The Palace Shield, officially known as the MHA Palace Shield for sponsorship reasons, is a cricket competition based in Preston and surrounding districts in Lancashire, England. There are eight divisions in the main Saturday competition, three Sunday leagues, a Twenty20 competition and a junior competition.
Test cricketers such as Andrew Flintoff and Simon Kerrigan began their careers in the Palace Shield, although it remains a competition for amateurs only. Richard Gleeson who played One Day International and Twenty20 Cricket for England Cricket Team also played in the competition.
In 2024,[1] changes were made to the competition which saw a coalition between the Northern Premier Cricket League (NCPL), the Palace Shield and the Westmorland Cricket League. It resulted in the NCPL becoming a two-division league, leaving the Palace Shield as an amateur competition and incorporating the Westmorland League into the pyramid in a more recognised fashion than previously. Division One and Division Two of the NCPL will have ten teams, as will the Palace Shield Premier Division.[2]