CHESHIRE COUNTY CRICKET LEAGUE
2017: EARLY APRIL NEWSLETTER
Ireland ODI star Niall O’Brien for Nantwich
HIGHEST profile signing of the League’s close-season sees Ireland ODI and T20 star left-hand batsman/wicket-keeper Niall O’Brien join Premiership club Nantwich.
Elder brother of the better-known Kevin and son of Brendan, who played for Ireland from 1966-81, Dublin-born Niall, aged 35 and 5 ft. 7 ins. tall is recorded as being “highly competitive and renowned for his chirpiness behind the stumps”.
Niall began his first-class career with Kent in 2004, later enjoying six seasons with Northants before winding up with three seasons at Leicestershire last September
He made his Ireland debut in 2006 and enjoyed his best innings the following season with a brilliant 72 against Pakistan in the ODI World Cup. His most recent appearance for Ireland was against Afghanistan in March and he remains available for his country. He has played in ODI tournaments abroad in Bangladesh and New Zealand
A qualified coach, Niall played in 81ODIs and 30 T20Is, while in first class cricket he scored 8,528 runs at 35.34, took 474 catches and 47 stumpings.
The Dabbers have also signed Tattenhall batsman Henry Dobson, 17, the 2016 League Young Player of the Year.
UMPIRES TO GET A RISE
PANEL umpires are to receive an increase in expenses when the 2017 season opens on Saturday, April 22. But the rises are to be frozen for three seasons.
Subject to approval by clubs at the management meeting at Warrington on Wednesday, April 12, umpires standing in ECB Premier League games will henceforth receive £45, up from £40, while the remuneration in Divisions One and Two goes up to £42, also an increase of £5.
Officials standing in all T20 games will be paid at the unchanged rate of £25.
Umpires Association chairman Ian Greensmith comments: “This increase would be in line with other leagues in the region. The Liverpool Competition have agreed to pay £45 in all divisions held for three years and we would like to do the same, although with lower fees for our Divisions One and Two where fewer overs are bowled”.
Mr. Greensmith reports that the Association panel will be numerically better off in 2017 withthe newly-formed recruitment committee beginning to pay dividends.
The three March meetings called by the League at Cheadle Hulme – switched from Bramhall - Chester and Toft to consider the behaviour of players were well attended by club chairmen, captains and umpires themselves.
There was a wide ranging and frank interchange of views and the belief of discussion leaders Ian Milligan and Duncan Anderson, chairmen of Bramhall and Didsbury respectively, was that there would be an improvement in on-field discipline and respect for umpires shown by players during the new season.
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CRICKET BALL TRIALS ETC.
O AN improved type of Reader cricket ball is to be experimented with on two as yet unspecific Saturdays in the ECB Premier League in 2017. The balls, which cost £18, is alleged to swing more than the normal Sovereign used weekly. If the experiment is successful an order may be placed for the future.
O MARPLE and Timperley have notified the League that work on their grounds will not be completed until the end of May. Both clubs are making arrangements for all 1st XI fixtures to be played away in the meantime.
O TATTENHALL League representative Ray Hunt has been co-opted to the Cricket Committee. Invitations have been issued to other potential new members.
Following the setting up of a four-man Executive body, the committee will meet less often in 2017: in May, June, July, August and October.
O A SUNDAY Friendly fixture pool has been set up by Marcus Fisher (tel. 07818 886 653; e- mail ). Up to 14 clubs may take part, some wishing to play regularly while others want only half a dozen games. There will be no results published.
O OVER 40s Finals Day is to be staged at Chester Boughton Hall on Sunday, September 3 (12 noon) shifting away from the normal Bank Holiday date which had become unpopular with players and umpires. Fall back date is Sunday, September 10, again at Chester.
O PHILL EVANS has stood down as one of the Third XI divisional competition secretaries due to ill-health. He is replaced by the versatile Ian Sharrock (tel. 07899 895 202; mobile; e-mail:
Urmston 3 and Bowdon Vale have withdrawn from the Third XI set-up leaving the three Eastern divisions with nine clubs each, 16 games and an open date each Sunday. All requests for fixture changes should go to Ian Sharrock or new Eastern secretary Roger Ollier (tels. 01928 787 192 / 07710 730 038; mobile: ).
O SPEAKING at a meeting of Wombwell Cricket Society recently, League secretary Geoff Wellsteed fielded a question from the audience from one John Howarth.
