Northern Premier Cricket League

Last updated

Northern Premier Cricket League
CountriesFlag of England.svg  England
Administrator ECB
FormatLimited Overs
First edition1951 (Founded)
2000 (ECB Premier League)
Tournament formatLeague
Number of teams10 (Division One)
10 (Division Two)
Current championFleetwood CC (6th title)
Most successfulBlackpool CC (18 titles)
Website https://npcl.play-cricket.com/

The Northern Premier Cricket League is a cricket league in the North West of England and was designated as an ECB Premier League in 2000. [1] Prior to that date it was known as the Northern Cricket League.

Contents

Because the Northern Premier Cricket League had no formal feeder league and no automatic relegation and promotion, the ECB suggested on several occasions that its ECB Premier League status might be withdrawn. As from 2017, the Palace Shield became the Northern Premier League's feeder league and promotion and relegation between the two leagues took place for the first time at the end of the 2017 season.

History

The Northern Cricket League was founded on 10 November 1951, [2] in controversial circumstances. Several of the clubs in the west of the area covered by the Ribblesdale League had been unhappy for some time about the format of that League. The League had a membership of 18 clubs which meant that only 5 opponents in the League were played against twice per season whilst the remainder were played against once. This group of clubs met secretly on 7 October 1951 and produced a handwritten document which stated:

The following Ribblesdale League clubs:- Blackpool, Chorley, Darwen, Fleetwood, Lancaster, Leyland, Morecambe, St Annes being duly authorised by their respective Committees are resolved from this meeting to request the Ribblesdale League to form a West Section, comprising the above named clubs together with Leyland Motors, Furness and Kendal. Failing agreement on the part of the Ribblesdale League the above eight clubs pledge themselves to resign forthwith from the Ribblesdale League and to create a new league, which would include an invitation to Leyland Motors, Furness, Kendal and Preston. [3]

At the AGM of the Ribblesdale League, held in Whalley on 10 November 1951, the motion was proposed to form West and East sections with the West section comprising Blackpool, Chorley, Darwen, Fleetwood, Lancaster, Leyland, Morecambe, and St Annes, plus two new clubs Furness and Kendal (both from the North Lancashire Cricket League) along with Leyland Motors if they wished to play in the West section. After discussion, the vote was 9–9 and was defeated on the casting vote of the President who had earlier expressed distaste at the way the western clubs had acted. [4]

The eight clubs duly resigned from the Ribblesdale League, as did Leyland Motors, and representatives of these clubs along with those of Furness and Kendal then met at the Swan Hotel in Whalley where the Northern Cricket League was formed. Preston Cricket Club were invited to join the new league as the twelfth team. The invitation was accepted but they remained in the Liverpool and District Cricket Competition for one further year before participating in the Northern Cricket League's second season in 1953. [2]

Furness left the league after the 1958 season to be replaced by Netherfield, but there were to be no further changes to the membership until Barrow joined the league in 2004. More recent changes in the membership can be seen below. Leyland merged with lower level club BTR in 2000 and adopted the name Leyland and Farington, while Leyland Motors were known as Leyland DAF between 1991 and 2000. Founder members Darwen left the league after the 2016 season. In 2017 promotion and relegation was agreed between the Northern League and Palace Shield and at the end of the season Garstang and Fulwood & Broughton replaced Lancaster and Kendal. For the 2023 season, Fleetwood re-joined the Northern League as Palace Shield champions, alongside Palace Shield runners-up and Northern League newcomers Eccleston with Lancaster and Vernon Carus going in the opposition direction and both returning to the Palace Shield.

In 2024, [5] changes were made to the competition which saw a coalition between the Northern Premier Cricket League (NCPL), the Palace Shield and the Westmorland Cricket League. It resulted in the NCPL becoming a two-division league, leaving the Palace Shield as an amateur competition and incorporating the Westmorland League into the pyramid in a more recognised fashion than previously. Division One and Division Two of the NCPL will have ten teams, as will the Palace Shield Premier Division. [6]

Winners

A list of the champions of the NPCL since 1952. [2]

  1. ↑ Joint champions.
  1. 1 2 Blackpool and Preston shared a championship in 1967.

Division One performance by season from 2000

Key
GoldChampions
BlueLeft League
RedRelegated
Performance by season, from 2000
Club200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
Barrow11812996282257410712
Blackpool535127310103755911142413125
Carnforth [lower-alpha 1] 9121112121114
Chorley32675913117314313712955571062
Darwen [lower-alpha 2] 25113433811477103311
Eccleston12
Fleetwood710910177131310101415623794126
Fulwood & Broughton1058310
Garstang62513
Kendal84446524281194871281110691
Lancashire Colts [lower-alpha 3] 91010129
Lancaster912118121358121371211314101312211
Leyland [lower-alpha 4] 7691231251341788
Leyland & Farington [lower-alpha 4] 1091011131114
Leyland Motors [lower-alpha 4] 1111129101011
Longridge6474
Morecambe472546124566841011291111
Netherfield11332246148459886128357
Penrith1161068111011
Preston1288681285102131361313137812
St Annes6672916151311264119239949
Vernon Carus12
References [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [lower-alpha 5] [28] [29] [30]
  1. ↑ Carnforth left the league after the 2012 season to join the Westmorland Cricket League.
  2. ↑ Darwen left the league after the 2016 season to join the Lancashire League.
  3. ↑ Lancashire Colts withdrew from league cricket after the 2014 season.
  4. 1 2 3 Leyland & Farington and Leyland Motors (Leyland DAF in 2000) merged under the name Leyland after the 2006 season.
  5. ↑ Coronavirus pandemic forced all formal competitive sporting activities to be suspended.

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References

  1. ↑ List of ECB Premier Leagues Archived 15 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  2. 1 2 3 "Northern Cricket League archive". northerncricketleague.org. NPCL. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  3. ↑ "The beginnings of the Northern Cricket League". northerncricketleague.org. NPCL. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  4. ↑ "Ribblesdale Cricket League". ribblesdaleleague.co.uk. RCL. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  5. ↑ "Nathan Walmsley blows away Torrisholme to seal Penwortham’s top-six position in Palace Shield" – Lancashire Post , 23 September 2024
  6. ↑ "Changes to NPCL and Palace Shield for the 2025 season" – The Gazette , 22 April 2024
  7. ↑ "2000 League Table".
  8. ↑ "2001 League Table".
  9. ↑ "2002 League Table".
  10. ↑ "Division One - 2003".
  11. ↑ "Division One - 2004".
  12. ↑ "Division One - 2005".
  13. ↑ "Division One - 2006".
  14. ↑ "Division One - 2007".
  15. ↑ "Division One - 2008".
  16. ↑ "Division One - 2009".
  17. ↑ "Division One - 2010".
  18. ↑ "Division One - 2011".
  19. ↑ "Division One - 2012".
  20. ↑ "Division One - 2013".
  21. ↑ "Division One - 2014".
  22. ↑ "Division One - 2015".
  23. ↑ "Division One - 2016".
  24. ↑ "Division One - 2017".
  25. ↑ "Division One - 2018".
  26. ↑ "Division One - 2019".
  27. ↑ "Division One - 2020".
  28. ↑ "Division One - 2021".
  29. ↑ "Division One - 2022".
  30. ↑ "Division One - 2023".
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