Bamford the boys to beat

CAN anyone stop Bamford Fieldhouse in their quest for a third straight Armstrongs Office Furniture Saddleworth and District Cricket League title?

Probably not, given the firepower captain Andy Barton has assembled at Hollin Lane

However, they suffered a surprise defeat in last season’s Tanner Cup final and several sides, including Austerlands, Moorside and Uppermill, will fancy their chances of putting one over them when the season starts on Sunday.

Oldham Evening Chronicle cricket writer KEVIN RICHARDSON takes you through the teams

Austerlands

AUSTERLANDS have high hopes of Pakistan under-19s left-arm medium quick bowler Junaid Khan.

Captain Kevin Du Feu will turn to the teenage professional, who plays for Khan Research Laboratories back home, to spearhead the attack.

He has taken 72 wickets in 32 first-class matches at a very respectable average of 18.81.

Du Feu who, at 45, will be the senior first-team player in the side, said: “I’m very optimistic and Junaid looks a good signing.

“We finished fifth last season and I’m hoping to improve on that, although we do need to be more consistent.”

Austerlands have been buoyed by the addition of South African overseas amateur Mark Hayward, a top-order batsman and off-spin bowler, and two students from Manchester University, tall all-rounder Adam Wadsworth and wicketkeeper-opening batsman Abhi Navan Ettimadai, who has just turned 21.

Mark Peters, from Stayley, has also joined the club.

Batsman Adam Young will miss the first the game of the season as he is running the London Marathon.




Bamford Fieldhouse



STEPHEN Parry, the left-arm spinner who was the leading wicket-taker for Lancashire in the second XI trophy last season, has hit the ground running in 2009.



As deputy pro, he took five wickets for Little Holton on Saturday and four for Monton and Weaste, as well as scoring 70, on Sunday.

He made his debut for Bamford in their shock Tanner Cup final defeat by Heyside, taking the wicket of West Indian Test player Ryan Hinds in his very first over.

Parry impressed in Lancashire’s pre-season tour to Abu Dhabi.

He is joined at Hollin Lane by former Lancashire team-mate Simon Marshall.

The 26-year-old all-rounder, who played at every junior level for England and also captained Cambridge University, was used primarily in the one-day sphere. He was released at the end of the last season.

Former Heyside professional Mel Austin is back at the club after a season at Micklehurst in the Drakes Huddersfield League, while former Austerlands and Oldham seamer Liam Garnett has also joined the Bamford ranks.




Friarmere



NEW names Asif Qayyum, Darren Graham and Qasar Riaz have added more depth to Friarmere’s batting — but the loss of Paul Jewitt has significantly weakened their bowling.



Graham, who enjoyed league and cup success at Heyside in the 1990s, has been a consistent performer for Crompton in the CLL while Riaz, who has represented the league, has switched from Hollinwood.

Qayyum (29), an English-based Pakistani, is an interesting recruit. He is the club’s professional, but hasn’t played competitive cricket for two years.

A doctor who played for Karachi, he has been signed on the recommendation of overseas amateur Zafar Iqbal.

With John Morris, Iqbal, Bobby Khan, Waheed Iqbal and Sohail Mohammed, captain Gary Kershaw should not be short of runs.

They have also signed Abdul Hameed, who opened the batting for Rochdalians’ second team in the North Manchester League.

Jewitt — who took 38 wickets last season — has stepped in as Oldham’s new pro in the CLL, leaving Kershaw with a large hole to fill.

Qayyum can offer spin or seam up, while youngsters Danny Meehan and Ben Ingham, a leg-spinner, are highly thought of but lack experience.




Glodwick



GLODWICK made progress on and off the field last year.



They are looking to carry on the good work under Nigel Stock, who is captain again, 10 years after relinquishing the role. He has replaced Mark Parkinson.

With their Warren Lane ground fit for use — Glodwick were forced to play all matches away from home in their first season in the league because of ongoing improvements — they finished in a very respectable seventh place and in Imran Aslam boasted the league’s leading wicket-taker.

