Rivals in same boat ahead of campaign start

SOUTHPORT and Birkdale’s Wirral rivals New Brighton and Wallasey find themselves with a lot in common ahead of the 2021 Love Lane Liverpool Competition season.

Eyeing the top half of the Premier Division, and a strong cup season? Check. Excited to build on strong displays in the Love Lane Leagues last year? Check. Captains raring to go for their first full season in the job? Check. Anxiously eyeing the UK’s Red List as they wait on high-quality overseas pros? You’d better believe that’s a check.

Any remaining differences will have to be settled on the field when the sides meet at the Kevin McCullagh Oval on May 31 for their traditional Bank Holiday Monday clash. And fingers crossed by then, the bars will be open.

There is, in truth, little else anyone can say. But the sun’s out, the clocks have gone forwards and the restrictions are lifting – so captains across the region are dialling down the caution on their cautious optimism.

Wallasey captain Alex Eagles hopes a busy few weeks of pre-season friendlies – against Chester Boughton Hall, Oxton and Northop Hall – can shake off the lockdown rust and make up for the lack of winter nets.

“We’re looking forward to seeing a few new faces, and faces we haven’t seen in a while,” he said. “And we’ve tried to cram as many friendlies in as we can – hopefully it’ll dust away the cobwebs and we’ll get some overs under our belts.

“We’ve got a couple of guys who didn’t play much last year and other than that, we’ve retained everyone else, which is always good.

“It will be good competition for places, which as a captain is difficult – but it’s a good situation to be in.”

One player who won’t be able to join up with the squad just yet is Sumit Ruikar, the Indian all-rounder whose left-arm darts were responsible for more than half his side’s wickets in 2019.

He’s signed on for another year, but won’t arrive until shortly before Wallasey’s curtain-raiser against Southport & Birkdale on April 24.

A mile down the road, New Brighton skipper Matt Thompson is also hoping for an overseas bonus – the big-hitting South African keeper/batsman Piet van Biljon, currently on duty for the Proteas in their T20I series against Pakistan.

“He’s an exciting one to watch,” said Thompson. “It’s causing me a lot of stress – but hopefully we’ll get him across.

“He’s not going to be available for the first couple of games, because he’s got to play against Pakistan then do a round-the-world trip to get here.”

Van Biljon aside, New Brighton will be refreshed by the return of several senior players who sat out the Love Lane Leagues – in which both the rivals claimed a share of the local bragging rights.

Wallasey were victorious in all their Group F games except the final, which Thompson’s side won by four wickets.

Former Bootle man Thompson said: “Last year was brilliant because we could give a few youngsters more prominent roles in the side, which gave them a lot of confidence.

“And we’ve got five senior players coming back into the side who sat out 2020, so hopefully we’ll kick on again and give the big boys a run for their money.”

Thompson highlighted wicketkeeper Dan Cooke – who scored 50 to anchor his side’s chase of 181 in that final against Wallasey – as one to watch, along with all-rounder brothers Louis and Sebastian Botes.

“Those three can kick on and start winning games for the club, as opposed to watching others do it,” he said. “It was never going to be an ideal situation but I think when we look back on last year, we came out of it with huge positives.”

Wallasey, on the other hand, didn’t do much in the way of rotation last summer – but they did benefit from the top-order runs of ex-Lancs prospect Jamie Crawley, newly signed from Chester.

Eagles said: “I really want us to win a piece of silverware this season, and we’re looking for a top six finish in the league as well.”

Thompson will be wary of the possibility of an early season upset when his side travel to Wigan on opening day. “In the first few games, you might see some upsets against sides who are a little bit under-prepared,” he said.

“The Premier Division will be as competitive as I’ve seen in years – there are nine or 10 clubs who can beat each other on their day.

“We could be very competitive.”