Isle of Axholme Evening league

The Isle of Axholme Evening league was a minor cricket league with its history dating back to the late 1800s and running for nearly 100 years before folding in 1998. The league was unusual in that instead of the traditional rules in cricket of 6 balls per over the league adopted the rule of 8 ball overs with each team batting for 16 overs. Any team in the Isle could take part and there was little to no restrictions on entry apart from you had to be a team in the isle.
Formation of League and history
The exact year the league began is not currently known with newspaper records of the league found from the 1920s and 1930s but there is historical data to show that the teams in the league played arranged games in the late 1800s. The league didnt have many rules past any village in the Isle of Axholme could have a team and the matches had to be 16 8 ball overs per side. Anecdotal evidence showed that pitches were not anywhere near the standard you would see today with Eastoft having a team up until the 50s on a cow field, Luddington playing in a overgrown field and 2 sides not even having a ground.
After the Second World War finished there was a push to get recreational sports back together and most cricket leagues restarted in a more organised format and less emphasis on friendlies. By the middle of the 1950s there was 14 teams in the league giving each village side matches from early may until August when the league would finish due to the harvest.
There is no current records of the league from 1961-1969 and it is assumed that the league folded during this time
Revival and league ending
The league was revived in 1970. With a lot of the village sides no longer hacving cricket teams the number of teams was reducded to clubs that had actual cricket grounds and played cricket already in other league. The formnat of 16 8 ball overs agreed to stay the same but there was also an inclusion of cups to pan out the season, the Ashmore cup was played between the Isle league sides, the Norman Axe cup was added later and was a cup that also invited tradidional village and pub teams and there was also the TE Johnson cup that invited the best evening league sides from the Doncaster and South Yorkshire Area
The teams in the first revived season was
* Belton Cricket Club
* Crowle Sports Cricket Club
* Epworth Cricket Club
* Keady Power Station
* Luddington (Joined in 1971 but played the cup in 1970)
* Misterton Cricket CLub
* Outcasts Cricket Club (Who did not have a home until 1978 and played all games away)
* Owston Ferry Cricket Club
* West Butterwick Cricket Club
The league was very popular through the 70s,80s and 90s with most of the above teams playing every seaon up until the end (Crowle Sports merged with Outcasts cricket club and Keadby Power Station Folded). The league also gained new clubs over the years with Gunness Cricket club and Haxey Cricket club both joining when they were formed.
By the mid 90s clubs had a lot of different leagues to take part in. The clubs that started in the league as just a midweek team now had sides in the Lincolnshire County Cricket League and the Humberside Alliance Cricket League on a Saturday and the North Lindsey League on a sunday, with the Lindsey league taking on the more tradidional village cricket role. Teams started to drop out of the Isle league just leaving the most established teams to play and when Belton cricket club, one of the teams that had been around since the very beginigng, unexpectedly folded in 1998 the league decided it was time to fold.
There was an effort by local teams in the area to keep the cup compeitions going and the Ashmore and Norman Axe cup both took place until 2008 when due to a lack of teams they both had to fold. The 2 remaining evening leagues teams at the time Luddington and Outcasts both carried on playing evening cricket by joining the Snaith and District League.

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