Bay and Village rejoin Evening Cricket League
Leading clubs Bailey's Bay and North Village have rejoined the Evening Cricket League after taking a break, boosting the number of teams this season to twelve.
Bay, who withdrew during the 2016 season, will play in group one with last season's top side, Renegades, The Associates, West XI, PHC and Fine Leg Byes.
Village, who pulled out ahead of the 2020 season, will join Tuff Dogs, CV Chargers, De Wicketest, High Flyaz and KPMG in group two.
Teams will play each other twice in their own group and teams in the other group once – a format introduced last season.
The new league season will start on May 9, with Monday nights featuring games at Bay's Sea Breeze Oval and Shelly Bay, the ECL's main venue.
Players from last season's top six teams will also have a chance to get their eye in early during the 2021 knockout – delayed until this year because of the coronavirus pandemic – which will be played over the next three Saturdays at Shelly Bay.
De Wicketest, last season's third-best team, will kick things off against sixth-placed CV Chargers at 2.05pm today, while fourth-placed The Associates, the defending champions, will face fifth-placed West XI at 5.05pm.
Renegades, the top seeds, and second seeded Tuff Dogs have byes into the second round.
"We are excited about the upcoming season with some semblance of normalcy and also happy to welcome Village and Bay back into the fold." Terence Corday, League spokesman said.
Corday said two other teams had inquired about joining, "but unfortunately due to field limitations and scheduling limitations 12 teams are about the maximum we can comfortably accommodate".
He added: "It is great, however, to see the growing interest in the league and maybe in the future we can grow the league even more."
He anticipates this season will be the most competitive ever as many of the teams are now attracting younger players.
"Teams like CV Chargers, De Wicketest and West XI proved last season they are to be reckoned with and all the teams in general tend to get stronger and stronger each year."
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