THE sixth season of the Worcestershire Sunday Club Cricket League starts this weekend.

Droitwich Spa are defending the first XI championship and Kidderminster Victoria the second XI championship.

The league has been a major factor in keeping Sunday cricket alive in the county.

It enables Worcestershire clubs, who play in different competitions on Saturdays, to renew traditional rivalries.

This season, the league comprises a record 20 clubs and has a new sponsor, the Fearnley Factory Shop, who have donated the balls for the first XI competition.

Both the first XI and the second XI competitions comprise a series of 15 matches with 12 clubs entering teams in both competitions.

Four clubs enter teams in the first XI league only and four clubs will try their luck in the second league only.

The continuing flow of young cricketers is vital for all the league's member clubs.

One of the main purposes of the seconds competition is to develop young cricketers from under 13s through to under 17s.

It will also help the transition from 20 to 45-over cricket and each club is asked to select five or six under 17s in their second team.

More and more young players have progressed to first-team cricket, having started the adult game in the Sunday league.

Clubs: Chaddesley Corbett, Halesowen, Kidderminster Victoria, Barnards Green, Worcester, Barnt Green, Pershore, Bewdley, Redditch, Bromsgrove, Stourbridge, Droitwich, Evesham, Swindon, Old Elizabethans, Feckenham, Coombs Wood, Astwood Bank, Ombersley, Bretforton.