Captains Log 2010

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 2^nd 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!