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General Cricket => Your Cricket => Topic started by: jimster on September 24, 2013, 04:46:44 PM
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How many Premier Divisions are there nationally? Also i was wondering which county has the highest standard of cricket in their premier league and what is the standard like compared to 2XI county cricket ? Just a few things id like to know, anyone on the forum who plays premier cricket would be good to comment.
Jimster
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http://www.play-cricket.com/WebLinks/WebLinks.asp?cid=236 (http://www.play-cricket.com/WebLinks/WebLinks.asp?cid=236)
If you scroll down past the national comps, that is a list of the ECB Premier Leagues.
Judging standard is tough.
I know a few boys who play East Anglian Prem, and they say the standard is comparable, if not slightly tougher than when they play Minor Counties for Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire etc.
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There are a range of standards is the impression I get - some, like the Home Counties, are the top level of cricket for a wide area and the standard is pretty decent. Others are, by reputation, a bit weaker - I know the Kent Premier has been reported on here as being a mixture of good teams and pretty average ones. Then you have strong ones that could be a lot stronger - Yorkshire and Lancashire are the obvious candidates here, where a lot of teams preferred to stick in the leagues they had always been in.
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Not sure about other premiers, but the Yorkshire based one is a locked afair. Invite only, which it believe is harsh for good teams in the area.
A believe the notes premier isn't, and the winner of various leagues can get a Place.
Anyway. Joe root played ecb prem with Yorkshire academy and Sheffield collegiate
He averaged 49 in 2010 over 22 games, played for Yorkshire 1sts that same year, 2years later he was picked for England?
I'd say its a high standard.
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Not sure about other premiers, but the Yorkshire based one is a locked afair. Invite only, which it believe is harsh for good teams in the area.
There are historical reasons for that - a lot of teams and leagues were approached when the ECB pushed premier league cricket and most were snotty to the point of being offensive, to the point that the Yorkshire board nearly declined to have a league. In the end they managed it, but they had to promise long term cricket to clubs that were being forced to resign from their existing leagues. Is it ripe for a review? Certainly is. But the standard is still pretty superb.
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There are historical reasons for that - a lot of teams and leagues were approached when the ECB pushed premier league cricket and most were snotty to the point of being offensive, to the point that the Yorkshire board nearly declined to have a league. In the end they managed it, but they had to promise long term cricket to clubs that were being forced to resign from their existing leagues. Is it ripe for a review? Certainly is. But the standard is still pretty superb.
Problem with the Yorkshire league is the 2nd string teams of those clubs can vary so much. York, for instance, won everything. Their 2nd team is in the York Prem. Castleford first team are in the same Yorkshire League, yet their 2nd team is in York div 5, the same as York's 4th team. So the standard of filling in is a whole different ball game.
Not saying Castleford are bad, just an example how two first teams get such different support from the rest of their clubs.
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Essex prem is at the higher end from what I'm led to believe. I know that a number of the club's have a significant proportion of players that either represent or are on the fringes of Essex 1s.
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We played a team in our cricket week for the first time this season. They were called Dragons but were made up of players that played in the Home Counties prem league. We play in the Kent championship which is below the kent premier league. There batsmen in the top 7 were all class players ( most had Choice Willow) gear.
The bowling on the other hand was not as strong. Openers were sharp but didn't do much, spinners tidy and change bowlers ok. They scored 254-8 in an all day game and declared after lunch we replied with 215 all out after an opening stand between myself and my league opening partner of 142.
The Kent premier is strong league and as mentioned so is the Essex premier but Essex league has more teams.
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Not sure about other premiers, but the Yorkshire based one is a locked afair. Invite only, which it believe is harsh for good teams in the area.
A believe the notes premier isn't, and the winner of various leagues can get a Place.
Anyway. Joe root played ecb prem with Yorkshire academy and Sheffield collegiate
He averaged 49 in 2010 over 22 games, played for Yorkshire 1sts that same year, 2years later he was picked for England?
I'd say its a high standard.
Yes the Notts Premier league is made up from the South Notts and Bassetlaw leagues top teams with promotion / relegation, pretty big tier system with some very good players
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Played Kent Premier this season. Top sides are very good and historically have done well in the national knockout and conference cup. 7 or 8 lads who have played Kent first team this year played for clubs regularly plus plenty more with first class experience.
