Format changes confirmed for North of Scotland cricket season in 2022
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The North of Scotland Cricket Association’s AGM was held last weekend, with some tweaks to the format passed ahead of the 2022 season.
There were three main areas up for debate – the day matches should be played, how long matches should be, and when they should begin.
In two of those areas changes have been made, with the length of games reducing from 45 overs per side to 40, and matches now scheduled to begin at noon instead of 1pm.
Proposals to move the senior league to Sundays from Saturdays, however, did not pass despite being a close vote.
“The two things that came out of a wide-ranging survey we did were that an earlier start time meant that folk would get home earlier, and a slightly shorter format for the senior league also meant there would be an earlier finish,” Nosca vice-president Chris Blake said.
“We’re basically just trying to make things a little bit more user-friendly.
“A lot of people were just sitting around on a Saturday morning waiting for the cricket to get going, so why not bring it forward?
“In regards to the Saturday or Sunday, it’s something that we can still discuss at a later date, but for now the clubs have decided they wanted the status quo.
“It’s traditional, some felt that the premier competition should be played on a Saturday, and there were suggestions that if we played on a Sunday players from stronger teams elsewhere could play for their main team on a Saturday, then come and play Nosca on a Sunday.”
Last year was a turbulent one for Nosca, with the senior league down to just five teams, but Blake – who also plays for Ross County Cricket Club – is optimistic for better in 2022, adding: “I don’t think things will get any worse. We’ve had some hints of green shoots appearing.
“I’m hopeful that there might be one or two more clubs coming back into the senior league, which would bolster that competition.”
