2025 PREVIEWS: Gaskell aims for another Division Two winning streak from his St Helens Town side

Dave Gaskell hopes his St Helens Town squad can draw on their experience of their last season in Division Two, as they aim to bounce back from relegation.

From mid-table in mid-June, Gaskell’s side went on a run of 11 wins in 12 games to end the season as champions.

And after falling short last year, the skipper hopes to get on a roll again when the season begins.

He said: “It does help having got out of the division before.

“The last time we were in Division Two was my first year as captain, and we didn’t really set any targets. 

“We were mid-table at the half-way point then we ended up getting promoted – it’s one of those divisions where you can get on a run.

“Last season is a bit sore for us still – we probably played better when we were relegated than we did the year before, when we stayed up. 

“There are a few games that haunt us – we should have beaten all the top three at Ruskin but we just couldn’t get over the line.

“When you’ve always got a really strong side around the corner, it’s hard to put together a run of games – when you’re fighting for it, you almost want it too much. 

“It comes down to both the skill of the opposition and being out of that winning feeling.”

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Seamer Danny Feeney and all-rounder Craig Black have left for Maghull, and Gaskell is yet to seal the deal for an overseas player to replace Sibusiso Maseko.

“There’s not been a great deal of change in terms of the squad, generally we’re quite similar,” he said.

“We’re in the process of confirming an overseas – we tend to go down the spinner route, it tends to suit our ground.”

With Matty Bielby leading the attack after a promising 2024, Gaskell hopes his top order can all contribute a bit more this year.

He added: “No-one had a standout season with the bat, so we’re looking for one or two people – including myself – to go on and score big runs and set bigger totals.

“We started poorly last year and we only got into rhythm in May, so hopefully we can avoid that slow start this season.”

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2025 PREVIEWS: Sutton squad have what it takes to compete in Division One, says skipper Noctor

Sutton’s Joe Noctor says his side have earned the right to show what they can do in Division One.

After sealing promotion in dramatic fashion, he is trusting the same group of players to adapt to the challenge.

The skipper, a former Rainford man, and ex-Hightown player Joe Smith are the only members of the squad to have played at this level before.

But Noctor believes his players have the quality to make the step up, having proved themselves over six seasons of steady improvement since earning promotion to the Comp.

“It’s going to be tough, but we’re looking forward to challenging ourselves,” said Noctor.

“We’re certainly capable of making the step up. 

“There are some really good players in Division One, but we’ve also got good players. 

“We’re going to have to learn quickly and it’s going to be different to be looking to survive rather than win every game, but everyone is excited to get going and see where it takes us. 

“There’s no real expectations from us, but we’re hoping we’ll surprise a few teams.”

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New Zealander Depp Bolingford, a seam bowling all-rounder, arrives to add firepower to the attack, and Noctor is looking forward to Jamie Greener being fully available again, having dipped in and out of the team since Covid.

The captain added: “Before then, he was regularly getting 400-500 runs a season, so he will be a big bonus.

“We’re really excited to get going, especially with the way last season ended in such dramatic circumstances. 

“After a couple of years of going close, it was great to finally go one step better.

“There’s a step up in quality, and a lot of teams bat down to 11. We have to be clinical, get runs on the board when we can and back our bowlers to bowl teams out.

“Survival is the main aim but we want to see how well we can do. If we can push on, then great.”

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2025 PREVIEWS: Hampson hopes sharing the load can help Wigan overcome key departures

Wigan skipper Jordan Hampson hopes his side can shrug off the loss of two star all-rounders and climb the Premier Division table.

Last season’s top run scorer, Adnan Miakhel, has left for Newton-le-Willows, while John Richardson, who topped the charts in 2023, will turn out for Lancashire Cup joint champions Prestwich in the Greater Manchester Cricket League.

With both also playing a big part in the seam attack, Hampson would be forgiven for worrying about the gap they will leave.

Instead, he is looking to the future and hoping to bring through a new crop of youngsters.

Hampson said: “Adnan leaving was a bit of a shock, we’d spoken to him a couple of days before he said he was going. 

“But it is what it is. We’re never going to hold someone back if they want to go and develop somewhere else.

“And John lives in Bury and he doesn’t drive so it’s a lot of travelling for him. 

“He was bowling 15 overs a game, so it’ll mean we have to share it out a bit more. 

“But I think we’ll come together as a team.”

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Key to Hampson’s plans are left-arm spinner Brad Barrow, 17, and Lancashire age-group batter Aveen Dalugoda, 16, both of whom will have bigger roles to play this year.

“We want to keep bringing the young ones through and keep giving them chances,” Hampson added. 

“Brad took some important wickets at important times, and Aveen played some great innings for us last year.”

Another big change will be the lack of an overseas spinner. Avinash Yadav bowled 287.5 overs last year, and Vinay Choudhary 289.1 the year before, but Wigan have instead opted to bolster their batting with Indian opener Shubham Khajuria.

Hampson, who was the Premier Division’s leading seamer in the scorching summer of 2022, knows he will have a lot of bowling to do.

“It’ll be completely different this year, a lot more sharing the overs out and everyone chipping in a bit more,” he said.

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After starting last season with three wins – beating Northern, and inflicting champions Ormskirk’s only league defeat of the season – Hampson’s first year as captain took a turn for the worse with a run of nine winless games.

He believes if they can iron out the inconsistency and get a settled XI, a top-half finish should be in their grasp.

Hampson added: “It’s about consistency. The biggest thing we struggle with is having the same 11 players each week. 

“Ormskirk and Northern have the same players every week, and that makes a big difference.

“I think we would have done a lot better last year but we went on a losing streak – hopefully we can do better this year.”

