Collapse of the Pyramid System

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I knew that Murton an Easington had received the letters and had guessed that Hylton and Boldon CA might also have - thanks for confirming re Hylton Harmy. As of Sunday Bill Quay had not received one.

There are 10 clubs left in DCCL as of 2013 and (I believe) 8 in DCL - if it's true that two DSL clubs would be interested in a merger then they should be formally invited. A pretty healthy, two-division "Durham Cricket League" could be set up from those 20 clubs as long as junior and midweek third team cricket was regionalised to cut down on travel time.

Something tells me that if such a system was set up you'd not have to wait long for the other four DSL clubs to come cap in hand and make it two divisions of 12.
 
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UPDATE - letter received by all clubs in the county yesterday from DCCB's Cricket Development Director:

Formation of a North East Ladder/Pyramid System

We are aware that since the collapse of the pyramid system there has been a great deal of uncertainty for clubs and leagues about the future of north east cricket. We therefore feel it is essential to provide you with an update on the situation to date.

You will no doubt be aware of the newly formed North East Premier League (NEPL) 2nd Division which will operate from the 2013 season, comprising the following clubs; Boldon, Brandon, Eppleton, Felling, Sacriston, Seaham Harbour, South Hetton, Washington, Whitburn & Willington. The 2nd division was essential for the NEPL to satisfy the England & Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) criteria, as one of their accredited leagues, once the previous pyramid system had collapsed. Both the Durham Cricket Board (DCB) and Northumberland Cricket Board (NCB) have approved the formation of the NEPL 2nd Division for the 2013 season and beyond. It is also worth pointing out that the NEPL were given permission to form a 2nd division of up to 12 clubs, so therefore, still withhold the right to accept 2 further clubs should there not be a suitable ladder/pyramid system put in place to feed into it via promotion and relegation.

The result of the formation of the NEPL 2nd Division has left the 4 other leagues with the following numbers: Northumberland & Tyneside Senior League (NTSL) – 23 clubs
Durham Coast League (DCL) – 10 Clubs
Durham County League (DCouL) – 8 Clubs
Durham Senior League (DSL) – 7 Clubs

The NTSL already have a 2 division system in place with a feeder league of the Northumberland Cricket League (NCL), and have therefore opted out of the proposed system whilst the NEPL 1st Division are playing all day cricket.

It was felt by both boards and the 3 leagues concerned (DCL, DcouL & DSL), that the low numbers of clubs remaining in their respective leagues left an unsustainable system to continue operating as before. Following a number of meetings with the leagues, facilitated by the DCB and the NCB a new ladder/pyramid system has been proposed.
The proposal, as per the attached sheet revolves around the 25 clubs currently left in the 3 leagues to come together and form a new Durham League comprising 2 divisions. This would then fit directly under the NEPL and form a smooth system of promotion and relegation throughout the 4 divisions, with the North East Durham League (NEDL) sitting directly underneath them.

During informal discussions the proposals were agreed by both Boards and accepted by every other league except from the DSL. The DSL were asked to consider the proposals and discuss with their 7 remaining clubs and report back to the DCB with their intentions. However the DSL did not report back to the DCB and we have been informed, indirectly, that the DSL have once again written to cricket clubs in our county inviting clubs to attend a meeting on the 14th June 2012 with a view to them potentially joining the DSL for the 2013 season. The actions of the DSL were completely unsupported by both boards and it is felt that this does not represent the best interests of ‘Durham Cricket’ overall.

In a recent meeting with the DCB, the DCL and the DCouL the officers of the DSL were informed that should they wish to pursue their intentions to send letters out to clubs to join their league, then their league and any club within it, would sit completely out of any ladder/pyramid system that will be put in place. There would therefore be no system in place for any club within the DSL to progress to a higher standard of cricket, should they wish to do so.

To avoid any false messages being given regarding what the new league structure may involve or how it will be formed, we felt it important to outline below some of the key principles moving forward.

• The clubs will decide upon who the new officers will be to run the league.
• The title of the proposed league will be decided by the clubs and officers involved within it.
• The clubs and officers will decide the system for the 2013 season to sort the teams ready to play in the first and second divisions from the 2014 season.
• The clubs and officers will decide on all playing conditions throughout both divisions.

You will see from the attached sheet that there are 2 proposals in place depending upon the future match play of the NEPL 1st Division (all day or afternoon cricket), however it is important to stress that the NEPL have recently conducted a survey of its current players who voted by over 80% to continue playing all day cricket. There will therefore be no change to their 1st division playing all day cricket for a minimum of 5 years. Therefore the proposed system for the new ‘Durham League’ is at present the one titled ‘All Day Cricket’.
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What an absolute shambles the DSL has become. They now look extremely arrogant and also alone.

I'm assuming that the DSL junior teams will not be allowed to play other junior teams - directly affects my son eg Durham City, a DSL club, will not be able to play say Hetton Lyons at U11, U13 level etc. from 2013?

I'm also assuming that the DSL7 who remain are now out on a limb and completely isolated from the rest of cricket?
 
If the DSL dont join now they should be told that joining at a future date would have their clubs/league based as a feeder to the NEDCL.
 
durham city,philli and horden have expressed an interest in joining the new DURHAM LEAGUE
 
NorthCountryBoy said:
Am I reading it right that this new league would also have 11am starts?! Daft at that level of the pyramid IMO.
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Thats not correct, the systems in place if the NEPL 1 elect to stop at all day cricket they've also got a proposal if NEPL elect to move to an afternoon start.

