KNIGHTON-on-Teme Cricket Club will be starting a new chapter in their history next week.

Knighton have been accepted into the GB Liners Marches League, who are holding their annual general meeting in Hereford next Monday.

They are quitting the Worcestershire County League and will be playing clubs from Herefordshire and the Welsh border areas next season.

Marches League spokesman Derrick Jones said: “We have accepted Knighton into the league and they will be playing in Division Three subject to how the voting goes at the annual meeting.

"Knighton-on-Teme is about 30 miles from Hereford and I am sure that other clubs in the league will enjoy visiting a new ground.”

Knighton finished third in Division Six of the Worcestershire League last season.

Club stalwart Dave Pullen said the switch was necessary and added that Herefordshire Over-50s star John Humphries had given them a valuable insight into the new league.

“We had a meeting before our last league game of the season and we put forward the positive and negative points about the leagues,” said Pullen.

“There were no negative responses when we talked about changing leagues. John Humphries was playing for Herefordshire Over-50s last season and he knows quite a bit about the Marches League from talking to people and seeing them play.”

Pullen said Knighton’s players were eagerly awaiting the outcome of next week’s league meeting. “Once we know what division we are going to be in, then we’ll arrange our own annual meeting,” he said.

“The first and second divisions would be there for us to work up to and we think that the third division of the Marches League will be about our right level.”

Pullen said the players would welcome the reduced distances for away matches next season. “There might be a bit of travelling to three or four teams in the Marches League but it looks like there would only be one long distance in each division. We will have a lot of matches in the Hereford area.

“We were going to Harborne, Coombs Wood and Netherton in the Worcestershire League and they are all big distances from Knighton. Hopefully, we’ll have our league fixtures after Christmas and we can look forward to starting a new chapter in the history of Knighton-on-Teme Cricket Club.”