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Hassan Nawaz’s hundred v Shahid Afridi’s first hundred

3 minute read

Hassan Nawaz hit Pakistan’s fastest T20 ton today – a 44-ball effort against New Zealand. It was only his third international innings, which brings to mind Shahid Afridi’s absolute nonsense of a hundred the very first time he walked out to bat for the national side. But it wasn’t like that. It wasn’t like that at all.

Let’s do a head-to-head to prove it.

Entrances

The first thing to note is that hitting a hundred in your very first international innings amounts to a way more spectacular entrance than doing so in your third, because Nawaz in fact launched his career in Atapattu-esque fashion with successive ducks.

Afridi didn’t get to bat on his debut – even Saqlain Mushtaq came in ahead of him – but in his second match, against Sri Lanka, he came in at three. Let’s take a quick moment to savour the sheer Pakistanishness of that. One day you’re carded to come in at nine, behind Saqlain. Next match you’re number three.

Afridi – just 16 at the time – responded to the promotion exactly as you’d expect, by walloping the fastest international hundred of all time. (It’s since lost that title, but even today it isn’t often bettered.)

Winner: Afridi

Scoring rates

Nawaz reached three figures in 44 balls, while Afridi’s hundred came off the 37th ball he faced.

Winner: Afridi

Context

This is the big one. This is the one we want you to understand. Nawaz was playing a T20 game and Pakistan were chasing 205 to win. In this context, there is really only one way to play.

As we explain in our feature, Five fantastic, nonsensical or terrible innings that together explain the eternal appeal of Shahid Afridi the batsman, modern sloggery is dictated by circumstance. It’s a logical thing to do. Players hit fours and sixes with abandon because, in the T20 format, that is how you go about winning games.

In contrast, Afridi came out at 60-1 in the first innings of a 50-over match. Afridi had a choice. And this is what he chose. Rapid scoring is not about numbers. It is about the world in which those numbers happen.

Because it wasn’t just the first innings of a 50-over match either. It was the first innings of a 50-over match in 1996. A few months before, the fastest-ever hundred in ODIs had taken 62 balls. Sanath Jayasuriya then lopped 14 balls off the record, which is an insane margin of improvement. Afridi then went 11 balls better than Jayasuriya – an effort so out of time that it took 18 years for anyone to improve on it (and even then, only by one ball).

Winner: Afridi, by a mile

Five fantastic, nonsensical or terrible innings that together explain the eternal appeal of Shahid Afridi the batsman

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The post Hassan Nawaz’s hundred v Shahid Afridi’s first hundred first appeared on King Cricket.

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2025 PREVIEWS: Doyle proud of his Old Xaverians overachievers

Mark Doyle wants to see more of the same from his Old Xaverians side as they begin their third season in Division One.

Survival will be the aim, as it was for the past two years – and if there’s one thing his side have proved they know how to do, it’s survive.

The departure of star all-rounder Dan Harrison to Liverpool will make things harder, but adversity should not be a problem for a tight-knit group used to punching above their weight.

Doyle said: “We do have the sense that we’re overachieving with what we set out to do each summer. 

“And it’s hard work, we come up against some very good players and teams, so the wins are hard-earned and very enjoyable.”

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There will be no headline-grabbing arrivals in Woolton this year, though Doyle is keen to extend an invitation to anyone in the area who fancies giving the game a try.

But the skipper hopes a united team will once again make things difficult for some much bigger names.

“It’s our decision and our ethos,” he said.

“It’s the way we want to do it, so no disrespect to the way anyone else goes about it. But the way we set out to play is as a cricket group.

“Heading into this year, we’re well aware of the size of the challenge but we’re all keen and ready to take it on again.

“Last year was a little bit harder than 2023, which went very well – it was harder but it remains a brilliant achievement to retain Division One status. 

“It took a lot of hard work but we got there.”

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2025 PREVIEWS: Fleetwood Hesketh’s Andy Bate looks to the future in club’s 100th anniversary year

Andy Bate is determined to do things differently in Fleetwood Hesketh’s centenary year.

The groundskeeper-turned-captain has been tasked with getting the club back on an even keel after they sunk through the bottom of Division One.

Promotion is the dream, obviously. But more important to Bate is the long-term future of the club.

And he believes the approach taken by several clubs in Division Two this year, with some eye-catching signings, is not the right fit for Fleetwood.

He said: “Ideally we’d love to bounce straight back to Division One but we’re under no illusions it’s going to be tough. 

“There’s a few clubs who’ve made eyebrow-raising signings that make them very strong – so it’s not the be all and end all. 

“Winning cricket matches is what these lads want to do, in a way that they can enjoy.

“It was time to take stock, take a look and see where we could change things for the better, so that’s what we’ve done over the winter.

“There’s players moving left, right and centre, and I sort of looked at it and thought it’s not really sustainable as a club, if you’re drafting five or six players in who could potentially move on again next year or the years after that. 

“We’re going to focus our energy on our juniors – earmark a few in that set-up, and give them a reason never to leave Fleetwood Hesketh.”

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With Alder having cited similar issues being behind their decision to resign from the Love Lane Liverpool Competition, there does seem to be growing concern around the lower end of the league in particular about the way clubs are being incentivised to compete off the field.

Bate added: “It’ll cripple cricket eventually because of supply and demand. 

“People know there’s demand and they can ask for whatever they want, and clubs will say yes. 

“Whereas if you’re an up-and-coming 15 or 16-year-old, you’re thinking well where are my chances going to come now? All those spots I had my eye on have been blocked up by big signings. 

“So we want to give them a reason never to say that. 

“We want to earmark four or five of our U18s and create a mini-academy for them, make sure they have good coaching and training and all the opportunities to face better bowling and play better cricket. 

