North Lancs and Cumbria Cricket League season preview

DALTON

SURVIVAL is the key word for Dalton this summer as they return to the top flight.

The men from Ulverston Road won the Division One title in style last season, but they know Premier Division cricket will be a different ball game.

Dalton’s hopes of success have been boosted by the arrival of South African all-rounder Brady Barends as their overseas player.

Barends hit the headlines in 2010 after taking a nine-wicket haul for KwaZulu-Natal in the CSA Provincial Three Day Challenge in South Africa.

Experienced Dalton paceman Jon Bell is looking forward to working with the Durban ace, saying: “We’re happy with what we’re getting.

“He’s a quick-bowling all-rounder and that is what we were after. He can lead the attack and hopefully get a few runs as well for us.

“If we finish second-bottom, as long as we stay up, that’s our aim for the season. If Brady has a good season, then we have a lot better chance of that happening.”

FURNESS

THE reigning champions look in good shape for another crack at the Premier Division title.

Furness’s bid for a seventh championship in eight years has been boosted by the capture of Kiwi ace Seth Rance as professional.

The Central Districts all-rounder is one of the most effective T20 bowlers in his homeland and promises to be a big hit at Furness Park.

Scott Pearcey replaces Mike Gadsden as captain – following proudly in his dad Grant’s footsteps – with Garry Thompson as his deputy.

Furness paceman Pete Lawson, who helped bring Rance to the club after a tip-off from New Zealand bowling coach and one-time Rams pro Shane Bond, said: “With it being Scott’s first year as captain, and more youth coming into the ranks, we wanted a pro with experience in all departments of the game.

“He’s an experienced player, a community man and is very keen to coach. He’s club captain back home for his club side and he seems ultra keen which is what we want.”

HAWCOAT PARK

HAWCOAT Park’s plans to resurrect their second team, which folded towards the end of last season, have been scrapped.

“Things were looking good at one time but as the season got closer we knew we just did not have enough players so we had to make this decision. It’s a pity,” said Park player/chairman Dave Thompson, citing the new shift patterns in the shipyard for the shortage.

Despite the lack of a second team and the retirement of long-serving Peter Harrison, it is not all negative news from the Hawcoat camp.

They have made a couple of new signings in batsmen Peter Gunson from Dalton and Cameron McDougall (Lindal) to boost the side.

“We still have player-of-the-year Callum Lucas, who is important to us with bat and ball,” added Thompson who – in addition to being club secretary – is now in his fourth season as captain.

There is an air of optimism that the club can improve on last season’s fifth-placed finish in Division Two.

HAVERIGG

IT could be an exciting season ahead at Haverigg, with West Indian all-rounder Dalton Polius promising to bring Caribbean flair to Poolside.

The Villagers will hope the 25-year-old left hand bat and off-spinner from the Winward Islands can help them make an immediate return to the Premier Division following relegation last summer.

Polius has represented the West Indies at Under-19s level and is part of the Windward Islands franchise squad, alongside ex-Vickerstown CC pro Kenroy Peters. Haverigg skipper Drew Postlethwaite said of the capture: “We know he’ll be a success on Poolside and we can’t wait to see him playing for Haverigg.

“It’s a real statement of intent from ourselves, with us unfortunately being relegated at the end of the 2015 season and we want to be right up there in the mix at the end of this season in Division One.”

KIRKBY

PROMOTED Kirkby have targeted a mid-table finish on their return to Division One – but it may take a month or so to see the best of them.

Skipper Mike Fugler explained: “Because the football season is dragging on, we will be starting without four key players. That will obviously hamper us a bit, but once we get a settled team we will be fine.

“We have played against teams in this division before and we beat Carlisle in the cup and they finished in the top three. I can’t see anybody we have to worry about. We certainly don’t want to be thinking about going back into the second division and I am confident we can achieve a middle-of-the-table spot.”

The village’s football team, Kirkby United, are chasing the Furness Premier League title, but still have several games left. That means out of the opening-day trip to Seascale are Paul Fugler – Division Two’s leading run-scorer last season – brother Robert, opening bowler Matt Bruce and Alastair Bradley.

