The Home Counties Premier Cricket League is the top level of competition for recreational

club cricket Club cricket is a mainly amateur, but still formal, form of the sport of cricket, usually involving teams playing in competitions at weekends or in the evening. There is a great deal of variation in game format although the Laws of Cricket are obs ...

in the

Home Counties The home counties are the counties of England that surround London. The counties are not precisely defined but Buckinghamshire and Surrey are usually included in definitions and Berkshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Kent are also often inc ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and has been a designated ECB

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

since its founding in 2000. It originally served

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

and

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, although there are at present no Bedfordshire clubs in the league and all but one of the Hertfordshire clubs withdrew after the 2013 season. Until 2013 the league consisted of a Division One of ten clubs and a Division Two (East) and a Division Two (West), each of ten clubs, with promotion between Divisions and to and from the feeder leagues. With the withdrawal of the Hertfordshire clubs, the structure was simplified and there is now just Division One and Division Two. There are two feeder leagues, covering narrower areas within the region: * Cherwell Cricket League - Primarily Oxfordshire, but also with clubs from Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Northamptonshire. In the past there have also been clubs from Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. *

Thames Valley Cricket League The Thames Valley Cricket League is a mostly amateur cricket league, catering to clubs geographically to the west of London, with clubs coming from Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Oxfordshire and Surrey, though m ...

- A wide area to the west of London. Most clubs have traditionally been from Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, but there are also clubs from Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Oxfordshire, and Surrey. With the exception of

Tring Park Tring Park is a public open space in Tring, owned by Dacorum Borough Council and managed by the Woodland Trust. It is part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Half of the is undulating grassland, grazed by cattle. Part of the park ...

who have remained in the Home Counties Premier Cricket League, the Hertfordshire clubs now take part in the

Hertfordshire Cricket League The Hertfordshire Cricket League is a league cricket competition based in the county of Hertfordshire, England. Since 2015 it has been a designated ECB Premier League, the highest level of recreational club cricket in England and Wales. History ...

. The Division One teams for 2020 were intended to be: Aston Rowant, Banbury, Buckingham Town, Datchet, Finchampstead, Henley, High Wycombe, Oxford, Thame Town, and Tring Park. The 2020 competition was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A replacement competition was organised for the later part of the season when cricket again became possible, but with the winners not to be regarded as official league champions.

Champions

Championships won

Performance by season from 2000

References

{{reflist

External links

Home Counties Premier Cricket League Official play-cricket website
English domestic cricket competitions Cricket in Bedfordshire Cricket in Berkshire Cricket in Buckinghamshire Cricket in Oxfordshire ECB Premier Leagues