“If we can do that, and they enjoy it and can see we’re putting time into them, hopefully that will make them think Fleetwood Hesketh is where I want to stay.”

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The present matters too, of course. New Zealander Nathan Condon arrives at Sea Cop as overseas amateur for 2025, tasked with helping to put up the kind of totals that win matches in Division Two. 

Bate has thought this through, too – overseas slow left-armers will always produce numbers in the lower half of the league, but neither of last season’s top two had one.

Instead, the skipper believes being able to consistently post totals of 200+ could prove decisive.

Spinner Sabbir Patel, last season’s leading wicket taker, has left for Lytham; his nephew, young seam bowling all-rounder Mohammed Patel, could play a bigger role. 

Overall, Bate is determined to make sure his players enjoy their cricket – and it could prove to be a lot of fun for spectators too.

“We’ll be quite attacking this year,” he said.

“It makes it a more enjoyable day for everybody. So there should be some interesting and entertaining games.”

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Without Mohammad Abbas Hampshire will surely slide towards mediocrity or worse… won’t they?

2 minute read

Every year, 10 to 20 bowlers take 40 wickets or more in the first division of the County Championship and every year, three or four of them are the exact same Hampshire players. This cannot go on. This will not go on.

In 2021, in his first year with Hampshire, Mohammad Abbas took 41 wickets at 15.87. That same year, his team-mate Keith Barker took 41 at 18.41 – and at this point, we’re going to stop giving the averages, because you already get the idea. Another Hampshire bowler, Kyle Abbott, outdid both of them, taking 46.

In 2022, Abbas took 50 wickets, Barker took 52 and Abbott took 58.

In 2023, Abbott took 44, Liam Dawson took 49 and Abbas took 53.

Last year, Dawson took 54 and Abbott took 55.

Looking back on all this, we figured Hampshire’s bowling has been sufficiently unchanged for so long that it must surely have made its nature known to even the summarising software that tries to pass itself off as ‘artificial intelligence’ these days.

The well-known chatbot we asked summed up the Hampshire attack of recent years as ‘a blend of youth and experience’.

A generous assessment would be to say that these things are relative and so maybe 35-year-old Liam Dawson could pass as a “young talent” (the chatbot’s words, not ours) when set alongside Abbas (35), Abbott (37) and Barker (38).

A more accurate take would be that the Hampshire attack has long been a blend of experience and experience which has been growing ever more experienced with every passing season. Fortunately, there’s no real ceiling on experience. There’s always more to be had – experiences such as hormonal changes, memory loss, presbyopia and Warfarin, for example. (So much experience. Experience in every joint. Some mornings we feel so experienced, it’s a struggle to get out of bed.)

One thing that can stunt experience, however, is if a big Mohammad Abbas shaped chunk of it buggers off to Nottinghamshire. (Hopefully his departure is nothing to do with Hampshire’s new owners and the de facto ban on Pakistan cricketers in the IPL.)

Every organisation strives for progress but in county cricket this is again a relative thing. Hampshire have done well out of standing still these last few years when plenty of their rivals have regressed.

Inertia now seems a lofty ambition given Abbas’s departure. Is it possible? Well we did hear they were having a word with Tim Southee (36), who definitely has the potential to keep them static.

Yes, we are aware this follows on from a crowd-pleasing piece about pensions insurance. You, dear reader, are owed a little tonal redress. Maybe our next county piece will focus on some of the young scamps scamping around and exactly what scampishy scampery they might get up to in the coming season.

Back our Patreon and see what happens! (Disclaimer: These two elements are entirely disconnected. Don’t think for one minute that we can be swayed into writing about the things you want us to write about.)

The post Without Mohammad Abbas Hampshire will surely slide towards mediocrity or worse… won’t they? first appeared on King Cricket.

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2. Jamie Porter and Mohammad Abbas aren’t moving on
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2025 PREVIEWS: Neston’s David Hurst hopes new signings can inspire climb up Cheshire League table

Neston skipper David Hurst is aiming high after an underwhelming 2024 season.

The Cheshire County Cricket League side only escaped relegation on the last day of last season, a relief but a far cry from their lofty ambitions.

Now Hurst believes with some key players back from injury – and some new arrivals – his side is ready for a top four push. 

He said: “I’m looking to the top four. Why not? 

“That’s the aim – but a top half finish would be the absolute minimum.

“It was a strange one last year – lots of players couldn’t play and we were unfortunate with injuries.”

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Hurst has moved to strengthen all areas of the team after bidding farewell to batters Luke Camden and South African Yusuf Ravat, and experienced seamer Ash Davies.

Camden will return to Upton for their Division Two campaign, while Davies has signed for Prem rivals Chester Boughton Hall.

“Luke has played for us for 10 seasons at least and only managed two games for us last year,” said Hurst.

“Hopefully he gets his spark back for cricket. He’s been fantastic for us, scored probably 8,000 runs.”

Hoping to replace Camden’s runs will be Bryce Jose, a 19-year-old wicketkeeper-batter signed from the Huddersfield league, where he averaged over 60.

Dom Smith will also return to Neston’s top order after two years with Hornsey in Middlesex. 

With the ball, Hurst hopes Matthew Stewart, re-signed permanently from Harrogate after a brief spell on the Wirral last year, can help fill the gap vacated by Davies.

Hurst added: “I’m really happy with the signings with made. I’m hoping for another good year with the bat and we’ve got some brilliant youngsters coming through. 

“They’ll be a year older this year, more experienced.”

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The Cheshire league experimented last year with a hybrid format – playing half the season as 55-over cricket with the draw on the table, and half as limited overs win-loss games.

