BDPCL Statement
Author: Management Board
Date: 26/09/2022
Following a meeting of the Management Board held on Monday 26th September 2022, the Birmingham & District Premier Cricket League has issued the following statement in response to a variety of issues surrounding the County League play-offs including the open letter from Ludlow C.C. commenting on the decision to deny the club entry to the County League play-offs to determine the two sides who will be promoted into Premier Division Two for the 2023 season: -
“The Birmingham & District Premier Cricket League is one of 29 ECB accredited Premier Leagues in England and Wales. Every season, each Premier League must satisfy several criteria to qualify for its accreditation fee as well as retaining its Premier League status. Failure to comply with the specified criteria places the League’s funding and standing in jeopardy and, in the case of BDPCL, the funding is substantial. Part of the funding received by the League is distributed to its member clubs and the balance is used to fund other projects including the annual League XI versus Birmingham Bears match and the costs of the County League play-offs.
On 8th August 2022, at a meeting of Premier League Chairs, ECB confirmed the following: -
1. Any club that is not registered for Clubmark by 31st July 2022 will be ineligible to play in a Premier League in 2023.
2. Any club that doesn’t run three teams at Junior level in 2022 will be ineligible to play in a Premier League in 2023.
Point 2. above is a minimum requirement. Leagues are permitted to apply more stringent criteria regarding the provision of junior teams if they believe it is appropriate, but they are not permitted to apply criteria that are less stringent.
The Birmingham & District Premier Cricket League requirement for Junior cricket is as follows: -
3. Any club that doesn’t run teams at the following age groups in a properly constituted County League competition approved by BDPCL in 2022 will be ineligible for promotion into the League at the end of the season: - one at Under 10 or Under 11 level, one at Under 12 or Under 13 level and one at Under 14 or Under 15 level.
These and sundry other requirements to play in BDPCL are set out in the Club Accreditation Document which has been available to download from the League website since 1st April 2022 and was, also, notified, at the time, to all four of the County Leagues that feed into BDPCL for onward circulation to clubs in their top division. On the front cover of the document, it states that the document is to be read in conjunction with the Rules and Playing Directives of the League which may, also, be downloaded from the website.
Rule 3.5 states “County Leagues will inform their member clubs about these criteria, every season, as they will be applied to clubs seeking confirmation of their promotion into the League. Promotion from a County League will, only, be confirmed if all mandatory items listed in the Club Accreditation Document are in place by the end of the current season.”
At the start of the 2020 season, BDPCL was extremely disappointed to learn that it had not been notified by their respective County Feeder Leagues that Pelsall C.C. and Wem C.C. were non-compliant in respect to their provision of Junior teams, the previous season, but when that information came to light it was far too late to change the structure for the following season. The criteria were relaxed for seasons 2020 and 2021, due to Covid, but during the close season of 2021/2022, the Management Board re-asserted its determination to ensure that all clubs within the League and those aspiring to promotion to the League were compliant in all respects and duly communicated this via publication of the Club Accreditation Document on the League website.
The position regarding Stourport C.C. is straightforward – they ran no junior teams in 2022 and are not compliant with ECB or BDPCL criteria to play in a Premier League in 2023.
Ludlow C.C. did run three Junior teams in 2022 but BDPCL do not consider that their provision of Junior cricket is fit for purpose to play in a Premier League. This is because, in addition to the Under 13 XI and Under 11 XI, the third team that they run is an Under 11b XI which fulfilled three fixtures in 2022, two friendlies against Burghill, Tillington and Weobley C.C. and a third friendly against its own Under 11 XI. None of the scorecards involving this team have been uploaded to play-cricket.com and the same squad of players is detailed under both teams. The club does not meet the criteria listed in point 3. above.
Following the decision to deny Stourport C.C. and Ludlow C.C. entry to the end of season County League play-offs because they did not meet the mandatory criteria for the provision of Junior teams, BDPCL carried out an audit of Junior Cricket in its current member clubs and subsequently identified three who are not compliant with 3. above.
Those teams are Bridgnorth C.C. and Worfield C.C., who run a joint Under 15 XI and, finally, Shifnal C.C. who run a joint Under 15 XI with a non-BDPCL member club Albrighton C.C.
