Clubs lament postponement of cricket season

Wind the clock back to the beginning of March and all of the 27 GMCL clubs in the Reporter and Chronicle circulation area were preparing for the new season.

Indoor nets were in full swing, and work was going on apace in preparing grounds for the new campaign.  That was due to start in a few days, on 18^th April.  How things have changed – grounds will lie idle for the foreseeable future.

When the scale of the Covid-19 issue became apparent, and the way in which things would have to change the GMCL acted speedily and made a quick decision that there would be no cricket until the end of May at the earliest.  Whether, and how soon after that date, it will be possible is of course unknown at the moment.

Recognising that the loss of a large part of the season would mean that the planned league and cup competitions would be impossible to sage the GMCL also made the early decision that the structure in the 2021 season would be that which was planned for this year.  In 12 months time teams will play in exactly the same Division that was intended for 2020.

Grounds may well be idle in terms of cricket, and clubhouses shut, but there is plenty of evidence on social media that work is continuing to maintain grounds.  Naturally all the work is being done in the context of appropriate social distancing!

But things have also been happening off the field.  The GMCL have recently announced the departure of 1 club with effect from 2021,  and welcomed three new clubs.  In a move which has been whispered about in recent months, and has now been confirmed, Greenmount will play in the Lancashire League.  The three new Clubs are moving from the Bolton League.  They are Heaton; Golborne and Adlington.  The latter has not yet been placed in the structure for 2021 but Heaton will take the space in the Championship vacated by Heywood, who have moved up to Premier League 2 to replace Greenmount.  Golborne will be in Division 1.  In other club news it has been announced that Bamford Fieldhouse, who were in the Premier Division in 2017, but had problems necessitating a drop to Division 3E, will not be involved in senior cricket in 2020 should the season get underway.

The impact of the loss of a further 3 clubs from the Bolton League, to add to Bradshaw who moved to the GMCL for the 2020 season, has depleted numbers in that competition.  It may well have been one of the factors underlying a recent statement from the BCL.  “Officials from the Bolton Cricket League will be in contact with their colleagues from the Northern Premier Cricket League and officers from Lancashire Cricket later this month to discuss the mutual benefits which could arise from a closer liaison”.  It’s an interesting move.  Should it come to fruition it could well join together two of the most traditional and oldest leagues into one competition.  The reaction on social media has been mixed.  Certainly it would have a wide geographical spread from the southern reaches of the Lake District down to the outskirts of Greater Manchester.  The outcome of the discussions will be interesting to observe.

By Martin Frost