Hurst was happy with how it went.

He said: “I like it as a captain, it gives you more to think about and you’ve got to have five bowlers. 

“A lot of the youngsters in particular prefer playing in the coloured clothing with the pink ball and the power plays, so I think it was well received from our lads and I’m happy they’re continuing with it.”

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2025 PREVIEWS: Dotters keeps his feet on the ground despite Rainford’s rapid rise

His Rainford side have been the surprise success of the Love Lane Liverpool Competition over the past two seasons – but John Dotters refuses to get carried away.

Having wondered aloud how 2023’s fourth place finish could be topped, the skipper went and led his side to third last year.

They failed to retain the Ray Digman Trophy thanks to double winners Ormskirk, and fell short against Birkenhead Park in the ECHO Cup, but reaching both finals underlined their credentials.

Dotters is understandably cautious and typically self-effacing ahead of his side’s third season since earning promotion back to the Premier Division. 

But at the same time, he knows the table doesn’t lie – Ormskirk and Northern may be a step or two ahead, but his side were their nearest challengers last year, entirely on merit.

The skipper said: “I didn’t think 2023 could be topped, but we managed to go one better in the league and reach two cup finals, so it was a really successful season – and a long one, I must admit. 

“There are plenty of strong teams in the league. But we’ve acquitted ourselves really well, we’ve got a style of play that seems to work for us.

“I wouldn’t say we’re in the top three clubs in the league, but we definitely want to operate in the top half of the table rather than the bottom half.”

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Rainford’s Jubilee Recreation Ground may be among the prettiest in the Comp, but it has not been a happy hunting ground for visiting sides – since promotion, only the Big Two have won there in the league.

Opponents know what to expect from Dotters, but that doesn’t make his left-arm spin any easier to face – as 68 batters found out last summer, more scalps than anyone in the division except Sri Lankan Test ace Malida Pushpakumara.

“Last year was really successful for myself and it’s a question of doing more of the same,” he said.

“We bowled well in partnerships, especially in the middle overs, and I seemed to reap quite a few rewards. 

“But it’s not just a one-man band. We’re all in it together.”

Also second in the stats last year was opening batter Jason Login, whose 783 runs placed him second only to Formby’s Ian Cockbain.

Dotters said: “Jason is probably in the top five batters in the Prem, we’re really lucky to have him. 

“Last season was a breakout for him, he’s always had the ability but sometimes he’s hit one straight up the chimney on 30 – last year, he kicked on and got the big scores. 

“So I’m hoping for more of the same from Jason. 

“I know he’s well thought-of around the league and his ability is second to none.”

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Lancashire prospect Dom Hayes arrives from Orrell Red Triangle to boost Rainford’s pace options after the retirement of Andy Pickavance, while Tom Spilsbury from Sefton Park will hope to develop his off-breaks.

Dotters added: “We needed a bit of pace bowling with Andy retiring and we managed to pick up Dom, who’s a really exciting cricketer. 

“We’re all excited to see how he goes and he’s a good lad. He’s got the right attitude and wants to take his game forward.

“Tom also wants to take his game forward and learn a bit more about the craft of spin bowling, so he’s going to get ample opportunities this year.”

Filling the overseas slot is American leg-spinning all-rounder Nihal Desai, recruited via Sydney grade cricket. 

“It’s just a case of taking it week by week,” added Dotters on his ambitions for the season.

“And come the end of the season, you never know.

“We’d like another couple of cup runs – we didn’t get over the line in the finals, but they’re the sort of games you want to be playing in.”

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What does the County Championship’s new title sponsor say about you? (Yes, you)

3 minute read

The County Championship has got a new sponsor. It’s Rothesay. Even if you have no idea who Rothesay are, you can probably make a pretty decent ballpark guess.

When the ECB seek sponsorship for a domestic cricket competition, they typically end up mining quite a narrow seam.

In no particular order, here are some of the sponsors the various competitions have had over the last couple of decades.

• Friends Life (insurance)
• AXA (insurance)
• Cornhill (insurance)
• Royal London (pensions and insurance)
• C&G (mortgages and savings)
• Vitality (insurance)
• Specsavers (opticians)
• LV= (insurance)

What a highly boring list of sponsors.

There was a certain amount of sneering when it was announced that KP Snacks would sponsor The Hundred, but personally we were some way reassured that they’d managed to attract a brand that didn’t deal in mobility scooters or ‘rise and recline’ chairs or something.

Crisps, slogans, gibberish…

In contrast, Rothesay are the UK’s largest pensions insurance specialist.

If you’ve only skim-read that description of their field (and really, is there any other way to read it?) then you’ll perhaps have concluded that the champo must be attracting a younger crowd – because if there’s one group of people who by definition aren’t too interested in taking out pensions, it’s surely pensioners.

But no. Read it again. They do pensions insurance, a rather narrower market – albeit one where we’re not 100% certain who’s in it. We did make brief efforts to establish the exact ins and outs of Rothesay’s business and who their customers actually were, but unfortunately their promotional videos are as conspicuously vague as the one for Prestige Worldwide so we didn’t end up any wiser.

It’s all ‘setting new standards’ and ‘tailor made tech’ and ‘pioneering mindset’ and stuff like that. Our in-built glaze-over defence mechanism simply will not allow us to comprehend that sort of crap.

Well done on backing the County Championship though. We’d say “someone has to” but of course that’s not true, so double thanks for keeping the format limping on for three more years.

Extras

It’s been brought to our attention that there’s an interview with us on a podcast. Obviously, we were aware we’d been interviewed – we just didn’t know it had been published. (Published? Is that the word? Broadcast? Set live? Made available?)

