Possible Regionalisation of Divisions 9-11

At the league AGM, the committee were tasked with looking at regionalising Divisions 9, 10 and 11 for the 2027 season. The committee have therefore put together the following consultation document, which has been sent to the Secretaries of all Clubs in Divisions 8-11 (i.e. those who are in the divisions which would be regionalised, and those who may be relegated into those divisions at the end of the 2026 season).

The committee are now asking for feedback on the proposed solution if regionalisation goes ahead. So:
- If you are a Club Secretary, please send your club's feedback to the League Admin Officer (David Norman).
- Please can everybody else provide any feedback to the Club Secretary, who can then include it as part of their club's feedback.

At this stage, the league committee is not looking for feedback on whether regionalisation is a good idea - this will be decided by a vote of the affected clubs towards the end of the 2026 season. At this stage, it is only looking for feedback on, if regionalisation does go ahead, how should it be done.

Loan Player Requests for next weekend

Roll of Honour

Grants available to Wiltshire Clubs

Grants of up to GBP2,000 are now available to cricket clubs in the county of Wiltshire from the Wycliffe Community Cricket Fund (WCCF). Applications are granted at the discretion of the WCCF.

During the cricket season (April to September), grants are available only for emergency funding (e.g. major repairs or replacement of a failed mower or roller at short notice), while outside of the season they are available for longer term projects (e.g. new grounds equipment, repairs to existing equipment and repairs to other cricketing infrastructure, including pavilions, scoreboards, sightscreens, etc). Funding priority will be given to smaller clubs.

For more details, contact James Hill at wycliffecommunitycricket@proton.me

Additional Umpires Forum

With the two umpires forums in April almost fully booked, we have added a further forum, on 30th April at Devizes Town Football Club. Starting at 18:45. To book onto the forum, please log into the league website and then go to "Book Forum" in the menu.

If you wish to book a new player onto a forum, please let me know so I can add them to your player list.

Bookings will close at some point on the day before the forum.

If you have booked the forum on 13th or 14th April and wish to switch to this one, you can go into the booking page for the 13/14th and untick the booking box, then go into the 30th and tick to book.

League Rules

The League Rules for 2026 are now available. They can be access via the "Rules and Policies" menu item.

ACO-Trained Umpires

Previously, the league has specified that in order for someone to be considered ACO-Trained under the current umpire courses, they have to do the "ECB Umpire Course", and then over the following years, also attend a series of CPD courses.

At our recent committee meeting, we discussed these requirements, and agreed that for a number of reasons, we will no longer require the CPD courses to be undertaken. Completing the ECB Umpire Course qualification (including the online element and the safeguarding element) will be considered sufficient.

I have now updated the umpire qualification of all umpires who completed the ECB Umpire Course to ACO-Trained, including those who attended the course on 8th February 2026 (and had completed the online elements by 28th February) and those who completed it in previous years but didn't then do the required CPDs. I will add those who attended the course on 22nd March when I get the list through from Wiltshire Cricket (provided they have completed the online elements by that point).

Wiltshire County Seniors Cricket Club

Recent years have seen a spectacular growth in Seniors' cricket, and in 2025 Wiltshire County Seniors Cricket Club won its first national trophy with the triumph of the Wiltshire over 60s 2nd XI in the national Bowl competition. We currently run two men's teams at each of three levels - over 50, over 60 and over 70. We are also keen to play our part in the rapid growth of women's cricket; 2026 will see the inauguration of a women's Seniors competition between three western counties, including Wiltshire.

Fixtures are competitive, but are also designed to maximise participation and promote continued enjoyment of our great game. As well as seeking male recruits at the three age levels and players for the women's team, we are looking to provide a few "friendly" fixtures each year for a men's development team which would include players in their later 40s. If you are looking to extend your playing career into a glorious "Indian summer", please contact our Secretary, Bill Wilson, by email: wiltsseniorcricket@outlook.com

Umpires Forums

We now have five umpires forums organised. They will be run as follows:

Mon 2 March, Trowbridge Cricket Club
Tue 3 March, Swindon Cricket Club
Mon 13 April, Trowbridge Cricket Club
Tue 14 April, Swindon Cricket Club
Thu 30 April, Devizes Town Football Club

All five will start at 18:45. To book onto a forum, please log into the league website and then go to "Book Forum" in the menu.

If you wish to book a new player onto a forum, please let me know so I can add them to your player list.

Bookings will close at some point on the day before the forum.

League Spring Meeting and League AGM 2026

The League Meetings in 2026 will be as follows:

Spring Meeting: Monday 20 April
AGM: Monday 23 November

Both will be held at Devizes Town Football Club, and will start at 19:45.

AGM Minutes

The Minutes of the 2025 AGM are now available here.

Paul Stevens

In 2019, Paul Stevens was diagnosed with Inclusion Body Myositis, a rare muscle wasting condition which is rapidly removing the use of his legs. There is now an urgent need to buy a wheelchair adapted vehicle (WAV) or he will be housebound and isolated from the things he loves.

Paul has a long history with cricket in the WCCL. He has kept wicket for many of our sides, as well as Wiltshire over 50s. When he retired from playing, he took up umpiring, and when umpiring became too physically demanding he turned to scoring. He has also been on the league committee for many years, including a significant stint as the Fixtures and Results Officer.

Sadly, Paul's ability to stay involved in cricket is now under threat. His illness is advancing and soon he won't be able to drive his car. Without a WAV Paul will lose his independence and his connection to the sport he loves. A fundraising effort has therefore been started, to buy a WAV for Paul. Donations can be made via Goodhub .

Let's keep Paul mobile and in the game. Thank you for your support.