Staffordshire Relocated

Thought I would check on Play Cricket to see if they had posted the fixtures for Staffordshire Cricket yet (they haven’t) and got a bit of a shock to see that the powers that be seem to have relocated Staffordshire to the North of the Country!

Last year it always felt strange/wrong that the 1s were in the Midlands Division 1 (which made sense as we are geographically located in the Midlands) yet the 2s were in the North Division 2.

As a result the 1s had 10 fixtures last year – 6 teams in Division so 5 Home fixtures and 5 Away fixtures, whereas the 2s had 12 fixtures – 7 teams so 6 Home and 6 Away.

The 1s travelled 590 miles to their away games, whilst the 2s travelled 730 miles at averages of 118 and 121 respectively – so despite the different divisions parity overall.

This year though it seems that someone from the ECB has been talking to someone from the Government about levelling up because both teams are now in the North Division!

The 1s now have 16 games (an increase of 60%) whilst the 2s have 10 games (a reduction of 17%)

The 1s will travel 1450 miles (an increase of 145%) at an average per game of 181 (an increase of 53%) whilst the 2s will travel 750 miles (an increase of 3%) at an average per game of 150 miles (an increase of 25%)

In 2023 the 1s had one journey of over 200 miles (4 in 2024), and two of over 100 miles (3 in 2024) and the longest journey was 200 miles (400 on 2024)

In 2024 the 2s had one journey over 200 miles (2 in 2024), and three of over 100 miles (2 in 2024) and the longest journey was 240 miles (same in 2024)

Can’t say that this is good news for me!

1. With my lower back the worst thing I can do is sit in a car for any length of time so journeys of over 100 miles to get to a game I am not going to be particularly fresh when I arrive. Last season I gave myself an extra two hours on a long journey so a) had time for a couple of stops and b) arrived in time to loosen the back up. Whilst my back is much better it will never be fixed so I will have to do this again.
2. Whilst it would make sense to travel up the night before for the fixtures over 100 miles, my commitment to coaching on a Monday night makes this a non option, so I can see myself being unavailable for quite a few fixtures unfortunately.