New league president plans to cast his net

Cricket: Cricket watchers can expect to see John Holder out and about this summer.

As president of the new Pennine Cricket League, the former international umpire aims to get “around the grounds” to promote the competition in its inaugural season.

Holder is honoured to be elected. he says, and wants to follow the example set by a well-known figure who patrolled the boundaries of the Central Lancashire League.

“This is something completely new to me,” said Holder, who played in both the CLL and Saddleworth League. My very good friend John Cleary was president of the Central Lancashire League and I think he has been a great role model for me.

“I shall try to do what he did. He interacted with the clubs and spent time, especially during the summer, visiting all the grounds on match days. I shall do the same; make friends with people, players and officials.

“It’s an exciting time. There are a lot of hurdles to overcome, but I’m so glad to be part of the Pennine Cricket League, pushing it in the right direction and making it a success.

“I love the game of cricket. I want to see the game prosper and become strong.”

Holder, a brisk right-arm bowler for Hampshire in the late 1960s and early ’70s, is a familiar figure on the local scene. He spent four seasons at Royton and had a spell at Austerlands, where a second jumper was a stipulation he recalled on the Thorpe Lane ground.

“I always remember how cold it was up there,” said Holder (70). “It was 1979 and before the season had started, there was a huge snowball rolled up behind the pavilion.

“It got to the end of the season and it still hadn’t fully melted.”

Holder has another important position within the PCL organisation — he is a member of the disciplinary committee alongside John Patterson. An umpire with vast experience — he stood in 11 Test matches and 19 one-day internationals in a 26-year career on the circuit — Holder has ideal credentials to help keep players in check.