Tune in to catch The Overthrow Emergency Episode now!
The 2026 National Club Championship draw dropped an hour before we hit record, and it delivered everything we expected: derbies, long hauls, returning champions, and a record-breaking entry list. Here’s what stood out.
It takes something special for us to call an emergency episode of The Overthrow, but the release of the 2026 National Club Championship draw absolutely qualifies. This year’s competition is already bigger than ever — 265 clubs, up 17% on last year’s 225 — and the draw has thrown up enough storylines to keep half the country refreshing Play-Cricket until April.
Early April cricket: cold hands, hot ties
The action begins Sunday 12 April, a week before many of the “Northern” leagues even get started, meaning a lot of sides will be playing competitive cricket in temperatures best described as “optimistic”. But the reward? Some absolute belters straight out of the gate.
In Group 1, Hoylandswaine face Tickhill in a prelim, with the winner away to Bradford League champions and National T20 winners New Farnley. It’s a brutal early-season welcome — and that’s before you clock Driffield, Barnard Castle, and York lurking further along the route.
Derbies everywhere you look
Groups 3 and 4 feel like someone fed Google Maps into a randomiser. Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire & Lincolnshire clubs are practically stacked on top of each other, with fixtures like Loughborough v Denby, Papplewick v Lindum, and Kimberley’s neighbours all within a half-hour’s drive. Local? Absolutely. Simple? Not a chance.
One of the standout ties of the whole draw comes in Group 4: Cuckney v Spondon. Two powerhouse clubs, familiar with each other through cross-county cup play, and capable of putting on a proper early-season statement. Whether Spondon re-sign Stefan Muller could swing it — but Cuckney don’t tend to lose many at home.
Just beneath them, Cavaliers & Carrington have a favourable route after a winter of serious recruitment. They’re one of the sides many expected to reach last year’s final — and their intentions for 2026 look very clear.
Champions, contenders and revenge missions
Ormskirk, last year’s champions, enter in Group 6 and could meet skipper Gary Knight’s old club Longridge straight away — a lovely slice of symmetry for anyone who enjoys storylines with their cricket. And if the bracket behaves, a rematch with Roe Green, who Ormskirk hammered on Father’s Day, also sits on the horizon. Roe Green will not have forgotten that one.
Meanwhile in Group 9, last year’s runners-up Penzance look well placed. A home tie against Helston or Totnes/Dartington keeps them in Cornwall early doors, but the second round could be dynamite: Penzance v Bath, two clubs more than capable of a deep run.
Group 14: the group of death
If you’re looking for chaos, welcome to Group 14 — Brentwood, Wanstead & Snaresbrook, Crouch End, Billericay, Hertford, North Middlesex… pick your poison. Whoever survives this region will arrive at the national stages battle-hardened, frostbitten and probably late for work on Monday.
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Devon & Cornwall mayhem
Down in Group 10, the bottom half of the draw is pure Devon–Cornwall theatre:
- Exmouth v Wadebridge
- Paignton v Callington
- Truro v Plymouth
A set of fixtures that will matter just as much emotionally as competitively — and will almost certainly involve cold mornings, wet outfields, and one or two players wishing they’d packed an extra jumper.
Where’s the final?
Where it is… that’s still under wraps. But the final is confirmed for Sunday 13 September, sensibly avoiding the final Saturdays of various league seasons!
The best year yet?
With more entries, more derbies, more long-distance headaches, and more Premier League champions than ever before, this year’s draw feels like a step up in scale. The cricket will be brilliant, chaotic, cold, dramatic — everything the National Club Championship should be.
And as ever, we’ll be out covering it from Round One. First stop: Duffield v West Bridgfordians, 12 April. Bring a coat!
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