The ESMBA have finally issued the fixture list and groups for the 2022/23 Inter-County Championship season. Also revealed is a new system that attempts to deal with the problem of the ever growing “A” team section created by too many counties reluctant to compete in the Premier competition. For many years, prior to covid, the I.C.C was split into two sections, Premier and “A” team. For the upcoming winter season the I.C.C will consist of a Premier One section consisting of eight teams, a Premier Two section consisting of sixteen teams, and an “A” team section made up of ten teams. Norfolk Premier is included in the Premier One section and will play in a group that also includes Essex Premier, West Mids Premier and Kent Premier. The other group in Premier One will consist of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Hampshire. Premier Two will include several counties who in recent years have played in the “A” Team competition, this will include Norfolk’s neighbouring counties Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The “A” section will see Norfolk “A” in a group with Shropshire, West Midlands “A” and Essex “A”. The first thing that is obvious is that the new system will mean a lot more travelling for Norfolk “A” as for the first time ever Norfolk will not have any group matches against neighbouring county teams. In the early days of the sport Cambs fielded both a Premier and an “A” team while Suffolk played in the Premier section. Cambs eventually dropped down to having just one team and both them and Suffolk elected to play in the “A” team comp. This left Norfolk Premier without a match against a county close to us but at least Norfolk “A” had two local counties to play. With the new system Norfolk “A” will face increased travelling distances that are now comparable with Norfolk Premier’s travelling distances. A new promotion and relegation system has also been introduced which is sure to add a new dimension to the group stages. The fourth placed team in each of the two Premier One groups will face a play-off with the losing team relegated to Premier Two. The winning team in Premier 2 will be promoted to Premier One for the 2023/24 season. For the 2022/23 season there will be a 10.30am start for all games, no roll ups, and a “Top 8” will no longer have to be named for counties entering two teams. Players though will be tied to their Premier team once they have played three games, and any player who has played one knockout game for their Premier team will also then be tied.
FULL LIST OF GROUPS
PREMIER ONE group 1 Cornwall, Devon, Dorset & Hampshire
PREMIER ONE group 2 Essex, Kent, Norfolk & West Mids
PREMIER TWO group 1 Suffolk, Cambs, Hertfordshire & Northants
PREMIER TWO group 2 Avon, Oxfordshire, Somerset & Wiltshire
PREMIER TWO group 3 Cheshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire & Worcestershire
PREMIER TWO group 4 East Sussex, London, Surrey & West Sussex
A TEAM group 1 Cornwall, Devon & Dorset
A TEAM group 2 Hampshire, Kent & Surrey
A TEAM group 3 Norfolk, Shropshire, West Mids & Essex
Chris Willies, Jason Woods, Jack Pye, David Lamb & Simon Willies