THE Bolton Cricket League are introducing a new competition next season.

The newly expanded League will play a 40-over competition sponsored by Heineken.

Teams will play for the Peter Stafford Memorial Trophy in memory of the Bolton League's former president who died in October last year.

Mr Stafford had a longstanding connection to the Bolton League and was one of its most highly regarded and hardworking servants having been a player, secretary and press contact and was elected president in 2000.

The matches will initially be played in groups of four or five teams during the mid season, with the semi-finals and final in September.

The structure of the competition will include:

* Groups consisting of four or five clubs randomly drawn.

* A maximum of eight overs per bowler

* Matches be completed on the day.

* Duckworth/Lewis used, with revised totals recalculated at each interruption only.

* Minimum of 10 overs to obtain a result.

* Matches starting at 2pm, and end with the over in progress at 8pm.

The competition will be in addition to the League's long-established Hamer Cup and the league competition which will feature one division of 21 teams next season followed by two divisions from 2017.

A midweek Twenty20 competition will also take place and the League's clubs will compete in the Lancashire Knockout and National Knockout as usual.

Due to the increased number of competitions and games, the League will not be entering the Lancashire Inter-League Knockout in which it has been the most successful league in Lancashire in recent years.