Shropshire Cricket League

The Shropshire Cricket League was the biggest club cricket league for clubs in Shropshire prior to being wound up at the end of the 2011 season. Its history stretched back to the 1960s. It was succeeded by the Shropshire County Cricket League.

The 1st XI winners of Division 1 of the league were promoted (along with their 2nd XI) to the Shropshire Premier Cricket League.

The Shropshire Cricket League, sponsored by solicitors FBC Manby Bowdler LLP, provided meaningful cricket for virtually all the county sides with the exception of the leading 21 clubs & their 2nd XIs, who play in higher leagues.

In its last season, 2011, the SCL comprised its usual seven divisions, involved 53 clubs, and again encompassed 90 teams. Promotion and relegation linked all sections and at least two sides went up through Divisions 2–7. Singleton and reserve sides moved independently through the divisions and were not tied to the fortunes of any senior XIs, although they were not eligible for first division membership.

Division One annually fed its champions (and its 2nd XI) into the Shropshire Premier League and so contained only clubs that possessed reserve side(s) and full facilities. The relegation of the SPL bottom club (and its 2nd XI) applied if the SPL deem it appropriate to their needs.

All divisions contained 12 sides except for Division Seven, which usually contained more (18 again this year) to cater for suitable new applicants. All seventh section sides played a full round of fixtures (22), with return games applying for cases of geographical proximity. It was league policy to introduce newly created or newly reformed teams in this bottom section, while existing clubs/teams accepted for membership were placed in a higher division.

The final version of the SCL went back to the 1971 season when a group of 10 pioneer clubs – three of which were still in the league in 2011 – operated in a single division alongside (but never against) a small collection of clubs that were to be part of the group that exclusively comprised the top section from 1972–96. These "lower division" numbers dipped then finally rose to 12 for the first time in 1975. Another division was formed in 1976 and this proved a springboard for the league to expand hugely after this.

Since the end of the 1996 season, the League was run by a Management Committee which comprises 19 officio and ex officio members.

This replaced the Executive Committee, which was established following a contentious AGM for the 1972 season in which an exclusive leading division of 12 clubs was set up (with the mirror-image 2nd XI section) that stayed in existence for an overall 27 seasons at the top of the county structure.

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