The Worcestershire County Cricket League (WCL) is an English club cricket league, and consists of club teams from Worcestershire, Herefordshire, and several other clubs from bordering counties.
The Worcestershire County Cricket League was created in 1999 as part of the new 'pyramid system' in English club cricket, and acts as a feeder league to the Birmingham and District Premier League. It was formed mainly as a merger between the old Worcestershire Clubs' League and the Autobag/Plumb Centre League. Other clubs came from the Midland Combined Counties League, the 3D Cricket PLJ League, and in the case of Herefordshire sides, the Marches Cricket League and the Willowsticks Three Counties Cricket League.
There is promotion and relegation and most divisions of the league operate on a two up/two down basis, although the feeder league status means that more than two sides may be relegated from Division 1, with knock-on effects on other divisions, if more than one Worcestershire or Herefordshire side is relegated from Birmingham League Division 3. Other exceptions to this are in Division 1 (where only the winner is promoted to the Birmingham and District Premier League), and Division 5 (no relegation). Clubs can only be promoted from Division 6 if they are able to field two XIs in the following season, and there is a space available in Division 5.
Winners of Division 1 of the Worcestershire County Cricket League, who have been promoted to the Birmingham and District Premier League, since 1999 are:
1999: Hagley
2000: Redditch
2001: Kington
2002: Old Elizabethans
2003: Evesham
2004: Pershore
2005: Ombersley
2006: Kington
2007: Brockhampton
2008: Eastnor
2009: Pershore
2010: Barnards Green
2011: Stourbridge
2012: Worcester Nomads
2013: Astwood Bank
2014: Worcester
2015: Pershore
2016: Worcester Nomads
For 2016 the Worcestershire County Cricket League is made up of the following divisions and clubs:
Bewdley
Burghill, Tillington & Weobley
Colwall
Cookley
Droitwich Spa
Eastnor
Feckenham
Hagley
Pedmore
Redditch
Stourport-on-Severn
Worcester
Belbroughton
Bredon
Bromyard
Chaddesley Corbett
Coombs Wood
Enville
Evesham
Harborne 3rd XI
Lye
Oldswinford & Stourbridge Social CC
Old Vigornians
Wormelow
Alvechurch & Hopwood
Astwood Bank 3rd XI
Avoncroft
Bartestree & Lugwardine
Five Ways Old Edwardians
Himbleton
Himley 3rd XI
Kempsey
Malvern
Martley
Netherton
Rushwick
Alveley
Bromsgrove 3rd XI
Claverley
Halesowen 3rd XI
Hallow
Hanley Castle & Upton
Kidderminster 3rd XI
Old Elizabethans 3rd XI
Stourport-on-Severn 3rd XI
Tenbury Wells
West Malvern
Worcester 3rd XI
Barnt Green 3rd XI
Droitwich Spa 3rd XI
Enville 3rd XI
Harborne 5th XI
Old Hill 3rd XI
Oldswinford & Stourbridge Social 3rd XI
Pershore 3rd XI
Redditch 3rd XI
Romsley & Hunnington
Stourbridge 3rd XI
From Division 1 down to Division 5, there are also separate 2nd XI Divisions, with the 4th XI of those sides above whose 3rd XIs play in the league, competing against other clubs' 2nd XIs. From 2006, Division 1 and 2 2nd XIs were promoted and relegated independently of their 1st XIs (and 4th XIs could be promoted or relegated independently of their 3rd XIs), from 2007 the same applied to Division 3, and from 2014 this also applied to Division 4.
