The Anthony Axford North West Cricket League is very proud of how far it has come in such a short space of time, says league administrator Tracey Brooks.

The NWCL was formed ahead of the 2023 summer, amalgamating the old Bolton and Ribblesdale Leagues.

As they head into their fourth season next month, significant progress has been made at both senior and junior level.

Senior wise, there has been a cross section of first-team trophy winners from the two areas. 

Three different Bolton clubs – Little Lever, Blackrod and Farnworth Social Circle, in that order – have won the Premiership title, while Padiham and Read have won three titles between them in the Hamer and T20 Birtwistle Cups.

From a junior perspective, participation numbers are healthy across the various age-groups, both male and female.

Brooks said: “We got things up and running very quickly ahead of 2023. We didn’t rush anything, it was all done properly. But we did it really quickly.

“That’s because a lot of people put in a lot of hard work towards the end of the summer before and through the winter to get everything in place. It’s gone well since.

“None of us were new to cricket, but we were new as a league.

“And I think on both the seniors and juniors, we have to be very proud of what we’ve done. It’s been amazing, really.”

While Brooks does a lot of admin work on the senior section, she has been a central figure in the development of junior cricket alongside junior chair Matt Seigne.

While programmes such as All Stars run for 5-8-year-olds, junior cricket is played competitively across the NWCL from Under 9s through to 18s.

In 2025, looking at league games 146 players from 13 clubs featured at U9s, including 19 female players (78 games). 

At U11s, there were 215 players from 16 clubs with 28 females (112 games). In the U13s, 307 players played across 16 clubs with 22 females (112 games). 

At U15s, 222 players participated from 13 clubs, including 15 females (78 games). And, at U18s, there were 188 players from nine clubs with six females (45 games).

The numbers for last year show a significant increase from 2023 and 2024 on the vast majority of the above metrics. Under 13s, for example, are up by 106 players and five clubs in 2025 compared to 2023. The Under 18s are up by 75 players and one club in the same timeframe. 

The NWCL also have numbers for cup games, though the majority of those participants are the same ones involved in league games.

“I think they’re very healthy numbers,” said Brooks. “For instance, the Under 18s, 188 players from nine clubs across 45 games, that’s pretty good. I’m pleased with the level of those statistics.

“We believe we’re quite a strong league. We run a pretty tight ship in terms of boys’ cricket. We urge clubs to get all of their games in where possible. 

“We’ve also started girls’ cricket, but only recently – and we can show an increasing number of games over the last two years. This year, we are going to be playing hardball and softball. 

“Hardball, we’ve only got two teams at the minute, Blackrod and Atherton. So they will play each other across three different formats, and twice in each format. One is 30-overs a side, the other is a T20 and the third is 16-overs a side.

“What we’ve done with both hardball and softball is not just limit it to NWCL clubs. Anybody who wants to join us from the local area can do.

“We’ve got six teams at the minute for a softball league, and I’m in talks with others to join us. So, fingers crossed, that number goes up ahead of the summer.

“The teams we’ve got at the minute are Blackrod, Atherton, Tonge, Greenmount, Roe Green and Bradshaw.”

Brooks says that the weight of junior teams in the NWCL is currently tipped more towards clubs from the old Bolton League than it is Ribblesdale.

“A lot of them play in either the Northern Pyramid or they play in the Lancashire League,” she continued. “That’s perhaps because they didn’t know how the juniors would be run before the two leagues emerged.

“With the Bolton clubs, we carried on where we’d left off. But we are increasing that number. Brinscall are now with us, Feniscowles as well.

“It’s going to take time. We’ve just got to build up that trust, and hopefully more see what we’re doing, like it and come and join us.”

There has been a whole heap of change within recreational cricket over the last decade, as the formation of leagues such as the NWCL and the GMCL – also the move to two divisions in the Lancashire League, for example – suggests. 

The path hasn’t always been a smooth one, with quite a bit of animosity – especially if you are a social media regular. But things do seem to have settled down across the North West now. The common goal is the development of the game.

Brooks spoke earlier about now the girls’ competitions are not just being limited to NWCL clubs, and that also applies to boys’ junior cricket as well.

The message is definitely, ‘All Welcome’.

“100 percent,” said Brooks.

“If you’re in the Bolton area, Bury, Blackburn, Burnley, Preston, wherever, we’d love you to come and play your junior cricket with us, as long as you’re committed to building that side of your club.

“At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. Every league needs their juniors to be strong.”

And, finally, Brooks added: “Another thing we’re doing this year is getting a women’s inter-league team going – so players from the various clubs to come and play for us in friendlies.