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The Greater Manchester Cricket League | Est 2016 | an accredited ECB Premier League

Greater Manchester Cricket League

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Saturday & Sunday Competitions Information

Updated 7 Oct 2026

Entries already submitted can be seen at the bottom of the page, please scroll down - entries will be updated automatically a few minutes after your entry has been entered,

GMCL COMPETITION INFORMATION

Team Registration for GMCL Competition

Annual Registration

GMCL requires clubs wishing to compete in our competition to register their teams every year by 31st October..

  • This allows clubs to make changes each year to account for fluctuations in playing numbers and playing strength. 
  • A registration form must be completed even if there are no changes to last season’s entry. 
  • All details of all teams must be entered on the form by 31st October. 
  • Teams not entered by 31st October will not be given a place in the competition. 

Player Registration

It is important to remember that you should only register teams for which you have sufficient eligible players. There is no penalty for withdrawing a team before the deadline but penalties will be applied for withdrawals after the deadline when fixtures are being prepared or have been prepared. These penalties can be financial or exclusion from future years competition.

  • You cannot use players who play for any other club in GMCL or who play for any other club in any other league, except after any transfer between clubs.
  • Players registered for a GMCL club may play for their club teams in GMCL and for that club’s teams in any other league only if those teams are part of the same club.
  • There are restrictions on who can play in 2nd XIs and below and for Sunday teams, you should review the rules to ensure your players qualify.
  • Ineligible players and match forfeits will lead to penalties.

Adding teams to GMCL competitions

Adding Teams - New Clubs

  1. New clubs who wish to join GMCL should e-mail details of the club (ground, history, number of teams etc) to cricketdirector@gtrmcrcricket.co.uk to request membership.
  2. Application should be made in accordance with league deadlines - See Rules. More information is shown below in the Saturday or Sunday competition details.

Adding Teams to the Saturday Competition

Saturday Teams can be added only where there are vacancies arising.

If you wish to register to add a Saturday team, please contact cricketdirector@gtrmcrcricket.co.uk to find out if there are any vacancies or be placed on the waiting list.

  1. If a league or a group of teams wish to join then we are able to add extra divisions, please contact cricketdirector@gtrmcrcricket.co.uk to discuss the process.
    1. It is not necessary to have 12 teams to join as we receive other applications annually.
  2. If there are clubs wishing to join the Saturday competitions and there are vacancies or the addition can create vacancies then places will be allocated in the following order of priority:
    1. A new group of clubs requiring an additional division
    2. Member clubs currently with only a GMCL Saturday 1st XI who wish to add a Saturday 2nd XI
    3. Member clubs with 1st & 2nd XIs playing in GMCL Saturday Competition wishing to add a Saturday 3rd XI
    4. Member clubs with only a Sunday team in GMCL wishing to add a Saturday team.
    5. New Clubs transferring from another senior league with their own or long term leased ground, having met transfer requirements in the league rules 1.4.2
      1. For clubs with their own ground and facilities wishing to join the league and enter their 1st XI in GMCL Saturday competition and be placed on merit of their current standard they must apply to the league before the season prior to the season they wish to join, e.g. for joining in 2027, application must be made by 31 Mar 2026. This ensures that all requirements of an application and withdrawal from previous competition are met. Please contact cricketdirector@gtrmcrcricket.co.uk 
      2. For clubs wishing to join the Saturday competition and happy to take a placement based on any available places they may register by 31st October for the following season but they must have a confirmed ground in writing, which must be available to GMCL on request at the time of their application.
    6. New Clubs formed to join our competition with a confirmed ground (at the time of the registration) meeting GMCL requirements - see the full details in the league rules 1.4.2

Adding teams to the Sunday Competition

  1. Sunday teams can always be added in the registration period 1st October to 31st October, there is no requirement to wait for a vacancy but clubs must meet league standards on ground and organisation. A ground agreement must be in place before a registration can be accepted.
  2. For clubs wishing to place a team in our Sunday competition whilst remaining in another Saturday league, application can be made on the form by 31st October

Adding teams to the GMCL20 - 20 over competition

  1. Only clubs whose primary team play in GMCL senior league competition are eligible for our 20 over competition. 
  2. Please enter your teams for this competition on the registration form.