The two afterwards enjoyed a chat about John’s great deeds for Cheadle Hulme, Notts and for Cheshire from 1976-78.
John’s favourite story about his experience of playing under Cheshire skipper Fred Millett came in a match at Bowdon when, due to a ‘minor dismeanour’ he was taken off and told to field third man at both ends.
The ever-resourceful Howarth spotted a bicycle and used it to pedal furiously round the boundary after each over …until Fred spotted him and gave him a hollering.
O NOTTS League Division A club Collingham & District seek fixtures for a Cheshire tour during the first week in July.
Vice chairman and tour organiser David Pipes says the tourists will be “of mixed strength, but no mugs and good mixers”.
He can be contacted by tel. at 07900 886 732 or by e-mail on
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Bowdon’s Chris Ashling one of
five Conference Players of Year
WINNER of the League Cricket Conference’s first annual award for the Player of the Year - and the Neil Edwards Memorial Trophy – is all-rounder Mattie McKiernan of Liverpool Competition champions Leigh
His performance in scoring 570 runs and taking 75 wickets was deemed by a panel to be the best of the five short-listed candidates, who also included Chris Ashling (Bowdon), David Ball (Dorridge), Gareth Dawson (High Wycombe) and Lee Hodgson (Marske).
All five players received awards presented by Conference president Geoff Cook, the former Durham and England player Geoff Cook, now Durham’s coach.
Chris Ashling, 28, who had a spell as professional with Glamorgan in the early 2000s, took 62 ECB Premier League wickets at 12.03 last season when he helped Bowdon finish runners-up. He was named Premier League Players’ Player of the Year, receiving the Mark Alcroft Trophy at the Presentation Dinner in October. He was unable to be present as he was being married that day.
General secretary Rob Sproston was re-elected along with all other Conference officers.
Sentinel cricket supplement
THE Stoke Evening Sentinel, one of 20 national, regional and local newspapers who receive the League Newsletter throughout the year, plan to produce a special Cricket Supplement in their edition of Tuesday, April 18.
The paper’s expperienced cricket writer Chris Travers says: “It will be of 32 pages, with four devoted to the Cheshire leagues and two to the Cheshire county club”.
The newspaper is available from all south-Cheshire newsagents and on line.
Cheshire Academy to meet MCC at Toft
STAND out fixture for Cheshire’s Academy team next season is the visit of MCC to Toft on Tuesday, July 11.
Other games arranged so far (all 11 a.m. starts):
Wednesday, May 3: Lancashire 2nd at Chester Boughton Hall
Thursday, July 13: Warwickshire Academy at Crewe
Friday July 21: Shropshire Development XI away
A two-day game against Cumberland is also planned
COUNTY GOLF DAY
ENTRIES are invited for the Cheshire County Club’s second Annual Golf Day, to be staged at the Styal club, near Wilmslow, on Friday, September 29 starting at 12.30 p.m.
Applications - costing £110 per team of four - should go to principal organiser Peter Babbage, telephone 07906 540 240 or e-mail . Other organisers are Rob Sproston and John Petch.
New U19 T20 tourney
CHESHIRE Cricket Board are planning to launch a new Under 19s T20 competition this summer, given sufficient take up.
Clubs interested are currently being invited to complete a survey on the Board website to guage interest.
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ALL GAMES IN 2nd XI KO TO
HAVE PANEL UMPIRES
A TOTAL of 34 clubs will compete in the 2nd XI Joseph Holt Brewery T20 Cup in 2017, Sale and Tattenhall being ineligible after forfeiture of games last season, while Northwich and Oulton Park return after penalty omissions in 2016.
For the first time, panel umpires will be appointed for all matches.
As a consequence of poor co- operation from clubs meeting deadlines for the completion of games in the past, scheduling will be more rigid with matches having a Tuesday default date allocated.
Clubs can mutually agree to play on an earlier date provided at least seven days notice is given to Competition secretary Brian Boys () and Umpires appointments secretary Geoff Young ().
There are two preliminary round games to be played by May 9.
The first named clubs will be at home in each round in all games up to an including the quarter-finals.
The semi-finals and final will be played on a date and ground yet to be determined and will be subject to a draw to determine the semi-finals make-up.
The full draw is available on the league website.