It’s for the Cricket Sickos podcast and it’s largely about this website. We’ve vetted the episode and concluded it’s not too embarrassing if you want to have a listen. Pretty niche subject matter all told, but we’d guess anyone likely to be interested surely reads this site. Here’s the link.

Next, a reminder that King Cricket is funded by its readers – a bunch of wonderful people are paying to keep this site running and free of adverts. Have a look at our Patreon if you’d like to know more about that.

Finally, here’s the link to sign up to the email, if you haven’t yet done so.

The post What does the County Championship’s new title sponsor say about you? (Yes, you) first appeared on King Cricket.

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2025 PREVIEWS: New Maghull skipper keen to build on solid foundations in Division One

Anthony Molloy believes his Maghull side have been given the perfect foundation to establish themselves in Division One.

The new skipper takes over from Paul McKenna, who he credits with stabilising the club before mounting a successful promotion push in 2023.

Last year’s steep learning curve settled on eighth place – Molloy reckons a few new signings will help improve that.

He said: “When Paul took over, we were mid-table in Division Two and had no stability to the 1st XI. 

“He gave us a steady foundation to build on. 

“The main aim for last season was to stay in the division, and then to try to set our goals to be an established Division One club.

“I’d never run against him, he’s done such a good job for Maghull. 

“But he told me towards the end of the season he was stepping down, and asked if I fancied it – and I thought you know what, I fancy a challenge.”

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Opening bowler Dan Feeney and all-rounder Craig Black arrive from St Helens Town to bolster the seam attack, which was pretty much Molloy alone last year. 

Another all-rounder, Aussie Nick Ritchie, will return to Old Hall Field for a second season.

Now the players are used to the higher level, Molloy expects them to show some improvement in results, particularly from last year’s slow start.

He said: “It’s a massive step up and a big difference. 

“Once we realised you can’t go crash bang wallop at the top of the order, you have to dig in and play a proper game of cricket – it took a good month but we got used to it.

“Everyone’s had a good crack at it and they know what to expect now. They know they have to prepare properly and train properly.

“We don’t just want to be down at the bottom of the league, we want to be top six and playing against the better sides in the cup. 

“If we have the availability, then it’s 100% realistic.”

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2025 PREVIEWS: The only way is up for Prestatyn… and new skipper believes that makes them dangerous

Prestatyn caught a break – and new skipper Adam Tidswell is determined to make the most of it.

Last season’s bottom club would have been relegated from Division Two to the Southport and District league but for Alder’s decision to resign from the Love Lane Liverpool Competition.

The West Derby club took the decision with their own long-term future in mind. But in the short term at least, the North Wales side benefited.

Tidswell, who takes over from Andy Taylor, said: “We assumed we’d be playing in the Southport league and getting ready for the different challenges that would bring. 

“Then we got notified by the league that Alder were looking to move down – credit to them, I think, they’ve been pragmatic about it. 

“I totally understand why they did it and more clubs could learn from their approach. 

“From our perspective, we’re lucky to still be in the league and we’re looking to make the most of that and not be in that position again.”

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Seamer Tidswell took 50 league wickets last year, including 9/47 at Parkfield Liscard, so he will be on other sides’ radar as a potential match-winner. 

But with no overseas import, he hopes the rest of his side can fly under it.

“A lot of people will be looking at us thinking no pro, came bottom last year, not paying any players… but I think that makes us dangerous,” he said. 

“We’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain, without any fear or expectations.”

The 29-year-old has been with the club for 17 years and described taking over the captaincy as a “privilege”.

He added: “Andy did a great job but he’s got more commitments, he’s just had a little one and it’s a lot to juggle. 

“I don’t have as much on, my work’s more flexible and I don’t have any children – I think I was the next cab off the rank. 

“I’m looking forward to it. My brother plays for Prestatyn and my dad’s the chairman, so that cricket club has given me a lot personally, and to give a bit back is something I’m looking forward to.”

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Tidswell certainly gave plenty back with the ball last year – if he can perform as well again, he knows he can help his side climb the table.

He said: “Last year wasn’t brilliant performance-wise but the only way is up. 

“We’re looking forward to it, we want to work hard to improve on last year and hopefully get a bit of a better finish. 

“I don’t think we did ourselves credit, we’ve got better players in our team than we showed last year and I hope some of our boys can play to their full potential this year.

“You never know how it’s going to come out until you get there on the day but I’m doing as much as I can to give myself a chance of doing well. 

“Especially the second half of last year, it was coming out pretty well – you get a bit of momentum and a bit of confidence, and your perspective quickly changes. If I can replicate or better last season, I’d be happy with that.”

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2025 PREVIEWS: Strong foundations at Rainhill as Jamie Harrison eyes top four push

Jamie Harrison knows Rome wasn’t built in a day, but he is confident his project at Rainhill is on solid foundations.

A County Championship winner with Durham in 2013, last season was nonetheless the left-arm seamer’s first as a club captain.

Seventh place in the Love Lane Liverpool Competition’s Premier Division marked an improvement on 2023’s ninth, but more important to Harrison was getting the ball rolling on a cultural change.

He said: “The culture at the club and the teamship between players is a lot better and that’s something I was really keen on changing. 

“From a captain’s point of view, I was really over the moon with how the lads bought into it. 

“I’m happy with where we are. Rome wasn’t built in a day and there’s things to learn from last season, me included as captain in my first full season. 

“There were times I could have stuck to my guns and trusted my experience – some tight finishes and times we could have carried on batting, for example. 

“But I’m happy with where we are and where the club is, we’ve got some good cricketers coming through the system so the future looks good for the club.”

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With Pakistani slow left-armer Khalid Usman back for his third season at the club, Harrison was keen to bolster the top order in the winter.

