Clubs eye an instant return
NEVER mind what the weather’s been like recently – the cricket season is just around the corner.
For two Southport sides, starting life in the second tier of the Liverpool Competition after relegation last season, preparation is in full swing.
And Southport and Birkdale skipper Chris Firth isn’t messing around when asked what his aims are for the 2018 season.
“We expect to win the league,” he said.
“Last season, it was clear from around June that we were going down, so we started to chuck the kids in at a level they weren’t really good enough for.
“But they took their chances and developed their game, and produced some brilliant performances.
“Now they’ve got the chance to dominate some more.
“We’ve got the best bowling attack in the First Division – I’ll be disappointed if we don’t get promoted, and disappointed if we don’t win the league.”
Key to S&B’s chances, both on and off the pitch, is the arrival of former Lancashire stalwart Gary Keedy from Formby.
Keedy – with 696 first class scalps under his belt over a 23-year county career – will form a key part of that much-vaunted attack, and has already been making his presence felt in the nets.
“We’ve been in the nets for about three weeks now,” said Firth.
“But Gary has been doing a lot of coaching from mid-January with the kids – later, he’s going to be fronting up our academy.
“We’ve got a lad joining us from Perth later on, but we haven’t gone out of our way to sign an overseas player – we’re going to be relying on our homegrown talent.”
Meanwhile, Ainsdale skipper Andrew Barlow is also eyeing a rapid return to the top flight.
He’s pleased with his new recruits – Australian wicketkeeper/batsman Brandon Faber, from Queensland, and Connor Windall, recruited from Tattenhall in the Cheshire County League, will join Steve Lucas, signed from Northern, in the nets.
Barlow said: “I feel we’ve got a better side than last time we went up.”
ORMSKIRK CC have a new skipper – but they’re hoping for more of the same in the Liverpool Competition this year.
After storming to the Premier League title and reaching three cup finals – winning one and sharing one – new captain Nicky Caunce is aiming for another stellar season.
In fact, so good were Matt Glayzer’s side in the cups last season that the Ray Digman Trophy had to be held over to this year, with Ormskirk running out of spare Sundays to play on.
Their semi-final with Bootle will take place on April 8, the weekend before the regular season starts – so it’s vital they hit the ground running.
Given the weather we’ve had, whether the ground will be in a fit state to be hit at any speed is up for debate.
Caunce said: “We’ve had three weeks in the nets and everything’s going right – we’re hoping to get outdoors soon.
“We’ve been doing quite a bit of fitness training, and most people have involved.”
The club is running a 4th XI for the first time this season, so a lot of their recruitment efforts have been focused on junior players. But there’s been some movement in the senior roster too, with all-rounder Ryan Maddock arriving from Lytham, bowlers Josh Thompson and Andy Gill from Northern and Bootle respectively, and batsman Luke Platt from Longridge.
Going the other way are Scottish international batsman Michael Jones, who has joined Tynemouth and signed with been getting Durham, Test-capped spinner Simon Kerrigan, who has left for Fullwood and Broughton in the Northern Premier, and bowler Jamie Barnes, who will turn out for Premier League rivals Northern.
The club has no overseas player, and Caunce is happy to put his faith in local talent. “We don’t need one,” he said. “Sometimes it’s good to have someone there for the youngsters to look up to, but we want to bring through our own players.”
While Caunce’s one regret from last season was Ormskirk’s agonising defeat in the ECB National Club Final – they fell just short chasing 160 against Wanstead and Snaresbrook, losing by 12 runs – he says the league is still the focus this year.
“Winning the league is still the main target,” he said. “We just have to try to replicate last year.”
Caunce sees Northern, Leigh and New Brighton as teams to watch this year – but he believes the main threat will come from Bootle.
He said: “It’s all about how teams strengthen – Bootle have recruited two or three top players.”