Bewdley
Colwall
Coombs Wood
Eastnor
Evesham
Feckenham
Hagley
Harborne 4th XI
Pedmore
Redditch
Stourport-on-Severn
Worcester
Belbroughton
Bromsgrove 4th XI
Bromyard
Burghill, Tillington & Weobley
Chaddesley Corbett
Cookley
Droitwich Spa
Enville
Lye
Netherton
Oldswinford & Stourbridge Social
Wormelow
Alvechurch & Hopwood
Astwood Bank 4th XI
Avoncroft
Bartestree & Lugwardine
Bredon
Claverley
Five Ways Old Edwardians
Halesowen 4th XI
Kempsey
Old Vigornians
Rushwick
Stourport-on-Severn 4th XI
Alveley
Hallow
Hanley Castle & Upton
Himbleton
Himley 4th XI
Kidderminster 4th XI
Malvern
Martley
Old Elizabethans 4th XI
Tenbury Wells
West Malvern
Worcester 4th XI
Barnt Green 4th XI
Droitwich Spa 4th XI
Enville 4th XI
Harborne 6th XI
Old Hill 4th XI
Oldswinford & Stourbridge Social 4th XI
Pershore 4th XI
Redditch 4th XI
Romsley & Hunnington
Stourbridge 4th XI
Barnards Green 3rd XI
Birlingham
Cookhill
Cutnall Green
Hagley 3rd XI
Harvington
Ombersley 3rd XI
Stone
Belbroughton 3rd XI
Chaddesley Corbett 3rd XI
Cookley 3rd XI
Coombs Wood 3rd XI
Five Ways Old Edwardians 3rd XI
Highley
Netherton 3rd XI
Pedmore 3rd XI
Bartestree & Lugwardine 3rd XI
Bewdley 3rd XI
Bredon 3rd XI
Bromyard 3rd XI
Feckenham 3rd XI
Ombersley Taverners
Worcester Nomads 3rd XI
62 different clubs have sides in the league. As well as 49 Worcestershire clubs, there are 6 clubs from Herefordshire (Bartestree & Lugwardine, Bromyard, Burghill, Tillington & Weobley, Colwall, Eastnor, Wormelow), 3 from Shropshire (Alveley, Claverley, Highley), 3 from Staffordshire (Enville, Himley, Old Hill), and 1 from Warwickshire (Harborne) in the league.
58 current or ex-first-class cricketers have played in the Worcestershire County Cricket League in its short history, including 13 internationals:
Internationals, and club represented
England
Steve Davies Victoria & Blakeley Hall (later merged with Kidderminster to form Kidderminster Victoria CC from 2003-2015)
Phil Newport Worcester Nomads
Neal Radford Evesham
New Zealand
Mark Craig Coombs Wood
Daniel Flynn Barnards Green
West Indies
Andre Russell Barnards Green
Pakistan
Humayun Farhat Stourbridge
Imran Farhat Stourbridge
Abdur Rauf Brockhampton
Sri Lanka
Dinusha Fernando Bromyard
Chamila Gamage also known as Chamila Gamage Lakshitha, Alvechurch & Hopwood
Dharshana Gamage Kington
Zimbabwe
Gus Mackay Barnt Green 3rd XI
Other First class players, and club(s) represented
England
Steve Adshead Astwood Bank
Duncan Catterall Ombersley
Nigel Cowley Himbleton
Ben Cox Belbroughton
Phil Harris Barnards Green
Chris Harwood Colwall
Brett D'Oliveira Worcester Dominies & Guild
Damian D'Oliveira Ombersley
Alex Milton Worcester Nomads
Liam O'Driscoll Worcester Nomads
Matthew Pardoe Belbroughton
Nitesh Patel Stourbridge
George Rhodes Barnards Green, Rushwick
Ben Stebbings Kington
William Thomas Ombersley
Josh Tongue Bromyard
Steve Watkins Wormelow
Australia
Michael Jeh Luctonians
Craig Jones Kington
Angus Robson Worcester Nomads
South Africa
Andre (Leon) Botha Pershore
Wesley Euley Droitwich Spa
Calvin Flowers Ombersley
Lundi Mbane Bromyard
Dillon Stanley Worcester Nomads
West Indies
Sergio Fedee Stourbridge
Mali Richards Stourbridge
Namibia
Xander Pitchers Worcester
New Zealand
Jonothon Boult Barnards Green, Bewdley, Droitwich Spa
India
Neeraj Chawla Coombs Wood
Sachin Khartade Worcester Nomads
Shashi Ranjan Alvechurch & Hopwood
Gagandeep Singh Redditch
Pakistan
Ahmed Jamal Bromyard
Atiq-ur-Rehman Eastnor
Hamza Nadeem Stourbridge
Khalid Mahmood Redditch
Mahmood Malik Brockhampton
Mohammad Ali Brockhampton
Zahid Saeed Ombersley, Bromyard
Sri Lanka
Lakshan Rodrigo Bromyard
Zimbabwe
Clive Chadhani Worcester, Old Elizabethans 3rd XI
Innocent Kaia Worcester Nomads
Leon Soma Droitwich Spa
Jason Young Barnards Green
