Leicestershire County Cricket Club, founded on 25 March 1879, is one of the eighteen first-class county clubs in the English domestic cricket structure. The club is widely known by its nickname, the Leicestershire Foxes, and its visual identity centres on a running fox emblem, a device drawn from the county’s heraldic tradition. The fox has long been a symbol of Leicestershire, appearing on the crest of the county council’s arms, and it is present on the badges or logos of numerous county organisations and sports clubs, including Leicestershire County Cricket Club. [1]
Design and History
The club’s badge is described in the Playfair Cricket Annual as a “Gold Running Fox on Green Ground,” with the club colours listed as dark green and scarlet. [2] This description is corroborated by a commemorative plate produced for the club’s 1975 County Championship victory, which features the Leicestershire CCC logo of a bounding yellow fox on a green field, framed by a wreath. [2] The same design appears on the reverse of the plate in green. [2]
The club’s official website confirms the enduring nature of this identity, stating: “We are proud to be Running Foxes. Our colours are Green and Red. We wear the crest with pride.” [3] The running fox motif is also reflected in the club’s limited-overs name, the Leicestershire Foxes, and in the “Gold Fox” county cap awarded to players. [4]
In a 2023 BBC interview, a club representative explicitly linked the badge to the club’s forward-looking ethos: “We are the running foxes, look at our badge, we want to be running forwards and it’s crucial we all do that together.” [5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The fox emblem derives from Leicestershire’s heraldic heritage. The fox features as a crest on the county council’s arms, originally adopted in token of the origin of organised hunting in the county. Over time it has become a unique Leicestershire symbol, used across county organisations and sports clubs. [1] The running fox on the cricket club’s badge thus connects the club to this broader county identity rather than to an exclusively sporting origin.
The club’s official values page reinforces the symbolic weight of the fox, describing members as “Running Foxes” and invoking the “Gold Fox Standards” as a benchmark for achievement. [3] The 2024 Vitality Blast kit announcement similarly references the club’s “iconic green colours” and “a silhouette of the Club’s Fox,” indicating that the fox and green remain central to the club’s contemporary visual language. [6]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
