NCB One League Statement – 07/12/2020

7th December 2020

With the growing hope of a full league cricket season in 2021, the NCB are now progressing their proposal for creating a single Saturday league to begin in 2022.

We have in place a working group comprising Peter Thomas, Andy Westgate and Dave Reeder (on behalf of the NCA), Ian Doy (on behalf of the NCL) and John Chilvers, David Browne and me representing the NCB, with professional support from Lewis Denmark. We are now in touch with those clubs who expressed concerns at the beginning of the year and provided them with a detailed explanation as to how those concerns should be allayed. We hope that as a result they will be able to support One League.

Also in respect of concerns from the beginning of the year, we have consulted clubs in NCA Divisions 3,4 and 5 about the possibility of introducing regionalisation at one level lower than that originally proposed.  We expect to be in a position to announce the outcome of that consultation before Christmas.            

Our timetable for moving forward the One League proposals involves a meeting (almost certainly by Zoom) in early February to answer any questions that clubs may have on the proposals. This would be similar to the meeting offered to clubs in Dereham in October 2019.  We then intend to hold a further vote around the end of February 2021.  The form of that vote will obviously depend on the Government’s coronavirus guidelines in place at the time for meetings and social distancing but whatever is put in place will provide for the independent verification of votes.

Keir Hounsome
Chair, Norfolk Cricket Board

7th December 2020