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Secretary's Report for Season 2004
This season Barrow were welcomed into the League with the hope that this would be the start of a process of recruiting enough Clubs to enable two divisions to be formed with promotion and relegation between the two. Barrow has an excellent ground and facilities. They are an ambitious and thriving Club who regard joining the Northern League as an opportunity to develop their standard of cricket and young players. Initially there were doubts by some members of the League about the travel involved but this was soon offset as visiting teams commented enthusiastically on the facilities and the hospitality of the Barrow Club.
Barrow finished up eleventh in the League with five wins. On a number of occasions they failed to convert a good position into a win. The highlight of their season was winning the Group of the Cockspur Cup. They will become a force to be reckoned with in the coming seasons.
The season finished up with a potentially nail biting last day with Fleetwood seven points ahead of Netherfield as contenders for the Championship, but with Fleetwood playing Darwen third in the League and Netherfield playing Morecambe fourth in the League, who would finish top was in doubt. The fixture list could not have thrown up a better ending to the season.
Unfortunately though the games started and the mobile phones were much in use boosting the tension as the progress of each game was followed the weather again became the deciding factor as at tea time both games were abandoned. Fleetwood were champions for the first time since 1985, finishing the season with a run of nine wins in the last ten games. Fleetwood's success was a surprise.
Though in the nineties they were a team that were always somewhere in the top half of the table, recently loss of experienced players had left them struggling in the lower half being third from bottom last season. However younger players were being developed and given the opportunity of gaining experience in the first team. This season they had virtually the same squad of players backed by a pro, Doug Marillier who not only did well on the field but who also generated confidence with his enthusiasm and coaching at all levels in the Club. The team began to believe in themselves and play to their potential with every player at some stage in the season producing a vital contribution.
Fleetwood also won the Fair Play Trophy. Netherfield were runners up and the former champions Darwen were third. Morecambe won the Second Division League title with last year's winners St Annes in second place.
In the Rawcliffe Intersport awards for the leading amateurs Steven Croft (Blackpool) demonstrated his potential for the future as the leading amateur batsman scoring 1109 runs at an average of 61.61. David Fish (Fleetwood) was the leading amateur bowler with 65 wickets at an average of 13.32. Glen Johnstone (Preston), Tom Prime (Netherfield) and Steven Twist (St Annes) shared the catching award. Dean Williams (Barrow) and Gareth White (Netherfield) shared the wicketkeeper' prize and were awarded the Malcom Beatty Trophy.
Renier Munnik of Lancaster was the leading professional in the batting averages with 942 runs at an average of 78.5. The long serving Stephen John of Chorley had 67 wickets at an average of 10.75. Morecambe were unlucky that Charl Langeveld, whose pace and accuracy was testing the skills of all batsmen was called back to South Africa before the end of the season.
Darwen kept their hands on some silverware by winning the League Cup defeating Leyland in the final. This competition was badly affected by rain with some results being decided on bowl outs. It is hoped that the changes made will improve the competition for next season. In the 2nd Xl competition Morecambe completed the double of League and Cup beating Leyland Motors.
A 20/20 competition sponsored by thwaites was introduced this season with the winner qualifying for an Inter-League final. Kendal beat Leyland Motors and went forward to a finals day with Gt Harwood of the Ribblesdale League and Crompton of the Central Lancashire League. Again the weather spoilt a potentially good day with only two games completed and the decision had to be made on run rate.
Though there were many teething problems, it was immediately obvious that as with the Counties this sort of cricket was very popular with players and spectators. When the games were properly publicised large gates were produced and gave a healthy boost to club finances. A local derby game between Lancaster and Morecambe produced an income from the gate, bar takings etc. approaching £2000.
Next season a 20/20 competition will be included in the rules of the Northern League.
Both the League Cup and the 20/20 competition are played in coloured clothing. An innovation enthusiastically welcomed by the players and by the vast majority of spectators, though some traditionalists were critical. It is a change that is here to stay.
In the Manchester Evening News Inter-League Competition the Senior team beat the North Lancs and Cumbria League at Kendal, the Bolton Association at Leyland and then lost in the final to the Bolton League at Kearsley. In each game players made themselves unavailable for selection or made late withdrawals. In each game the side that played was weaker than the one selected. Without belittling our opponents or taking anything away from the players who eventually took part who performed creditably and did not let themselves or the League down we were not able to field a team that represented the strength of Northern League cricket.
In the final we had played ourselves into a position from which the game could have been won but we were one experienced batsman short and the Bolton League deservedly won the game.
