CLUBS IN the Saddleworth and District Cricket League are backing a revolutionary restructuring of the sport in Greater Manchester.
League secretary Trevor Harrison says there is “overwhelming” support for the county’s ten leagues to amalgamate to form a new competition.
If the venture gets the go-ahead it would almost certainly spell the end of the format of cricket which has been played for over 100 years in some of the county’s leagues. The Saddleworth League, for example, was formed in 1899.
The initiative, which is being driven by the Lancashire Cricket Board, is aimed at breathing new life into league cricket which has been in decline for many years.
Mr Harrison said: “We sent a circular to our clubs outlining the proposals and asking for replies as this has to be driven by them.
“The response has been that clubs are overwhelmingly for it. Some of the leagues have been in existence since the turn of the last century and even before that and club officials see league cricket as being in need of a revamp.
“They view it as a positive that there will be a league structure with promotion and relegation which will set new standards and create new interest.”
Under the proposals the county’s ten leagues would come together under one umbrella forming a pyramid system based on the strength of clubs. There would be an elite division, two first divisions and a structure below that.
And the Saddleworth League is to have an influential say in the shaping of cricket as two league officials have been appointed on to a 12-strong steering committee set up to help take the proposals forward. They are league treasurer Michael Ward and Dave Chaloner, chairman of Glodwick.
Mr Harrison also believes introducing such revolutionary changes by 2016, as some clubs want, will not be practical, with a 2017 start date more feasible.
There is also a possibility not all the leagues will come on board with the Central Lancashire Cricket League currently exploring a possible merger with the Lancashire League.
Mr Harrison continued: “Nothing has been decided as to the exact format of the new league and also what will happen to the existing leagues. There are still things like second team and junior cricket to be discussed.
“It is fair to say, though, the next couple of years will be interesting as to the future of league cricket in Greater Manchester.”
Meanwhile, Austerlands Cricket Club has received a £10,000 grant from the trustees of the Lancaster Club to repair the roof of their clubhouse.
There is a pot of money available to clubs in an eight-mile radius of the Lancaster Club and they took advantage of this to lodge a bid.
