Season 1931 saw the Club go into a decline from a playing point of view, with only 7 of the 23 matches being won. Over the previous decade, the Club had been quite successful, mainly due to the outstanding performances of only a few players, and with a few exceptions, the 1st XI had grown old together.

The previous season had seen the end of W.N. Derryman's career*, and the end of season 1931 marked the end of an era, with the retirement from cricket of "Buddy" and A. Wildgoose although the latter did make the occasional appearance for the 2nd XI and 3rd XI a few years later.

On the seasons batting scene, L. Phillips scored 720 runs and E.A. Jenkins scored 317 runs. In bowling, A. Wildgoose took 50 wickets, L. Phillips took 45 wickets and A. Schofield took 28 wickets. In the field, GE Bell made 13 stumpings.

*At the end of season 1930, the name of W.N. Derryman was missing from the Club records, and it can only be assumed that he retired from the game. He served the Club well as wicket keeper over the per and 1919 to 1930 inclusive, taking 174 catches and making 206 stumpings.

1932

L. Phillips, a very good all round performer for the Club over the past decade, succeeded "Buddy" as Club Captain and in a season that must have been strange without the familiar faces of "Buddy" and A,. Wildgoose, has a disappointing start, winning only 6 of 26 games.

The new captain led by example with the bat, scoring 610 runs including his 6,000th career run whilst A. Schofield contributed 318 runs and E.A. Jenkins 288. Relishing the captaincy, L. Phillips took 64 wickets including an eight wicket haul against Birkenhead Park. He was supported by A. Schofield with 49 wickets and H. Bolger with 37. In the field, L. Phillips and P.J. Stonor took 12 and 11 catches respectively, whilst G.E. Bell took 10 catches and made 6 stumpings.

1933

Once again under the captaincy of L. Phillips, the Club had a disappointing season, playing 27 matches and winning only 4.

The captain again faired well with both bat and ball, scoring 659 runs (including his 7,000th run) and taking 57 wickets. A. schofield also had a fine all round season with 441 runs and 48 wickets. In the field both L. Phillips and P.J. Stonor took 10 catches each.

In two rare appearances for the 2nd XI, A. Wildgoose proved he had lost none of his skills with the ball, taking 7 for 13 against Ainsdale and 5 for 42 against Southport.

Limited records exist for the 3rd XI, but what we do know is that they were represented by the following gentlemen: W.L. Ashworth; B.S. Callaghan; F.J. Callaghan; J.W. Crowther; W. Linyard; J.B. Quinn; J.R.R. Oliver; G.H. Richards; G.E. Tyson; H.E. Weaver.

1934

The 1st XI was again captained by L. Phillips who only played in 14 of the 20 matches for which records are available. The season was not very successful, with only 5 matches being won.

W.L. Ashworth dominated the batting with 371, P.J. Stonor added 279 runs, E.A. Jenkins scored 260 runs and L. Phillips scored 230 runs. The bowling was led by L. Phillips with 42 wickets, supported by J.C. Waddett with 33 wickets and F.J. Callaghan with 23 wickets. In the field, E.B. Davies and wicket keeper W.E. Greatrex took 7 catches, whilst L. Phillips and A. Schofield took 6 catches.

1935 to 1939

Unfortunately, no information is available for this period.

Leonard Phillips

After a long and distinguished career, L. Phillips retired from the game in 1936 after scoring over 8,000 1st XI runs, taking over 500 wickets and over 100 catches. A fine career by anybody's standards.