There is a big gap between the top 6-7 sides and the rest though mainly due to the $$$ they pay.
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The Home Counties is possibly the strongest not least because of the number of teams feeding into it. TVL & Saracens feed into it with nearly 20 divisions each and the Cherwell has 10+. 50 Divisions going into a Pyramid structure means alot of competition. That said the best teams in all the various Premier leagues are probably on a par.
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Played Kent Premier this season. Top sides are very good and historically have done well in the national knockout and conference cup. 7 or 8 lads who have played Kent first team this year played for clubs regularly plus plenty more with first class experience.
There is a big gap between the top 6-7 sides and the rest though mainly due to the $$$ they pay.
Who do you play for mate? I have a couple of mates at Hartley and Bexley
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Anyone have an idea of how strong the middlesex premier league is compared to others?
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Who do you play for mate? I have a couple of mates at Hartley and Bexley
Sibton. Hartley are a very very good unit, decent bunch as well.
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SOULMAN who do you know at Hartley and bexley as I play for Hartley
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SOULMAN who do you know at Hartley and bexley as I play for Hartley
Andy Chapman, played with me at Horton Kirkby before joining you guys couple of seasons ago and still plays the odd Sunday for us, love opening the batting with him.
Adam Riley at Bexley (Kent mainly now) played some colt cricket with him.
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Problem with the Yorkshire league is the 2nd string teams of those clubs can vary so much. York, for instance, won everything. Their 2nd team is in the York Prem. Castleford first team are in the same Yorkshire League, yet their 2nd team is in York div 5, the same as York's 4th team. So the standard of filling in is a whole different ball game.
Not saying Castleford are bad, just an example how two first teams get such different support from the rest of their clubs.
Not sure if this is still the case, but at one point, one of the criteria for being an ECB Premier League was to have a 2nd XI's league. But Yorkshire, being Yorkshire we able to be exempt from this.
I played Yorkshire league and a lot of what was the Riding's League (old Yorkshire league 2nd XI's league) - travelling from Cleethorpes to Harrogate for a 1st team game, and testing yourself against the cream of amatuer cricketers made the trip worth while, but making the same trip for 2nd XI games was a ball ache. The standard in the Riding's league fluctuated massively - the likes of Sheffield United and Castleford always turned out competitive teams, but then the likes of Hull and Rotherham would often turn up without a full XI.
I do believe that aboloshing that league and allowing 2nd XI's to find their own level in more local leagues was the right thing to do, and something I wish the Northern League would follow suite with.
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Not sure if this is still the case, but at one point, one of the criteria for being an ECB Premier League was to have a 2nd XI's league. But Yorkshire, being Yorkshire we able to be exempt from this.
I played Yorkshire league and a lot of what was the Riding's League (old Yorkshire league 2nd XI's league) - travelling from Cleethorpes to Harrogate for a 1st team game, and testing yourself against the cream of amatuer cricketers made the trip worth while, but making the same trip for 2nd XI games was a ball ache. The standard in the Riding's league fluctuated massively - the likes of Sheffield United and Castleford always turned out competitive teams, but then the likes of Hull and Rotherham would often turn up without a full XI.
I do believe that aboloshing that league and allowing 2nd XI's to find their own level in more local leagues was the right thing to do, and something I wish the Northern League would follow suite with.
Moving off Premier leagues for a second, that's my main gripe with cricket in Yorkshire - lack of depth. Yorkshire is a huge county but still has too many leagues and as a consequence the talent gets spread more thinly than anywhere else I have played. While the 1st XI standard can be very good, you don't have to dig too far into the 2nd XI to see some very poor players. We had a few guys net with us from so called "big clubs" in the main leagues and for 2nd XI cricketers they wouldn't get a look in at that time. I don't think the same joining of leagues has taken place or merging of clubs as in the South East. Therefore you almost have too many teams with too few quality cricketers. That said, I believe the ECB Prem setup in Yorks is pretty robust, even at 2nd XI level. I believe Ryan plays 2nd XI for a Prem club and is very good cricketer.