Kirkby will be relying on the squad who earned a last-day promotion with a win over Vickerstown, but the challenge holds no fears for Mike Fugler. Backed by new sponsors Moorland Service Station, Kirkby aim to get back to where they were before the recent league restructure downgraded them to the third tier.

LINDAL MOOR

AN exciting era begins at Lindal Moor with a state-of-the-art pavilion opening at Pennington Lane.

Moor knocked down their old clubhouse – parts of which dated back to 1924 – in the autumn to allow construction of the new facility. The club have received various donations to help fund the building work, which has been led by Paul Clarke.

Unfortunately one man who will not be able to use the new pavilion is former club president Ted Bayliff, who passed away recently.

Club skipper Paul Wilcock is targeting a return to the Premier Division and success in cup competitions.

“Obviously the Premier Division is where the club wants and need to be,” he said. “We were unfortunate to be relegated with the restructure process two years ago but we should be better equipped this year.”

Wilcock praised the dedicated efforts of pavilion project manager Clarke and club chairman Colin Knight, which he is confident will reap rewards both on and off the field.

Changes in personnel see Jake Woods rejoining Moor from St Anne’s and Jack Cumberbatch back after a year out. Lindal have been boosted by the signing of Georgia Hendy, an opening bat from Brisbane who will play for the club and Cumbria Women’s sides, as well as for South Lakes Maidens.

MILLOM

MILLOM have their sights on the big prizes this season – an improvement in last summer’s second-placed Division One finish and winning back the Sowerby Cup.

The ambitions stretch beyond the first-team squad, with the second XI eager to keep a grip on the Vigodny Cup, which, in the words of club captain Mikey Wilson, “means something special to the club”.

After missing out to Dalton in the promotion race, Millom go into the new season without a professional so are looking for another good season from familiar faces.

With no professional and no new players among the ranks, a lot will depend on the form of club stalwarts.

“We will be looking to people like Graham Dawson, Michael Gill, Danny Fallows and Paul O’Callaghan to have good seasons,” said skipper Wilson. “And more of the same on the bowling front from left-arm spinner Jack Thompson.”

Dawson’s knock of 160 was the highest innings of last season’s Division One programme and Thompson figured highly in bowling charts.

ULVERSTON

ULVERSTON have lost the services of their professional Majeed Jehangir – a victim of cost-cutting at Priory Road – but the club plan to take the opportunity to give youth its chance.

Chairman Alan Regan explained: “The playing staff is much the same as it was, although we will be without Majeed. It is a blow but we just can’t afford it. Professionals are expensive and, although he was part-sponsored by a well-meaning member, we just don’t have the money.

“One or two of the youngsters who were playing second XI cricket last year will move up into the first team.

“At the age of 17, it is probably better to have young players moving up than playing those who are at the other end of their careers.

“We have probably the best youth set-up in the area and will be fielding two teams at under-14s level.

“The problem is keeping them, once they reach a certain age. We are not unique in that though; university takes it toll and like the rest of the clubs we are affected by the shift work arrangements.

“I would not say we were flush with players, but we are OK.”

VICKERSTOWN

TOWN, who were pipped for the Division Two title on the last day of the season a year ago, are banking on the fact that their young side will have learned from the experience.

They lost their last match of the season against Kirkby to miss out on promotion. The target for this season is to go one step better and climb out of the division.

The Walney side will be relying on the same squad as they did a year ago, but club spokesman Peter Scott explained: “We came very close last year but we lost too many matches early on leaving us ground to make up.

“We are a very young side but the players are now a year older and hopefully a year wiser. All of last year’s players are back and perhaps they will show a bit more nous this time and we can avoid the slow start we made last year.”

The club applied for a grant and this, coupled with excellent support from a group of local sponsors, has enabled them to acquire covers to protect their Rainey Park wicket.

Vickerstown are looked upon as one of the league’s Cinderella clubs but, as was explained, the acquisition of covers is a step forward in enabling matches to go ahead on better wickets.