A shortage of players has forced Chalgrove CC to scrap one of their teams in The Oxford Times Cherwell League, which gets under way on Saturday week.

Chalgrove made a plea to the league to withdraw their team from Division 4 and run just one team in Division 7.

But the league decided that for just one season they would be allowed to field one team in Division 4, with the situation to be reviewed later in the year.

Chalgrove secretary Graham Rawlings explained that the problem came to light when the club started pre-season nets at Oratory School in mid-March.

Malcolm Cox Rogers, John Carr and Terry Bagnall have retired, Steve Strong has joined Watlington, Jonathon Talbot is playing golf and Alan Spiers has a long-standing ankle injury.

Rawlings said: "We have advertised profusely in the market towns and villages and in our village magazine for players and the feedback you get is more or less nothing."

But he remained defiant that Chalgrove, who have been relegated in each of the last two seasons, would enjoy a revival.

"We are fighting back and we would welcome anyone at any level, playing or adminstration, and we will see how it goes," he added.

"We are having extra training and practice and making it known that there are opportunities for younger players.

"We are going to have 18 or 19 players fighting for a place in our Division 4 team and they will also be pencilled in for Sundays.

"No-one will go without a game of cricket and we think that we will win more games than we lose.

"We only want a few to come back and then we would be optimistic we would have two teams again."

League secretary Peter Tomlin explained that they had turned down Chalgrove's plea to pull out of Division 4 as they felt it was right that the lower side should be the one to go.

"We wanted to help them as much as we could," he said.

With Chalgrove not fielding a side in Division 7, it will mean that section has nine teams, with one having a blank Saturday each week.

The league are to look later in the year at not just Chalgrove's position, but also the principle of each club fielding a minimum of two teams in the league.

Anyone interested in joining Chalgrove can contact Rawlings on 01844 279795.

The Cherwell League captains' meeting takes place at Bicester & North Oxford CC tonight (7.30).