With the new NEPL season starting at the weekend the perennial question is whether anyone can break the stranglehold that the big two have on ECB Premier League cricket in the north of the region.

When South North romped through an undefeated campaign in 2015 to retain their crown it meant they had lost just one match in two seasons, and racked up a staggering tenth title in the last 13 seasons in the process.

Only Chester-le-Street have come close to challenging this domination on a sustained basis, their two titles in 2009 and 2010 followed by two seconds and two thirds in the following five years, and they will be amongst the Bulls’ main challengers again.

But the Cestrians have lost one of their leading players to their main rivals, Simon Birtwisle having moved across the river to Roseworth Terrace. He scored over 800 league runs and took 28 wickets for the Ropery Lane outfit in 2015, a performance which won him the League player of the year award, and he will undoubtedly prove a major acquisition for the champions who will also have former Aussie Test star Marcus North at their disposal again.

To compensate Chester have Richard Waite back in their ranks following his move from Stockton.

Waite, who has won the player of the year accolade on five occasions, previously spent three seasons at the Lane, helping them win two titles, and with Liam Simpson back in the fold after a year at Felling, and the club also likely to see plenty of Durham player Gurman Randhawa, Street will be ultra- competitive.

Waite’s skills will be a big loss to Stockton. When he returned to his home club from Chester the last time he lifted the Teessiders to their best performance when they shocked everyone by breaking the Bulls/Cestrians duopoly by winning the 2013 championship – the only club to prize open their iron-like grip in the last 13 years.

Durham’s Jamie Harrison and Keaton Jennings were also key players in that success, and they are both registered for the Grangefield club again, although after a change in League rules following that Stockton success, the pair will not be able to feature together in the same team.

However, the Teessiders have a notable signing of their own, with Allan Worthy, the only player in NEPL history to have scored more than 10,000 league runs, making the move from Hetton Lyons.

With former Durham player Ryan Buckley, now on the MCC Groundstaff, adding to the squad along with overseas amateur Mitchell Gardner from New Zealand, Stockton will be hoping to make a big impression in their 200th anniversary year.

It’s also a big year for Eppleton who will be making their Premier Division debut after promotion, and their target will be to retain their top-flight status. In come 19-year-old Jamaican leg-spinning all-rounder Abhijai Mansingh, recommended by their former player Jimmy Adams, Liam Dixon (South Shields) and James Davidson (South Hetton). Homegrown Paul Coughlin will be their Durham player, although injury may curtail the amount of bowling he does initially.

Hetton Lyons have engaged IPL player Faiz Fazal, who has more than 5,000 first-class runs in the record books, and Brydon Carse will be their Durham player, while Whitburn have secured the services of New Zealand U19 star Jeremy Benton to complement their other new men, Jack Burnham (Durham player), Joe Coyne (Boldon) and Peter Finch (Ashington).

The First Division will, after all, feature a new club this year.

Following all the turmoil of the last few weeks of the 2015 season when Durham CL champions Esh Winning were unable to be promoted as they failed to meet the grounds and facilities criteria, that meant NEPL bottom club South Hetton were able to secure a relegation reprieve by winning a play-off against the DCL runners-up Mainsforth – before the sudden resignation of South Hetton in March.

A serious shortage of players meant that the Front Street club felt that they would be unable to fulfil their NEPL obligations, and at one stage they were even considering folding until a place was found for them several steps down the pyramid system in the North East Durham League, where they will field one team.

Some hasty decisions therefore had to be made by the NEPL, and it proved to be third time lucky for Mainsforth who were ‘flown in’ to fill the vacancy with the assistance and good wishes of their former parent league, the DCL. So having failed to win the championship, and then lost out in their second bite at the cherry, a surprise opportunity knocks.

Mainsforth begin their adventure with new faces on board. Pakistani Shoaib Laghari is their overseas man, the 30-year-old off-spinning all-rounder having a reasonable first-class record, while Matty Brown (Darlington) and veteran Richie Hawthorne will add experience to a side that have lost the services of Lee Hutton and Martin Lower.

For Mainsforth it could all be about consolidation, but for the more established sides like Burnmoor and Brandon it will be about being competitive.

The Moor flirted with the promotion slot for most of last summer, but will be missing Sean Tindale who has moved to Newcastle for Premier Division cricket. In come Matthew Whaley (Brandon), Liam Burgess (Crook) and Daniel Unsworth (Durham University), while Aussie student Liam Purdy will be the overseas interest.

Brandon have some exciting new talent on their books. Former Yorkshire player Moin Ashraf joins DCL player of the year Dave Lawlor (Esh Winning), Jake Dunford (Durham MCCU) and Nathan Adamson (South Hetton) in a line-up that looks likely to be challenging for honours after three years of flattering to deceive.

But anyone with their eyes on the promotion slot will have to get past Felling who have invested heavily. They have signaled their ambitions by signing a number of ex-county players, Mark Turner, Gary Scott and Ian Hunter providing a wealth of talent and experience, and with keeper Bryan Potts (Sacriston) also on board the Gateshead outfit look set to improve on last year’s fifth place finish.

Tudhoe’s newcomers include Mark Davison (Durham City), Jack Weeks (Willington) and Andrew Robinson (Crook).

Willington welcome back last year’s top league batsman Anand Singh, Sacriston are strengthened by the return of former players Craig Burke (Blaydon), Mel Betts and Martin Hubber (both Washington), and Boldon bring in 21-year-old Pakistani first-classer Umar Waheed alongside Durham’s Calum MacLeod and veteran Darren Hickey.