Elite cricket league plan for county

PLANS are afoot to form a Greater Manchester Premier League for cricket.

Although still very much at the embryonic stage - it won’t get off the ground, if at all, for another two or three years - it is believed a number of clubs have already shown an interest.

And it is the clubs, themselves, who are driving the idea forward of bringing together some of the best sides in Greater Manchester under one umbrella.

The CLL, Manchester Association, Lancashire County League and Saddleworth League are four competitions, according to sources, from which several clubs have sat up and taken interest in the scheme.

For a Premier League to happen, though, much work has to be done.

From attracting sponsorship and other funding, a set of rules, forming various committees to handle the day-to-day issues and drawing in umpires, the list of jobs is endless.

The people behind the plan admit it won’t come about overnight, but they are desperate to improve the standard of cricket and see the formation of a Premier League, with feeder divisions, as the way to achieve their goal.

They accept that some clubs, with proud traditions within their own competitions, will be unwilling to join.

However, with the support of enough clubs and, more importantly, the Lancashire Cricket Board, they reckon a Premier League, with the best players coming face-to-face in a competitive environment week-in, week-out, can happen.

Competitions of this type already operate in many counties — some of which don’t play at first-class level — but Lancashire does not have one.

There was much talk around local grounds and in the Press last season of a Greater Manchester Premier League, with many airing their views for and against the idea.

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