Withdrawing teams from GMCL competition

  1. Teams can be withdrawn for the next season, before the registration deadline on 31st October, without penalty.
  2. Any team withdrawn after the registration deadline when fixtures are in development or completed will attract a financial penalty.

Placement of teams

  1. All continuing teams will be placed dependent on their finishing position (after any penalties) in the previous season unless they request demotion due to loss of players or there is demotion due to ground standards failure.
  2. New Teams will be placed depending on where there are vacancies but no higher than their expected standard and relative to any other teams from the same club already in the competition.
  3. Where places are made available due to team withdrawals this may mean clubs will be moved up the divisions and priority for this will be to member clubs based on the previous seasons final positions/after penalties/ground standards considerations..

 

Saturday Competition

Saturday Season Dates

  • 2027 - 22 Saturdays commencing 17 April 2027 and running to 11 September 2027
  • 2028 - 22 Saturdays commencing 22 April 2028 and running to 16 September 2028
  • 2029 - 22 Saturdays commencing 21 April 2029 and running to 15 September 2029
  • 2030 - 22 Saturdays commencing 19 April 2030 and running to 13 September 2030
  • 2031 - 22 Saturdays commencing 18 April 2031 and running to 12 September 2031
  • 2032 - 22 Saturdays commencing 23 April 2032 and running to 17 September 2032
  • 2033 - 22 Saturdays commencing 22 April 2033 and running to 16 September 2033
  • 2034 - 22 Saturdays commencing 21 April 2034 and running to 15 September 2034
  • 2035 - 22 Saturdays commencing 20 April 2035 and running to 14 September 2035
  • 2036 - 22 Saturdays commencing 18 April 2036 and running to 12 September 2036
  • 2037 - 22 Saturdays commencing 17 April 2037 and running to 11 September 2037
  • 2038 - 22 Saturdays commencing 23 April 2038 and running to 17 September 2038

Club Requirements

  1. Clubs entering the Saturday competition sign up to have their ground available every Saturday for their Saturday Teams within the season detailed above for when the divisions consist of 12 teams then there will be a fixture either home or away on every Saturday. Where the club has two Saturday teams then there will be a home fixture and an away fixture on every Saturday of the season, where they are in divisions of 12. 
  2. Where, occasionally, the divisions must consist of more than 12 teams then the team may be required to play a small number of league games on Sundays.
  3. Exemptions may be given 
    1. when, for a Saturday, pre-existing long standing major club fund raising events are held at grounds which mean the ground is unavailable, and has been on a given Saturday for a number of years.
      1. In order to apply for an exemption clubs must notify the details of the event and the date of the event for the following season on the annual registration form by 31st October and the league fixture calculations will try to 
        1. allocate a second XI fixture on that day for the club to find an alternative venue on that day 
        2. allocate no home fixture (if only one Saturday team).
      2. Should the league fixtures not be able to accommodate any changes then the club must arrange an alternative venue for the fixture on that day.
    2. If time-critical major ground works are planned at season end, which make the ground playing area unavailable, you must make the league officials aware of this on the team registration document by 31st October. 
    3. Any new application for a major event at the ground within those dates must be made to the Cricket Director of GMCL - cricketdirector@gtrmcrcricket.co.uk 
    4. Irrespective of the reason of ground unavailability, ALL matches must be played on the same day as the planned fixture either at home or at an alternative venue. Failure will lead to a forfeit, penalty points and a financial penalty in accordance with league penalty regulations.
  4. No exemptions will be granted for clubhouse or ground unavailability due to private hire of the facilities or club events or unavailability of players due to social events.