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Andy Chapman, played with me at Horton Kirkby before joining you guys couple of seasons ago and still plays the odd Sunday for us, love opening the batting with him.
Adam Riley at Bexley (Kent mainly now) played some colt cricket with him.
SOULMAN did you Captain horton Kirby when we played you in development this year?
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SOULMAN did you Captain horton Kirby when we played you in development this year?
Yes mate I did, I'm the one the nicked off to your dad for my only 0 of the season the. Watched your boys smash our development team all over the place. We are most Likely gonna drop out of the developments argue next season as our colts are not at a level to compete. We are planning on joining the Sunday Kent village league.
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Yes mate I did, I'm the one the nicked off to your dad for my only 0 of the season the. Watched your boys smash our development team all over the place. We are most Likely gonna drop out of the developments argue next season as our colts are not at a level to compete. We are planning on joining the Sunday Kent village league.
Mate that will be a shame as i think if you give it another season you will have lot of good Youngsters in the team shorly?! i think your better off sticking it out and letting them find there feet that way.
Last year our B's weren't that strong and we did struggle for a bit but give it another year and youngsters, have stepped up. What i have found from being captain of the B's but also playing in the A's was that there is a big gamp between the leagues but it is all about giving the younger players an opportunity to develop in the best league possible the test themselves
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Anyone have an idea of how strong the middlesex premier league is compared to others?
I would say not as strong once you get past the top three or four clubs. No overseas professionals doesn't help.
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Moving off Premier leagues for a second, that's my main gripe with cricket in Yorkshire - lack of depth. Yorkshire is a huge county but still has too many leagues and as a consequence the talent gets spread more thinly than anywhere else I have played. While the 1st XI standard can be very good, you don't have to dig too far into the 2nd XI to see some very poor players. We had a few guys net with us from so called "big clubs" in the main leagues and for 2nd XI cricketers they wouldn't get a look in at that time. I don't think the same joining of leagues has taken place or merging of clubs as in the South East. Therefore you almost have too many teams with too few quality cricketers. That said, I believe the ECB Prem setup in Yorks is pretty robust, even at 2nd XI level. I believe Ryan plays 2nd XI for a Prem club and is very good cricketer.
Lack of depth? I think you meen too much depth. More cricket is played in Yorkshire per square metre than any other county (or at least that used to be the case).
A missing pyramid structure has meant that the differing leagues have vastly differing standards. The teams that consistently reach top few places in York Prem have no where to go. Therefore those players look to move leagues (mainly to get paid). The standard in the Bradford League is probably higher purely because the amount of paying gets done.
A few years ago, pros and overseas were allowed, but this was causing clubs to overspend in an attempt to challenge the league. Anyone who didn't slipped down the league. Now it is back to amateur, the teams have equal chance. One team inparticular wanted to join the Yorkshire League, but was refused in the end.
To go back to the point about too much choice. York has 2 leagues. York Senior League, which has 8 leagues currently and covers teams on the square from Castleford up to Thirsk, across to Scarborough and down to the Humber (and on to Goole). It also has the York Vale league, which has 5-6 leagues and not as spread out. There are a few 1st teams in there, and several 3 & 4th teams. Although there seems to be a number looking to move to the YDSCL.
Therefore, what you end up with is cricket for the masses. Leagues which cover all standards, which is great for the game. The issue you get is some players want to be a big fish in a small pond so will stay at clubs and outperform each year rather than find the right standard., and vice versa, players who will never make it trying to play in teams that are too high in standard.
If you could merge all the leagues into one massive structure, you'll find the teams wll find their level and there would be a more competition of a higher standard everywhere.
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considering Cheshire went unbeaten this year and won some form of minor counties cup im guessing the Cheshire prem must be decently strong?
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East anglian premier league is meant to be one of the stronger ones
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The ncu premier in Northern Ireland is as strong as any premier league in England that includes the Lancashire league and the Middlesex premier league and the wepl div 2
I suspect th wepl 1 would be right at the top of the tree but there so many it would be hard to pick one
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Top three teams in North East Prem consistently win national cups at get to twenty20 finals day on TV, however apart from them there isn't too much!
