Southport sides bring it home on opening day
CRICKET lovers in Southport will be spoilt for choice when the new Liverpool Competition campaign begins on April 22.
All four of the town’s teams are at home on that first Saturday of the competitive season, with Ainsdale making their ECB Premier League debut at home to Colwyn Bay and Southport and Birkdale entertaining Rainhill.
In the First Division Fleetwood Hesketh will begin their 2017 programme rather as they ended the summer of 2016 - with a home game against Sefton Park.
On that occasion the visitors secured the points before heading to Trafalgar Road to see if second- placed S&B would stumble when the pressure was applied by Newton-leWilllows.
The home side’s onewicket win left Richie Forsyth’s players disappointed but both they and Fleetwood Hesketh can be hopeful of mounting a successful promotion challenge next year.
The excitement may be dialled down just a little at Southport Trinity next April now that the Rookery club has found its feet in the Competition, but chairman Phil Buck remains ambitious to progress and their close season has already been boosted by the signings of Davy Smith from Northern and Wim van der Walt from S&B.
Trinity host Maghull, who will become one of the few teams to play in all three tiers of the Competi- tion after their relegation last year.
The Competition’s management committee have decided that all league knockout games should be played on Sundays next year, leaving clubs free to arrange preseason friendlies on April 7 or 8 or on the following weekend, which includes Easter Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday.
The 2017 league season will end on September 16. May 6: Ainsdale v Ormskirk, Southport and Birkdale v New Brighton, Fleetwood Hesketh v Highfield, Southport Trinity v Spring View. May 13: New Brighton v Ainsdale, Leigh v Southport and Birkdale, Slemersdale v Fleetwood Hesketh, Caldy v Southport Trinity.