Chairman's Report - 2000

John Hutchinson (March 2001)

Undoubtedly, the most pleasing aspect of the 2000 season at domestic level was the wide range of clubs which won trophies, either as League or Cup winners, or via the performance of individual players. This makes a refreshing change from recent years when most of the junior competitions have been dominated by Egerton, Astley Bridge, Farnworth Social Circle and Little Lever. The wide range of prizewinners was reflected by the huge attendance of well over 300 at the Annual junior Presentation Evening in November. For the first time in living memory we had to move the event to a larger venue, Breightmet Labour Club, in order to accommodate all those wishing to attend. May this pattern be repeated for many years to come.

For the record, the various team title winners in 2000 were as follows:

Cup League
Under 18s Farnworth Social Circle Greenmount
Under 15s Bradshaw Little Lever
Under 13s Astley Bridge Horwich
Under 11s WaIkden Bradshaw and Little Lever

and, as you can see, this list incorporated seven different clubs, or, in other words, half the League. For completeness, the fitting winners of the inaugural Reuben Mather Trophy for Under 18s were Astley Bridge CC.

Congratulations also to all the clubs finishing as runners-up in the various competitions, and to all the players, umpires and scorers who were fortunate enough to collect individual performance trophies this year.

It is never easy to recruit umpires for junior fixtures, and so I would like to place on record my thanks to Messrs John Roughton, Fred Elmore, Alan Greenhalgh, Harry Lewis, David Sutcliffe, Eric Barlow and Brian Fairclough for their sterling service during the season.

At Under 18s level, congratulations once again are due to Farnworth Social Circle for winning the lake Tatlock Trophy for the seventh year running. Fittingly, the League has decided that the original lake Tatlock Trophy will now remain permanently at Piggott Park, with a new trophy being purchased for the 2001 season and beyond.

Farnworth S.C. also reached the Final of the League competition, but lost out in a close, low scoring match to a Greenmount side whose bowling and all-round ground fielding was a pleasure to watch (or in my case, to umpire!).

As you will be aware, the Under 18s season is now split between the main League competition and the 'one-day' competition for the Reuben Mather Memorial Challenge Trophy. There could not have been a more fitting end to the inaugural Reuben Mather Competition, with Reuben's beloved Astley Bridge defeating Egerton in an exciting Final which finished in near darkness. One of Reuben's great protégés in the months leading up to his death was Bridge's young wicket-keeper, Danny Guest. It was, therefore, entirely appropriate that Danny collected the Man-of-the-Match Award for his outstanding wicket-keeping and hard-hitting batting amongst, it has to be said, many a misty eye at Sharples Park.

The Under 15s League Competition was a closely-fought affair throughout the season, with Little Lever and Walkden vying for that elusive top place. In the end, in another season badly affected by rain, it was the elements which decided the issue, with Little Lever managing a comfortable win over Kearsley on a night when all other matches were abandoned without a ball being bowled. Congratulations to Little Lever and Walkden, both of whom played cricket of a very high standard.

For Walkden, the frustration continued with defeat in the Mervyn Porter Trophy Final against Bradshaw. On a very wet day, and, it has to be said, on rather a small playing area for a Cup Final, Bradshaw's victory owed much to the excellent batting of joint Man-of-the-Match winners, Alex Dunn and Paul Waring.

The Under 13s league competition was also a very tight affair, this time between Bradshaw and Horwich. The issue went down to the last game of the season, when Horwich's 64-run defeat of Eagley saw them pip Bradshaw to the post.

Overall, the standard of Under 13s cricket in 2000 was some way below that of recent seasons, although a handful of players did emerge as excellent prospects for the future. These included Matthew Fray of Astley Bridge, Egerton's Tom Fairclough, Darren Barton of Farnworth, and Ben Hubbard from Bradshaw.

In the Harrison Cup Final, played. this year at Egerton, Astley Bridge bowled Egerton out for just 55, Andrew Hough taking 3 for 9, and Rakab Mahmood 4 for 5, a performance which earned him the Man-of-the-Match award. Bridge then reached 56 for 2 to take the trophy with some considerable ease.

