Cawthorne may have one primary objective at the moment, but they are keen to become an established Drakes League top-flight club.

Skipper Chris Walmsley makes no bones about the target over the remaining matches – it’s simply to stay in the Premiership.

But looking further down the line, he feels building blocks are being put in place for a fruitful future at Dark Lane, one of the most picturesque settings in the county.

“This season is a learning curve for us, but we are trying to enjoy it as much as we possibly can, we are trying to improve week by week and we are trying to stay away from the bottom two relegation places,” said Walmsley, who is back to full fitness after breaking a wrist in pre-season nets.

“It’s not going to be easy to stay up in a very competitive division, but that’s the aim, and then we want to develop from there.

“The thing is we want to build a club, and that’s not about bringing people in for a year, it’s about creating something for the future and developing it year on year.

Cawthorne skipper Chris Walmsley.

“The key is doing that with the right people involved and not just at any cost, and that’s our objective.

“We want to be part of the Drakes League Premiership, but we want to provide a club where juniors and adults can develop and enjoy their cricket – and that has to be with the right people.”

Cawthorne were champions of the Jedi Sports Championship by six points last summer, when they also won the All Rounder T20 Shield and the Oddfellows Cup, which now no longer exists as a competition.

Drakes League action below

It’s been more of a struggle since then, but Walmsley says spirits are high and the club are buoyant both on and off the field.

“When we came into the Premiership we got phone calls from all over the place from players asking about becoming involved, but it was always about finding the right people for us and having that psyche,” explained Walmsley, a key all-rounder in the first team with 351 runs last season to add to 44 wickets at 14.00.

“We’ve had some great performances this season against the likes of Shepley, Barkisland and Scholes, and then some others where we have not played well, so we need a bit more consistency and then move on from there.

“Like I say, it’s been a big learning curve, but this is the beginning of a long-term project.

“We want to develop year on year, we want to improve the ground, the facilities and the standards, and we want to improve the juniors and, however all this takes shape, we want to progress and see how far it takes us.”

Popular opinion suggests Cawthorne are already top-notch in looking after their beautiful ground and in one matchday department in particular – teas!

Drakes cricket. Honley v Cawthorne. Cawthorne bowler Mututza Hussain.

“Our groundsman Richard Bagshaw, whose son plays in the seconds and a bit in the firsts, spends hours and hours and hours on the ground and puts in a fantastic effort every day of the week,” said the skipper.

“With the teas, Sandra Skelly, the wife of our chairman Dale, is involved along with Mim Charnock, whose lads play in the juniors and second team, and they are down from 10am every matchday making what I can only describe as wonderful teas.

“It’s got to the extent where people are always talking about the teas and how nice the ground is, and that’s what we want – a club where people enjoy coming and playing and watching.”

Cawthorne’s junior section is important to them and Walmsley added: “We want to bring our own players through and Chris Schofield, who’s played at Hoylandswaine and is a coach in our area, runs the junior set-up with Jonathan Barker as manager.

“A lot of the lads we bring through go to QEGS and similar schools and they come with a lot of investment in their cricket anyway.

“Our Under 17s are going really well and one of them, Connor Thompson, has stepped up and played in every first-team game, getting a great 60-odd against Mirfield Parish and really showing what he’s all about.

“And it’s about giving these young players the foundations to build upon and not putting too much pressure on them so they feel they are a mainstay – you want to give them the freedom to play.

PICTURES from Cawthorne's defeat at Honley below

“The second team have been bringing a lot of these lads through so the future looks good – that’s what we want to do.”

While homegrown talent is ideal, Cawthorne have added experienced players like Iqbal Khan from Kirkburton this season, and Gary Steele from Aston Hall.

“Everyone knows Iqbal, he is a great guy for our younger players to be around and he has settled in well,” explained Walmsley. “He is playing his part in building for the future, as is Gary who has been bowling really well. They are the right people to bring in for those very reasons.

“Liam Wiles is obviously a big player for us with his runs and wickets and he’s a big leader in the changing room.

“People like Liam and Ben Simpson bring real leadership qualities and these are the ones you want around to help develop your club.

“Having people around like Jake Rodgers, too, make it a lot of fun, and lots of teams we’ve played this season have commented on what a great spirit we have and how we’ve stuck together.

“That’s all encouraging and we are keen to build on it. We enjoy training, we enjoy Saturdays and everyone likes each others company, so it’s a good environment to be involved.

“It’s all set up, really, and we just want to keep moving forward.”

Cawthorne are at Barkisland and Skelmanthorpe this weekend.

Drakes cricket. Honley v Cawthorne. Cawthorne bowler Jake Rodgers.