With the AGM coming up, what do we need to do to stop the demise of the Marcges league???

Any teams leaving again this year??

There was rumours of a mid wales league forming but it appears this has fallen by the way side so unless Goodrich join the worcester league i very much doubt anyone else will leave. Alot of the problems with the demise of the league in my opinion is
allowing poor grounds in division 1 you cannot attract decent players to play on poor wickets like Llandod,Crickhowell and Leominster. It will be very interesting to see if Kington 3rds are allowed into division 1 as from what has been said the pitch is poor and also there are no showers on the school ground you have to use the 1st team showers only when they have finished using surely Bosbury not allowed into division 3 but Kington allowed in 2 maybe 1 is total hypocrisy.

There are some great grounds in the Marches league with good facilities just look at Burghill,Garnons,Builth etc but these places are being let down by the **** holes being allowed

the marches league has been going backward for sometime now, i believe they should never have made it all into open divisions and would have been best kept 1st XI division 1 2nd XI division 1 etc. As you say there are alot of poor grounds in division 1 which does not help. The fact the marches league does not go into any other kind of structure if you win it also is a hinderence as it means there is no way of clubs progressing, clubs with any real ambition are not going to want to stick around in a league which has nothing for the future. How to stop the demise of the league is unsure as many team have already pulled away from the marches league and some i'm sure will plan to do so in the future, as it stands i see no way of attracting these clubs back into the league and i feel the marches league will struggle further more.

Bring back the Wellington pitch

Boults,

Id agree with some of what you've said, but to me as a 2nd XI player having played Marches Div 2 with Monmouth 2nds and holding our own for 2 years (coming 2nd the one year, and 5th last year) I think the open divisions works better than the system in the WCL, where to be fair 2nd XI cricket is fairly meaningless in Div 3 since our futures are totally dependent on our 1st XI. (of course this could all change if floating 2nd XI's can get brought in) In terms of standard as well, Marches Div 2 was significantly stronger than Worcester 3 South 2nd XI, when we faced the likes of Garnons 1sts, Crick 1sts, Lemonister 1sts etc, and held our own. Fair play to Kington 3rds, great achievement for a 3rd XI winning Div 2 and getting to a cup final, though I hear its actually their 2nd XI quality wise with their 3rds playing in WCL Div 1 2nd XI. Still be interesting to see how they fair up against the Marches League giants.

In terms of how to save the Marches, the future to me looks dire. I think its fair to say in comparison to WCL its a poorly run league, and clubs wont stand for it in the long run.

the third team for kington is their thirds, its made up of kevin gwynne brian llyod etc, where as the seconds consists of the likes of caple and reece price... still like you say done well for a third team, kington certainly are the hmv of herefordshire cricket right now, worcster league champs, div2 marches champs, cup finalists, welsh cup finalists, not a bad season i must say

Sounds like everyone id similar opinion. The standards across the league and the 'rules' of the committee are very inconsistent.

You failed to metion the glangwrney minefield, no good saying we had our equipment nicked when you are minus some teeth!

What about Canon Fromes showers? One dribbly shower that is cold.

No problem in reality, but makes a nonsense of the Bosbury stance.

What about a 1pm start, as 1/4 past eight finishes are no good.

Gary

Its easy to criticise every club if you look deep enough. Look at the changes to the rules over the years, in particluar each club must have two sides. How many have actuall progressed the league forward and attracted more clubs.

We should do more to help clubs like mine that have a long way to go to acheive the dizzy heights of Kinghton and Garnons, but need assistance not hurdles!!!!

Showers are the least of our worries

The issue over Bosbury's showers is ridiculous. If it's true about Kington 3rds having to use their 1st/2nd team's showers after them, on the pitch next door, then why are Bosbury, who have showers about 100 yards from their pitch, prevented from going up from Div 4 to 3 but Kington aren't from 2 to 1?! Bosbury have a decent side and would probably be playing in Marches Div 2 next year if it weren't for the Marches League Committee's inconsistency. As it is the club might fold if they're not allowed up this year, something that would be totally avoidable with a bit of the leeway that is afforded to some clubs but not others. Surely the Marches league should be looking to encourage clubs, not kill them off?!

Is this a contradiction in terms.......the future of the marches League!!!!!!!!!!