The Huddersfield ECB Premier League is the premier cricket competition in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England.
The league has been in existence since 1891 with teams representing suburbs of Huddersfield and villages in the Huddersfield district area. There are now 41 teams in the league. Now there are teams from South Yorkshire and Saddleworth, as well as clubs that have joined the league from the now defunct Huddersfield Central Cricket League and former Central Yorkshire Cricket League.
In January 2025 the league achieved ECB Premier League status, following a three year application process, making it the 33rd ECB Accredited Premier League nationally and the fifth in Yorkshire.
A number of local players have come from the Huddersfield League to play for in the English County Championship, mainly for Yorkshire and have gone on to represent England. Other county players and international players have played club cricket in the Huddersfield League.
Member clubs
The league currently, as of 2024, is split into 7 sections, where club's first and second teams play.Huddersfield Cricket League Tables
Elland has won the most 1st XI competitions, leagues and various cups, with 42 trophies in the history of the league. Broad Oak with 32 trophies have had most success in 2nd XI competitions. Huddersfield Cricket League Roll of Honour
Here are the clubs playing in the league during the 2024 season (they are linked to the locality where they are based):
Almondbury Almondbury Wesleyans Armitage Bridge Barkisland Birkby Rose Hill Broad Oak Cartworth Moor Clayton West Cumberworth United Delph & Dobcross Denby Denby Dale Denby Grange Edgerton & Dalton Emley Clarence Flockton Golcar Hall Bower Holmbridge Holmfirth
Honley Hoylandswaine Kirkheaton Kirkburton Lascelles Hall Linthwaite Marsden Meltham Mirfield Mirfield Parish Cavaliers Moorlands CC Rastrick Scholes Shelley Shepley Skelmanthorpe Slaithwaite Thongsbridge Thurstonland Upperthong
Former clubs
Source:Huddersfield Cricket League Roll of Honour
Bradey Mills Cawthorne Elland Friarmere Halifax Huddersfield Kexborough Lepton Linthwaite Hall Lockwood Meltham Mills Micklehurst Paddock Primrose Hill
Notable players Many Huddersfield Cricket League players have gone on to play First-class and Test cricket.
Almondbury Eddie Leadbeater (1927–2011) – Yorkshire Warwickshire and England
Almondbury Wesleyans Gurman Randhawa - Durham
Armitage Bridge Schofield Haigh – Yorkshire and England Robert Moorhouse – Yorkshire Fred Moorhouse – Warwickshire
Broad Oak
Charlie Roebuck - Yorkshire Steven Crook - Lancashire, Northamptonshire, Middlesex Gurman Randhawa - Durham Tony Palladino - Derbyshire
Cawthorne Nathan Buck - Northamptonshire
Delph & Dobcross Arron Lilley – Lancashire Kyle Hogg – Lancashire Michael Smethurst – Lancashire
Elland Richard Blakey – Yorkshire and England Ajmal Shahzad – Yorkshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire and England
Emley Clarence Matthew Wood – Yorkshire
Golcar Arnie Sidebottom – Yorkshire and England
Holmfirth Allan Lamb – Northamptonshire and England Arnie Sidebottom – Yorkshire and England Ryan Sidebottom – Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and England Tom Craddock – Essex Max Morley – Durham (Max is more commonly known for winning the ITV 'Love Island' television programme in 2015)
Honley Arnie Sidebottom – Yorkshire and England Craig White – Yorkshire and England Matthew Wood – Yorkshire Steven Crook – Lancashire, Northamptonshire, Middlesex
Hoylandswaine Ryan Robinson – Durham Alex Morris – Yorkshire, Hampshire Zac Morris – Hampshire Richard Wilkinson – Yorkshire
Kirkheaton George Hirst – Yorkshire and England Wilfred Rhodes – Yorkshire and England
Lascelles Hall Arnie Sidebottom – Yorkshire and England Matthew Wood – Yorkshire
Lepton Highlanders Phil Mustard – Durham and England
Linthwaite Barrie Leadbeater – Yorkshire (umpire) Chris Schofield – Lancashire, Surrey and England
Meltham Ryan Sidebottom – Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and England Neil Carter – Warwickshire
Paddock Chris Balderstone – Yorkshire, Leicestershire and England Percy Holmes – Yorkshire and England Willie Watson – Yorkshire, Leicestershire and England.
Primrose Hill Ken Taylor – Yorkshire and England
Scholes James Wharton - Yorkshire CCC
Shelley Matthew Friedlander – Northamptonshire, Boland Mohammed Azharullah – Northamptonshire
Shepley Darren Gough – Yorkshire, Essex and England
Skelmanthorpe Ronnie Irani – Lancashire, Essex and England
Overseas professionals Most of the teams have had professional players who have come from overseas. A few notable ones include:
Barkisland Tinashe Panyangara – Zimbabwe Tim Seifert - New Zealand
Broad Oak Vikram Rathour - India Amay Khurasiya - India Irfan Fazil - Pakistan Naved Anjum - Pakistan Mujahid Jamshed - Pakistan Hallam Moseley - Barbados Saleem Mughal - Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Rhys Phillips - Otago Henry Cooper - Northern Districts Vinura Dulsara - Galle
Golcar Atul Bedade – India Sonny Ramadhin (guest) – West Indies
Holmfirth Tony Gray – West Indies Andrew Hudson – South Africa
Honley Ian Harvey (guest) – Australia Brett Randell - Northern Districts, Central Stags (New Zealand), Somerset
Kirkheaton Andrew Hudson – South Africa
Lepton Sikandar Raza - Zimbabwe
Linthwaite Deighton Butler – West Indies Vikram Rathour – India
Lascelles Hall Garth Le Roux – South Africa
Marsden Atul Wassan – India Abdur Rehman – Pakistan
Meltham Dilip Doshi – India Madan Lal – India Shahid Mahmood – Pakistan
Paddock Mansoor Akhtar – Pakistan Gary Sobers (guest) – West Indies
Rastrick Amir Sohail Pakistan Asif Afridi Pakistan
Scholes Wasim Jaffer – India Peter Drysdale – Northern Districts (New Zealand)
Shelley Muthumudalige Pushpakumara – Sri Lanka Mohammad Ramzan – Pakistan
Shepley Trent Copeland – Australia
Slaithwaite Pragyan Ojha – India
References
External links Huddersfield Cricket League website The Cricket History of Calderdale and Kirklees – find out about Histories of many of the Drakes League teams