They are building positively for the future at Shelley and skipper Greg Wadsworth has no doubts the club will reap the rewards in the next few years.
Eighteen points so far in the Drakes Premiership is not the tally they’d been hoping for, but Shelley have a shot at reaching the semi-finals of the arrowselfdrive Sykes Cup next weekend at Golcar and plenty of improvement in their tank.
At 25, Wadsworth has returned from Hunslet Nelson to take the reins and believes with excellent back-up from the committee and volunteers at Westerley Lane, they are at the outset of a journey which will prove fruitful in the seasons to come.
“It’s just tiny percentages which can make the difference at this level and so far we haven’t turned enough of them our way, but then we are a new side with new players who are just gelling and you have to bear that in mind,” said Wadsworth.
“We never expected to be top two and pushing for the title, but we are into the quarter-finals of the Sykes Cup and we will win more games as the season goes on and we want to be pushing for the top five or six, which is what we are looking to do.
“The aim has been to try and strengthen. We knew it would be an uphill task to really push in the league because of the players other teams have got, but we know that with the squad we are building, if we can keep them together we can really push over the next six or seven years.
“What I’m saying is it’s a project. It’s not something where we were expecting instant success, but we know with the players we have we are not going to struggle for mid-table and, in the next two or three years when people have got the confidence and proven track records, we can be a side that can challenge.
“If you come into a league as strong as this and think you are going to push for the title straight away then you are being daft.
“What we need to do is keep building over the next two or three years, just keep tinkering with the side by adding one or two each year, and then we will see the progress.
“It helps that we’ve got some really good lads in the second team. When I was here a couple of years ago we were struggling to turn out a full side in the second team, but now we’ve got a squad of 16, which is really good after the way things have been for the last few years, and there are at least four of them who are always asking when they are going to get their chance in the first team. That’s great when we haven’t had the resource at times in the past.”
Trophy-winner Paul Winrow has joined Shelley this season to play alongside Wadsworth, experienced Pakistani pro Bilal Khiljee and young lads like Charlie Mitchell, from Lascelles Hall, Ibby Younas (Elland) and Hasnat Yousaf (Hall Bower).
Shelley have an important match at Slaithwaite today – the home side are suffering without the all-round influence of injured Chris Kilner – and then they entertain Kirkburton next weekend before the Cup trip to Swallow Lane.
Wadsworth is enjoying the ride and delighted to be back in the Drakes League.
“Travelling to Leeds every week to play cricket wasn’t enjoyable and the two seasons I had with Shelley previously I really loved, so that’s one of the reasons I came back,” he explained.
“The people here are also great, there’s terrific support from the committee, who want the club to go forward properly, and it’s a nice ground to play at.
“I was speaking to people, too, who wanted to sign and thought we had the makings of a good team, and at the end of the day I wanted to play local league cricket in the area I live and be part of something going forward alongside lads I enjoy playing with.
“We’ve got people like Ibby, Bilal and Paul with proven track records in run-scoring and wicket-taking and then young players like Charlie opening the batting and Joe and Louis Sykes in the middle order, and it’s just a nice combination.
“It’s perhaps a tough task to be captain at 25, but I’m enjoying it and it’s a lot easier when you’ve got a good bunch of lads.
“My parents were sorting out a cupboard the other day which had a picture of me in the Huddersfield Under 15 Taverners side, so that made me feel old!
“And when Paul signed, he sent me an e-mail where he’d got a hundred and I’d got a five-for for the Under 17s and I just thought crikey, that’s four stones and eight years ago!
“It’s good to see there are quite a few young captains in the league, though, people who have come through the Huddersfield junior system, rather than clubs bringing in people from the Bradford League or wherever. It’s good to see clubs trusting good, local lads to do the job.”
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