By Nick Chamberlain

 

THE cricket season may only be a few weeks old, but to some of us it seems to have never been away.

The winter has been dominated by two topics. Nationally we have followed England‘s disastrous travels, culminating in the World Cup debacle, managing only to beat the might of Scotland and Afghanistan. Just when we thought England’s footballers had reached rock bottom in their World Cup, along came the cricketers. We also suffered Lancashire’s relegation, 12 months after promotion, continuing erratic championship campaigns.

Locally, the hot topic has been the proposed formation of the Greater Manchester League. For those not aware, the proposal basically envisages clubs in the Greater Manchester area being assimilated into one pyramid organisation incorporating an elite division with subsidiary divisions in two, three or four levels and progressing up and down through the divisions with promotion and relegation. The Bolton & District Cricket Association executive committee have been involved in endless phone calls, attended numerous meetings, and the e-mails have totted up. Statements and counter statements, rumours and counter-rumours have all been aired. Even Bolton FM radio got in on the action! Not being a subscriber to Twitter or Facebook, I am reliably informed that social media is awash with comments.

Looking back at my articles over the last two years, one of the main themes throughout the years of the Association’s existence has been the continual evolution and the manner in which the changes have been managed. Sometimes it may have fallen short, but the Association has always retained its identity and has jealously guarded its claim to be Lancashire’s oldest cricket league, and second only in the world to the Birmingham & District Cricket League by 12 months.

I have extracted a quote from one previous article in 2013, which has somehow turned out to be quite prophetic.

“The history of the Association has been an eventful one," it reads, "and who knows what the future has in store. But there is little doubt that challenging times lie ahead.”

The seismic change proposed by the Lancashire Cricket Board and the Greater Manchester League could not have been envisaged at that time, but if carried through may well mean the end of some of Lancashire’s historic leagues and cup competitions.

My own view, as anyone who reads these articles may have gathered, is that this is not the way forward. I am proud to be a member of the B&DCA executive and think we have a duty to the founding fathers of the Association. The Association was started in 1888 and its rich history should not be wiped out. Some may think this is an old-fashioned attitude and not progressive, but change for change's sake is not always for the best.

On a lighter note and re-reading last year’s articles, we welcomed the four new members to the Association and pondered on the possibility of new names being added to the roll of honour for league and cup winners.

Well we managed a double, Flixton becoming the 33rd club to win the championship and Bury the 38th side to be victorious in the Cross Cup.