Next question is surely will the NEPL accept the Durham league as its sole feeder league ?
Remember this is only the DCB recommendations and not Northumberland CBs I expect theirs to be completely different and based around the NTSL . Remember both boards must agree to allow any league to feed into the NEPL and you cant imagine a solely Durham based league suits Northumberland at all.
 
I would expect that the NTSL and the new league will be seen to be joint feeders, with either a play off between the champions or both promoted with two droping down.
 
so thats the county league and coast league merging under a new name.

so what clubs will this be?

does this mean we can get overseas players in now?

the senior league is no more. heard all coast leagues clubs will fuck them off.

happy days. looking forward to next year all ready.
 
Anything mentioned what`s happening in junior cricket if the this new 'Durham' league goes ahead or not
 
All very interesting and it seems the stubborn ones at the County League who didn't want to embrace change are going to have to do so anyway. Must say I do sympathise with some but hopefully clubs now are forced to have some ambition.
 
just read the piece in the echo about the senior league and the arrogance is unbelieveable,cannot wait for them to come crawling to the new set up and been told where to go with the consent of the DCB.
 
quotes from ian lindsey of burnmoor cc in tonights echo said:
"The seven existing member clubs believe they have a vital part to play in any future promotion/relegation arrangements with the NEPL and look forward to like-minded clubs joining them in an exciting future".
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I thought that it was the whole promotion/relegation issue that had led the DSL to pull out of the pyramid in the first place, which has caused all these problems in the first place? They've made a right arse of this haven't they - they don't seem to realise that at all.
 
this is a copy of a letter send to all DSL clubs,they now know where they stand !!!


We write jointly from the Durham Coast Cricket League and the Durham County League and outline our views on the way forward for cricket in Durham County.

At the end of this current season grass roots cricket in County Durham will undergo major changes. Clubs will be leaving the DSCL, DCL and the DCCL to join the newly formed NEPL2. As we all now know this will leave 10 clubs remaining in DCCL, 8 in DCL and 7 in the DSCL, a total of 25 clubs.
In an effort to formulate the way forward in County Durham cricket all three leagues were requested by the County Board to submit proposals for the future of cricket below the Premier League. These proposals were to provide a basis for a joint meeting with the three leagues and Bob Jackson from the Cricket Board.

First proposals from DCCL and DCL were almost identical in so much as they wished for the remaining 25 clubs to amalgamate and form two leagues of 12 and 13 clubs respectively. These leagues would probably be named ’The Durham Leagues’ Div 1 & 2. Initial ideas were that all 25 clubs would play each other once in 2013 with the top 12 clubs forming Div1 and the next 13 clubs forming Div2 in 2014.
Of course agreeing rules, regulations and playing conditions of the new leagues would need to be discussed ASAP for clubs to ratify.

The DSCL first proposal was for them to seek to recruit and continue as a separate league. Should the DSCL not wish to join our amalgamation then the DCL and DCCL would form a new league of 18 clubs, 10 from DCCL and 8 from DCL.

None of the clubs in the DCCL nor the DCL wished to amalgamate with the DSCL and become a second division, as it were.

We all understand the tradition of the DSCL and pride and esteem with which you hold your league. We also have the same feelings about our own individual leagues. Change is never easy but we believe that we all need to change to survive.

The future for the Durham Senior Cricket League has been spelt out by the Durham Cricket Board should they continue to plough their loan furrow. You would be left to play cricket in possibly a 7 club league outside of any new agreed ladder/pyramid system that would be put in place. How long would your players put up with blank Saturdays and a foreshortened league programme? How many umpires are going to remain on your panel?
Interested clubs from across the county have been invited by your league to attend a meeting on Thursday 14th June. Where will the DSCL go if no invited club turns up? This would clearly demonstrate that clubs see our plan as the better option.

Neither the DCCL nor DCL wish to see your club disadvantaged in any of the ways stated above as we too have feelings and pride in our individual leagues and in Durham County cricket as a whole. The main reason for our letter is to inform you that our two leagues are almost at the stage of joining and wish to give your club an opportunity to also take part in the proposed amalgamation of clubs called ‘The Durham League’ starting in the 2013 season. We are prepared to hold our final plans for amalgamation until June 30th, but no longer. We have a lot of difficult decisions ahead of us and want to start as soon as possible with a meeting of representatives from all clubs involved, so we can have everything ready for the start of the 2013 season.

We are simply asking you to consider the situation before you and give you an opportunity to secure a future for your club and its players just as the DCCL and DCL have done. We appreciate how difficult it will be for your club to leave the Senior League but we feel we must make the offer before taking decisions that would be difficult to reverse.

Formation of ‘The Durham League’ has the full support and backing of both the Durham Cricket Board and the Northumberland Cricket Board.

Any club wishing to join us in forming the ‘Durham League’ can in the first instance transfer to either the County or Coast league by June 30th to ensure you comply with ‘agreed procedures’.

Contacts for both leagues are;
DCCL Secretary, Cliff Jones, 3 Askrigg Avenue, Grangetown, Sunderland, SR2 9SG.
Tel. (0191.5676468
DCL Secretary, George Thompson, 23 Station Road, Ushaw Moor, Co Durham, DH7 7PY.
Tel. (0191.3732052


“The decision is yours”

Roy Simpson, Chairman John Irvine, Chairman




Durham Coast Cricket League Durham County League
 
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