THE HPH York Vale Cricket League will have 47 teams spread across five divisions next season.

The new structure was approved at a meeting of the league management committee and will see four divisions of ten teams, with seven sides in division five.

Teams in the bottom division will play each other three times so all sides will have 18 league fixtures during the course of the summer.

With Copmanthorpe’s first team leaving division one for the York & District Senior League, it could have spared Wheldrake from the drop to division two along with bottom club Clifton Alliance.

But Wheldrake, who struggled to compete in the top flight because of lack of numbers, requested to start 2013 in division two.

That saw Askham Bryan, who finished third behind division two champions Fulfordgate and runners-up Kelfield, promoted to division one.

Thorp Arch & Boston Spa I, who finished bottom of division five this year, find themselves in the bottom division next year along with their second team, who finished near the bottom of the now defunct division six.

The make-up of the divisions for 2013 is:

• Division one: North Cave, Hemingbrough, Bishopthorpe, Stockton & Hopgrove, Ovington, Burn, Hirst Courtney, Fulfordgate, Kelfield, Askham Bryan.

• Division two: Wheldrake, Clifton Alliance, Ben Johnson, Westow, Selby, Thorpe Willoughby, York RI, Heworth, North Duffield, Thixendale.

• Division three: Barmby Moor, Copmanthorpe, South Cave, Stillingfleet, Malton & Old Malton, Melbourne, Goole Town, Pocklington, Yapham, Acomb.

• Division four: Hemingbrough II, Burton Salmon, Dunnington, Heworth II, Bishopthorpe II, Burn II, Askham Bryan II, Ovington II, Stockton & Hopgrove II, Stamford Bridge.

• Division five: Thorp Arch & Boston Spa I, Woodhouse Grange, Thorpe Willoughby II, Hirst Courtney II, Selby II, Thorp Arch & Boston Spa II, Malton & Old Malton II.

Next season, the league will celebrate its 80th anniversary and plans to mark the milestone with a match between a League Legends XI and a Sponsors XI.

A “Cash For Runs” day will be held on the first round of the various cup competitions, when clubs will be asked to contribute ten pence for each run they score that afternoon.

The money will be donated to Special Olympics City of York, which is supported by the Lord Mayor of York, Coun Keith Hyman.

Phil Rawlinson, from the Wheldrake club, has been co-opted as league treasurer.

Newly-promoted Fulfordgate have received a £500 grant from Aviva to go towards the purchase of sightscreens which are a requirement for division one clubs.