Pride in prepping home for the new season
ANYONE wanting to gauge the current health of Southport and Birkdale Cricket Club would have been wise to turn up at Trafalgar Road quite early last Saturday morning.
As they drank their coffee they would have seen some of S&B’s cricketers stone-washing the patio while others put up the nets or painted the sightscreens.
The desire of the men, women and juniors to prepare the place for an exciting season was plain. The sense of collective endeavour was palpable.
Had they stayed for lunch our newly enlightened visitors would have seen the early afternoon devoted to net sessions as first-team skipper Chris Cunningham readied his players for a season that will begin next weekend when Burnley and Fleetwood Hesketh visit S&B for pre-season friendlies.
Easter Saturday and Sunday will see Cunningham’s squad go on a short tour to Yorkshire before the Love Lane Liverpool Competition gets under way on April 23.
Quite soon there will be ladies’ fixtures, junior matches and the latest stage in the march to glory of David Salt’s third team.
But let us return to Trafalgar Road last Saturday.
After they had all done their work, the players, coaches and supporters gathered in the pavilion for the launch evening, during which they were addressed by several members about their plans for the season.
Each speaker was introduced by S&BCC’s chairman, Andrew Carney, whose dynamic leadership has been vital in the club’s recent development.
Basil Sultan chatted about the spirit of cricket, Emma Smith talked about the women’s game, the junior coaches explained how they hoped to go about things in 2020. S&B requires no instructions from the ECB about diversity or inclusion.
They are already putting those principles into practice and have been doing so for a while.
Those attending the launch evening were also given dates for their diaries and perhaps the major occasions should be noted.
There will be a Players’ Reunion on May 14, Ladies’ Day on June 25, the Beer Festival on the August Bank Holiday weekend and the Annual Dinner on September 30.
All this in addition to Lancashire’s four-day County Championship match against Somerset, which begins on July 11 and Thunder’s game against South East Stars on July 16.
It will plainly be a busy summer but S&B is ready for it.
Indeed, the club is getting used to such seasons. Anyone at the ground last Saturday could have told you that.