Birmingham & District Premier Cricket League
Countries United Kingdom
FormatLimited Overs
First edition1888
Tournament formatLeague
Number of teams12 (Premier Division)
Current championMoseley CC
Most successfulMoseley CC and Walsall CC (22 titles each)
Websitehttps://birminghamleague.org

The Birmingham & District Premier Cricket League is the oldest club cricket league in the United Kingdom, formed in 1888.[1] It was the first ECB Premier League, being designated such in 1998, and is one of the strongest of the ECB Premier Leagues.


Geography

The Birmingham League traditionally covered North Worcestershire, South Staffordshire and North Warwickshire, much of which is now the conurbation of the West Midlands. Since 1998, with the introduction of the ECB Premier Leagues, the pyramid system, and feeder leagues in the four counties (Shropshire Premier Cricket League, Staffordshire Club Cricket Championship, Warwickshire Cricket League and Worcestershire County Cricket League), the catchment of the league has spread to include the whole of Shropshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire, as well as a large part of Staffordshire, although North Staffordshire clubs play in the North Staffordshire and South Cheshire League. Herefordshire clubs, who play in the Worcestershire County Cricket League, can also be promoted into the league.

History

The Birmingham and District Cricket League is the oldest club competition in the United Kingdom, beginning league matches in 1888. The Birmingham and District Cricket Association had actually formed eight years earlier in 1880, but only ran a successful, if not controversial, cup competition for those first few years. On Friday 30 November 1888, representatives from local cricket clubs gathered at the Queen's Arms Hotel, Easy Row, Birmingham and went about setting up the first Club Cricket League in the UK, being inspired by the success The Birmingham County Football Association had had in organising local football competition and fixtures. With some representatives needing to consult their own committees before pledging their commitment to the league, and one or two prominent local clubs not being present, it was not until a second meeting on Friday 14 December 1888 that the league was actually, officially formed. There were initially seven clubs who decided to trial the league format the following season. They were:

Those early days saw many changes in the league's club make-up: Kings Heath moved to "The Reddings" Ground, joining with Moseley Cricket Club (and taking on that name). Another Kings Heath Club was formed later, but never became part of the Birmingham League set-up until the restructuring of Midlands Club cricket in 1998. Salters Cricket Club who played in Roebuck Lane, West Bromwich, and originated from the Spring Works of the same name, resigned from the league after just one season. In 1890, Wednesbury Cricket Club joined the league. In 1891, Smethwick Cricket Club, who had been involved in the Birmingham and District Cricket Association Cup competition in the 1880s, entered the league. Mitchells Cricket Club left the league between 1892 and 1896, due to some friction surrounding ineligible players, but shortly after they returned, they became Mitchells and Butlers Cricket Club when the two breweries amalgamated in 1898. In 1892, Small Heath Cricket Club joined the league and although their ground was amongst the best in the competition, the club was out of its depth in other aspects, and they resigned from the league 3 years later. In 1894, Warwickshire County Cricket Club entered the league after years of deliberation, but withdrew again in 1895 after being admitted to the County Championship. Over the next few years, the league's influence moved to the west, with Dudley Cricket Club joining the League in 1893, Stourbridge in 1894 and Kidderminster in 1895. Handsworth Wood who had performed creditably in the league until their Browne's Green ground was acquired by developers shortly after the First World War, spent one season playing at the County Ground, Edgbaston, but when no new ground could be found the following season either, they lost a narrow motion by the league (by one vote), and Old Hill Cricket Club replaced them in 1920. The Handsworth Wood Club folded shortly afterwards, handing their cash balance over to the league benevolent fund.

The second XI competition, perhaps stronger than any of the lower level 1st XI competitions which existed in the region until the restructuring of 1998, was formed in 1893. The league was suspended for the First World War between 1914 and 1918, but continued to play through the Second World War, and the League, now comprising 10 clubs (Aston Unity, Dudley, Kidderminster, Mitchells and Butlers, Moseley, Old Hill, Smethwick, Stourbridge, Walsall, West Bromwich Dartmouth), stayed the same until 1975. In 1975, the league expanded again as Warwickshire and Worcestershire decided the strength of the league could be utilised. Warwickshire entered a 1st and 2nd XI (basically a 1st/2nd team side and a 2nd/colts side), whilst Worcestershire only entered a 1st XI and Duport Cricket Club (A Dudley-based Furniture making company club) played their 2nd XI fixtures. Whilst Warwickshire established themselves in the competition and won it on a few occasions, Worcestershire struggled, and two years later, Duport took on their 1st XI fixtures too, as they were forced to pull out of the league. Duport also struggled with the on-field standards, and when support from the company's Social Club was reduced they too were forced to pull out of the competition, and were replaced by another Worcester-based side in 1982, Worcester City. Many other changes took place in the league throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and they are summarised below:

