THE FUTURE of club cricket in Winchester is hanging by a thread as the city's two senior clubs wait to hear whether they can merge to form one of the most progressive outfits in Hampshire.

Talks between Winchester KS and St Cross Symondians have been ongoing since July and reached a breakthrough on Friday with the latter agreeing on principle to a merger.

But the link-up will be scrapped if Winchester fail to have their "silver" grading restored - they fell foul of the league's strict junior development requirements - before next Thursday's Southern Premier League annual meeting.

As things stand, they have lost the right to play in the league's 50-over Division 2 competition after failing to play any Under-13 colts games this summer.

Winchester's relegation bombshell follows an end-of-season review by the Hampshire Cricket Board of junior cricket played in Premier League clubs last summer.

The HCB review revealed Winchester played Under-15 games but, to qualify for silver accreditation, clubs have to field teams at both age levels.

Winchester are now appealing against the decision given that the merged club clearly would be entitled to silver status based on the activities of the season just finished - St Cross have arguably the best colts set-up in Hampshire.

They have around 100 kids on their books and have produced county players like Simon Francis and Jimmy Adams in recent years and reached the national finals in the mid-1990s.

Where playing strength is concerned, Winchester are one the top six most established clubs in the area, having won the Southern League twice in the last 15 seasons and only once in that time having finished outside the top ten. They finished third in Division 2 this summer.

The club have also been able to report significant advance-ments with regards their pitch and facilities this year - they came third in the Division 2 pitch table and also announced plans to erect a new clubhouse at their North Walls ground.

Winchester chairman Pop Morley said: "Obviously it wouldn't have been prudent to reveal our plans to merge with St Cross when initial talks were going on back in July and August.

"Until St Cross decided to agree to the proposals, we didn't have a leg to stand on.

"We had employed a coach to resolve our colts situation this season but unfortunately he had to quit for personal reasons and that left us in a hole, which was when we started talking to St Cross.

"We knew the situation required urgent attention but there was very little we could tell anyone in August when the HCB came in to ask us about our current colts position.

"What we have now is the potential to run a club that will fall in line with everything the league and indeed the MacLaurin Blueprint has asked of clubs in the past year or so, and have cricket in the Winchester area truly thriving for the first time in years.

"But we're in the hands of others and can only hope they look at our case favourably in time for next Thursday's agm."

Jon Player, who has agreed to co-chairman the merged club for the first year if it goes ahead, added: "It wouldn't be a natural justice to throw Win-chester into the bronze league.

"This is the county town of Hampshire and to order that the city continue to have two weak clubs instead of one strong one surely wouldn't be in the spirit of the way cricket has been encouraged to go in this country.

"There has never been a better time for our two clubs to join forces."

Secretary of the Southern Premier League Colin Savage promised: "Any representation that either Winchester or St Cross make with regards their merger will be given full consideration before next Thursday's annual meeting."