The 2000 season was notable for a welcome expansion of the Bolton League's Under 11 Section, with 11 clubs taking part, the exceptions being Kearsley, Greenmount and Tonge. The cricket was generally of a much higher standard than in 1999, with the teams representing Bradshaw and Little Lever particularly outstanding. Indeed, those two sides finished level at the top of the league table, which was an appropriate end to a successful season for both.

The Under-11 Festival at Walkden C.C. was somewhat marred by the failure of Westhoughton to turn up on the day. This must have been more than frustrating for clubs such as Farnworth and Astley Bridge, whose Under 11 teams failed to qualify for the Festival, but who would have been more than willing to take part, even at short notice. The Festival Final was a memorable match in which the hosts, Walkden, defeated Little Lever by one run amid chaotic scenes at the Oval with spectators spilling on to the pitch as the Little Lever fielders attempted to run out the Walkden batsmen. Amidst all the confusion, umpires George Ogden and Frank Dearnaley remained calm, and we should all be grateful that their common sense and spirit of fair play ensured that the match was completed before darkness fell.

At inter-league level, 2000 was a mixed season for the various Bolton League teams. The Under 18 XI crashed out of the M.E.N. Competition in the first round, losing to the Northern League at Blackpool CC by a margin of 22 runs. They also lost to the Bolton Association by six wickets in the annual Brian Hollows Trophy match. All round, a most disappointing season.

Conversely, the Under-15 XI performed exceptionally well, recovering from a disappointing defeat against the Palace Shield in the Michael Roche Trophy by winning the Canada Life North West Colts Trophy, organised by the Cheshire County League. Comfortable group wins against Cheshire County League, the South Moorlands junior League (Stafford) and the South Cheshire Junior League were followed by a rained-off fixture against the Salford and District Youth Cricket Association and an easy 10-wicket win over the Saddleworth League at Austerlands C.C.

Interestingly, the Final, held at Cheadle Hulme C.C., pitched the Bolton League against its near neighbours from the Bolton Association. The League batted first, reaching 184 for 9, thanks to 72 from Tim Rees and a collection of lusty blows from Danny Guest and Alex Dunn. In reply, the Association batsmen failed to cope with the leg-spin of Adam Rodzoch and collapsed to 80 all out, Adam recording Man-of-the-Match bowling figures of 6 for 15 from his nine overs.

The Under-13 Inter-League side also performed with great credit under the leadership of Richard Dearden and David Fairbrother. Although the team was limited in several areas, it always performed to the best of its ability. This effort was rewarded by reaching the semi-final of the Peak Sports Trophy before losing by four wickets to a very strong Bolton Association side which contained no fewer than seven L.C.B. Under-13 players. Not surprisingly, the Association also took the Teddy Gerrard Trophy in comfortable fashion.

As always, congratulations to all our players who represented the various L.C.B. teams during the season. In particular, I should highlight the efforts of Tim Rees, Andrew Kerr, Danny Guest and Nigel Hallows, all of whom were instrumental in enabling the L.C.B. Under-15 Xl to win the County Championship. Tim went on to represent England in the Under-15 World Cup Competition, where he performed with great credit and collected an award as 'Fieldsman of the Tournament'. This achievement deservedly earned Tim. our 'Most Promising Player Under-16' award for the year 2000.

Two issues which I think are worth mentioning at this point. Firstly, surely our best players at Under-15 level, and possibly at Under-13 level, too, are being asked to play too much cricket. We have junior and senior Bolton League fixtures, schools fixtures, Bolton Schools town team matches, Inter-League fixtures and, for the very best, L.C.B. Representative matches. Very little advice has so far been given by the L.C.B. as to how players are supposed to prioritise their commitments. I understand that this situation is about to change, but one thing is dear. Unless the present position of schools having 'first call' over players is eliminated, the same problem will persist for years to come.

Secondly, it seems to have become fashionable this winter for junior players from both the League and the Association, to transfer to clubs in the so-called 'Lancashire Premier League', the Liverpool Competition. The argument which I have heard recently is that clubs in that league tend to have better pitches and bigger grounds, and therefore provide a better opportunity for young players to learn their craft. Presumably, then, on that basis, players such as Warren Hegg, Mike Watkinson, Ronnie Irani, Jason Kerr, Karl Krikken et al have made it to first class level despite their backgrounds, rather than because of them. I don't believe it for a minute, and nor, I suspect, do many other people!

Wishing everyone an enjoyable season in 2001.