Reece turns Pro at Leyland
Luis Reece turns pro at Leyland |
Leyland Cricket Club are pleased to announce that Luis Reece will be the club's professional for the 2013 season. Following Brett Pelser's release from the position in December, the club acted quickly to secure Luis' signature. We are grateful that Luis has turned down a number of other offers to remain at Leyland. Luis has worked hard to improve his game and meet the challenges he has faced throughout his career up to this point, so we are sure that he will be able handle the extra responsibility and make a positive contribution to the club. He sets a fantastic example to other people at the club by showing what can be achieved through a dedication to practice and we hope that his promotion to club professional can be an inspiration to our other ambitious young players.
For the last two seasons Luis has been a regular member of the Unicorns squad that competes against first class counties in the Pro40 competition. He is a member of the Leeds/Bradford MCCU team and made his first class debut against Surrey at the start of the 2012 season. Against Sussex in May 2012 he took ten wickets in the match with his left arm swing bowling, including 7 for 21 in the first innings, to help the students record a memorable victory.
Luis joined Leyland prior to the 2009 season and has enjoyed great success in his time at the club. In the 2011 season he scored 1027 runs in the league, becoming the first Leyland batsman to pass 1000 runs in a season and in doing so he broke the club batting record that had stood since 1975. Last season Luis equalled the highest score by a Leyland batsman in Division One when he made 145 not out against St Annes, a knock that included twelve sixes. Luis has previously played for Blackpool in the Northern League and began his cricket as a junior at Vernon Carus CC.
Leyland first team captain David Makinson said, "If there was ever going to be a silver lining after Brett leaving, the signing of Luis as professional is it. If we had been able to retain Brett, it would have been highly unlikely that we would have had Luis in the amateur ranks as he received numerous lucrative offers to play elsewhere. For three winters Luis has shown his loyalty to the club by turning down such offers but it would have been unfair to expect him to do so again.
Luis has been one of the top performers in the league in recent times. Since the 2010 season he has scored over 2400 runs at an average of 47 and taken 106 wickets at an average of 15. He is a match winner with both bat and ball and knows the opposition and conditions well; a big advantage he has over newcomers to the league.
His work ethic and determination to develop his game have been rewarded with a full contract with Lancashire CCC for the 2013 season. Of course, this could mean that we will have to do without him from time to time, but this is a risk we are willing to take. If we at Leyland only see him occasionally because he is performing well for Lancashire then we will be pleased.
Up dated Profeesional List:
Barrow: Travis Head
Blackpool: Richard Gleeson
Chorley: Gaurav Dhar
Darwen: Jonathan Carter
Leyland: Luis Reece
Morecambe: Vishal Tripathi
St Annes: Toby Bulcock
