The Bolton Cricket League is a cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

 league comprising fourteen teams in and around Bolton

Bolton

Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...

, Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...

 in North West England

North West England

North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...

. The league runs competitions at First Team, Second Team, Under 18, Under 15, Under 13 and Under 11 levels.

Teams

The current fourteen teams are:

1. Astley Bridge
2. Bradshaw
   Bradshaw, Greater Manchester
   Bradshaw is suburb of the unparished area of South Turton, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies on the southern edge of the West Pennine Moors.-History:...
   
   
3. Eagley
   Eagley
   Eagley is a village of the unparished area of South Turton, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies on southern slopes of the West Pennine Moors....
   
   
4. Egerton
   Egerton, Greater Manchester
   Egerton, pronounced edgerton, is a village in the unparished area of South Turton, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it is situated three miles north of Bolton and 12 miles north west of Manchester City Centre within the West...
   
   
5. Farnworth
   Farnworth
   Farnworth is within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. It is located southeast of Bolton, 6 miles south-west of Bury , and northwest of Manchester....
   
   
6. Farnworth Social Circle
7. Heaton
   Heaton, Greater Manchester
   Heaton is a mostly residential district and council ward of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It lies about two miles north west of Bolton town centre...
   
   
8. Horwich
   Horwich
   Horwich is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southeast of Chorley, northwest of Bolton and northwest from the city of Manchester. It lies at the southern edge of the West Pennine Moors with the M61 motorway close to the...
   
   
9. Greenmount
   Greenmount, Greater Manchester
   Greenmount is a village in the district of Tottington amongst the West Pennine Moors, within the northern area of the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England....
   
   
10. Kearsley
    Kearsley
    Kearsley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically within Lancashire, it lies about 7½ miles northwest of Manchester,5.5 miles south-west of Bury, and about 3¾ miles south of Bolton.It is bounded on the west by Walkden, the east by...
    
    
11. Little Lever
    Little Lever
    Little Lever is a large village within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it is southeast of Bolton, west of Radcliffe, and west-southwest of Bury....
    
    
12. Tonge
13. Walkden
    Walkden
    Walkden is a town within the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It is west-northwest of Salford, and west-northwest of Manchester....
    
    
14. Westhoughton
    Westhoughton
    Westhoughton is a town and civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. It is southwest of Bolton, east of Wigan and northwest of Manchester....
    
    

History

The league began in 1930 after breaking away from the Bolton Cricket Association.
The most successful team to date is Walkden who became league champions for the thirteenth time in 2008.

Hamer Cup

The Hamer Cup is a knockout cup for first teams in the Bolton Cricket League. The most successful team to date with twelve Hamer Cups is Bradshaw.

Notable players

A number of quality cricketers have played in the Bolton Cricket League including:

• Michael Atherton
• Kapil Dev
  Kapil Dev
  Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj , better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup...
  
  
• Charlie Griffith
  Charlie Griffith
  Charles Christopher Griffith is a former West Indian cricketer who played in 28 Tests from 1960 to 1969. He formed a lethal fast bowling partnership with Wes Hall during the 1960s...
  
  
• Matthew Hayden
  Matthew Hayden
  Matthew Lawrence Hayden AM is a former Australian cricketer, and was signed to the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL until the 2010 season. Hayden is a powerful and aggressive left-handed opening batsman, known for his ability to score quickly at both Test and one day levels.Hayden holds the record...
  
  
• Javed Miandad
  Javed Miandad
  Mohammad Javed Miandad Khan , popularly known as Javed Miandad , is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1975 and 1996. He is Pakistan's leading run scorer in Test cricket. He has served as a captain of the Pakistan national cricket team...
  
  
• Sir Garfield Sobers
• Mark Taylor
  Mark Taylor (cricketer)
  Mark Anthony Taylor, AO is a former Australian cricket player and Test opening batsman from 1988–1999, as well as captain from 1994–1999, succeeding Allan Border...
  
  
• Mark Waugh
  Mark Waugh
  Mark Edward Waugh AM is a former Australian cricketer, who represented Australia in Test matches from early 1991 to late 2002, and made his One-Day International debut in 1988. Waugh is regarded as one of the most elegant and gifted stroke makers to ever play the game. His nickname is "Junior" as...
  
  
• Dheeraj Jadhav
  Dheeraj Jadhav
  Dheeraj Subash Jadhav , is an Indian cricketer who currently plays for Assam. He has represented Mumbai Champs in the Indian Cricket League and Maharashtra in domestic cricket. Although he used to bat in the middle order, he later became a strokeplaying opening batsman which produced immediate...