Year Outgoing Club Reason Incoming Club
1977 Worcestershire Struggled to field sides due to small County staff Duport
1982 Duport Works Social Club decreased funding and club struggled with the standard of cricket Worcester City
1985 Dudley Ground caved in and club was forced to fold Coventry and North Warwicks
1990 Warwickshire Struggled to commit to League cricket with increased County 2nd XI programme Wolverhampton
1992 Worcester City Club folded Stratford
1995 Mitchells and Butlers Brewery decided to sell off ground so club folded Barnt Green

In 1998 the Birmingham League included Promotion & relegation for the first time. The 12 teams of the Birmingham League formed the Premier Division, The 2 other big leagues (Midlands Combined Counties League & Midlands Club Cricket League) formed the lower divisions. Teams increased over time to 48 (4 1st XI divisions of 12 clubs: Premier, Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3, with accompanying 2nd XI divisions: Premier, Division 1, Division 2 West and Division 2 East). In 2017, under pressure from the ECB, the league's clubs voted to cut the league down to 2 divisions of 12 by 2019, and disband the 2nd XI competition.

ECB Premier League

Since being designated an ECB Premier League in 1998, the first in the country, several changes have occurred in the league's structure. Initially, the 12 clubs in the old Birmingham League made up the Premier Division, and a First Division, Second Division East and Second Division West were made up from clubs in the old Midlands Combined Counties League, the Worcestershire League, the Warwickshire League and the Staffs League. The Second Division East and Second Division West were later replaced by a Second Division and a Third Division.

Only one club was promoted in the first year of the new structure, which was Cannock while Aston Unity, a founder member of the league, were the first club to be relegated. Since 1999, two clubs have been relegated and two promoted each season.

Following the 2018 season the Second and Third divisions were abolished, along with all four 2nd XI divisions, and the league was reduced to two divisions. The relegated 1st and 2nd XIs now compete in the four West Midland county feeder leagues.

The winners of the four feeder leagues now enter a ‘round robin’ playoff at the end of each season with the top two teams being promoted (replacing the two relegated sides from Premier Division Two) and the bottom two going back to their feeder leagues.

Clubs for 2023

For the 2023 season, the clubs in Premier Division One are: Barnards Green, Barnt Green, Berkswell, Halesowen, Kenilworth Wardens, Kidderminster, Knowle & Dorridge, Moseley, Ombersley, Shrewsbury, Smethwick, Wolverhampton.

The clubs in Premier Division Two are: Bridgnorth, Bromsgrove, Coventry & North Warwickshire, Dorridge, Harborne, Himley, Leamington Spa, Lichfield, Shifnal, Tamworth, West Bromwich Dartmouth, Worfield.

Across the two divisions, the league currently comprises:

8 Warwickshire clubs (Berkswell, Coventry & North Warwickshire, Dorridge, Harborne, Kenilworth Wardens, Knowle & Dorridge, Leamington Spa, Moseley)

