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“It wasn’t much of a surprise because we know what he’s capable of. He’s only 17 and both him and Joe Thorne, who is 16, they are not really juniors anymore in the side. They virtually hold senior roles.”
Gidman and his players’ next assignment is a trip to Eccleshall tomorrow.
It’s one game down and 21 to go, so Gidman, understandably, is not making any bold predictions about how the season will unfold.
“We are not getting too far ahead of ourselves. In Premier B there are a lot of good sides and you have to respect them all,” he said.
“Eccleshall are a good club and we have a lot of respect for them and what they’ve achieved. We seem to have some tight games against them and I don’t expect it to be any different this weekend.
“We are not looking past the next game. It’s nearly a decade since we were last in the Premier, so it’s been a while.
“It’s a privilege to captain my boyhood club and I’m lucky to have such a talented bunch who are a great set of team-mates. There is plenty of support and there is weight taken off me, so it gives me freedom to play.”
Eccleshall, meanwhile, have undergone a winter of change following their relegation from the top flight last year.
Dan Byatt has taken over from Myles Coughlan as captain, while a number of new faces have joined the squad.
They came so close to preserving their Premier A status, though, missing out by just a point as Leek survived.
And a late-season loss to Leek proved to be pivotal to the final standings.
New captain Byatt says he’s looking forward to the responsibility of leading Eccleshall.
“I was vice-captain last season and Myles let me know a couple of weekends before the end of last season he would be stepping down,” said the 26-year-old.
“It’s not something I’ve done before, but I didn’t hesitate to take the role because of the support network at the club.
“There were a few things which contributed to our relegation last season. The pro went home a couple of weeks early.
“But we didn’t leave anything out there. On the day against Leek we didn’t do enough and maybe looking back there’s things we might have done differently.
“You do look back and think where we could have picked up those extra couple of points we needed to stay up.”
Among Eccleshall’s new arrivals were Rhys Owens, right, from Little Stoke and Ben Rogerson from Hem Heath.
They also engaged Aussie seamer Jack Montgomery, but he has been unable to travel and has been replaced by fellow countryman Luke Evans.
Byatt says he’s been pleased with the early signs displayed by his side.
They progressed through the ECB National Club Championship before losing to Smethwick, while last week’s opening league encounter saw them beaten at Wood Lane.
“We’ve gelled already,” insisted Byatt. “We won the first national round and then lost by just eight runs to the mighty Smethwick.
“It’s weird but it felt like a win and then last Saturday we let Wood Lane get 15 runs too many.
“But we bowled well and kept a very good Wood Lane side down to 170, where they are capable of getting 250plus at their place.
“With the bat we probably lacked a bit of maturity and we couldn’t build consistent partnerships. Two batters eventually got in, but we left it a bit late.”
It wouldn’t be a surprise for Byatt to be targeting an instant return to the top division.
However, he says it’s not the be-all and end-all for his new-look squad this year.
“There’s more of a plan for three or four years,” he added. “We’ve recruited younger players predominantly and we hope this side will be together for years.
“So we want to build and then take the step back up.
“I’m not saying that we can’t do it this year and if towards the end of the season we’re in the frame, we’ll give it a good go.
“But it’s more about consolidating and developing again.”