THE North Yorkshire & South Durham Premier Cricket League have been given the green light to apply for ECB Premier League accreditation if they wish to do so.

Recognised as one of the most progressive league organisations in the UK, they have spent the last 18 months considering whether they should seek to become the 26th ECBPL.

The advice received was that they should first obtain the support of the county boards for such a move, as without that there would be little point in submitting a formal application.

With Yorkshire providing their backing last year a presentation was made by the NYSD to a special meeting of the Durham Cricket Board in December, which was also attended by Mike Gatting on behalf of the ECB.

The board subsequently provided the necessary support for the league to commence the process of seeking accreditation.

A special league sub-committee is now being formed to undertake a due diligence process that will result in draft proposals being put before the member clubs in April.

If the decision is made to proceed with a formal application it must be submitted to the ECB by the end of August.

This development follows quickly on an invitation from the ECB to seven non-ECB Premier Leagues to participate in the 2010 Cockspur T20 National Cup – a competition that includes a finals day televised live on Sky and previously restricted to just ECBPLs.

Other elite level leagues invited alongside the NYSD include the Bradford and Lancashire Leagues.

The NYSD’s existing 20-over competition, the Tall Trees Hotel Macmillan Cup, was adjusted at the recent AGM to meet Cockspur qualification requirements, and also allow the popular NYSD Fifteens coloured clothing format to remain intact.

Also at the meeting, Langbaurgh League side Maltby were admitted to the third division.

The geographical arguments for a Tees Valley-based ECBPL are compelling, and with the NYSD already having a successful pyramid system in place for more than 12 years any move could also act as a settling influence to the recently-formed pyramid linked to the NEPL.

The Durham leg of that pyramid system kicked in at the end of last season after lying dormant in its first year of operation in 2008 when not a single club moved league.

The success of Hetton Lyons in winning the Durham Senior League title, and their desire to have another go at Dukes NEPL cricket, sounded the death knell for Norton, who finished bottom and were relegated.

The club will play for the first time in the Warmseal Durham Senior League this coming season and hope to retain many of their established players.

Seaham Harbour’s 106-year membership of the DSL came to a protracted end at the December AGM.

With Seaham Harbour playing their first season in the 3D Sports Durham Coast League, there will be one other new set of faces following the acceptance of Hylton’s application to rejoin a league they left in 2004.

A significant side benefit for both leagues has been the levelling up of numbers.

Both operated with odd numbers in recent seasons, which created its own complications with the completion of fixtures.

But now both leagues will have 12 teams in their top divisions.