He’s done that by acquiring Ryan Brown from Formby and wicketkeeper Alex Winiarski from Nottinghamshire Premier League side West Bridgfordians.

“At the start of the winter, I wanted two batters and one who was a wicketkeeper,” said Harrison.

“I’ve got them, one I’ve seen first hand is top quality and one I’ve heard good things from down in Notts.”

The breakthrough star of last year at Rainhill was Saeed Ullah, who took 36 wickets with his left-arm spin after arriving from Wavertree.

He also impressed with the bat at times, making 67 to anchor a tight chase against Formby.

Harrison said: “I was really happy for Saeed because he’s a lovely, lovely bloke. 

“He did a great job for the team and has got a lot of potential – he could be a 40 wicket, 500 run player. 

“But he’d be the first to tell you that he needs to carry on working hard, he’s a very humble guy.”

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The skipper believes a bit more experience and a few more runs could help his side secure their first top-four finish since coming third in 2017.

He added: “Last year my ambitions were to finish at least sixth or seventh and show signs that we could finish top four or five – if we could make the top four, I’d be really happy. “Against the top teams, we showed signs we could have beaten them but we let old habits creep in. 

“With a couple more experienced heads on the batting front, we’ve definitely got a team that can finish in the top four.”

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2025 PREVIEWS: Spring View look for a fresh start without two big names

It’s all change for 2025 at Spring View, as they prepare for a season without two mainstays of their side.

All-rounders Suleman Khan and Qaisar Ashraf scored 38% of their runs and took 74% of their wickets in Division One last year.

But they will not be around for 2025.

Some captains might be daunted – but Lewis Matthews is choosing to see it as a chance for a fresh start.

He said: “We basically just wanted to rejuvenate the squad a little bit and get some fresh faces with fresh ideas. 

“We’re looking for a bit more of an all-round performance, having heavily relied on two lads. 

“Hopefully I’ll be able to spread the bowling a bit, and we’ll all chip in with some more runs.”

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Spring View were something of a surprise package for their first two seasons in the second tier, finishing fourth in 2022 and third in 2023. 

But last year did not go as well, with the Wigan side flirting with relegation before finishing ninth.

To freshen things up a bit, former player Ian Critchley and his son James are arriving from Leyland in the Northern Premier, and slow left-armer Supun Kavinda from Sri Lanka.

Matthews is hoping the overseas pro can bring a similar energy to the club as their last Sri Lankan, 2022 import Buddika Karawgodalge.

“Sully and Qaiser lived a bit far away and couldn’t put anything into the club training-wise, they struggled to get to training,” he said. 

“Supun is going to live five minutes from the ground and it’s in his contract that he’s going to do a bit of coaching, so that’ll be a change.

“Buddika did the same, he was down at the club every night. He was great on and off the pitch and we’re looking for the same as that.”

Along with the younger Critchley, Edwin Geary and Nathan Ashford – winner of last year’s Chris Weston Bursary – are currently racking up the runs in the Southern Hemisphere ahead of the new season.

Matthews knows the start may not be the smoothest, but he hopes his new-look side will bed in soon enough.

He said: “I don’t want to set a target for the league, I just want everyone to contribute a bit more. Then we can see where we are after five or six games. 

“Obviously with some new faces it’s going to be a challenge to gel everyone together and find everyone’s right spot – that’s on me. 

“Hopefully after that we can hit the ground running and set some targets then.”

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Daylight Larssony at The Hundred Final – a match report

3 minute read

Send your match reports to king@kingcricket.co.uk. We’re only really interested in your own experience, so if it’s a professional match, on no account mention the cricket itself. (But if it’s an amateur match, feel free to go into excruciating detail.)

Daisy writes…

I suggested in spring that we might get tickets for Taylor Swift at Wembley Stadium. Ged demurred.

“The hottest tickets this August will be for the Zara Larsson concert at Lord’s,” he said. “It’s a sell-out, but I’ve got us into the VIP area.”

According to Ged, hundreds of thousands of people had to resort to buying Taylor Swift tickets for Wembley because Zara Larsson had totally sold out Lord’s.

There was a firework display and a short cricket match before the start of the concert. I popped to the loo soon after the cricket finished and ran into a charming young blond woman, scantilly-clad in a most exotic fashion, entering the Long Room.

“What has become of the pavilion dress code?” I asked the accompanying steward. “Or is she a visiting dignitary wearing national dress?”

“She seems ever so nice,” was all the star-struck steward could say in reply.   

Turns out, that was Zara Larsson. She progressed from the pavilion, to the stage, via the field of play. Her music and gyrations seemed to distract warming-up cricketers from their purpose.

Unfamiliar with Ms Larsson’s oeuvre, I had asked Ged to provide some guidance on appropriate dance moves. He had brought a couple of documents with him.

Unfortunately, it seems that Ged mixed up some pages from an Edwardian bat and ball sports coaching manual with his Zara Larsson dance moves documents. It is the sort of mistake that absolutely anyone could make, as long as that ‘anyone’ happened to be Ged.

Yet Ged’s paperwork mix up didn’t seem to matter; those Edwardian sports moves went down a storm. Ged and I are now confirmed Larssonists.

After Zara Larsson moved on, there was another cricket match.  Ged and I moved on before the end of that second match.

I photographed the blue moon, which I mistook for sunset from the A40 flyover on the way home.

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2025 PREVIEWS: Slater hopes high-profile returns can fire Northop Hall promotion push

Skipper Ben Slater hopes this winter marks the start of a new chapter for Northop Hall.

The North Wales side have made two of Division Two’s headline signings, big names returning to the club at different stages in their careers.