BDPCL was unaware of clubs running joint Under 15 XIs in Shropshire until a Club Accreditation Audit was conducted at Worfield C.C. in June 2022. Neither the clubs involved in this initiative, the Shropshire Cricket Board or the Shropshire Cricket League had notified BDPCL of this change in circumstances before it was uncovered by the BDPCL audit. It is the view of the Management Board that joint Under 15 XIs do not meet the BDPCL criteria regarding the provision of Junior cricket and BDPCL has approached ECB for further guidance on this subject.
Any decision on sanctions to be imposed on the three clubs noted above, who may be in breach of the current criteria regarding the provision of Under 15 cricket, will be confirmed following receipt of ECB guidance and, if that guidance is in line with BDPCL thinking, the clubs who are found to be non-compliant will be subject to Rule 3.4 which states “Member clubs must comply with the criteria prescribed in the Club Accreditation Document, a copy of which is circulated prior to the season. Failure to comply with the criteria may result in relegation or other penalty.”
The decision to permit Old Hill C.C. and Whitchurch C.C. to participate in the play-offs, as runners-up in their respective Leagues, has also attracted comment on social media. Three years ago, in the first season of the play-offs, officials from the County Leagues agreed that, in the event of their Champions being denied entry to the play-offs for failing to meet the required criteria, the club that won the League would receive a points penalty heavy enough to ensure that it would not finish at the top of the League. This strategy would enable each County League to provide a qualifier for the play-offs. BDPCL believed, at the time, and retains that belief, that this process is, manifestly, unfair on the clubs that won their League and agreed to accept the second placed club (or third placed club or fourth placed club if necessary) into the play-offs.
In December 2022, the BDPCL Club Accreditation Committee will circulate the criteria required to be a member of the League in 2024 to the County Feeder Leagues for discussion. Following those discussions, the criteria, with any amendments, will be presented to the Management Board for approval and the latest Club Accreditation Document will be uploaded to the BDPCL website before the 2023 season commences. The final version will, also, be sent to the County Leagues for onward circulation to clubs in their top division. Hopefully, this will avoid a repeat of the situation that occurred at the end of the 2022 season.
The Management Board of BDPCL will be making no further comment on these matters until guidance from ECB has been received and any consequential decisions have been communicated to the non-compliant clubs.”
ENDS
“The Birmingham & District Premier Cricket League is one of 29 ECB accredited Premier Leagues in England and Wales. Every season, each Premier League must satisfy several criteria to qualify for its accreditation fee as well as retaining its Premier League status. Failure to comply with the specified criteria places the League’s funding and standing in jeopardy and, in the case of BDPCL, the funding is substantial. Part of the funding received by the League is distributed to its member clubs and the balance is used to fund other projects including the annual League XI versus Birmingham Bears match and the costs of the County League play-offs.
On 8th August 2022, at a meeting of Premier League Chairs, ECB confirmed the following: -
1. Any club that is not registered for Clubmark by 31st July 2022 will be ineligible to play in a Premier League in 2023.
2. Any club that doesn’t run three teams at Junior level in 2022 will be ineligible to play in a Premier League in 2023.
Point 2. above is a minimum requirement. Leagues are permitted to apply more stringent criteria regarding the provision of junior teams if they believe it is appropriate, but they are not permitted to apply criteria that are less stringent.
The Birmingham & District Premier Cricket League requirement for Junior cricket is as follows: -
3. Any club that doesn’t run teams at the following age groups in a properly constituted County League competition approved by BDPCL in 2022 will be ineligible for promotion into the League at the end of the season: - one at Under 10 or Under 11 level, one at Under 12 or Under 13 level and one at Under 14 or Under 15 level.
These and sundry other requirements to play in BDPCL are set out in the Club Accreditation Document which has been available to download from the League website since 1st April 2022 and was, also, notified, at the time, to all four of the County Leagues that feed into BDPCL for onward circulation to clubs in their top division. On the front cover of the document, it states that the document is to be read in conjunction with the Rules and Playing Directives of the League which may, also, be downloaded from the website.
Rule 3.5 states “County Leagues will inform their member clubs about these criteria, every season, as they will be applied to clubs seeking confirmation of their promotion into the League. Promotion from a County League will, only, be confirmed if all mandatory items listed in the Club Accreditation Document are in place by the end of the current season.”
