The Western Counties Cup appears to be in turmoil with Southampton Rangers contemplating withdrawing from the series and PHC facing expulsion.

The Royal Gazette can reveal that Rangers are considering pulling out of the competition after being denied what they feel is their right to host it this year in accordance with the Western Counties Cricket Association constitution, while PHC may be kicked out after accepting an invitation to compete in the Central Counties.

Rangers president Darren “Butch” Burchall is angry at the decision to deny Rangers the opportunity to challenge for the cup on their home ground, with champions Willow Cuts set to get their title defence under way on August 9.

“According to the constitution, the two grounds for the Western Counties are Southampton Rangers and White Hill Field, and the game will be played in a rotation year by year,” said Burchall.

“The executive committee can hold the game elsewhere if needed, but elsewhere means not at Rangers or White Hill. I remember one year they had it at Somerset Cricket Club when there were some issues, and when PHC came into the fold they allowed PHC to host one of them. But in the rotation, it is Rangers’ turn.”

Burchall met with Western Counties officials at a special meeting after not hearing from them to discuss logistics for hosting the 2025 series.

“I said to them that we’ve started spending lots of money fixing the club up and getting the place ready, and we haven’t heard from you and we need to sort out the logistics,” Burgess said.

“I wanted to share our innovative plan to host the Western Counties and make it a cricket festival occasion like it used to be.

“They showed up to the meeting and I gave them a presentation — they made me try to prove why we should have it. I told them I shouldn’t have to prove anything, as the constitution says it’s a rotation and it’s our turn to host it. Their thing is that the Western Counties had died and the last time it was at Rangers it lost money.

“I said to them they weren’t innovative enough to plan for that and have something to keep the fans there, whether it be a marching band, majorettes, Gombeys or even a second game that day. I continued to try to convince them, and said over and over, ‘I shouldn’t have to convince you’.

“We closed the meeting agreeing to not come to a decision and let it go to the meeting the next day, which was a general meeting of the representatives of the Western Counties.”

It was at that meeting that Burchall said Western Counties officials confirmed that the 2025 series would be played at White Hill Field after privately discussing the matter among themselves rather than allowing the member clubs to vote at a recent general meeting.

“It was like they were afraid to allow the reps to vote,” Burchall said.

“Every time I spoke, everything just went silent, so Teresa Burrows [Western Counties president] decided to take her board out of the meeting into another room and have a vote on their own. They came back and decided contrary to the constitution that it’s going to be at White Hill.

“We feel hard done by and that it’s not right. I just don’t have confidence any more in the leadership of the Western Counties, and as a result I met with my executive board.

“I haven’t spoken with all my membership, but I have spoken to the cricket team and they are deeply upset. Basically, a lot of us are on the same page — I don’t think we are going to take part in Western Counties this year.”

Burchall feels the Western Counties’ decision is based primarily on the allocation of plots and goes against the “spirit” of a revision to the constitution allowing for the year-about change of venues.

“All they are worrying about is plots, and the cricket is secondary,” he said.

“I told them the experience at Rangers is different to the experience up White Hill. Up White Hill, you get that culture of plots and at Rangers we have less plots. But we can put up scaffolding and we have seating areas where people can sit, and if they want to cordon off areas we can make them nice and sell those as plots as well.

“The Western Counties is about the different communities hosting it in their community, and all those people around Rangers want to feel a part of hosting it because that’s what the history of the Western Counties is all about.

“It’s about my neighbourhood against your neighbourhood, so that’s why historically when Rangers were dominating the Western Counties and the cup holders held it at their club and the other clubs up the west wanted a chance to host it, Rangers and Warwick got together with the Western Counties and said, ‘OK, we’ll do a roundabout to give everybody an equal share’.

“What Teresa [Burrows] is doing now is going completely against the spirit of that change in the constitution — this will be the third year straight of the Western Counties being up White Hill.

“She wants to do what’s best for the Western Counties and I told her what’s best is allowing it to be held where it is supposed to be according to the constitution, and let each club and community have a chance to come together and host it.”

It has also emerged that PHC could face expulsion from the Western Counties because of their decision to take part in the Central Counties.

According to Burchall, Western Counties officials gave warning to PHC at the recent general meeting.

“Western Counties offered PHC an ultimatum, which I think was unfair, to either play in just the Western Counties or not be included in the Western Counties,” he said.

PHC recently accepted an invitation to rejoin the Central Counties and were looking forward to competing in both competitions.

The Royal Gazette has reached out to the Western Counties and PHC for comment.