Opening batter Jac Kennedy, 22, has spent three years at Northern after coming through the juniors at Smithy Lane, scoring 2,800 runs in all competitions for the national T20 champions.   

Left-arm spinner Paul Jenkins, 53, spent four years at Northop Hall before a long and storied spell at Colwyn Bay, racking up more than 1,000 Love Lane Liverpool Competition wickets.

Between them, Slater is hoping for a big impact and an improvement on last year’s sixth place.

The captain said: “Jac is focusing on his career and his home club, trying to get us back where we belong, higher up in the leagues. 

“There was plenty of interest in him, as you can imagine, but our level of flexibility was what turned the tables. It was a long process but we got it done in the end.

“He’s scored four centuries in three years at Northern, averaging a touch over 26 in the best league and competing in all the best competitions, so it’s really good for us and we’re hoping for big things from him. 

“He’s been in the top 15-20 every year, with plenty of first class and overseas professionals in that league – so it’s a really great addition for us. 

“And his leg-spin will be a handy option in the cups.”

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On the veteran Jenkins, he added: “His record speaks for itself. He’s originally from Northop Hall and he felt it was time to make the move back. 

“We sat down and explained our plans for the club going forward – like Jac, he wants to get Northop Hall out of Division Two.”

Along with seamer Carwyn Johnson, returning after a year playing for Neston and Skelmersdale, and off-spinner James Hurlin, Slater is confident of having the attack to mount a promotion push.

Last year’s bid was derailed by Afghan import Nawid Kabir only sticking around for seven league games, leaving the side without a slow left-armer.

Slater, who has opted not to go for an overseas player this year, said: “We’re looking at a promotion challenge this year. 

“We’ve added runs and wickets, so for me personally we’re all eyeing promotion. 

“The end goal is that Northop Hall should be playing Division One cricket. 

“We want to get the club to as high a level as we possibly can, and we think we’re at the start of that process.

“We’re trying to structure the club from top to bottom and get that natural progression of youth coming through the club to make it sustainable. 

“A lot of clubs are struggling to do that at the moment, so we hope these little changes will pay dividends.”

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The downside to winning the Champions Trophy is that you have to wear the white jackets

2 minute read

The danger with the Champions Trophy has always been that people might look upon the celebration photos in years to come and think, “Wait, these guys didn’t win a World Cup, did they? What the hell was this?” Someone, somewhere, therefore came up with idea of forcing the winners to wear white jackets over the top of their playing kits, safe in the knowledge this would look timelessly classy and not at all like some weird Miami Vice reboot.

White jackets aren’t the most incongruous sporting champions’ attire. Just off the top of our head, we can think of the txapela that is donned by the winner of cycling’s Tour of the Basque Country and we’re sure there are plenty of similarly inappropriate mandatory victory garments.

The white jackets are probaby cricket’s highest profile silly winners’ clothing though.

The ICC call them ‘iconic’. As a rule of thumb, if someone uses the word ‘iconic’ about something they’ve made themselves, it immediately renders the item in question ineligible for icon status.

And why white anyway? Is it because it’s the one colour you can guarantee a one-day international team won’t be wearing?

A happy byproduct of this is that if you catch a glimpse of one from the right angle, it can look quite like a lab coat.

We used to go to a curry house where all the chefs wore lab coats. They were very unconcerned by convention in that place. They also had candelabra-style ceiling lighting mounted horizontally on the walls.

Also faintly ridiculous is the fact this year’s Champions Trophy jackets have the word ‘Pakistan’ embroidered on them.

Guess they can just felt-tip “and Dubai” in themselves.

It’s wrong to say India are playing the Champions Trophy final at home – because when does an international cricketer ever get to spend three consecutive weeks at home?

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The post The downside to winning the Champions Trophy is that you have to wear the white jackets first appeared on King Cricket.

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It’s wrong to say India are playing the Champions Trophy final at home – because when does an international cricketer ever get to spend three consecutive weeks at home?

3 minute read

“This is as neutral a venue for us as it is for any other team,” argued Gautam Gambhir after India qualified for the Champions Trophy final and in so doing moved it to Dubai. This claim was a little out of date because Dubai’s neutrality only really lasted until the moment the removals van arrived and India unpacked all their stuff.

“We have not played here,” Gambhir continued. “I don’t remember when last we played here.”

Well it was Tuesday, wasn’t it, Gautam? You also played here on Sunday and a couple of times the week before.

Because while the venue may have been neutral when India first touched down at Dubai International Airport, neutrality is hard to maintain. By the time the final comes around, they’ll have been based in this one place for three weeks.

When does a modern professional cricketer ever get that kind of luxury? A multi-format India player will rarely, if ever, get three consecutive weeks in one place – not even at home.

Is this situation the Indian team’s fault? No, it isn’t. Nevertheless, if there is a debate here about India having an ‘undue advantage’ (and we’re not entirely sure there is) then it’s surely only the first part that’s even worth talking about.

Asked whether there was a benefit to playing all matches at the same venue, Mohammed Shami said: “Definitely. Because you get to know the conditions, the behaviour of the pitch. A lot of things.”

That’s something the opposition doesn’t have. So it’s an advantage.

Is the advantage ‘undue’ – well regardless of the impact, it seems an entirely proportional solution given the political constraints on the team, so no, probably not.

In an ideal world, the situation would be addressed somehow. However, judge for yourselves whether we live in such a place… [gestures at the wider world with a look of weary, disgusted despair on his face].

“There’s a lot of debate about the undue advantage and all that,” continued Gambhir, irascibly. “What undue advantage? We haven’t practised here even for one day. We’re practising at the ICC academy. And the conditions there and here are 180 degrees different. Some people are just perpetual cribbers, man. They’ve got to grow up. I feel that there was nothing like we had any undue advantage.”

