The First Premier League in Lancashire. (1 July 1999)

1 July 1999

The First Premier League in Lancashire.

by Paul Edwards

The news that the Lancashire Cricket Board was to issue a Press release on May 14th, and the rumour that it had something to do with the Liverpool Competition, prompted the usual speculation. Had New Brighton's skipper, Tim Watkins, been chosen as the next James Bond or Paul Edwards elected Oxfam's best-dressed man of 1999? Perhaps the phone-bill of the hard-working Results Secretary had finally exceeded the Brazilian National Debt. The truth was more prosaic and far-reaching. The first paragraph of the LCB's statement told the simple news:

"Yesterday the ECB Premier League Assessment Panel accredited the Liverpool & District Cricket Competition as an ECB County Premier League from the year 2000... This will be the first Premier League in Lancashire."

The Chairmen of the organisations involved sounded notes of optimism and gratitude. John Brewer for the LCB said, "This is a great day for Lancashire cricket. The Liverpool Competition have raised the Premier flag and the Board hope that their example will soon be followed elsewhere." The Chairman of the Liverpool Competition, Eric Hadfield, commented, "I am confident that the already high standard of the competition's cricket will be enhanced further and we all regard our selection as a great honour. The formation of a pyramid structure will evolve in time and gives the chance for all clubs connected to that structure to progress."

So now, we know. Since that press release further talks have been held with the prospective feeder leagues, i.e. the Manchester Association, the Palace Shield, the Southport & District League and the Merseyside Competition, whose approach and input remain utterly positive and constructive. Already there is substantive talk of the Competition accepting four clubs from the feeder leagues in each of the next two years with the eventual intention being to have a membership of 36 clubs, with twelve in the Premiership and two divisions of twelve, split on a east/west divide beneath the elite. The aim is to create a genuine pyramidal structure, not merely a ladder. The Competition will apparently also consider applications from teams outside the feeder leagues.

Further comment would be speculative. But for those interested in the future development of recreational cricket, recent developments were nicely complemented on May 25th by the visit of Frank Kemp, the ECB's Cricket Operations Manager responsible for the setting up of Premier Leagues, to the Sefton Cricket Development meeting at Southport. As well as emphasising the importance of Junior Development, he hoped that 20 Premier Leagues would be established countrywide in 2000 and that 1999 was very much a year of experimentation for all concerned, including the ECB. Regarding the future, he understood the need for stability but commented, "It's not a static environment". Quite so. Next year the three leagues covered by this article may have retained their names and independence but they may also be part of one structure.

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