West of England Premier League
The West of England Premier League (WEPL) is the top level of competition for recreational club cricket in the West of England and is a designated ECB Premier League.[1]
| Countries |  England |
|---|---|
| Administrator | ECB |
| Format | Limited overs cricket |
| First edition | 1999 (ECB Premier League) |
| Next edition | 2024 |
| Tournament format | League |
| Number of teams | 10 (Premier One) |
| Current champion | Bath CC |
| Most successful | Bath CC (13 titles) |
Since its inception in 1999, the most successful club has been Bath, having won the Premier One title on thirteen occasions. The only other clubs to have won the title on more than one occasion are Frocester (2007, 2014, and 2015), Clevedon (2018 and 2021), and Taunton St Andrews (2001 and 2009).
Structure
The WEPL covers the counties of Bristol, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, and is the top tier of the pyramid structure of leagues in the area. The league has seven divisions, with the top league, Premier One covering the entire region, and the remainder covering more localised areas. The seven divisions each have ten teams, and are split into three distinct 'tiers':
| Premier One | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Premier 2 Bristol & Somerset | Premier 2 Gloucestershire & Wiltshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bristol & N.Somerset | Somerset | Gloucestershire | Wiltshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The structure changed after the 2015 season by eliminating Premier Division Two, so that the winners of the Bristol and Somerset Division and the Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Division are now promoted directly into Premier Division One.
There are four feeder leagues serving the WEPL, each having a direct link with one of the lower divisions as follows:
- Bristol and North Somerset - Bristol & District Cricket Association
- Somerset - Somerset Cricket League
- Gloucestershire - Gloucestershire County Cricket League
- Wiltshire - Wiltshire County Cricket League
Winners
1999–2006
| Year | First tier | Second tier | Third tier | Fourth tier | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premier One | Premier Two | Bristol & Somerset | Glos & Wilts | Bristol & N. Som | Somerset | Glos & Wilts Two | |
| 1999 | Bath (1) | ||||||
| 2000 | Bath (2) | ||||||
| 2001 | Taunton St Andrews (1) | ||||||
| 2002 | Keynsham | Taunton | Westlands Sports | Frocester | Hanham | Glastonbury | Trowbridge |
| 2003 | Bath (3) | Frenchay | Glastonbury | Winget | Claverham | Taunton Deane | Lydney |
| 2004 | Cheltenham | Glastonbury | Taunton Deane | Stroud | Winterbourne | Uphill Castle | Swindon |
| 2005 | Bath (4) | Frocester | Bridgwater | Trowbridge | Westbury and District | Winscombe | Gloucester City Winget |
| 2006 | Bath (5) | Weston-super-Mare | Knowle | Westbury and District | Timsbury | Minehead | Marshfield |
2007–2015
In 2007 Gloucestershire/Wiltshire Two was replaced by separate divisions for Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
| Year | First tier | Second tier | Third tier | Fourth tier | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premier One | Premier Two | Bristol & Somerset | Glos & Wilts | Bristol & N. Som | Somerset | Gloucestershire | Wiltshire | |
| 2007 | Frocester | Downend | Lansdown | Warminster | Winterbourne | Winscombe | Rockhampton | Wootton Bassett |
| 2008 | Bath (6) | Bristol | Taunton | Chippenham | Bedminster | Ashcott and Shapwick | Stroud | Lechlade |
| 2009 | Taunton St Andrews (2) | Taunton | Ashcott and Shapwick | Westbury and District | Old Bristolians Westbury | Chard | Hatherley and Reddings | Potterne |
| 2010 | Bath (7) | Downend | Bristol West Indians | Gloucester City Winget | Bishopston | Uphill Castle | Dumbleton | Goatacre |
| 2011 | Bath (8) | Gloucester City Winget | Chard | Goatacre | Chipping Sodbury | Midsomer Norton | Painswick | Winsley |
| 2012 | Bridgwater | Ashcott and Shapwick | Minehead | Cheltenham | Frenchay | Street | Dumbleton | Lechlade |
| 2013 | Bath (9) | Taunton Deane | Clevedon | Potterne | Chew Magna | Wembdon | Tewkesbury | Swindon |
| 2014 | Frocester (2) | Ilminster | Taunton | Lechlade | Lansdown | Frome | Apperley | Burbage and Easton Royal |
| 2015 | Frocester (3) | Potterne | Bedminster | Rockhampton | Claverham (Yatton) | North Perrott | Dumbleton | Trowbridge |
2016–2023
In 2016 Premier Two was eliminated, and there were now two divisions in the second tier and four divisions in the third tier.
