Captains Log
2010 Edgworth 1st X1
Putting together a bunch of talented
cricketers and making them into a team can be a
long, difficult process, and the start of the
2010 season has provided ample proof of this.
From the players that formed the 2009 team, Tom
Liversedge, Nigel Barlow, Jon Partington, Andy
McIlroy, Pete Walters and Jon Mills are no
longer around. The fact that the addition of
Dave Parkinson, Brett Ernst, Nas Iqbal and a
professional – more on him later – together with
the thoroughly deserved promotion of Jonny Ivers,
has quite possibly made the team stronger on
paper, was irrelevant in the early stages of the
season.
While the team
showed glimpses of quality in the early games,
it was unable to do so for an entire match.
Games were frequently lost because of a poor 15
over spell, either with bat or ball, or in the
field, and far too many mistakes were made – the
hallmark of a group of players that is not yet a
team. The upshot of this is that four out of
the team’s first five league games were lost,
with only a victory over a very poor Standish
team in the win column. Defeats to strong Darcy
Lever and Little Hulton teams were
understandable, defeats at Flixton and Astley
and Tyldesley more difficult to accept. A
brilliant innings of 148 not out from Andy Kerr
and an 18 ball 50 from ex-Walshaw player Danny
Hornby set up Greenmount for a huge victory
against a depleted team in the Lancashire
Knockout.
All of this is
fairly familiar. Last season the team won only
three of the first nine games, before improving
considerably to finish fifth. This season,
although the start was worse, the improvement
seems to have come earlier.
A second
consecutive good performance with the bat – led
by a superb Nick Kernick century and 74 from
Brett Ernst - set up a slightly unconvincing
victory over Adlington. Despite the scratchy
nature of the victory, this gave the team
belief. The next day, a good Darcy Lever team
were thrashed in the Cross Cup; set up by some
brilliant leg-spin bowling from deputy pro
Kashif Siddque, finished with 15 overs to spare
by a flawless 49 from Dave Parkinson and a quick
unbeaten 32 from Guy Haynes. A washout against
Walshaw was followed by a hard-fought 4 wicket
win at Spring View, a ground where the team has
not won in over 5 years. Liam Watkinson was the
star of the show, scoring 47 and taking 5
wickets. Chasing 160, Edgworth were in trouble
at 15-3 and proceeded very slowly indeed until
Liam Watkinson took advantage of some short
bowling from John Green. Once Simon Lord joined
Liam at the crease, victory became more
comfortable, Simon scoring a beautifully
constructed 55 not out to finish the game.
It will not
have escaped many people’s notice that our
professional – the brilliant Sri Lankan Asela
“AJ” Jayasinghe – has not yet arrived in the
country, owing to problems with the club’s
Sponsor Licence application. Consequently the
club has had to rely on a series of deputy
professionals, with disastrous consequences, at
least with the bat. The last five deputy
professionals – which have included four first
class batsmen – have scored four ducks and one
innings of 2! Fortunately, the club has just
received its Sponsor Licence, and “AJ” should be
with us in the next week or two – we very much
look forward to welcoming him here.
After an
ash-cloud-inspired delay, Australian Brett Ernst
is now firmly established at Edgworth and has
made a big impact with his attitude, enthusiasm
and off-field antics! We hope that, having
acclimatised and got used to the league, he can
begin to produce big performances with the bat –
and maybe with the ball – on a regular basis.
The recent
winning run has instilled a good belief and
sense of purpose in the team, and I am very
optimistic for the rest of the season. Although
nobody has managed to make the spinner’s slot
his own, the bowling looks strong and
disciplined. Liam Watkinson’s pace makes him a
big wicket-taking threat, and he is well
supported by the accuracy of Dave Parkinson,
Chris Locke and Nas Iqbal. After a slow start,
the batting looks even stronger. Nick Kernick,
Dave Parkinson, Guy Haynes, Liam Watkinson and
Simon Lord have all had good seasons to date and
are all in good nick, and competition for top 6
spots is incredibly fierce. Behind the stumps,
Jonny Ivers has been possibly the biggest
positive to come from the season. His keeping
has been exemplary, his attitude superb, and his
batting committed.
Four defeats at
this stage of the season makes the prospect of a
2nd league championship in four years
very unlikely, but if the team can kick on from
here and win games consistently, who knows? In
the Cross Cup, a home draw against Walshaw looks
very winnable. Here’s hoping for a successful
season from now on!