THE possibility of keeping the Bolton Association alive has been raised at a meeting of league officials and remaining clubs.

A discussion took place after last Friday's full league meeting when the option of continuing the second oldest cricket league in the world after this season was broached.

The suggestion is not seen as a viable possibility, however, further ensuring the Association will go out of existence at the end of this season.

Eleven clubs were present at the meeting – the nine who have applied and been accepted into the expanding Bolton League which starts next season – Edgworth, who applied to join the new Greater Manchester League on Tuesday, and Flixton who are still to decide on their next move.

Clubs were given four hand-written pages of notes which Association chairman Frank Jackson said he had compiled for his own use at the meeting and gave to club representatives after they had asked for information.

He said: "We had a full meeting last Friday and afterwards had a meeting with all the clubs who were not going to the Greater Manchester League at the time.

"They all wanted to know what were all the possibilities and what's happening.

"I addressed them as best I could without any smoke or mirrors on behalf of the exec. I told them exactly where we were up to.

"All I said as regards the Bolton Association was not enough teams had resigned for us not to continue.

"I said the league could continue with eight clubs, it couldn't carry on with any less than eight clubs."

He said one of the key reasons behind the Association not being able to continue was the demand for promotion and relegation.

"They all want two divisions and you can only have two divisions if you have enough teams," he said.

The cost of paying for professionals and overseas amateurs in the Bolton League was also a concern, he said.

"I went through how the two leagues would be run and the cost of professionals," he said.

"I told them how the Bolton League operate regarding the cost of professionals and overseas players. They wanted to know about that and I told them as best I could.

"Peter Crook (Association secretary) also spoke and went through examples of how much teams would be having to pay.

"I told them how the Bolton League operate from what I knew from speaking to them (the League).

"I answered as best I could at the time, but things are changing all the time.

"They know what they are heading for in the GMCL because they have an 80-odd page prospectus they can read. They don't know what they are heading for in the Bolton League.

"There had been so much rumour. We wanted to tell them the situation as it was as best we knew it without any smoke or mirrors.

"I had four pages of hand-written notes and the clubs wanted some information so I sent my very rough notes to them."