{"id":2969,"date":"2012-05-01T08:33:58","date_gmt":"2012-05-01T12:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/?p=2969"},"modified":"2012-05-02T08:00:36","modified_gmt":"2012-05-02T11:30:36","slug":"the-hamilton-district-cricket-league-a-story-in-schedules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/?p=2969","title":{"rendered":"The Hamilton & District Cricket League: A Story in Schedules"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ramon Lachmansingh for Canada Cricket Online<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

H&DCL Fixtures<\/p><\/div>\n

The Hamilton and District Cricket League<\/a> is Southern Ontario-based association founded in 1921. \u00a0\u00a0Its boundaries have been fluid but in recent times stretch from Mississauga in the northeast, to Cambridge in the west and to the American boarder (and even across) in the southeast.\u00a0 The league is somewhat atypical in Canadian cricket circles.\u00a0 Whereas most leagues are now centred on a single large municipality, the H&DCL is made up of clubs representing several communities and spread over considerable distances.\u00a0 As a result, clubs draw on a limited number of players and are more vulnerable to the immigration trends cricket has felt over recent decades.<\/p>\n

An overview of the 1976-2002 era provided through a series of printed fixture lists reveals the changes the league has undergone.
\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Season<\/strong><\/td>\nClubs<\/strong><\/td>\n\n

# of Teams<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

Notes<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n\u2018A\u2019 Division<\/strong><\/td>\n\u2018B\u2019 Division<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1976<\/td>\n13<\/td>\n8<\/td>\n8<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1978<\/td>\n11<\/td>\n8<\/td>\n9<\/td>\nGrimsby (a community from the H&DCL\u2019s early days) and Buffalo Wanderers CC (the only U.S.-based club) have exited the league;
\nWelland-Niagara CC fielding two separate \u2018B\u2019 sides: Welland and Niagara.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1979<\/td>\n14<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n10<\/td>\nCambridge CC, Georgetown CC and Guelph CC join league<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1980<\/td>\n14<\/td>\n9<\/td>\n12<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1981<\/td>\n13<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n10<\/td>\nWelland-Niagara CC fielding a single team;\u00a0 Hamilton Fairfield and Cavaliers (Hamilton) merge<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
19821<\/sup><\/td>\n12<\/td>\n9<\/td>\n10<\/td>\nFairfield-Cavaliers club folds<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1983<\/td>\n12<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
19842<\/sup><\/td>\n11<\/td>\n7<\/td>\n10<\/td>\nMilton CC did not play 1984 season<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1985<\/td>\n12<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n10<\/td>\nMilton CC returns to \u2018B\u2019 division. Guelph CC consolidates to \u2018A\u2019 division<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1986<\/td>\n11<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n11<\/td>\nWest St. Catharines club (est. 1932) folds;<\/p>\n

League adds \u201cH&DCL Juniors\u201d team to \u2018B\u2019 division \u2013 comprised of junior players from several clubs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

1987<\/td>\n9<\/td>\n7<\/td>\n7<\/td>\nWelland-Niagara club does not field a team in 1987; Georgetown CC unable to field a team<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
19883<\/sup><\/td>\n10<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n10<\/td>\nUniversity of Guelph CC (est. 1957) folds; Welland-Niagara and Georgetown clubs return; Guelph CC add team to \u2018B\u2019 division<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1989<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1991<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n11<\/td>\nOakville CC (est. 1919) has folded; Crescent CC (Hamilton) joins; new United CC (Hamilton) playing friendlies<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1992<\/td>\n11<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n12<\/td>\nUnited CC joins \u2018B\u2019 division<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1993<\/td>\n11<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n10<\/td>\nHamilton CC and St. Catharines CC consolidate to \u2018A\u2019 division.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1996<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n6<\/td>\nMilton (est. 1973) and Welland-Niagara (est. 1869) clubs have folded;\u00a0 Five Star CC (Hamilton) joins league; the H&DCL Juniors and new Blue Vets club (Hamilton) are playing friendlies; Guelph CC again consolidate to \u2018A\u2019 division<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1997<\/td>\n11<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n9<\/td>\nBlue Vets join \u2018B\u2019 division<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1998<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n7<\/td>\nUnited CC disbanded<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1999<\/td>\n9<\/td>\n11<\/td>\n–<\/td>\nFive Star CC folds; H&DCL \u2018B\u2019 division eliminated<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2000<\/td>\n7<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n–<\/td>\nCrescent and Blue Line (formerly Blue Vets) clubs have folded<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2002<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n8<\/td>\n–<\/td>\nGeorgetown CC (est. 1977) and Guelph CC (est. 1978) have folded; an Oakville representative has returned to league<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
20094<\/sup><\/td>\n7<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n–<\/td>\nCrescent CC (Hamilton) has returned. League operating as two conferences in single division<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
20104<\/sup><\/td>\n9<\/td>\n8<\/td>\n6<\/td>\nHalton Stars CC and Stoney Creek Cricket Academy join league; \u2018B\u2019 division re-established<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
20114<\/sup><\/td>\n9<\/td>\n8<\/td>\n6<\/td>\nBrantford CC (est. 1860) is disbanded; Burlington United CC joins;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
20125<\/sup><\/td>\n10<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n5<\/td>\nForce One CC (Niagara Falls) joins; Premier (formerly \u2018A\u2019) division has two conferences<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

footnotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
1<\/td>\nInformation taken from \u201cOntario Cricket Pitch\u201d (April 1983)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n\u201cOntario Cricket Pitch\u201d (June 1985) indicates Milton CC did not play the 1984 season<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\nInformation taken from \u201cOntario Cricket Pitch\u201d (April 1989)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\nInformation obtained from archived versions of H&DCL website<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\nInformation obtained from current version of H&DCL website<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

During the mid-1970s, the transition from the previous cricketing generation, largely of Canadian and English origin to those hailing from the West Indies, was nearing its conclusion.\u00a0 Though some communities disappeared, new clubs were able to replace them. \u00a0Into the 1980s, though no new clubs were added, a healthy balance between team numbers in the league\u2019s \u2018A\u2019 and \u2018B\u2019 divisions was maintained.\u00a0 As that decade wore on, some worrying trends began to emerge.\u00a0 Clubs were having difficulty finding players which is made clear from mergers of nearby clubs (formal or informal), clubs consolidating to single team, the migration of teams from the ‘A\u2019 to ‘B\u2019 divisions, and clubs taking a hiatus before disappearing altogether in some cases.<\/p>\n

With the arrival of the 1990s, renewed demographic changes spurred by South Asian immigration came at a crucial time for the Hamilton and district league.\u00a0 Again, the ethnic make-up of the league was changing.\u00a0 Long-time member communities continued to leave the league but in Hamilton new clubs arose.\u00a0 The \u201cSteel city\u201d was once again the home to multiple clubs with as many as 5 representatives playing concurrently.\u00a0 This boost was not to last, however.\u00a0 At decade\u2019s close, all the new Hamilton-based clubs were out.\u00a0 Eventually, the \u2018B\u2019 division was eliminated.<\/p>\n

The start of the new millennium saw the league reach a low of six members.\u00a0 The larger clubs helped make up numbers by fielding two sides in the single-division structure.\u00a0 In recent seasons, the league\u2019s situation seems to have stabilized.\u00a0 New communities have come aboard and the \u2018B\u2019 division re-established.\u00a0 It may be significant that the westerly communities like Guelph and Brantford no longer field teams while those closer to the major population centres (such as the Oakville, Halton and Stoney Creek clubs) have come aboard.\u00a0 As the H&DCL celebrated its 90th anniversary last year, it is experiencing a modest upswing.<\/p>\n

The resilience of this small league can be seen as encouraging, dealing with change since its inception.\u00a0 Yet over the period of examination, like every other cricket association in Canada, it has relied on players learning the game overseas. \u00a0This continues to put cricket at odds with most sports.\u00a0 Cricket\u2019s great challenge is the Hamilton and District League\u2019s challenge: to become main-stream to the point that it is decoupled from immigration patterns; to better cope with change over its next three decades.<\/p>\n

(Ramon Lachmansingh)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ramon Lachmansingh for Canada Cricket Online The Hamilton and District Cricket League is Southern Ontario-based association founded in 1921. \u00a0\u00a0Its boundaries have been fluid but in recent times stretch from Mississauga in the northeast, to Cambridge in the west and to the American boarder (and even across) in the southeast.\u00a0 The league is somewhat atypical […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2969"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2969"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2983,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2969\/revisions\/2983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}