The management board has in recent weeks been in detailed discussions with ground managers, captains and club officials regarding the impact of the weather on the start of the league season.

Following a board meeting last night tomorrow’s captains’ meeting is now being upgraded to a clubs’ meeting to which each club is strongly advised to also send a senior member of the cricket committee (see below).

The Situation:

A summary of feedback received is:

- Most grounds are between two and four weeks behind their planned position

- Saturated outfields have made access impossible for much machinery

- Little pre-season rolling has taken place on squares

- With more rain forecast, few believe they will be able to host league cricket during April

The following opinions have also been expressed:

- Ground staff are being put under unreasonable pressure by an April start date

- UK weather trends make cricket in April less likely each year

Wednesday Clubs’ Meeting

At the meeting on Wednesday April 10th (at Smethwick CC arriving from 7pm) it is therefore proposed that a vote of all 24 member clubs takes place on the following:

Round 1 fixtures move from Sat April 20th to Monday May 27th starting at 12 noon.

Round 2 fixtures move from Sat April 27th to Monday August 26th starting at 12 noon

The BDPCL season will then begin on Saturday May 4^th 2024.

Be aware:

• Both of these rounds are white ball 50 over format games. To ensure all clubs face each other in both formats this means the 2024 season (for one year only) will no longer be in three 'tidy' white/red/white blocks. 

• Other options have been considered and rejected in order to prevent the season extending beyond September 14th. This deadline is due to concerns regarding the timing of end-of-season ground work plus the presence of the county league play-offs. 

• Our colleagues in the county feeder leagues are aware that this vote is happening and have said any change agreed will not impact their plans for the 2024 season.

Important:

Given recent weather trends, in order to avoid this time-consuming and difficult process being repeated in future years this change (if agreed) will apply henceforth. This means 2025 and subsequent seasons will be played on 20 consecutive Saturdays commencing on the first weekend in May plus the end-of-May and end-of-August Bank Holiday Mondays.

What You Need to Do:

Wednesday's meeting is now open to two representatives from each club, one of whom should still be your captain, with the other being a senior member of the club's cricket committee (ideally your BDPCL rep or chair).

Whoever you send to the meeting MUST be fully briefed and authorised to vote on this proposal on your club’s behalf following what we hope will be a brief discussion.

How the Vote Works:

• Each club will receive one vote.
• Our constitution does not advise what constitutes a required margin for this sort of vote to be passed.
• Having discussed it at length, the management board has decided that a vote to reorganise the structure of the season constitutes a significant change.
• The management board therefore believes it must have the support of the vast majority of member clubs.
• The BDPCL therefore will action this change if at least 75 per cent of clubs (ie 18 or more of you) vote for it. Any club that abstains will be assumed to have voted against the change.