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Lack of depth? I think you meen too much depth. More cricket is played in Yorkshire per square metre than any other county (or at least that used to be the case).
Nope, lack of depth within clubs was my point. Yorkshire does indeed have more quality cricketers and first XI's than probably anywhere else, but certainly not at 2nd XI standard. Clubs in the South East may be less in number but often have 3/4/5 sides and there are a few 2nd XI's in the TVL/South East that would hold there own in many of the Yorkshire leagues. I'm not sure I'd agree with the per sq metre comment either. The vast majority of yorkshire clubs played Saturday League cricket only, no Sunday or Midweek. That was one of my biggest problems playing up there in the last 5 years was playing cricket outside of Saturdays.
Not saying Yorkshire is weaker, just structured differently and probably to the detriment of creating a genuine competitive Prem + feeder leagues.
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sheffield has two Midweek leagues itself! so can't be that bad finding Midwest cricket?
although, only inequality ecb sat prem team plays in those leagues.
we have 2 Midweek sides. so your more than welcome to come play for us Saunders
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sheffield has two Midweek leagues itself! so can't be that bad finding Midwest cricket?
although, only inequality ecb sat prem team plays in those leagues.
we have 2 Midweek sides. so your more than welcome to come play for us Saunders
I've moved down South now but when I started playing in Leeds, no midweek cricket existed except for a few friendlies. We do have the Headingley and District Midweek League now but that only covers 12 clubs. I was lucky enough to play for Headingley, who play midweeks and Sunday's, but 90% of clubs in the area only played Saturday's.
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The ncu premier in Northern Ireland is as strong as any premier league in England that includes the Lancashire league and the Middlesex premier league and the wepl div 2
I suspect th wepl 1 would be right at the top of the tree but there so many it would be hard to pick one
Interesting view point. The Leinster league is stronger than the NCU and having seen a lot of both the east Anglian premier league and the ncu premier league I would say the east Anglian is stronger. I must add I haven't played in either of the leagues only a bit too high a standard for me!! Have you played/seen the leagues you are referring to?
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I played Kent premier league like people have said there were some very strong teams and then not so strong teams (like who I played for lol) did play against some serious cricketers tho Bell-Drummond comes to mind he smashed us all over the place. blackheath and bromley had some serious talent too.
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I played Kent premier league like people have said there were some very strong teams and then not so strong teams (like who I played for lol) did play against some serious cricketers tho Bell-Drummond comes to mind he smashed us all over the place. blackheath and bromley had some serious talent too.
did you see that aiden blizzard was playing for blackheath this season?
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I've played in the Home Counties Premier League, the Surrey Championship Prem and the Middlesex Premier over the last 10/12 years - though this year I've moved back to my boyhood club in the Thames Valley Cricket League.
In my experience, without a doubt, the Surrey Championship is the best. The other two aren't a million miles away, but the players you get are all current or ex-first class counties players, and they aren't scared to bring in a high quality overseas or two either.
I think it's great that this cricket exists - but for some of the clubs too much focus is placed on the 1st XI and the rest can do whatever because the chairman doesn't care. It's a shame when it's run like that. I played for a club, no naming names, but when a first team player got injured, instead of calling up a 2s player, the chairman rang Giles White at Hampshire and got in one of their second string in. Pitiful.
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did you see that aiden blizzard was playing for blackheath this season?
Yeah, he hit 156 odd off 77 balls against us!
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How many Premier Divisions are there nationally? Also i was wondering which county has the highest standard of cricket in their premier league and what is the standard like compared to 2XI county cricket ? Just a few things id like to know, anyone on the forum who plays premier cricket would be good to comment.
Jimster
As you can see, there is a lot of view points about the different Premier leagues. Each will believe there's is the best, however, I think there's much more than just 'best'.
To make a strong league, you need a number of strong teams and perhaps you should look at the other end of the league too really rate this. Some leagues may be won by the same couple of teams every year, and some maybe different a lot of the time. Just because a team in your league wins national trophies, didn't necessarily mean that is the best league.
There's a lot of subjectiveness and everyone will have a view.
Until there is a fully implemented pyramid structure where teams get promoted and relegated a league will never be as strong as it could be.