HUDDERSFIELD’s Under 17s open their Joe Lumb account tomorrow when they entertain the Doncaster League in their first game of a new campaign at Broad Oak (1.00).

Manager Richard Dodson has named a 15-man squad for the start of this year’s competition, and he remains quietly optimistic, although he readily admits they may not see too much of his trio of Yorkshire Academy players, Jack Hargreaves, Gurman Randhawa and Callum Geldart.

Scholes’ Tom Brook (son of long-serving Chapelgate batsman Nicky) has been appointed Huddersfield’s Joe Lumb captain this season, and he is joined in the squad by club colleague and wicketkeeper/batsman Tom Boorman.

Skelmanthorpe have a trio of representatives in the squad, led by vice-captain Tom Barber, Dominic Storey and Jamie Jagger, the latter two having both played in the first team at Lidgett Lane already this season.

As well as Hargreaves and Randhawa (who is also now at Broad Oak after moving from relegatedLascelles Hall and pictured inset right) the Cowlersley side have a third member in Eddie Wilson, who will be their first choice wicketkeeper this season.

The 15-year-old has now broken into Broad Oak’s first team, and last week showed his teammates how to apply themselves with the bat when he made a defiant unbeaten 48 while his side crumbled around him in the Sykes Cup clash at Hall Bower.

Elland’s Jack Pulley is another member of the Cup squad to have made his mark in first-team cricket this season, after scoring 58 in his team’s victory over Clayton West, while Thongsbridge’s Alex Kemp has yet to be dismissed after scoring 77 and 29 unbeaten in his two games to date.

Whichever 11 is finally chosen, Dodson is confident – even without the Academy contingent – that he has assembled a more than useful squad.

“I think the biggest danger to us qualifying for the play-offs will be the Heavy Woollen side, who are always a well-organised and very difficult team to beat,” admitted Dodson.

“We play the Heavy Woolley side in the last game of the season at Liversedge, and that could well be the decider, although obviously there is a long way to go before then and lot of big challenges ahead of us.

“Although they are my main worry, I don’t think there are any easy games in the Joe Lumb now, and I’m expecting some hard matches along the way.”

The Joe Lumb Cup competition features two eight-strong divisions, with the winners of each playing-off for the Cup at the end of the season, while the two runners-up in each section play off for the Jack Lee Trophy.

Huddersfield narrowly missed the play-offs last year, finishing third in their section.

The full squad and the fixtures are:

Tom Brook (Scholes, capt), Tom Barber, Dom Storey, Jamie Jagger (all Skelmanthorpe), Jack Hargreaves, Edward Wilson, Gurman Randhawa (all Broad Oak), Luke Kenworthy (Meltham), Jack Pulley (Elland), George Smith and Oliver Davidson (both Kirkburton), Alex Kemp (Thongsbridge), Callum Geldart and Naseer Rahman (both Denby Dale), Tom Boorman (Scholes).

Fixtures: v Doncaster (at Broad Oak, Sun, May 10); v Halifax (at Blackley, Sun, May 24); v Nidderdale (at Beckwithshaw, Sun, June 7); v N Yorkshire & S Durham (at Scholes, Sun, June 21); v Craven (at Masrden, Sun, July 5); v Wetherby (away, tba, Sun, July 19); v Heavy Woollen (at Liversedge, Sun, Aug 2).