Drakes League clubs will tomorrow night hear details of two highly-important issues for the 2017 season.
The first is how the league propose to integrate the seven clubs who wish to join from the now-defunct Huddersfield Central League.
And the other is how to address a critical shortage of umpires .
The meeting is at Almondbury CC (7.30) and all clubs have been asked to send a representative.
It looks like Holmbridge, Edgerton & Dalton, Nortonthorpe, Almondburians, Flockton, Cartworth Moor and Augustinians could be under the Drakes’ umbrella next season, but exactly how they will be integrated will be outlined at the meeting tonight.
Clubs will then have until the annual meeting on Wednesday, December 14, to vote on what has been put forward.
The likely suggestion is to put them into a revamped second XI set-up for the Drakes.
Four Central clubs – Mount, Birchencliffe, Leymoor and Bradley & Colne – have been accepted into the Spenser Wilson Halifax League.
Horbury Bridge, Calder Grove and Denby Grange have been taken in by the Pontefract League, while Higham and Green Moor have gone to South Yorkshire.
Officials are also eager to address the umpiring situation tomorrow as well, with the prospect of most second XI cricket already under threat of having no officials from the Umpires Association next summer.
On the shortage of umpires, the Drakes Executive have pledged to do all they can to support the Umpires Association drive to recruit more men in white coats.
Umpires Association secretary Ron Tindall had 60 umpires on the books for the summer just gone, but that figure quickly became 48 as people dropped out for various reasons.
And at the moment, the prospect is for only 45 umpires to be involved on a regular basis.
Thirty eight of those are immediately taken up officiating first-team matches in the Drakes (three sections totalling 19 matches).
That then leaves just one umpire per match in the Drakes Premiership Two for second teams – with none for the other second XI matches which could, of course, include that further influx of clubs from the Central League.
Speaking before the league’s annual dinner, chairman Trevor Atkinson explained: “Our League are fully supportive of the initiative from the Umpires Association to get more people involved in umpiring.
“Indeed, myself, David Haikings and Ron Tindall have formed a three-man working party to work together throughout the winter to recruit more umpires.
“It’s important we have a conversation between the Umpires Association, the League and the clubs to do everything possible to find out why people are not going into officiating.”
Clubs were asked to fill out a form on the subject at the annual dinner to provide feedback.