More runs are expected of the Pakistani this time after he claimed 96 wickets in all competitions.

Two former players, all-rounders Mark Whitehead and Shahid Mahmood, have returned to the fold.

Whitehead, a former junior at Glodwick, spent a handful of years at Moorside but more recently played for Plumtree in the Nottinghamshire Premier League, while Mahmood was at Stayley.

Michael Smith, the club’s overseas amateur in 2008, has returned to Australia because of work commitments.




Greenfield



JONATHAN Ainley begins his first full season in charge with two new names and the return of three former players.



Greenfield’s bowling department has been boosted by the capture of former Werneth junior Liam Richards. The spinner, who has moved to the village, more recently played for CLL outfit Unsworth.

Alex Peters is the other fresh face.

The former Stayley batsman will partner Chris Gill at the top of the batting order.

The pair, along with Greenfield all-rounder Adam Hayes, played for the league’s Colts side last season.

However, Greenfield’s efforts to secure an overseas amateur have fallen short

“A place in the top six is a realistic target,” said Ainley. “We’re primarily a young side and it’s important we don’t put too much pressure on the younger players.”

Mark Lees has rejoined Ladhill Lane side after a summer at neighbours Saddleworth, while Chris Moore are Jamil Khalil are also back. Moore, who will probably bat at three, took a year out, while Khalil was unavailable because of work commitments.




Heyside



HEYSIDE, holders of the Tanner Cup and runners-up to Bamford Fieldhouse in the league, refused to supply any information about incoming or outgoing players for the new season.



Both first and second teams will start on minus 20 points after they were found guilty of failing to control players and spectators at last term’s Tanner and Moore Cup finals.




Hollinwood



AAMIR Bashir is fit and raring to go, says Hollinwood captain John Winterbottom.



Bashir missed the first part of last season because of a serious illness and was clearly not himself when he made his comeback in June.

It didn’t stop the Pakistani all-rounder from scoring his 10,000th run in the league and, with a winter’s cricket behind him, he expected to hit the ground running.

Hollinwood will need Bashir’s runs as Winterbottom has lost Qasar Riaz and Shakeel Saddique but, despite reports to the contrary, Mudassar Butt remains at the club.




Moorside



“COMMUNICATION is the key,” said opening batsman Francis Sutherland, who has taken over the reins at Moorside.



“I won’t be frightened of turning to the likes of Richard Baines and Lee Warburton for advice. They are both former captains with a lot of experience.

“I’ll be a fair captain — I’ll put my arm around players’ shoulders if needs be — but I’m also prepared to take tough decisions.”

Sutherland will call on South Africa-born JP Lee as professional.

The left-arm quick bowler and top order batsman spent 2006 as Werneth’s overseas amateur. He also had a spell at Sale in the Cheshire County League.

He deputised for Oldham on the opening day of the CLL season and took eight for 49 against Radcliffe.

Moorside inquired about Lee, who is now English qualified, in 2008, but instead signed spinner Alan Durose.

With Durose now gone, slow bowler Lee Tracey has come back to the club after taking a year out.

Promising teenager Miles Barnes will boost both batting and bowling departments after moving from Stayley.




Saddleworth



SPECULATION was rife last season linking Peter Skuse with a switch to Delph in the Drakes Huddersfield League, but the Australian has committed himself to at least two more years at Well-i-Hole.



One of Skuse’s tasks will be to nurture the club’s younger players as they look to build a team capable of challenging for honours in the future.

He has high hopes of all-rounder Steven Taylor, who has “filled out a fair bit” according to Skuse.

Adam Lavin, who played for Saddleworth as a junior, is back after spells at Micklehurst and Austerlands. A competent batsman, he will also keep wicket, which will free up Steven Howard to bowl.

Skuse turned to his club in Australia, Toombul, for overseas amateur Liam Morris, but trouble in acquiring the correct permit prevented the former Glodwick player coming to the country.




