And then there were three

CRICKET: 

THREE Lake Garage CLL clubs are to join the Greater Manchester league in 2016.

One of them, Clifton, has officially given notice of the intention to resign from the CLL, while Heywood and Unsworth have said they too will move.

Of our five local clubs, Oldham, Werneth, Heyside and Crompton have decided to stay with the CLL, while Royton is considering a move after meeting Martin Kay, chairman of the GM league steering group.

Should no other CLL clubs make the switch — and at least one is 50-50, with the deadline looming — the league will be left with 15 clubs as it talks about a merger with the Saddleworth and district league.

Merger talks continued on Tuesday with a meeting at Austerlands Cricket Club. CLL chairman Neville Fletcher said the meeeting was “very progressive” and that more talks will follow on June 18.

The GM league now has 39 clubs for the 2016 season; the exodus from existing leagues has left many keen to secure their future. Mergers are an attractive option: as well as the CLL and Saddleworth, the Bolton League and Bolton Association are also ralksing about joining forces.

The lure of the GM league was too great to resist for Heywood, Unsworth and Clifton: Heywood quickly decided to move after a members’ meeting.

Heywood cricket chairman David Fare, a club veteran and former captain, said: “While it is sad that we are leaving the CLL, I am very much looking forward to a new challenge in the GMCL.

“However, had CLL officials not buried their collective heads in the sand when the GM proposals were first made, the CLL could have been at the forefront of the new venture. Only time will tell if we have made the correct decision - but in all my years at the club I have never attended a meeting like the one where the players and membership expressed their views almost as one. “

He said he didn’t see the Saddleworth/CLL merger as a long term solution: “Our future is what we make it. We may need to be patient at first and allow time for all the new systems to gel, but let’s go for it!”

Of the 15 Saddleworth and District Cricket League clubs, Micklehurst and Stayley are staying put.

Glodwick, Moorside, Whalley Range and Wythenshawe have applied to join the GM league for next season, while South West Manchester have indicated they will follow suit.

twitter: @KeithMcHughOC