Cricketers stumped by league call on World Cup
Shropshire’s premier club cricketers face missing out on the weekend’s big football clash – after league chiefs dead-batted requests to rework the schedule around England v Sweden.
Players in the Henshalls Shropshire County League will get to see Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions in World Cup quarter-final action, after officials agreed proposals allowing them to view the 3pm kick-off during an extended tea break.
But their counterparts in the Birmingham League have not been so lucky.
Though the league have relaxed restrictions for second XI matches, they have ruled first XI fixtures must proceed as planned, with only the standard 30-minute tea interval permitted.
The decision has prompted much debate, with some clubs arguing the league should have been more flexible. But Nick Archer, the league’s general manager, believes they were left in a ‘near impossible position’.
In the Shropshire League, clubs will be permitted to work around the match, as long as both captains agree on the proposed changes, which could even see some fixtures pushed back 24 hours to Sunday.
Officials have also agreed to relax a restriction allowing fixtures to be reduced to just 30 overs-per-side, from the standard 50, a rule which is usually only enforced during poor weather.
Premier League teams are, however, required to agree that particular change with their panel umpires.