Shaw



IT’S all change at Shaw, who have signed a South African duo as their professional and overseas amateur.



Warrick Fynn, a left-hand opening batsman and left-arm spinner from Durban, is the paid man, replacing Ruwan Dissanayake.

The 24-year-old — it was his birthday last Sunday — spent the last two seasons at Oswestry in the Shropshire County League and Birmingham League.

The Eastern Province all-rounder’s first-class average is 26 with bat — he has a highest score of 104 — and his best bowling return is six for 59.

Nicky Van den Bergh, the overseas amateur, is a wicketkeeper-batsman and, at 19 years of age, will be one of the youngest players in the line-up.

Rick Harrington, who skippered the side in last season’s Twenty20 Cup competition, takes over full-time from Dave Andrew.

The capture of Fynn and Van den Bergh will bolster the batting no end after the loss of Mike Small, who is instead of pounding the crease will pound the golf course at weekends.

Another new name is Kamran Mukthair, who is a right-arm swing bowler with experience in the Cheshire County League.




Stayley



BEN Johnson is back at Stayley — 13 years after he spent one season as professional at the Millbrook outfit.



The all-rounder, who has more recently plied his trade at Greenfield, brings a wealth of experience.

Ronnie Cameron remains as captain, and he can again call upon Rehan Rafiq and Adnan Farooq as the pro and overseas amateur respectively.

Oram Simms will start the season behind the stumps. He re-signed for Stayley part-way through last summer after a short-lived stint at Bamford Fieldhouse.

But teenagers Alex Peters and Miles Barnes, who have both represented the league at under-18s level, have moved on.




Uppermill



AFTER confounding everyone but themselves in 2008 — they qualified for the LCB Cup after finishing fourth — Uppermill are setting their sights even higher in 2009.



“I want to be in the top two and reach a final,” said captain Matt Taylor, who has welcomed back seam bowler Andy Heap.

Uppermill discovered a gem in overseas amateur Zeeshan Khan last season.

The Pakistani topped the batting averages with 1,117 runs at 85.9 — and Taylor is hoping for a repeat performance.

He said: “If we can get the same from Zeeshan again, then I’ll be more than happy.”

But Uppermill are not a one-man band, with the likes of James Baron, Alex Griffiths and Andy McVeigh in the line-up.





Saddleowrth League teams and fixtures: see next item




Other news:

Alliance reduced to eight



EIGHT teams will contest the Ashton and Oldham Cricket Alliance, which gets under way on Saturday.



Reigning champions Star Eleven, better known as St Mary’s OPC and who joined the original Oldham and District Sunday School Alliance in 1903, have switched to the Greater Manchester Amateur League.

AJK, runners-up last year, and Copthorne have followed the same path.

Waterhead Methodists, who were formed in 1919 and served the Alliance for 58 years, have folded.

But the Alliance can boast a new team in Heyside.

And, for the first time, the Alliance will stage a Twenty20 competition this year.




Away trip for Roytonians



ROYTONIANS start their second season in the Site Electrical North Manchester League at Littleborough on Saturday.



Run from the White Hart in Royton, they play their home fixtures at the Lancaster Club on Broadway.

Outdoor nets are at Royton Cricket Club every Wednesday at 6pm and new players are most welcome. For more details, call Phil Dean on 07900 236755.

Roytonians have joined forces with Royton Town FC to stage a sportsman’s dinner on Saturday, May 16.

It will take place at Smokies Park Hotel, and the guest speaker is former Manchester United and Northern Ireland International Norman Whiteside. He will be supported by comedian/impressionist Aaron James.

For ticket information, contact Liam Grady on 07793 967195.Schools




CROMPTON House School have received a plum home draw against St Cuthbert’s, Rochdale, in round one of the English Schools’ Cricket Association under-15s Twenty20 Cup.



Royton and Crompton are away to Wardle High School, Rochdale.

Ties to be played on or before Wednesday, May 6.