Cleethorpes head into the closing weeks of the 2026 Yorkshire Cricket Southern Premier League season as reigning champions, but the title race is far from over. With five rounds of Premier Division cricket left, clubs across Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster and Barnsley still have a genuine shot at a place in the White Rose play-offs and a Headingley finale. Here’s the full 2026 schedule, teams, cup finals and league format.
Yorkshire Cricket Southern Premier League 2026 Premier Division Schedule
The Premier Division plays full day fixtures on Saturdays, and every match through this stretch of the season starts at 12 noon. The table below lists the published fixtures for the closing rounds of 2026.
| Date | Time | Fixture |
|---|---|---|
| 25 July | 12:00 | Appleby Frodingham v Cawthorne |
| 25 July | 12:00 | Doncaster Town v Cleethorpes |
| 25 July | 12:00 | Hallam v Wickersley Old Village |
| 25 July | 12:00 | Sheffield Collegiate v Whiston Parish Church |
| 25 July | 12:00 | Tickhill v Whitley Hall |
| 25 July | 12:00 | Wakefield Thornes v Sprotbrough |
| 1 August | 12:00 | Cawthorne v Whitley Hall |
| 1 August | 12:00 | Cleethorpes v Sprotbrough |
| 1 August | 12:00 | Doncaster Town v Hallam |
| 1 August | 12:00 | Sheffield Collegiate v Appleby Frodingham |
| 1 August | 12:00 | Whiston Parish Church v Wakefield Thornes |
| 1 August | 12:00 | Wickersley Old Village v Tickhill |
| 8 August | 12:00 | Cawthorne v Tickhill |
| 8 August | 12:00 | Cleethorpes v Appleby Frodingham |
| 8 August | 12:00 | Sprotbrough v Hallam |
| 8 August | 12:00 | Whiston Parish Church v Doncaster Town |
| 8 August | 12:00 | Whitley Hall v Wakefield Thornes |
| 8 August | 12:00 | Wickersley Old Village v Sheffield Collegiate |
| 15 August | 12:00 | Appleby Frodingham v Wickersley Old Village |
| 15 August | 12:00 | Doncaster Town v Sheffield Collegiate |
| 15 August | 12:00 | Hallam v Whitley Hall |
| 15 August | 12:00 | Sprotbrough v Cawthorne |
| 15 August | 12:00 | Tickhill v Whiston Parish Church |
| 15 August | 12:00 | Wakefield Thornes v Cleethorpes |
| 22 August | 12:00 | Cawthorne v Wakefield Thornes |
| 22 August | 12:00 | Cleethorpes v Tickhill |
| 22 August | 12:00 | Sheffield Collegiate v Hallam |
| 22 August | 12:00 | Whiston Parish Church v Appleby Frodingham |
| 22 August | 12:00 | Whitley Hall v Sprotbrough |
| 22 August | 12:00 | Wickersley Old Village v Doncaster Town |
| 29 August | 12:00 | Appleby Frodingham v Doncaster Town |
| 29 August | 12:00 | Hallam v Cawthorne |
| 29 August | 12:00 | Sprotbrough v Whiston Parish Church |
| 29 August | 12:00 | Tickhill v Sheffield Collegiate |
| 29 August | 12:00 | Wakefield Thornes v Wickersley Old Village |
| 29 August | 12:00 | Whitley Hall v Cleethorpes |
| 5 September | 12:00 | Cleethorpes v Cawthorne |
| 5 September | 12:00 | Doncaster Town v Tickhill |
| 5 September | 12:00 | Hallam v Appleby Frodingham |
| 5 September | 12:00 | Sheffield Collegiate v Wakefield Thornes |
| 5 September | 12:00 | Whiston Parish Church v Whitley Hall |
| 5 September | 12:00 | Wickersley Old Village v Sprotbrough |
| 12 September | 12:00 | Cawthorne v Wickersley Old Village |
| 12 September | 12:00 | Cleethorpes v Whiston Parish Church |
| 12 September | 12:00 | Sprotbrough v Doncaster Town |
| 12 September | 12:00 | Tickhill v Hallam |
| 12 September | 12:00 | Wakefield Thornes v Appleby Frodingham |
| 12 September | 12:00 | Whitley Hall v Sheffield Collegiate |
(Source: YCSPL)
Yorkshire Cricket Southern Premier League 2026 Cup Finals and Play-offs
Alongside the league programme, the 2026 season closes out with a run of cup finals across the divisions before the inter-league play-offs get going.
