THE Bolton Cricket League's two divisions will be called the BCL Premiership and the BCL Association from next season.

Clubs agreed on the names at a meeting on Monday night when it was also decided the season will consist of 18 league games.

In another significant change the new cup competition which was introduced last season has been altered from 40 overs to 50 overs with the first three rounds played on Saturdays to ensure all Saturdays are used during the season.

The league season has been put back a week and will run from April 29 to September 16 next year.

New names were needed as the league goes from one to two divisions next season.

The word 'Premiership' keeps the Bolton League on a par with other similar standard leagues in the area who utilise the word 'Premier' for their top division.

The word 'Association' is a traditional Bolton cricket name and will be used for the second division in memory the Bolton and District Cricket Association which was the oldest cricket league in Lancashire until it stopped offering competition when its member clubs left to join other leagues at the end of the 2015 season.

Half of the BDCA's 18 clubs joined the Bolton League, eight of which, aptly, will be among the 10 in the BCL Association next year.

The full league structure for 2017 will see the first teams' division one known as the BCL Premiership, first teams' division two known as the BCL Association, second teams' division one known as the BCL 2nd team Premiership and the second teams' division two known as the BCL 2nd team Association.

The main first team cup will continue to be the Hamer Cup and the main second team cup will continue to be the Birtwistle Cup with no changes to their formats.

The new first team cup will be known as the Peter Stafford Trophy (sponsored by Heineken) and will change from 40 overs to 50 overs – same number as for league games with the first three rounds played on Saturdays, in order to use all Saturdays available during the season.

A new second team cup will be introduced called the Stafford Shield (sponsored by Heineken).

The Twenty20 competition will continue to be known as the Dixon Air Conditioning T20 Cup.

The overall league, which will continue to be sponsored by long-time backers Anthony Axford timber merchants of Farnworth, will be called the Bolton Cricket League – or BCL for short – with "sponsored by Axfords" included where appropriate.

The changes were decided by unanimous vote of all clubs and officials present at the meeting.