Sport down the years
SPORT has always been convered in the NWN down the years. We look at some of the unforgettable moments from 10 years ago.
December 29 2011 Berkshire changes
BERKSHIRE cricket club have made two new appointments for 2012.
Danny Hall becomes director of cricket and Jeff Jones takes over as first-team manager.
Both are former Berkshire players, having made their debuts in the same 1972 season under the captaincy of Francis Neate, the current Berkshire president. Penzance-born Hall had started his career with Cornwall. The batsman played for Maidenhead and Bray for 20 seasons, skippering them for several years.
Hall then switched to Henley, a club close to his home, and later became their chairman.
During his eight years there he steered them through some important changes which ultimately led to them becoming the top club in Berkshire.
They purchased their ground from Brakspear Brewery at a time when there was talk of turning it into a car park for the town and more recently they built a new pavilion. On the pitch, the club grew in stature, working their way up from the Three Counties League to become champions of the Home Counties Premier League.
Hall stood down as club chairman but remains chairman of their ground committee. He was recently appointed to the Berkshire board of directors.
Barbadian Jones played for Reading and Berkshire from 1972 to 1992, making more than 160 appearances for the county.
The pace bowler also gained representative honours with the Club Cricket Conference and the Thames Valley League.
After retiring from the game, he took up coaching and since
1994 has been involved with the Berkshire under-16 and under-17 teams.
The appointments are likely to see changes within the Berkshire playing set-up as they look to build for the future.
Hall confirmed that the club are to form an academy side for those aged 17 to 19, with the youngsters being groomed for the Championship side.
“Even if just one or two players make it each year, it will be worthwhile and in five seasons Berkshire could see a team of home-grown talent,” said Hall. Jones also believes it is important to start introducing changes if Berkshire are to maintain their success of recent years, which has seen them win the County Championship as well as the
MCCA Trophy.
Both Hall and Jones believe that if the Berkshire team is to become one mainly consisting of homebred players then it is important that clubs like Reading, relegated to the Thames Valley League last season, and Finchampstead regain Home Counties League status in the quickest possible time.