Two cricket leagues in Cumbria have joined forces to create a stronger and more forward-thinking structure for the sport in the county, writes Keith Richardson.
The Cumbria Cricket League and the Eden Valley Cricket League merger was confirmed at an extraordinary meeting of the EVCL on Monday night this week when clubs decided unanimously to press ahead with the plan for the 2025 season.
This followed a decision made at a similar meeting of the CCL when the vote to progress was 11-4 in favour.
Under the proposal the two leagues will retain a degree of autonomy with the CCL responsible for the top of the new structure, the premier division and division ones north and south, while the EVCL will principally look after Eden Valley divisions one and two and its own Sunday league which has two divisions.
The premier division of the new structure will be countywide but, beneath that, the various divisions will be geographically friendly, meaning that clubs will have less travel on match days.
Officials of the two leagues will now get together for a further meeting to discuss any anomalies that might arise in advance of the new cricket season (beginning late April) and it is anticipated that fixtures for the new structure will be announced towards the end of this month, if not sooner.
Chairman of the Eden Valley Cricket League Mike Mitchelson, of Lanercost CC, welcomed the changes saying they would be beneficial to the longer-term development of cricket in the county.
“This is an integration of the two leagues, not a takeover,” he said. “We will be stronger working together. It will take a little time to settle and for clubs to find their true level, but the situation can be reviewed at the end of the first season and moving forward to see if there any improvements we can make to further meet the needs of clubs and players.
“In the fullness of time I hope that clubs who may have moved away from the CCL and the EVCL will realise that this is the league and structure to which they should belong for a wide variety of reasons.
“And we will always encourage clubs to join our league as it grows and gains momentum.”
Steve Chambers, chairman of the Cumbria Cricket League, said: “It means this season will see a county-wide Premier League and a Division 1 North and a Division 1 South.
“Then below this will be the EVCL Divisions 1 and 2 and a Sunday League.
The Cumbria Cricket League management committee will oversee the Premier and Division 1 North and South whilst the EVCL Committee will oversee the EVCL Divisions 1 and 2 and their Sunday League.
“An interim joint management team will meet in the next couple of weeks to iron out the details for the new season.
“This is an exciting time for cricket in Cumbria and after years of talks and discussions about pyramid structures this is a really positive move forward.”
