THIS season’s new-look Drakes League set-up gets under way on Saturday with the prospect of all three divisions being ultra-competitive this summer.
No-one wanted to finish in the Cedar Court Conference (Division III in real terms), and all eight clubs are desperate to get out of it – most have realistic promotion dreams.
That is probably the biggest difference from the old system, where only four or five clubs out of 16 could realistically have hopes of promotion.
As with the Championship (which will be previewed tomorrow) and the Premiership (on Friday), it is not easy to plump for an outright title contender.
Some of the clubs have overseas players to build around, but I expect THONGSBRIDGE to be there or thereabouts come September.
They may have lost Mark Clayton and Justin Grant from last season’s line-up, but they are welcoming back several former players and have recruited Ijaz Shah, who last year took 41 wickets for Rastrick and had a season’s best 93 against Linthwaite.
The Miry Lane club, who are celebrating their 150th anniversary, will be skippered by Ben Raven-Hill who came close to scoring 1,000 runs last term, and who will welcome out of retirement Michael Bridge, a batsman almost certain to get among the runs at this level.
Ollie Webster is also back with the club after missing last season through injury, along with Ben Howitt, who spent more than half of last season at Camp America.
They will miss Javed Iqbal, who is hoping to undergo surgery on his troublesome shoulder, but may still have enough strength with a number of very promising junior players to maintain a serious promotion bid.
PADDOCK had one of the top overseas players in the Conference last summer, and despite several offers from elsewhere, Steve Abbott has returned from Perth for a second spell at West View Rise. And if he matches last summer’s statistics then I wouldn’t be surprised to see a resurgence in that club’s fortunes under skipper Mark Turner.
Abbott took 73 wickets (including a best of seven for 77, plus five five-wicket hauls) and notched 750 runs, with two tons, one of those coming against champions Hoylandswaine.
Paddock will also unveil three new signings; off-spinner Jonathon Lees, who has joined from Shelley and is also the University of Huddersfield captain, plus Martin Lees, a wicketkeeper who last year played with Ashton in the Central Lancashire League, and Zahid Ahmed, a 600-run man from Linthwaite last season, who also opens the bowling.
With Abbott going well, it could be Paddock’s best season for some time.
EMLEY CLARENCE also have a non-EU player in the shape of Pakistani-born Sheheryar Hassan, who is an opening batsman and off-spinner studying at Bradford University.
Skippered this year by Simon Sykes, Emley have also recruited former Kirkheaton duo Craig Whitehead and Steve Holroyd, the former as wicketkeeper, and the latter when his football refereeing commitments allow. Allan Greenwood is also a relative newcomer to the Welfare ground, having joined right at the end of last season.
But on the downside, Sykes has lost opener Pat Moors, who has moved to Didsbury, while stalwart Ken Taylor steps down to the Seconds (who were promoted to the Premiership) and Drew Gregory, a 44-wicket man last year, will play only occasionally.
Clarence face a belated start as their home match against Kirkheaton clashes with the soccer club, and will be played the following week.
ARMITAGE BRIDGE welcome back batsman Paul Hamer, following spells with Marsden and Meltham, along with Australian Jake DeAraugo for his second season down the valley.
DeAraugo, younger brother of the excellent Ben, who did so much to get Broad Oak into the Premiership (and keep them there), hails from Bendigo and the Bridge faithful will hope to see the young all-rounder improve on his 28 wickets and 250 runs of last season.
The Bridge also have a new skipper, Jason Vickerman (he’s done the job before) who spent much of last year in the Seconds, helping lift them into the Premiership, and he will be hoping to get as much use out of Matthew Pearce and Daniel Moorhouse as their Uni commitments allow.
On the downside, the Bridge play second fiddle to soccer more than most, and will have players missing at either end of the cricket season.
Shaun Woodhams will again take the gloves and the reins at LASCELLES HALL as they continue the re-building process after losing so many players over the last couple of years.
Woodhams had one of his best-ever seasons with the bat last summer and will be looking for support this time from the experienced Tony Mulhall and Richard Shaw, along with new signing Richard Hall from Shelley and former Armitage Bridge junior Corey Bullock.
The Hall, who are planning a fair bit of renovation at their Highfield Lane headquarters, also have their eyes on an overseas player, and have an option of two Australians from the same club as their former favourite Tim Cox. If they get a good one, Woodhams will remain optimistic.
Elsewhere they, like several other clubs, are looking to ‘blood’ some of their own juniors.
Like the Hall, neighbours KIRKHEATON have earmarked half-a-dozen of their Under 15s who will probably get their chance to see senior action at some time and are another club who will not be venturing down the ‘Overseas’ path.
The Bankfield Laners have a new skipper in the shape of all-rounder Kamran Saleem, who scored 500 runs last season, his most memorable innings, a blistering century at Hall Bower, backed up by last year’s top-scorer Jason Dawson, who had almost 600 runs to his name along with 28 wickets from his left-arm spin.
One of the top juniors to watch out for is 15-year-old all-rounder Charlie Mitchell.
Mohammed Ishan has been appointed captain at LINTHWAITE, where they are not blessed with an abundance of players, and therefore will be delighted to welcome back Pakistani-born Imran Malik, who last played for the Manchester Road club in 2007.
That summer Malik topped 800 runs and took 31 wickets, and Ishan will be hoping he can repeat those figures in what could be another very difficult season for the club who finished at the bottom of the pile last September, leaving them to seek re-election to the Drakes League.
Similarly RASTRICK, who finished next to bottom of the Cedar Court Conference, will aim to improve their lot, having re-engaged Ateeq Rehman, who proved to be their main man last year, for a second season.
He scored over 800 runs, which included six half-centuries but no tons, to become by far their biggest run-scorer, while also taking 62 wickets.
Rehman could have a 20-year-old New Zealand all-rounder to hopefully give him some support.