Saturday Division Structure

  1. 12 divisions of 12 teams each playing each other home and away on 22 consecutive Saturdays
  2. There are currently 9 tiers in the Saturday competition
    • Robert Hinchliffe ECB Premier League
    • GMCL Premier League 2
    • GMCL Championship
    • GMCL Division 1
    • GMCL Division 2
    • GMCL Division 3
    • GMCL Division 4
    • GMCL Divisions 5 (2 Regionalised divisions)
    • GMCL Divisions 6 (3 Regionalised divisions)
  3. Teams in tiers 8 & 9 are placed on geography by location of their home ground each season. All regionalised divisions are grouped by area, determined by number of teams, it is not possible to create regionalised divisions where everyone only plays their nearest opponents.  

Saturday Promotion & Relegation Pots

  1. The Robert Hinchliffe ECB Premier League - 3 teams will be relegated at the end of the season
  2. Tiers 2 to 6 - 3 teams will be promoted and 3 teams will be relegated
  3. Tier 7 - 3 teams will be promoted and 4 teams will be relegated
  4. Tier 8 - 2 teams will be promoted from each division and 3 teams will be relegated from each
  5. Tier 9 - 2 teams will be promoted from each division 
  6. GMCL operates a one club policy where players are interchangeable between teams, therefore no 2nd XI may play at the same level or above the 1st XI, no Saturday 3rd XI may play at the same level or above the 2nd XI and the following restrictions apply. 
  1. Where teams from the same club are both in Tier 9 then the teams will be placed in separate divisions of the Tier
  2. Where a 1st XI is relegated to a Tier where the 2nd XI team is playing then both teams will be relegated
  3. Where a 2nd XI is in the promotion places to a Tier where the 1st XI play then the 2nd XI will not be promoted and the next highest team will be promoted from the division

Changes to your teams

Requesting placement in a lower Saturday division

  1. Should your club currently hold a place in the Saturday competition higher than you feel able to compete in for the following season due to changes at the club or a loss of players, you can request a move down the pyramid without a penalty as long as this is done at the time of registration for the next season; changes made later that require changes to the calculated fixtures may attract a financial penalty.
    1. In the first instance please provide details on the team registration form by the deadline if you need to drop down. If not known by this time then any change may bring a financial penalty therefore we would be grateful if you could notify us as soon as you are aware and provide details to: cricketdirector@GtrMcrCricket.co.uk

Withdrawal of a Saturday team 

  1. Should you decide to drop a Saturday team, this is no problem, you may do so on the annual registration without any penalty, simply select "not entering" and answer the question that there are changes from last season.
  2. If you change this after the form submission date when fixtures have been produced this will incur a financial penalty.

 

 

Sunday Competition

Sunday Season Dates

  • 2027 - 22 Sundays commencing 18 April 2027 and running to 12 September 2027
  • 2028 - 22 Sundays commencing 23 April 2028 and running to 17 September 2028
  • 2029 - 22 Sundays commencing 22 April 2029 and running to 16 September 2029
  • 2030 - 22 Sundays commencing 20 April 2030 and running to 14 September 2030
  • 2031 - 22 Sundays commencing 19 April 2031 and running to 13 September 2031
  • 2032 - 22 Sundays commencing 24 April 2032 and running to 18 September 2032
  • 2033 - 22 Sundays commencing 25 April 2033 and running to 17 September 2033
  • 2034 - 22 Sundays commencing 22 April 2034 and running to 16 September 2034
  • 2035 - 22 Sundays commencing 21 April 2035 and running to 15 September 2035
  • 2036 - 22 Sundays commencing 19 April 2036 and running to 13 September 2036
  • 2037 - 22 Sundays commencing 18 April 2037 and running to 12 September 2037
  • 2038 - 22 Sundays commencing 24 April 2038 and running to 18 September 2038

 

