Cricket: Pace ace signs up for Burton’s bid!

Jan 1 2009 by David Lockwood, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

KIRKBURTON have underlined eagerness to get back to where they belong – the Premiership – with a string of new signings and an enthusiastic new skipper.

Although they may be new faces to Riley Lane supporters, the new recruits are by no means strangers to the Drakes Huddersfield League, to where they have returned after playing elsewhere.

Wayne Swift has been handed the huge responsibility as captain, and it is perhaps no surprise that a couple of the ‘newcomers’ are former playing colleagues of Swift, who has ‘called in a few favours’ along with previous and current teammate John Eaton.

The first is fast bowler Lesroy Irish, who is still in the Drakes League handbook after a phenomenal season at Primrose Hill during the nineties, when he scooped 111 wickets, which is the most wickets in a season in the Conference since the introduction of 50-overs cricket in 1984.

The seriously-quick West Indian paceman did for the sale of batting helmets what Tiger Woods has done for Nike golf clubs, in his solitary season in 1995, before moving on elsewhere.

And he is obviously still ‘digging it in,’ having the most five-wicket hauls in the Birmingham League last season, including a seven-wicket haul for his club Water Orton.

Another former teammate of Swift’s is Barry Singleton, the burly spinner, who played for two seasons with his new skipper at Elland, before moving to North Leeds for a spell.

Left-arm spinner Singleton, who formerly played for the Airedale & Wharfedale League side – and featured in a victory over the Huddersfield League – played at Hullen Edge in 2004 and 05.

And although he managed only 20-odd victims in his first season in the Premiership, he could well prosper in the Conference next season.

The third member of Burton’s new-look line-up is the ‘much-travelled’ Louis Aspeling, who helped Cleckheaton to a sixth-place finish in the Bradford League’s First Division last summer, scoring 460 runs.

Aspeling has experience of the Huddersfield League, having played with a number of clubs, and has also helped coaching with the juniors at Armitage Bridge as well as the League’s Joe Lumb Cup squad.

The other good news for Kirkburton is the return of former opening bowler Tom Burkinshaw, who left in the middle of 2008 for a time in New Zealand and who Swift will now be looking to shoulder the responsibility of strike bowling partner for Irish.

The new skipper is also delighted to have retained top Joe Lumb Cup prospect Andy Smith who really impressed when opening the batting last season scoring just over 750 runs.

And the likelihood is he will be joined in the first team by younger brother Mike Smith and Josh Ingham, along with last season’s captain Matt Garrety and Richard Kettlewell who returns after a lengthy spell out with injury and operations.

Kirkburton were such a dominant force in the League during a spell from 2000-2003 when they lifted the Romida Sykes Cup twice and the League Championship, and Swift has set his aim on at least getting the Riley Laners back into the top flight by the end of next season.