Broseley promoted to the Premier Division

The Woodlands Road side finished runners up to Madeley in Division One last season but had an anxious wait to see if they would win promotion, after both Newport and Quatt were relegated from the Birmingham League.

Shropshire League officials were unwilling to extend the amount of teams in the division, but, at a meeting on Monday night, members agreed both Madeley and Broseley would be promoted.

The move was bad news, however, for Albrighton. They have been relegated to Division One along with Newtown and Allscott.

Lloyd said: "The league officials have agreed to promote two and relegate three teams. It means we have been promoted at the expense of Albrighton who have been relegated.

"Obviously we are delighted. It's very difficult as a captain at the start of each season when you don't know where you have to finish to get promoted.

"We had 10 years in the Premier Division before we were relegated three years ago and we have had the chance to rebuild the club both on and off the field.

"We have been fighting for three years to get back and now we have achieved it. I fully expect us to competitive next season.

"We are pretty much Broseley lads through and through and we have worked very hard to get back into the Premier Division, which is where we belong."

Craig Simms, who is in charge of registration for the Shropshire County Cricket League, said the committee wanted to promote Broseley to reward teams that do well.

He said: "The committee wanted to promote the top two in each division.

"That meant three teams would have to be relegated from the Premier Division to accommodate Broseley as well as Newport and Quatt, who are coming down from the Birmingham League.

"It was important to keep 12 teams in each division. Teams have struggled to field sides on Bank Holiday weekends, so increasing the amount of teams wasn't really an option."