At the start of the 2020 season, BDPCL was extremely disappointed to learn that it had not been notified by their respective County Feeder Leagues that Pelsall C.C. and Wem C.C. were non-compliant in respect to their provision of Junior teams, the previous season, but when that information came to light it was far too late to change the structure for the following season. The criteria were relaxed for seasons 2020 and 2021, due to Covid, but during the close season of 2021/2022, the Management Board re-asserted its determination to ensure that all clubs within the League and those aspiring to promotion to the League were compliant in all respects and duly communicated this via publication of the Club Accreditation Document on the League website.
The position regarding Stourport C.C. is straightforward – they ran no junior teams in 2022 and are not compliant with ECB or BDPCL criteria to play in a Premier League in 2023.
Ludlow C.C. did run three Junior teams in 2022 but BDPCL do not consider that their provision of Junior cricket is fit for purpose to play in a Premier League. This is because, in addition to the Under 13 XI and Under 11 XI, the third team that they run is an Under 11b XI which fulfilled three fixtures in 2022, two friendlies against Burghill, Tillington and Weobley C.C. and a third friendly against its own Under 11 XI. None of the scorecards involving this team have been uploaded to play-cricket.com and the same squad of players is detailed under both teams. The club does not meet the criteria listed in point 3. above.
Following the decision to deny Stourport C.C. and Ludlow C.C. entry to the end of season County League play-offs because they did not meet the mandatory criteria for the provision of Junior teams, BDPCL carried out an audit of Junior Cricket in its current member clubs and subsequently identified three who are not compliant with 3. above.
Those teams are Bridgnorth C.C. and Worfield C.C., who run a joint Under 15 XI and, finally, Shifnal C.C. who run a joint Under 15 XI with a non-BDPCL member club Albrighton C.C.
BDPCL was unaware of clubs running joint Under 15 XIs in Shropshire until a Club Accreditation Audit was conducted at Worfield C.C. in June 2022. Neither the clubs involved in this initiative, the Shropshire Cricket Board or the Shropshire Cricket League had notified BDPCL of this change in circumstances before it was uncovered by the BDPCL audit. It is the view of the Management Board that joint Under 15 XIs do not meet the BDPCL criteria regarding the provision of Junior cricket and BDPCL has approached ECB for further guidance on this subject.
Any decision on sanctions to be imposed on the three clubs noted above, who may be in breach of the current criteria regarding the provision of Under 15 cricket, will be confirmed following receipt of ECB guidance and, if that guidance is in line with BDPCL thinking, the clubs who are found to be non-compliant will be subject to Rule 3.4 which states “Member clubs must comply with the criteria prescribed in the Club Accreditation Document, a copy of which is circulated prior to the season. Failure to comply with the criteria may result in relegation or other penalty.”
The decision to permit Old Hill C.C. and Whitchurch C.C. to participate in the play-offs, as runners-up in their respective Leagues, has also attracted comment on social media. Three years ago, in the first season of the play-offs, officials from the County Leagues agreed that, in the event of their Champions being denied entry to the play-offs for failing to meet the required criteria, the club that won the League would receive a points penalty heavy enough to ensure that it would not finish at the top of the League. This strategy would enable each County League to provide a qualifier for the play-offs. BDPCL believed, at the time, and retains that belief, that this process is, manifestly, unfair on the clubs that won their League and agreed to accept the second placed club (or third placed club or fourth placed club if necessary) into the play-offs.
In December 2022, the BDPCL Club Accreditation Committee will circulate the criteria required to be a member of the League in 2024 to the County Feeder Leagues for discussion. Following those discussions, the criteria, with any amendments, will be presented to the Management Board for approval and the latest Club Accreditation Document will be uploaded to the BDPCL website before the 2023 season commences. The final version will, also, be sent to the County Leagues for onward circulation to clubs in their top division. Hopefully, this will avoid a repeat of the situation that occurred at the end of the 2022 season.
The Management Board of BDPCL will be making no further comment on these matters until guidance from ECB has been received and any consequential decisions have been communicated to the non-compliant clubs.”
ENDS