Worcestershire County Cricket League

The Worcestershire County Cricket League (WCL) is an English club cricket league, and consists of club teams from Worcestershire, Herefordshire, and several other sides from bordering counties.

History

The Worcestershire County Cricket League was created in 1999 as part of the new 'pyramid system' in English club cricket, and acts as a feeder league to the Birmingham and District Premier League. It was formed mainly as a merger between the old Worcestershire Clubs' League and the Autobag/Plumb Centre League. Other clubs came from the Midland Combined Counties League, the 3D Cricket PLJ League, and in the case of Herefordshire sides, the Marches Cricket League and the Willowsticks Three Counties Cricket League.

There is promotion and relegation and most divisions of the league operate on a two up/two down basis, although the feeder league status means that more than two sides may be relegated from Division 1, with knock-on effects on other divisions, if more than one Worcestershire or Herefordshire side is relegated from Birmingham League Division 3. Other exceptions to this are in Division 1 (where only the winner is promoted to the Birmingham and District Premier League), Division 3 (three down), and Divisions 4 North and South (one up from each plus the winner of a playoff between the two 2nd placed teams). There is also no relegation from Division 4 North and South, and clubs can only be promoted from Division 5 if they are able to field two XIs in the following season, and there is a space available in either of the Division 4s.

Winners of Division 1 of the Worcestershire County Cricket League, who have been promoted to the Birmingham and District Premier League, since 1999 are:

Divisional Structure

For 2008 the Worcestershire County Cricket League is made up of the following divisions and clubs:

Division One

Division Two

Division Three

Division Four North

Division Four South

From Division 1 down to Divisions 4 North and South, there are also separate 2nd XI Divisions, with the 4th XI of those sides above whose 3rd XIs play in the league, competing against other clubs' 2nd XIs. From 2006, Division 1 and 2 2nd XIs were promoted and relegated independently of their 1st XIs (and 4th XIs can be promoted or relegated independently of their 3rd XIs), and from 2007 the same applied to Division 3.