
Repairs to the pavilion were largely complete by 1947. The Lancashire 1946 yearbook printed a picture of the bomb-damaged dining room beside one of the new replacement. The 1948 Test at Old Trafford — the third in that year's Ashes — was the ground's first post-war Test.
The most severe wartime damage suffered by any first-class cricket ground in England. Old Trafford's seven-year hiatus and the visible craters on the playing surface gave Lancashire's 1946 reopening a particular emotional charge.
Old Trafford's wartime damage is commemorated in Lancashire CCC's archive and in a small plaque in the redeveloped pavilion. The ground hosted the famous 1956 Laker Test and remains one of the iconic Test venues in England.
Yorkshire v Essex
1932-06-16
On 15-16 June 1932 Herbert Sutcliffe (313) and Percy Holmes (224*) put on 555 for the first wicket against Essex at Leyton, breaking the world first-class record for any wicket and adding a layer of folklore — including a scoreboard that read 554 for several minutes and a hastily reversed declaration — that has clung to the partnership ever since.
Australia v England
1933-02-14
With the fate of the Bodyline series in the balance and England 216 for 6 chasing 340, Eddie Paynter checked himself out of a Brisbane hospital where he was being treated for acute tonsillitis, taxied to the Gabba in pyjamas and a dressing gown, and batted for nearly four hours to score 83. England drew level on first innings, won the Test by six wickets and the series 4-1.
Australia
1934-09-25
Days after the 1934 Oval Test, Bradman fell seriously ill with appendicitis that progressed to peritonitis. With antibiotics not yet available, he was given little chance of survival; his wife Jessie left Adelaide on a sea voyage to England prepared for the worst. He recovered after weeks of intensive nursing in a London nursing home and returned to first-class cricket the following Australian summer.