  1. 22 Sundays as above, plus one or two Sundays after the listed season ends, depending on the number of fixtures needing to be rearranged and ground availability.
    1. Sunday League games can be rearranged once if a game doesn’t start due to weather or a cup game takes precedence 
    2. To assist with the completion of the Sunday fixture schedule the league allows post season games to be played up to the end of September by agreement of both clubs and ground staff and to further assist allows a self-umpired 20 over game to take place (40 over league rules). . 
  2. Sundays are also used for all GMCL Cup competitions and therefore this limits the number of available Sundays for Sunday League games.
  3. Clubs entering the competition sign up to have their ground available every Sunday within those 22 match days in order for Sunday league fixtures to be calculated alongside cup games, the number of games is dependent on the Sunday league competition joined. 
  4. Exemptions can be given for Sundays. 
    1. For annual or long standing major club fund raising events which are held at grounds which mean the ground is unavailable or the club has a long standing annual arrangement for use of the ground for a community or traditional local event on a given Sunday and has been on a given weekend for a number of years.
    2. If time-critical major ground works are planned at season end, which make the ground playing area unavailable, you must make the league officials aware of this on the team registration document by 31st October. 
    3. Any new application for a major event at the ground within those dates must be made to the Cricket Director of GMCL - cricketdirector@gtrmcrcricket.co.uk  
    4. In order to apply for an exemption clubs must notify the details of the event and the date of the event for the following season on the annual registration form by 31st October and the league fixture calculations will try to 
      1. find an alternate date from normal Sunday league fixture dates 
      2. allocate no home fixture (if only one Sunday team).
      3. Exemption requests should be avoided for cup round dates.
      4. Should the league fixtures not be able to accommodate any changes then the club must arrange an alternative venue for the fixture on that day.
    5. Irrespective of the reason of ground unavailability, it is preferable that Sunday matches must be played on the same day as the planned fixture either at home or at an alternative venue. Failure to complete any fixture by the end of the season can lead to a forfeit, penalty points and a financial penalty in accordance with league penalty regulations.
  5. Any new application for a major event at the ground within those dates must be made to the Cricket Director of GMCL - cricketdirector@gtrmcrcricket.co.uk 
    1. No exemptions will be granted for clubhouse or ground unavailability due to private hire of the facilities
  6. Details of exemptions required must be entered on the annual registration form.

Sunday Divisions Structure

  1. After the revamp in 2026, there is only a minor change to the Sunday competition from 2027. There will be an extra division at Level 4 and one less division at Level 5.
  2. We will continue to aim for a more competitive structure within the main Sunday competition to make administration easier and to streamline eligibility rules and to free up some space in the calendar for those that need it.

  3. The 2027 structure will look like this.

    1. Level 1 – Sunday Premier (Single 10 team league - 18 games).
    2. Level 2 – Sunday Championship (Single 10 team League - 18 games).
    3. Level 3 – Sunday Division 1 (Single 10 team League - 18 games).
    4. Level 4 – Sunday Division 2 (2 parallel roughly regionally divided divisions). This is the change - moving from one division to two at this tier
    5. Level 5 – Sunday Division 3 (3 parallel roughly regionally divided divisions - dependent on number of entries).

Number of Games

  1. In theTop 3 levels we will have divisions of 10 teams giving 18 games in the season
  2. In Levels 4 and 5 there is the option for divisions of 8 teams giving 14 games in the season.
  3. The number of divisions of 14 and 18 teams is wholly dependent on the number of clubs interested in the formats on their application.

Sunday Promotion & Relegation Pots

  1. 2 up/2 down between Prem 1, Championship & Division 1 
  2. 4 down from Div 1 to Div 2 
  3. 2 promoted from each of the Divisions 2 - who must play an 18 game season for the following season in Division 1
  4. 6 Down from Div 2 (3 from each league),with 2 teams promoted from each Division 3.

Reminder that the number of teams entering on Sunday changes each year, so we cannot predict exactly how the divisions will be made up until after the final entry.

 

 

Registration Form

All details of all teams must be entered on this form by 31st October. Teams not entered by 31st October will not be given a place in the competition.


 

 

The following entries have been submitted:

GMCL/GMCL Management/Competition Info/GMCL Competition Information