6 Worcestershire clubs (Barnards Green, Barnt Green, Bromsgrove, Halesowen, Kidderminster, Ombersley)

6 Staffordshire clubs (Himley, Lichfield, Smethwick, Tamworth, West Bromwich Dartmouth, Wolverhampton)

4 Shropshire clubs (Bridgnorth, Shifnal, Shrewsbury, Worfield).

Winners

YearChampions
1889Aston Unity
1890Moseley and West Bromwich Dartmouth*
1891Moseley
1892Handsworth Wood
1893Walsall
1894Aston Unity
1895Moseley
1896Walsall and Aston Unity*
1897Handsworth Wood
1898Dudley
1899Kidderminster
1900Aston Unity
1901Kidderminster
1902Handsworth Wood
1903Handsworth Wood
1904Moseley
1905Dudley and Handsworth Wood*
1906Dudley
1907Moseley
1908Moseley
YearChampions
1909Moseley and Mitchells and Butlers*
1910Aston Unity and Dudley*
1911Mitchells and Butlers
1912Walsall
1913Dudley
1914Mitchells and Butlers
1915League suspended
1916League suspended
1917League suspended
1918League suspended
1919Stourbridge
1920Moseley
1921Old Hill
1922Walsall
1923Moseley
1924Kidderminster
1925Mitchells and Butlers
1926Mitchells and Butlers
1927Aston Unity
1928Mitchells and Butlers
YearChampions
1929Kidderminster
1930West Bromwich Dartmouth
1931Mitchells and Butlers
1932West Bromwich Dartmouth
1933West Bromwich Dartmouth and Walsall*
1934West Bromwich Dartmouth
1935Walsall
1936Walsall
1937Walsall
1938Moseley
1939Aston Unity and Mitchells and Butlers
1940Old Hill
1941West Bromwich Dartmouth
1942West Bromwich Dartmouth
1943West Bromwich Dartmouth
1944West Bromwich Dartmouth
1945West Bromwich Dartmouth
1946Kidderminster
1947Mitchells and Butlers
1948West Bromwich Dartmouth
YearChampions
1949Aston Unity
1950Kidderminster
1951Smethwick
1952Dudley
1953West Bromwich Dartmouth
1954Mitchells and Butlers
1955West Bromwich Dartmouth
1956Moseley
1957Dudley
1958West Bromwich Dartmouth
1959Moseley
1960Old Hill
1961Moseley
1962Kidderminster
1963Moseley
1964Moseley
1965West Bromwich Dartmouth
1966Kidderminster and Walsall*
1967Moseley
1968Smethwick
YearChampions
1969Moseley
1970Moseley
1971West Bromwich Dartmouth
1972Walsall
1973Kidderminster and Moseley
1974West Bromwich Dartmouth
1975Kidderminster
1976Walsall
1977Aston Unity
1978Warwickshire
1979Warwickshire
1980Walsall
1981Dudley
1982Walsall
1983Old Hill
1984Moseley
1985Moseley
1986Walsall
1987Stourbridge
1988Warwickshire
YearChampions
1989Stourbridge
1990Wolverhampton
1991Coventry and North Warwickshire
1992Walsall
1993West Bromwich Dartmouth
1994Walsall
1995Barnt Green
1996Walsall
1997Barnt Green
1998Wolverhampton
1999Walsall
2000Cannock
2001Stratford upon Avon
2002Halesowen
2003Wellington
2004Wellington
2005Barnt Green
2006Walsall
2007Walsall
2008Walsall
YearChampions
2009Knowle and Dorridge
2010Shrewsbury
2011Barnt Green
2012Walsall
2013Shrewsbury
2014West Bromwich Dartmouth
2015Shrewsbury
2016Berkswell
2017Knowle and Dorridge
2018Berkswell
2019Berkswell
2020no competition
2021Berkswell
2022Smethwick
2023Moseley
    • * – denotes a shared title

    Championships won

    Clubs currently in the League
    WinsClub
    22Moseley[lower-alpha 1]
    19West Bromwich Dartmouth[lower-alpha 2]
    10Kidderminster[lower-alpha 2]
    4Barnt Green
    Berkswell
    3Shrewsbury
    Smethwick
    2Knowle & Dorridge
    Wolverhampton
    1Coventry and North Warwickshire
    Halesowen
    Clubs not currently in the League
    WinsClub
    22Walsall[lower-alpha 1]
    10Mitchells & Butlers[lower-alpha 2]
    9Aston Unity[lower-alpha 1]
    8Dudley[lower-alpha 2]
    5Handsworth Wood[lower-alpha 3]
    4Old Hill
    3Stourbridge
    Warwickshire
    2Wellington
    1Cannock
    Stratford upon Avon
    1. 1 2 3 including 3 shared titles.
    2. 1 2 3 4 including 2 shared titles.
    3. ↑ including 1 shared title.

    Performance by season from 1998

    Key
    Gold Champions
    Red Relegated
    Blue Left League
    Performance by season, from 1998
    Club 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
    Aston Unity 12 9 12
    Barnards Green 10
    Barnt Green 4  ? 7 7 5 2 2 1 9 7 4 8 4 1 8 8 2 8 8 5 8 3 5 2 6
    Berkswell 4 6 3 2 1 3 1 1 1 5 9
    Brockhampton 7 2 7 11 12
    Bromsgrove 12
    Cannock  ? 1 8 4 9 12
    Coventry & North Warwickshire 8  ? 6 10 10 10 7 7 8 12
    Dorridge 6 12 7 9 11
    Halesowen 4 2 1 4 8 11 8 4
    Harborne 11
    Himley 2 8 4 2 4 3 2 5 6 3 2 4 12
    Kenilworth Wardens 5 3 9 9 4 11 9 9 5 9 10 12 4 5
    Kidderminster[lower-alpha 1] 10  ? 8 12 10 5 7 7 3 9 5 5 8 4 2 11 7 3 10 12
    Knowle and Dorridge 4 7 3 3 6 7 2 3 1 2 5 10 3 5 3 4 1 2 5 4 7 2
    Leamington 12 10 11 8 11 12 2 12
    Moseley 5  ? 3 7 5 10 5 10 8 10 9 11 6 8 8 3 1
    Old Hill 9  ? 5 3 6 6 6 3 11
    Ombersley 6 6 4 11 10 6 7
    Shifnal 4 12 4 7 11
    Shrewsbury 12 12 6 1 4 6 1 4 1 3 2 5 2 6 9 11
    Smethwick 11  ? 12 8 12 4 9 9 1 3
    Stourbridge 7  ?
    Stratford upon Avon 6  ? 2 1 11
    Walmley 8 6 3 12 10 10 7 11
    Walsall 2 1 3 5 8 5 10 8 1 1 1 9 10 7 1 7 11 10 10 7 6 11
    Water Orton 11
    Wellington 1 1 9 6 11 5 2 12
    West Bromwich Dartmouth 3  ? 9 11 9 4 2 6 11 10 9 9 1 5 9 6 3 10 12
    Wolverhampton 1  ? 10 6 9 11 5 2 7 6 3 11 10 7 8 12 8
    Wombourne 12
    References [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25]
    1. ↑ Kidderminster were called Kidderminster Victoria until 2015.