The task of the managers and selection committee for the Inter-League competitions at both Senior and U/18 level has become extremely difficult, frustrating and intolerable. For a variety of reasons players have given the League side a low priority. It perhaps arises from the amount of cricket now played by Clubs and the increase in the number of representative games at area, county and national level for which young talent is selected. May be the inter-league game has outlived its usefulness and it was with a great deal of reluctance that the League decided to withdraw the teams from Manchester Evening News and the North West Colts Competitions. Resources will be concentrated on the U/15 age group team and the possibility of organising inter-league fixtures on dates to fit our League programme will be explored.
The League's thanks go to Clive Henderson who has organised the U/18 side for many seasons and to Pat King who bore the brunt of the difficulties of organising the Senior Team last season. It is the end of a very successful association for Clive. There are many cricketers who are grateful for his coaching skill, his advice and the genuine interest he shows in their progress. Clive continues his work with the County side and will be working with the League U/15 side. Congratulations go to the U/15 side who under David Reddy reached the final of the Michael Roache Competition.
Older and ex-players will have happy memories of the inter-league competition. It was an honour to be selected and was a challenging opportunity to test ones cricketing skills against the best players in the County. It was a competition that helped establish the Northern League as one of the strongest Leagues in the north-west. The Northern League became the team "to beat" in the competition. The League's thanks go to all those who have helped organise, support or sponsor the competition over the years. Cricket is a game that is having to fight hard to survive and it is a struggle to maintain standards. Increasingly it is becoming obvious that the long term survival and success of a Club depends on the strength of its Junior Section. Though we often criticise the lack of investment in the recreational game there have been some recent initiatives, which have targeted the involvement of young people in sport. A number of our clubs have become involved and the results are beginning to show. It is clubs that have healthy Junior Sections and strong links with schools that have been able to develop and retain enough talented young players to fill the gaps in 1st Xls successfully.
While many youngsters have been playing regularly in their Club 1st Xls it is very pleasing that some have progressed to a higher standard. James Anyon of Preston C.C. has been given a contract at Warwickshire, Stephen Croft of Blackpool had a scholarship from Lancashire County Club this season, has played for Lancashire 2nd Xl and now has a County contract. Rhys Williams of Preston C.C. played for Cumbria in the Minor Counties. Tom Smith of Chorley C.C. played for England U/19s and Lancashire 2nd Xl. Nick Woods of Chorley C.C. captained and together with Warren Quinn of Morecambe C.C. headed the bowling averages for Lancashire U/19s. There are others following in their footsteps. The League U/15 team reached the final of the inter-league competition and already there are some who have been identified as having potential to do well.
The League has been well served by its Umpires Federation who have been able to supply umpires to all games. They report the recruitment of at least four more umpires for next season. The Umpires report on the discipline on the field. Generally the standard has been high, marred only by two serious incidents. The disciplinary procedure encourages clubs to take their own disciplinary action which if adequate is ratified by the League. Club action seems to be particularly effective in helping the need for good discipline to permeate through out the Club. Modifications to the disciplinary procedure to speed up the procedures and make it easier to apply have been made.
Whether we shall have Premier League status in season 2005 is undecided. We still do not meet the ECB criteria of having a feeder league system and at the moment there is no progress being made though it still remains an active aim of the League. The ECB have now bowed to pressure and have sanctioned the 100 over game for Premier League cricket. The League has reverted to a 100 over game. The form of the game was carefully considered by the Clubs and though a 50/50 win or lose form of game was examined, a large majority of the clubs supported a game similar to the one played by the 2nd Xls retaining draws. The rules have been changed to simplify the second innings with the "last 20 over" rule being removed.
The Sportsmen's Dinner was well attended and proved a very enjoyable evening which boosted the League funds. Geoff Miller's contribution and support of the League was much appreciated.
The League is grateful for the support of Thwaites Brewery who sponsor the League Cup Competition and who initiated and support the 20/20 Competition. Their active involvement in cricket and other sports is much appreciated. We are grateful to Rawcliffes Intersport who provide prizes for the leading amateurs and to the Blackpool Gazette who publicise the competition. Next season the Leaguewill be sponsored by Surridge who supply cricket equipment and clothing. We hope that the relationship is fruitful for both of us.
Publicity is essential to the progress of the game and the League is indebted to the media for the exposure they give to the League. Radio Cumbria and Radio Lancashire make local cricket news available in every home. A service much envied in other parts of the country. We are grateful for the support and interest of the press in all areas of the League. The web has become a major means of communication and we are grateful to John Kettlestring and the support he has from Chris Banting for the effectiveness of our web site. The quality of our web site is much enhanced by the writing and reporting of Gerry Wolstenholme.
Cricket is a game whose foundations, the grass roots, is run by volunteers. The future of the game is in the hands of all those who invest time and energy in running their clubs and attracting young people, the potential players of tomorrow, into the game. They deserve our thanks and much more recognition and support.
John Cooper
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