| Competition | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Whitworth Cup Final | 16 August | Doncaster Town CC |
| Mick Savage Trophy Final | 23 August | Darfield CC |
| K3 Dental Cup Final | 30 August | Wakefield Thornes CC |
| President’s Trophy Final | 30 August | Whitley Hall CC |
| Billy Oates Memorial Cup Final | 6 September | Norton Oakes CC |
| White Rose Play-offs (Quarter-finals) | 19 September | Host clubs |
| White Rose Play-offs (Semi-finals) | 20 September | Host clubs |
| White Rose Play-off Final | 26 September | Headingley |
(Source: YCSPL)
The White Rose play-offs bring together the champions of the various Yorkshire ECB Premier Leagues, so whoever tops the Premier Division this year will represent the Southern league in that end of season showpiece at Headingley. Cricket Insider UK has been tracking the picture across all the Yorkshire Premier Leagues this summer, and this looks like one of the tightest run-ins of the lot.
Yorkshire Cricket Southern Premier League 2026 Format
The competition runs as a full pyramid, with promotion and relegation linking every level of the club game in the region. Here’s how it’s structured.
- The Premier Division features 12 teams playing full-day Saturday fixtures, with each club facing every other team home and away throughout the season.
- Below it sit the Championship Division and Divisions 1 through 9, several of which split into North and South sections to keep travel manageable for the many second, third and fourth elevens involved.
- Promotion and relegation move clubs between levels each year, while a separate set of cup competitions runs alongside the league programme.
- The Premier Division champions don’t stop at the league title. They go on to the Yorkshire Championship play-offs against the winners of the other Yorkshire ECB Premier Leagues, with the final held at Headingley.
Yorkshire Cricket Southern Premier League 2026 Overview
The league was formed in 2016 as part of a wider restructuring of Yorkshire club cricket. It was known as the Yorkshire South Premier League until 2020 and now operates as a full pyramid, from the Premier Division through the Championship and nine lower divisions.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| League | Yorkshire Cricket Southern Premier League (YCSPL) |
| Status | ECB Premier League |
| Formed | 2016 |
| Premier Division Teams | 12 |
| Defending Champions | Cleethorpes (2025) |
| Administrator | Based in Bircotes, Doncaster |
| Play-off Route | Yorkshire Championship, final at Headingley |
(Source: YCSPL)
The fixtures below cover the league’s official late July to mid September 2026 schedule, followed by the cup finals and the White Rose play-offs. Whoever wins the Premier Division goes forward to the Yorkshire Championship play-offs against the Bradford Premier League and Yorkshire Premier League North winners, with the final played at Headingley.
Yorkshire Cricket Southern Premier League 2026 Premier Division Teams
Twelve clubs make up the top flight in 2026, drawn mainly from Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Doncaster and the northern edge of Lincolnshire, with Cleethorpes carrying the title into the new campaign.
| Team | Location |
|---|---|
| Appleby Frodingham | Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire |
| Cawthorne | Barnsley, South Yorkshire |
| Cleethorpes | North East Lincolnshire |
| Doncaster Town | Doncaster, South Yorkshire |
| Hallam | Sheffield, South Yorkshire |
| Sheffield Collegiate | Sheffield, South Yorkshire |
| Sprotbrough | Doncaster, South Yorkshire |
| Tickhill | Doncaster, South Yorkshire |
| Wakefield Thornes | Wakefield, West Yorkshire |
| Whiston Parish Church | Rotherham, South Yorkshire |
| Whitley Hall | Sheffield, South Yorkshire |
| Wickersley Old Village | Rotherham, South Yorkshire |
(Source: YCSPL)
Sheffield Collegiate is probably the best known name on that list. It’s the club where Michael Vaughan and Joe Root both learned the game as boys. Cleethorpes, meanwhile, remain the standout side from the Lincolnshire end of the league and the team everyone else is chasing.
Defending Champions: Cleethorpes
Cleethorpes go into the closing weeks of 2026 as reigning Premier Division champions, having taken the title in 2025. The North East Lincolnshire club remain one of the sides everyone else in the division is measuring themselves against.
Their title defence has kept them right in the mix all season, and matches against fellow contenders such as Doncaster Town, Wakefield Thornes and Whitley Hall carry extra weight in this run-in.
Whether Cleethorpes hold on or a new name takes over, the champions will earn their place in the White Rose play-offs and the chance to finish the season at Headingley.
Also Read
Cleethorpes Look To Defend Their Crown As The Season Reaches Its Final Stretch
The Premier Division wraps up on 12 September, and every fixture between now and then carries real weight for Cleethorpes and their closest challengers. Doncaster Town, Wakefield Thornes and Whitley Hall continue to challenge for the title, while the August and September cup finals will intensify the race before the season concludes.
Whoever finishes top earns a place in the White Rose play-offs, with the final at Headingley on 26 September. Cricket Insider UK will keep following the run-in as the Premier Division and its promotion battles take shape over the coming weeks.
