THE Bolton League season gets under way on Saturday with the start of the Stafford Trophy Competition, which is being played to normal league rules, over the first three weekends.

Teams have been arranged in five groups of four and will play each other once before the quarter-finals, semis and finals are played later in the season.

During winter there has been much to talk about and changes made.

On the local scene, in the Bolton League, there will be two divisions with promotion and relegation – something a lot of people have wanted for years to help keep interest going throughout the season.

They have also introduced electronic scoring, which has brought concerns from a few but I’m sure things will settle down.

Like all new initiatives there are bound to be a few teething problems. This way of scoring provides live scores so that everyone can tune in and see how their team is doing.

Nationally there has been talk of proposed changes to MCC law for next year.

They have finally been published but won’t be in action for grassroots cricket until 2018, although I understand some could be being implemented into the county game this season and will be tried out Down Under from October onwards when their season starts.

As a result of recent surveys, concern has been expressed on the number of players leaving the game and not enough people taking up umpiring.

One of the reasons given was player behaviour. Well, the MCC have taken the steps of implementing penalty runs for player dissent towards umpires' decisions and general behaviour on the field to try to improve the situation.

Various leagues last year trialled sin bins, red cards etc, but they have gone along the five penalty-run route after a warning which also means a player would not only give runs away but be reported as well.

Having spent some part of the winter in New Zealand you might like to know they have the same problem as we do – it rains at the weekend.

Of the six weekends I had in Masterton, my home town, four were complete washouts with no cricket played at all.

Let’s hope we get a better summer here this year and roles are reversed, with rain midweek and fine weather at weekends, although that wouldn’t help the juniors.

Speaking of juniors, how nice it was to see the indoor tournament continue and be a success.

These youngsters are the future and let’s hope the new initiative of cricket all-stars, aimed at the very young, will give enough of them a taste of the game that they want to carry on. There is nothing better on a nice fine day.

Fingers crossed for a warm, long, dry summer.