IT MAY still be early days of course, but after last week’s Sykes Cup victory over reigning League champions Honley, Elland may just be starting to show signs of getting back into the top flight’s leading echelon.
The once-powerful Hullen Edge side have let their formidable presence slip over the last three seasons, finishing fifth in both 2009 and 2010 before ending up in a disappointing mid-table seventh last summer.
In fact with the exception of the Twenty/20 Trophy, two years ago, you have to go back to 2004 to find the last time Elland were able to show off the Byrom Shield, while the last time they paraded the Sykes Cup was in 2002.
But some canny close-season recruitment, along with the return to full fitness of Paul Winrow has thrown a new light on Elland as they bid to return to the glory days, which saw them win more League titles (19) and Sykes Cup finals (17) than any other club.
Winrow was a big signing for Elland last season, after successful spells at Woodlands in the Bradford League and with Milnrow, but after scoring 63 against Shelley early in the season he suffered a recurrence of a long-standing knee injury and didn’t play again for the rest of the season.
He subsequently had an operation, but the former Barkisland star is now back and eager to impress, both as Elland captain and opening batsman. He has already made his mark on the recruitment front by tempting Jamaican all-rounder Lorenzo Ingram to join him at Hullen Edge
And, with all due respect to Elland’s other winter signings, Ingram is the one that fires the imagination and really whets the appetite for the season to come.
For the past two seasons while playing for Farsley, the left-handed Ingram has won the Bradford League’s Division I Batting prize, last season scoring 1,140 runs in just 20 games (ave 87.69) and on top of that he also claimed 50 wickets with his tight spin bowling, which saw him voted as the Bradford League’s JCT600 Players’ Player of the Year.
Now 29 years of age, Ingram is a former West Indies Under 19 and Senior B team player, while he has also played Minor Counties with Lincolnshire.
“Paul (Winrow) knew of him through his contacts at Woodlands, and had spoken about him to ex-Elland player Sam Frankland, so we were aware Farsley were not re-signing him,” said Elland’s new cricket chairman Dennis Midwood.
“Under the rules they couldn’t get him through on a Sports Visa with them having two paid players in the club already, so we approached him to come to Elland.
“We knew the Bradford League were far from happy about losing one of their biggest attractions, but it’s always nice to get one over on their League, so we went ahead and snapped him up!
“In fact ‘Winners’ has done a superb job for the club over the winter and we have re-shaped the side from the one we had last year.”
As well as Ingram, Elland have signed 21-year-old Niall Lockley, who played at Lightcliffe last season. An opening batsman, he began at Illingworth before a spell at Barkisland and was on the Yorkshire Pathways scheme.
“One of the most pleasing aspects now is that we have a young side, many of whom have come up through our own junior system, while most of the others are pretty local to the area,” continued Midwood.
“Niall is an Ovenden lad, while another new player is Simon Wheelwright who has joined us from Barkisland and is Paul’s vice-captain, and we have also signed Ibrar Younis who lives down the road in Brighouse and fancied a change after playing at Slaithwaite.
“The Finns, Greg and younger brothers Dominic and Alistair are all former junior players here, while Naz Rehman (in his second year) is another local lad, as is Chris Goulden, who originally played at Copley, and another new signing Zimbabwean-born Warwick Green has played with Northowram, where his parents live.”
Elland said farewell to Craig Fletcher at the end of the 2011 season (he’s now playing with Kirkburton), and lost Danny Rhodes to Golcar in an exchange deal which took Jack Hendy to Hullen Edge towards the end of last season, but the cricket chairman is optimistic about their end of the bargain.
“Jack is getting better and better and has just been appointed Huddersfield’s Joe Lumb Cup skipper which should give him that bit more confidence.
“All the lads have netted really well during the winter with between 18 and 24 players there every week with Winrow and Richard Blakey overseeing things.
“In fact Blakes is looking at setting up an Academy, and we have recently extended the square so that he can coach the juniors out in the middle rather than just in a net situation.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had as much youth in the club as we have now, with players like second team captain Ben Speak, Alistair Finn, Alex Rowles, Chris Walker and Richard’s own son Ashton, who has made a good start to the season in the Seconds, and who along with Walker scored centuries last week in Elland’s Sunday side.
“Overall I think it looks like being an interesting season with probably seven or eight teams in with a chance of winning the title.
“There is definitely a really good sense of togetherness around the club at the moment, but I don’t feel there is as much expectancy on us as on some other clubs. So we are just going to play with a smile on our face this season and see where it takes us.”
