The West of England Premier League (WEPL) is the top level of competition for recreational club cricket in the West of England and is a designated ECB Premier League.
Contents
Since its inception in 1999, the most successful club has been Bath, having won the Premier One title on ten occasions. The only other clubs to have won the title on more than one occasion are Frocester (2007, 2014 and 2015) and Taunton St Andrews (2001 and 2009).
The Premier Division One clubs for 2016 are: Bath, Bridgwater, Bristol, Clevedon, Corsham, Downend, Frocester, Potterne, Taunton, and Taunton St Andrews.
Structure
The WEPL covers the counties of Bristol, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, and is the top tier of the pyramid structure of leagues in the area. The league has seven divisions, with the top league, Premier One covering the entire region, and the remainder covering more localised areas. The seven divisions each have ten teams, and are split into three distinct 'tiers':
The structure changed after the 2015 season by eliminating Premier Division Two, so that the winners of the Bristol and Somerset Division and the Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Division will be promoted directly into Premier Division One.
There are four feeder leagues serving the WEPL, each having a direct link with one of the lower divisions as follows:
2007–2015
In 2007 Gloucestershire/Wiltshire Two was replaced by separate divisions for Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
Premier One
Notes:
^1 — Clifton Flax Bourton CC folded in 2001. Optimists CC (originally an offshoot of Clifton) adopted the name Optimists and Clifton CC after a number of former Clifton Flax Bourton players joined the club, and then changed its name to Bristol CC in 2005.