Hard work has been worth it as competitive club cricket returns

Hundreds of cricketers will be back in competitive action across Northamptonshire this weekend.

The start of the Northamptonshire Cricket League season may be three months late but, after a summer of uncertainty, the opportunity to take to the field and play competitively has finally arrived.

A shortened season and a new format were always on the cards after the campaign was put on hold by the Covid-19 pandemic.

But league administrators have been working round the clock to ensure everything is in place for things to get under way this weekend.

The format will see 11 divisions with each team playing seven rounds of fixtures of 40 overs a side, starting at 11am, and once those rounds of matches have been completed, the top eight in each division will compete in the quarter-finals, then semi-finals before each division holds a grand final to round things off on Saturday, September 19.

A number of clubs dipped their toes in with some friendly action last weekend to help them adjust to the regulations now in place to ensure the game is safe for all.

But competitive club cricket will now be played from this weekend onwards when many thought it might be impossible.

The format devised in quick time by the NCL seems to have been received well by clubs and players and that, according to league chairman David Hartley, has made the long days worth it.

“To be honest, it has been a bit of a roller coaster with not knowing when and if we were going to play this season,” he said.

“It wasn’t until two weeks ago that we thought there was a good chance that we might be able to play and it was then that we started to put some plans in place while knowing we could always move the dates if our target date wasn’t realistic.

“We did that and we did it based on information we had from various sources including ECB and Public Health England and so on.

“I am chairman of the Recreational Cricket Board and I am a director at Northants CCC so I do get quite a bit of information and I have been involved in some quite high level discussions with ECB.

“We decided that July 18 was the first date we could realistically get it going and it would allow us time to get everyone up to speed with the protocols to get their clubs ready, give groundsmen the chance to get pitches ready and time for us to produce some fixtures.

“We have managed to do it. It has taken a lot of hard work and a lot of cooperation from clubs and they have been really good in understanding what we are trying to do and answering questionnaires about what type of cricket they want.

“That has enabled us to move on with a meaningful programme. The main aim all along was to get people out there and playing again with the competition and the strength of the teams almost being a by product.

“The reaction of the clubs towards what we have put together has made it all worthwhile.

“During the time where nobody really knew whether we would play this summer, it was tough.

“We understand people are frustrated and we know there are people saying ‘you should do this or you should do that’ and quite honestly, the reason we didn’t go out there too early with information was that we didn’t then want to have to retract it.

“We just decided to wait. We wanted to get it right. You can never please everybody but we wanted to please the majority and I think we have done that.

“With the hard work of my team, we think what we have produced is as good as it gets under the circumstances.”

This weekend's fixtures

Premier Division: Desborough v Horton House, Geddington v Finedon Dolben, Old Northamptonians v Brixworth, Overstone Park v Peterborough, Rushden & Higham v Oundle.

Division One: Finedon Dolben 2nd v St Crispin & Ryelands, Haddon v Wollaston, Kislingbury v Burton Latimer, Loddington & Mawsley v Weekley & Warkton, Stony Stratford v Irthlingborough, Wellingborough Town v Old Northamptonians 2nd.

Division Two: Heyford v Thrapston, Isham & Wellingborough Indians v Irchester, Kettering v Earls Barton, Peterborough 2nd v Old, Rothwell v Old Grammarians, Weldon v Great Houghton.

Division Three: Bowden v Overstone Park 2nd, Brixworth 2nd v Northampton Saints, Old Northamptonians 3rd v Rushden & Higham 2nd, Oundle 2nd v Geddington 2nd, Raunds v Podington, Wollaston 2nd v Isham & Wellingborough Indians 2nd.

Division Four: Burton Latimer 2nd v Spencer Bruerne, Great Oakley v Stony Stratford 2nd, Horton House 2nd v Wellingborough Town 2nd, Kempston Hammers v Bold Dragoon, S&L Corby v Harlestone, St Crispin & Ryelands 2nd v Finedon Dolben 3rd.

Division Five: Bedford v Kettering 2nd, Cogenhoe v Yelvertoft, Irthlingborough 2nd v MK Air, Northampton Saints 2nd v Bugbrooke, Rushton v Obelisk, Weekley & Warkton 2nd v Loddington & Mawsley 2nd.

Division Six: Mears Ashby v Rothwell 2nd, Podington 2nd v Geddington 3rd, Sun Hardingstone v Stony Stratford 3rd, Thrapston 2nd v S&L Corby 2nd, Willoughby v Bowden 2nd.

Division Seven: Barton Seagrave v Isham & Wellingborough Indians 3rd, Brigstock 2nd v Heyford 2nd, Old 2nd v Desborough 2nd, Old Grammarians 2nd v Dunchurch & Bilton, Overstone Park 3rd v Old Northamptonians 4th.

Division Eight: Geddington 4th v Haddon 2nd, Great Houghton 2nd v Abington Phoenix, Horton House 3rd v Cogenhoe 2nd, Long Buckby 2nd v Weldon 2nd, MK Air 2nd v Raunds 2nd.

Division Nine: Bold Dragoon 2nd v St Michaels, Burton Latimer 3rd v Braunston Paddox, Finedon Dolben 4th v Barby 3rd, Harlestone 2nd v Kettering 3rd, Wellingborough Town 3rd v Brixworth 3rd, Wollaston 3rd v Grange Park.

Division 10: Bugbrooke 2nd v Weekley & Warkton 3rd, Kettering 4th v Pytchley, Old 3rd v Barton Seagrave 2nd, Spencer Bruerne 2nd v Mears Ashby 2nd, Stony Stratford 4th v Great Oakley 2nd, Thrapston 3rd v Rushden & Higham 3rd.

Division 11: Braunston Paddox 2nd v Willoughby 2nd, Brixworth 4th v Haddon 3rd, Dunchurch & Bilton 2nd v S&L Corby 3rd, Heyford 3rd v Kettering 5th, Stony Stratford 5th v Burton Latimer 4th.