THE DRAW
Preliminary round
Brooklands v Ashton on Mersey (on Tuesday, May 9)
Toft v Northwich (Tuesday, May 9)
First round
Brooklands or Ashton on Mersey v Heaton Mersey (May 30)
Marple v Hyde (May 30: switched to Hyde)
Urmston v Stockport (May 30)
Didsbury v Stockport Georgians (May 30)
Alderley Edge v Bramhall (May 23)
Bollington v Cheadle (May 23)
Cheadle Hulme v Lindow (May 23)
Macclesfield v Congleton (May 23)
Toft or Northwich v Oulton Park (May 30)
Timperley v Nantwich (May 30)
Middlewich v Bowdon (May 30)
Warrington v Grappenhall (May 30)
Oxton v Weaverham (May 23)
Widnes v Alvanley (May 23)
Upton v Neston (May 23)
Davenham v Chester Boughton Hall (May 23).
Round 2 games are scheduled for June 6 and 13.
Quarter-finals are on June 27.
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34 TEAMS IN FOR THIRD XI CUP
WIDNES and Didsbury 4th are new entrants for the Third XI Joseph Holt T20 Cup in 2017, raising the entry to 34.
Teams are divided into three geographic zones, East having five mini groups, Central with two mini groups and West also with two.
These groups comprise three or four teams each playing the others once. Winning teams will be awarded two points with cancelled or abandoned games earning one. These games are scheduled for Sunday, April 23, Sunday, April 30 and BH Monday, May 1.
Mini group matches have all been given default dates; matches may be moved or re arranged by mutual agreement and all matches must be played by Sunday, May 28.
In the knock out stages there will be a preliminary round match followed by quarter-finals to establish which four go through to Finals Day, yet to be agreed.
All matches are of 20 overs per innings and start at 1 p.m.
How they line up
EAST SECTION:
E1: Alderley Edge, Bramhall, Lindow, Macclesfield
E2: Bowdon, Cheadle, Hale Barns, Timperley.
E3: Didsbury 5, Romiley, Stockport, Stockport Trinity.
E4: Bredbury, Didsbury 4, Hyde, Sale.
E5: Didsbury 3, Heaton Mersey, Marple, Urmston.
CENTRAL
C1: Ashley, Grappenhall, Knutsford, Warrington.
C2: Elworth, Haslington, Nantwich, Toft
WESTERN
Wl: Runcorn, Tattenhall, Widnes.
W2: Chester Boughton Hall, Neston, Oxton
PRELIMINARY ROUND by Sunday, June 25:
Winners of group W1 v W2.
QUARTER-FINALS by Sunday, July 23:
Winners of prelim. match v winners of Group C1
Winners of C2 v winners of E1
Winners of E3 v winners of E2
Winners of E4 v winners of E5.
A full copy of the draw can be found on the League website.
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PRE - SEASON CLUB NEWS
(up-dated where possible)
Barrow improve pavilion
RE-ELECTED chairman at BARROW, Phil Noble reports improvements to the pavilion including the creation of a new storage area. Help with this work was carried out by young people from the Princess Trust.
Pace bowler Phil Johnson returns after spells at Tattenhall and Marple, while treasurer Tate Beaumont steps down and is succeeded by former 1st XI captain Gareth Hughes.
Bowdon to mark Lord’s appearance
BOWDON secretary when the League was founded in 1975, the First Division title a year later and when they reached the final of the John Haig National Club ko at Lord’s a further 12 months on, David Young plans a get-together of survivors this summer.
It will take the shape of a buffet meal at the club on Saturday, June 10 starting at 6 p.m. on the day of the Premiership game against Chester Boughton Hall
David told Newsletter: “We played at Lord’s in 1977 when the final against Southgate was rained –off. The match was replayed at Edgbaston a few days later, when we lost. I have been trying to contact all members of that team to stage a reunion. Unhappily, not all are still with us and a couple of others are ill”.
David’s e-mail address for anyone who would like to attend is
Bramhall directory
FORMER BRAMHALL player Paul Bellis is publishing a Business Directory covering the district at Easter, which will include a major feature about the cricket club. A player there from 1986-2006 and now a life vice president, Paul served as a Bramhall councillor on Stockport Council from 2000-2015. He is currently a Director at SK Graphics, who are publishers of the Bramhall Business Directory which appears twice annually.
Bredbury plan move to Goyt Valley
AMBITIOUS plans are on the drawing board for BREDBURY ST. MARK’S – back in the league after a 12 months absence – to relocate to a 10-acre site in the nearby Goyt Valley.
Spokesman and Third XI captain Geoff Mountford reports that after several false starts, contracts have been exchanged with a developer and the club are shortly to apply for planning permission to move from their present ground in Hillside Road, Woodley.