SUFFOLK’S oldest cricket league, the Suffolk Premier League, may well have completed its last season.

Earl Stonham pipped Walsham to the title for their first success earlier this month, but only seven teams took part and attempts to attract more entrants have been unsuccessful.

In recent years the champions of the SPL have been promoted to the Two Counties Championship, but there has been no movement in the other direction so numbers have slowly depleted.

Now six SPL teams have applied to join the Two Counties for 2012, with a proposal from the TC management committee being put forward to the AGM on October 10 to accept them and set up three regionalised sections from Divison Seven downwards.

Currently there are 100 teams in the TC, with five divisions of 12 and four of 10.

It has grown dramatically in numbers since 1999 when it was accepted as the feeder competition to the newly formed East Anglian Premier League.

The management committee is also putting forward a proposal to introduce a time limit of three hours 15 minutes to complete 50-over innings in Division One, with six penalty runs being applied for each over that is not completed in that time.

Other proposals include the introduction of pink or orange balls, a powerplay for the first 10 overs of Division One games and the application of strict leg-side wides.

There is also a proposal for a tie-breaker when teams finish on the same number of points. This happened at the top of Division Five this season, with Witham II and Frinton II ending with identical points and agreeing to share the title.