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The Southampton Evening Cricket League, formed in 1931, is one of the oldest
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
leagues in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. The current format of the league consists of three divisions of six to eight teams, playing each other once at "home" and once "away". Matches were played in a timed format until 1949 but are now scheduled to start at 6.30 pm, and are limited to sixteen overs per side, with no bowler permitted to bowl more than four overs. The evening format means that matches may be played during the week after work; many teams represent workplaces in and around the city of
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
.
The league is won by the team with the highest average points total, rather than overall points or wins, given the nature of the team composition, availability of pitches and the great British weather means that not all fixtures can be fulfilled.
Matches are played at various sites around the city, including Southampton Sports Centre, Riverside Park & Millbrook. As of 30 May 2012, matches have been temporarily moved away from the league's most famous venue - Hoglands Park.
There are also 2 Cup competitions - the Presidents Cup and the Harold Diaper Trophy. An
indoor
Indoor(s) may refer to:
*the interior of a building
*Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality
*Built envi ...
league also runs during the winter months, although not all teams play in both versions of the league.
Famous players
Several notable
Test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
and
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
cricketers have played in the league, including Robin Smith,
Kevin Shine
Kevin James Shine (born 22 February 1969) is a former first-class cricketer and former coach of Somerset County Cricket Club, and was the fast-bowling coach for the England cricket team from 2006 until 2019. In November 2019 he joined Nottin ...
footballers
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
Matt Le Tissier
Matthew Paul Le Tissier (; born 14 October 1968) is a former professional footballer. Born in Guernsey, he won eight caps for the England national team.
Le Tissier spent his entire professional club career with Southampton before turning to non ...
Ted Drake
Edward Joseph Drake (16 August 1912 – 30 May 1995) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he first played for Southampton but made his name playing for Arsenal in the 1930s, winning two league titles and an FA Cup, as wel ...
Jason Dodd
Jason Robert Dodd (born 2 November 1970) is an English football coach and former professional footballer.
As a player, he was a full-back who notably spent sixteen-years playing for Southampton where the majority of those came in the Premier L ...