| Year | First tier | Second tier | Third tier | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premier One | Bristol & Somerset | Glos & Wilts | Bristol & N. Som | Somerset | Gloucestershire | Wiltshire | |
| 2016 | Bath (10) | Bedminster | Lechlade | Claverham (Yatton) | Glastonbury | Hatherley and Reddings | Westbury and District |
| 2017 | Bath (11) | Taunton St Andrews | Goatacre | Midsomer Norton | Weston super Mare | Dumbleton | Trowbridge |
| 2018 | Clevedon (1) | Lansdown | Cheltenham | Winterbourne | North Perrott | Frocester 2nd XI | Chippenham |
| 2019 | Potterne | Taunton Deane | Chippenham | Bath 2nd XI | Frome | Hatherley and Reddings | Marshfield |
| 2020 | no competition | ||||||
| 2021 | Clevedon (2) | Taunton St Andrews | Thornbury | Golden Hill | Shapwick and Polden | Corse and Staunton | Warminster |
| 2022 | Bath (12) | Bristol | Frocester | Keynsham | Bridgwater 2nd XI | Painswick | Royal Wootton Bassett |
| 2023 | Bath (13) | Bishopston | Burbage and Easton Royal | Congresbury | Wellington | Dumbleton | Avebury |
Premier One performance by season from 1999
| Key | |
|---|---|
| Gold | Champions |
| Red | Relegated |
| Blue | Left League |
| Club | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashcott and Shapwick | 7 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bath | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Bedminster | 7 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Bishopston | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bridgwater | 8 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | |||||||||
| Bristol [lower-alpha 1] | 2 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 3 | ||||||||
| Bristol West Indians | 6 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Burbage and Easton Royal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cheltenham | 2 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 9 | ||||||||||||||
| Chippenham | 4 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Clevedon | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Clifton Flax Bourton [lower-alpha 1] | 2 | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Corsham | 3 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 10 | |||||||||
| Downend | 9 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 10 | |||||||||
| Frenchay | 3 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Frocester | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 5 | |||||||||||
| Glastonbury | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Gloucester City Winget | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Goatacre | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ilminster | 9 | 7 | 10 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Keynsham | 6 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 9 | |||||||||||||||
| Knowle | 8 | 9 | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lansdown | 10 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Lechlade | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Optimists [lower-alpha 1] | 7 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Potterne | 4 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stroud | 5 | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taunton | 7 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Taunton Deane | 6 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||
| Taunton St Andrews | 5 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 8 | ||||
| Thornbury | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 9 | |||||||||||||||
| Trowbridge | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weston super Mare | 8 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 9 | ||||||||||||||||
| References | [2] | [3] | [4] | [5][6] | [7] | [8] | [9] | [10] | [11] | [12] | [13] | [14] | [15] | [16] | [17] | [18] | [19] | [20] | [21] | [22] | [23] | [24] | [25] | [26] | |
- Clifton Flax Bourton went out of existence after the 2001 season; many of their players then joined Optimists (originally an offshoot of Clifton) who adopted the name Optimists and Clifton, and changed their name to Bristol in 2005.
References
- List of ECB Premier Leagues
- "League Cricket in England and Wales in 1999". Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack (2000 ed.). John Wisden & Co Ltd. p. 1022.
- "West of England Premier League 2000". CricketArchive. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
- "West of England Premier League 2001". CricketArchive. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
- "Premier One - 2002".
- "Nine days to settle result of final game". Gazette and Herald. 12 September 2002. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
- "Premier One - 2003".
- "Premier One - 2004".
- "Premier One - 2005".
- "Premier One - 2006".
- "Premier One - 2007".
- "Premier One - 2008".
- "Premier One - 2009".
- "Premier One - 2010".
- "Premier One - 2011".
- "Premier One - 2012".
- "Premier One - 2013".
- "Premier One - 2014".
- "Premier One - 2015".
- "Premier One - 2016".
- "Premier One - 2017".
- "Premier One - 2018".
- "Premier One - 2019".
- "Premier One - 2021".
- "Premier One - 2022".
- "Premier One - 2023".