Hoylandswaine are among the strongest sides to play Drakes League cricket for decades and Aussie skipper Michael Cranmer is focused on retaining the Sykes Cup tomorrow.
The 25-year-old from Adelaide hasn’t played since injuring his right knee in the T20 Trophy final against Barkisland, but he will take control against Golcar at Honley knowing he has massive power throughout his line-up.
Wicketkeeper Alan Mynett is away on holiday, but other than that Swaine have all their big guns available for the 1pm start and are determined to let their cricket do the talking.
Cranmer – who has 718 league and cup runs this season at 71.80 to add to 2 wickets at 19.45 – explained: “It’s great to play in finals days because they are a wonderful experience – that’s why we all play the game.
“We always seem to cop a bit of stick from the opposition crowd – and it’s always great to play in front of a big crowd at the final – but that only drives us on and we are really looking forward to the final – we can’t wait.
“We do have a good side and they are all great lads, which makes it a pleasure.
“As I’ve said, we do tend to cop a bit, but that spurs us on and we are well grounded as a side.
“We know what we have to do and, generally, we get there. We play pretty professional cricket when we get the chance and we are all really excited about what’s coming up.
“The Sykes Cup final is obviously a big occasion and hopefully we can take the trophy home again, but we also want the League title again.
“We have been really good in the cups for the past few years, but the league is what everyone plays for and that is our main target for this season. We want to take the Byrom Shield back to Haigh Lane again this year.”
An 11-point Drakes Premiership lead with a month of the season to go is a pretty healthy situation to be in and this Swaine team rightly deserves to be regarded alongside the top teams of the last 50 years in Honley, Kirkburton, Meltham, Elland and Holmfirth.
Gharib Nawaz leads a stellar batting list with 863 runs at 53.94, while Cranmer is not too far behind and Ryan Robinson weighs in with 570 at 43.85. Robinson will be making his sixth appearance in the Drakes League’s showpiece knockout.
Opener Alex Morris is no mug with 325 runs at 23.21, but the middle order has been firing with Robinson’s contribution augmenting the efforts of SP Singh (365 at 24.33) and Yasir Abbas (349 at 29.09).
Abbas has impressed with the ball, taking 33 wickets at 17.67, while Richard Wilkinson’s spin has been influential – he’s picked up 31 victims at 15.55.
Throw into the mix Ben Potter – who can win any match with bat or ball – and the relatively new arrival Zafir Patel from the Leeds-Bradford University set-up, and you have a side with all the credentials for success.
For now, Cranmer has the Sykes Cup in his sights after today’s league clash with Barkisland at Haigh Lane.
“Golcar are a quality side and we’ve had some great games with them in the past,” said the East Torrens star, who hammered 171 on his debut for Derbyshire Seconds last month.
“We certainly won’t be taking them lightly.
“Golcar will have all the support again, but we will be determined to play to our best again and see what happens. Hopefully our best will be good enough to take home the trophy again, because we do get ourselves ‘up’ for these games and we are really looking forward to it.”
Cranmer is delighted to have already won the allroundercricket T20 Trophy, having lost their grip on the Black Sheep Yorkshire Champions Trophy, but wants to add a league and cup double – Swaine won the Byrom Shield in 2012 but were pipped by Shepley last time.
He is also hoping to maintain his own outstanding form now the knee injury has proved to be not quite as serious as first thought (it’s a sprain rather than any more lasting ligament damage).
“It’s been nice to get a few out of the middle,” he quipped when talking about his batting.
“When you play as much cricket as we do, it’s always nice to be making the most of your good form.”
On his possibilities with Derbyshire, Cranmer added: “I have no idea what will happen with that, we will just have to wait and see.
“It’s not really up to me. I’ll just hope for the best and see what happens.”
