THE new season which starts tomorrow (Saturday) represents a watershed in the history of the Somerset Cricket League.
A new pyramid of local cricket will begin with the best clubs in Somerset competing with those from Bristol, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire in the Merchant Investors West of England Club Cricket Championship.
There will be a new format for playing the game and a new administration to run the competition.
Initially, the new structure will comprise four echelons of league cricket and Somerset will be represented by Taunton St Andrews in Premier One (level one), Taunton and Ilminster in the Bristol and Somerset Division (level three), and Bishops Lydeard, Bridgwater, Chard, Glastonbury, North Perrott, Purnells, Street, Taunton Deane, Wembdon and Westlands in the Somerset Division (level four).
The teams at levels three and four will be competing against each other using a limited overs, win/lose basis for the game, a format many of the senior clubs have advocated in recent years.
Ray Hancock, secretary of the Somerset Cricket League, said: "The standard of cricket within the Somerset Cricket League may now be slightly lower overall, but the new structure will strengthen the game within the county as a whole."
The Somerset League's new composition sees ten teams per division for the first time.
This will reduce the number of league fixtures but will help avoid the difficulties which have often been associated with the April and September fixtures, together with those scheduled for the two Bank Holidays.
These dates have often caused re-arrangements of fixtures, which in turn has led to problems with Sunday play and the undue strengthening of lower level teams by using higher level players.
At the end of this season, the league's 2nd XI competition will be regionalised into four divisions and Divisions 3, 4, 5 and 6 will become Division 3 North and 3 South and Division 4 North and 4 South.
This will reduce the travelling distances and time.
The league has also had to advise its membership of the current ECB recommendations regarding the use of helmets by under 18 year old cricketers, and is continually trying to extend its list of independent umpires.
Should anyone be interested in knowing more about umpiring in the league, they should contact Derek Hicks on 01823 289531.