    National Knockout

    The Birmingham and District Cricket League's strength as a competition has been proven throughout the years, by the presence of its clubs in the latter stages of the ECB National Club Cricket Championship (a cup Competition for all Clubs in the UK). Here are a list of clubs in the league structure who have won or been runners-up in the competition:

    Club Year Opponents Winners/Runners-up
    Wolverhampton 1973 The Mote (Kent) Winners
    Moseley 1980 Gosport Borough (Hampshire) Winners
    Shrewsbury 1983 Hastings and St Leonards Priory (Sussex) Winners
    Old Hill 1984 Bishop's Stortford (Hertfordshire) Winners
    Old Hill 1985 Reading (Berkshire) Winners
    Stourbridge 1986 Weston-super-Mare (Somerset) Winners
    Old Hill 1987 Teddington (Middlesex) Winners
    Wolverhampton 1988 Enfield (Middlesex) Runners-up
    Old Hill 1989 Teddington (Middlesex) Runners-up(replay)
    Walsall 1991 Teddington (Middlesex) Runners-up
    Old Hill 1993 West Bromwich Dartmouth (Staffordshire) Winners
    West Bromwich Dartmouth 1993 Old Hill (Staffordshire) Runners-up
    Walsall 1996 Chorley (Lancashire) Winners
    Wolverhampton 1999 Teddington (Middlesex) Winners
    Barnt Green 2002 Saffron Walden (Essex) Runners-up
    Barnt Green 2005 Horsham (Sussex) Runners-up
    Shrewsbury 2011 Cambridge Granta (Cambridgeshire) Winners

    Famous players, and B&DPCL Club(s) represented

    Many international players have played in the Birmingham League over the years:

    England Players

    Other ICC Full Member Nations

    Australia

    South Africa

    West Indies

    New Zealand

    India

    Pakistan

    Sri Lanka

    Zimbabwe

    Bangladesh

    Ireland

    ICC Associate Nations

    Namibia

    Netherlands

    Scotland

    References

    1. ↑ Davis, Alex E (1988). First in the field: the history of the world's first cricket league: the Birmingham and District Cricket League, formed 1888. Brewin Books. ISBN 0-947731-34-2.
    2. ↑ Birmingham and District Cricket League 1999 Handbook
    3. ↑ Club Cricket Yearbook 2006
    4. ↑ Club Cricket Yearbook 2006
    5. ↑ Club Cricket Yearbook 2006
    6. ↑ "Premier Division - 2003: Table".
    7. ↑ "Premier Division - 2004: Table".
    8. ↑ "Premier Division - 2005: Table".
    9. ↑ "Premier Division - 2006: Table".
    10. ↑ "Premier Division - 2007: Table".
    11. ↑ "Premier Division - 2008: Table".
    12. ↑ "Premier Division - 2009: Table".
    13. ↑ "Premier Division - 2010: Table".
    14. ↑ "Premier Division - 2011: Table".
    15. ↑ "Premier Division - 2012: Table".
    16. ↑ "Premier Division - 2013: Table".
    17. ↑ "Premier Division - 2014: Table".
    18. ↑ "Premier Division - 2015: Table".
    19. ↑ "Premier Division - 2016: Table".
    20. ↑ "Premier Division - 2017: Table".
    21. ↑ "Premier Division - 2018: Table".
    22. ↑ "Premier Division One - 2019: Table".
    23. ↑ "Premier Division One - 2021: Table".
    24. ↑ "Premier Division One - 2022: Table".
    25. ↑ "Premier Division One - 2023: Table".
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