We are very pleased to report that the senior cricketing league structure in Surrey will be undergoing some major changes in 2025. This will introduce one regionalised pyramid structure under the name of the "Surrey Cricket Championship".

What are the changes?

• The key change is that parts of the pyramid will be separated into different regions at various levels. Playing more locally means that travel times for our 1st and 2nd XIs should generally be reduced, rather than having to trek across the entire county. This has been very successful at 3rd XI level in recent years, so extending this across the structure seems like an obvious win for our members.
• This is mainly achieved by placing all playing XIs into a single pyramid. Instead of 1st XIs only playing 1st XIs, 2nd XIs only playing 2nd XIs etc, it will now be possible for a club's 1st XI to play another club's 3rd XI etc. Again this has been very successful at 3rd XI level in recent years and should mean more competitive cricket at a local level.
• Facility requirements at lower levels will be eased to "get the game on". The more cricket that can be played, the better. This will help to grow the popularity of the game with more clubs, teams and grounds able to participate within Surrey league cricket.
• It is hoped that league affiliation fees and other costs will become cheaper over time. This can be achieved through economies of scale with more clubs under one structure and enabling greater sponsorship opportunities.
• Behind the scenes administration will be easier for clubs as rather than navigating through several different sets of league rules, meetings, votes etc there shall just be one.

What about the playing format?

Draft playing formats have been proposed and these will be voted on at the inaugural Surrey Cricket Championship AGM in January. We will not go into full detail until the new rules are confirmed, but compared to 2024 for our Saturday XIs:

• 1st XI - likely to be little change with 45 over cricket continuing.
• 2nd XI - likely to be playing 40 over cricket rather than 45.
• 3rd XI - likely to be little change with 40 over cricket continuing.

The placement of teams within divisions and fixtures will be finalised in early January. Exciting times!

What is the story behind this?

Over the last 18 months discussions have been ongoing to merge three of five major leagues in Surrey (Surrey Championship, Surrey County League, Surrey Cricket League) into one structure. It is anticipated that some clubs from the other two leagues and beyond will also join the new structure, meaning approximately 80% of league cricket within Surrey will be played under the same banner. The relevant leagues recently held meetings with member clubs agreeing to these historic changes, which shall create one of the largest league structures in the country.

A series of consultation events and surveys have taken place with leagues, clubs and players to guide the process and the draft details of the new league. Full details on all of this can be found via the Surrey Cricket Foundation here.