The South Manchester Casual Cricket League is looking for one additional team to complete the fixture line-up for the 2022 season.
The long-standing midweek League, which features teams from across the South Manchester region, are open to applications from Cheshire teams who are looking for cricket of a ‘casual’ nature.
SMCCL matches are played on weeknights throughout the summer, with 14 fixtures (7 home, 7 away) and a cup competition. The league programme typically ends in late July, with four weeks set aside in August for re-arrangements.
For 2022, the league hope to attract one more team from the Cheshire club or business community to join the competition. Teams must have access to a home venue with reasonable facilities, including changing rooms and sightscreens.
In terms of playing standard, matches are aimed primarily at those for whom midwicket cricket is their only avenue, although less prominent club cricketers are permitted and do feature across all teams. League secretary Ian Hughes explained:
“While our origins are as a ‘Casual’ League promoting cricket for those not able to commit to playing at weekends, inevitably with club cricket being almost a day’s commitment, some League players do now feature for most of our teams.
“We do try to keep this to a reasonable level however and are certainly not looking for first team cricketers from the top leagues, as the differential in ability would be too great.
“While we have some club players among our teams we still have a lot of players for whom our midweek league is their only avenue to playing cricket and facing players of too high a standard runs the risk of losing their interest. We very much want to pitch this at the right level.”
Any clubs or teams interested in joining the competition in 2022 should contact ihughes1@sky.com