AFTER the initial threat posed by the introduction of the Greater Manchester League, the Bolton Cricket League last season proved it was still every inch the force it had always been.

That was with a single division of 21 clubs playing each other once – not an ideal format by any means but one forced upon the league while they integrated nine new clubs.

Next season was always going to be better with two divisions incorporating promotion and relegation.

But the excellent decisions taken on Monday night will ensure the Bolton League goes from strength to strength.

Having 18 league games is right. It means everyone plays each other twice, home and away, which is the way it should be.

Some people were worried it left one or two Saturday’s without cricket – and therefore without essential bar takings. The BCL has solved this by making changes to its second cup competition which was introduced last season.

In fact, they have killed two birds with one stone with the changes they have made. Firstly, they have responded to criticism of it being an unusual format of only 40 overs a side by increasing it to 50, the same as for league games and more widely appealing.

And they have scheduled the first three rounds to be played on Saturdays, therefore providing cricket and the jangling of tills on those days.

Calling the top division the Premiership and the second tier the Association is also to be applauded.

It keeps the Bolton League on a par with other leagues of equal or lesser standard who also use the word Premier in their name, and it keeps the memory alive of Bolton’s other league, the oldest in Lancashire and second oldest in the country – the Bolton and District Cricket Association – which did not operate last year and whose chances of reviving look slim.