Change to Birmingham & District Premier Cricket League (BDPCL) structure from 2019
A Special General Meeting of the Birmingham & District Premier Cricket League (BDPCL) was held last night (19th March) at Smethwick CC with all 48 member clubs in attendance from across the West Midlands.
At the meeting the proposal to radically rationalise and re-structure the league and adopt the ‘Blue Print for West Midlands Cricket’ was voted on successfully by 31 votes to 15 with two abstentions.
The Blueprint had been put together with close collaboration between the BDPCL Management Board, the England & Wales Cricket Board, the Four County Leagues and the Five County Cricket Boards: Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Shropshire and Herefordshire.
This means that in the 2019 season the League will only have two divisions of 12 each (Premier and One). The remaining two divisions worth of clubs will transfer to their County League. The two BDPCL divisions will be for 1st XIs only and all 2nd XIs currently playing in the Birmingham League will also go into their relevant County League from 2019 onwards. Therefore the league will reduce from 48 clubs to 24 and from 96 teams to 24.
The County Boards will now work with the County Leagues and ECB to develop a smooth implementation of the new plans for the 2019 season and the 2018 season can now go ahead uninterrupted. We hope West Midlands cricketers can enjoy a great season.