For context, Sidharth Monga reports that Gambhir said all of this after being asked if India knew about the conditions in Dubai when they picked five spinners in their squad. Gambhir was always quick to take umbrage and, rather like Sunil Gavaskar, his skin hasn’t shown much sign of thickening over the years. Perhaps he’s the one who needs to grow up. (Is it a particular characteristic of opening batters that they’re so quick to take offence?)

If you think back a few years to a previous final against New Zealand, India were on the other end of the fallacy of fairness. As such, you’d think Gambhir might understand the situation a little better. As we said at the very start of that piece, where did we get this idea that every trophy has to be a lab experiment, measuring and weighing every facet of excellence?

Cricket isn’t like that. Someone always has some sort of advantage. Unless it’s ‘undue’, best just to crack on and play the game. It’s not that big a deal anyway: while everyone of course wants to win the Champions Trophy, the truth is nobody’s too bothered if they don’t.

Hussain v Gavaskar on India’s home-from-home advantage

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Hussain v Gavaskar on India’s home-from-home advantage

4 minute read

We’ve got to be honest with you. We don’t believe that India has maintained a hostile relationship with Pakistan all these years so that its men’s cricket team could gain an edge in the 2025 Champions Trophy. That doesn’t mean that playing all your games at the same ground when everyone else has to travel isn’t an advantage though.

There are certainly times in international cricket when India throws its weight around and there are certainly times when the team has it easier than others. These two things aren’t always conjoined.

If, say, Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain suggest that India has some advantage in a particular competition, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re accusing the sport’s most influential nation of abusing its clout.

It will, however, be quite easy to find an Indian pundit who’ll be willing to take it that way.

“What about the advantage India have in playing in Dubai – only in Dubai – which seems to me to be a hard-to-quantify advantage, but an undeniable advantage,” Atherton asked Hussain before the Pakistan match.

“It is an advantage,” agreed Hussain. “So, the best team in the tournament have that advantage. And I saw a tweet the other day saying, ‘Pakistan host nation, India home advantage.’ It sums it up really.”

That was the misstep perhaps, framing it as ‘home advantage’. It’s not that, exactly. It’s more of a home-from-home advantage; a second home advantage; a not-quite-so-away advantage.

Laying it out a little more clearly, Hussain continued: “They are at one place, one hotel; they don’t have to travel. They have one dressing room. They know the pitch; they have picked for that pitch.

“They were very smart in their selection. They probably knew what Dubai is going to be like. They picked all their spinners, there was a bit of debate with Indian media saying why haven’t you gone for an extra seamer? Why all these spinners? Now we can seen why.”

All of this is true.

India have still had to play well to win their games, but there’s been slightly less to think about; a lightening of the mental load; a narrower and therefore sharper focus.

Rohit Sharma says the pitches they’ve played on have differed – but only to the extent that immediately adjacent strips in the same stadium in Dubai can differ. He also points out that Dubai isn’t in India and that it is “new for us too” – but it is a lot less new when you are basically living there and everyone else is flying in from Pakistan.

None of this guarantees anything – but it helps. If everyone else is traipsing about, playing at different grounds, not even knowing where the final will be should they qualify for it, then they simply have more on their plate.

India ending up with a home-from-home doesn’t have to be some grand conspiracy to still amount to an advantage.

“Why don’t you actually look at why your team has not qualified?” whatabouted Sunil Gavaskar when he heard about Hussain’s comments. “That’s what I was going to ask you, sir. Rather than constantly focusing on India, are you even looking at your own backyard?”

The answer, in this instance, was that England’s backyard wasn’t all that relevant when previewing a match between India and Pakistan.

Displaying skin so thin as to be almost translucent, Gavaskar irrelevantly continued: “They are always moaning. They just cannot seem to understand where India stands in international cricket; in terms of quality, income, talent, and, more importantly, in terms of generating revenue.

“India’s contribution to global cricket, through television rights and media revenue, plays a massive role. They need to understand that their salaries also come from what India brings to the world of cricket.”

We’re pretty sure Athers and Hussain understand this. In fact it’s possibly why they were devoting time to discussing India and the advantages the team has had in this tournament.

The fallacy of fairness

India didn’t demand to play all their matches in one place. It’s just that their government didn’t allow them to travel to Pakistan – the same position they’ve maintained for the last 16 years. Positioning them in the UAE was therefore considered the least ludicrous workaround. This is just the way it has gone – but that still results in an advantage.

Highlighting an advantage does not amount to complaining about it. Similarly, failing to acknowledge one doesn’t negate its existence.

Advantages and disadvantages are everywhere in cricket. Every match starts with a coin toss and one team or the other gaining an advantage. Rohit’s been losing all of these – that’s been a disadvantage. India are the only team playing the whole tournament solely at one ground – that’s an advantage.

Cricket is an imperfect sport in an imperfect world and its trophies are not lab experiments.

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OPINION: Never mind the controversy… Northern did themselves and the Comp proud on European adventure

Northern Cricket Club at the European Cricket League in Malaga, Spain

The thing with Sliding Doors moments is, they often turn out not to matter.

For every fabled piece of cricketing drama like Wagner’s wide or Stokes’s overthrows, there are countless more that end up not having an impact.

Saturday lunchtime’s abandonment of Northern’s clash with Hornchurch in Group B of the European Cricket League felt significant at the time. 

Social media and YouTube comments lit up with theories and insinuations, most of them unpublishable. Footage of Hornchurch’s Harry Hankins twice falling in his delivery stride, forward and to the right, was analysed like the Zapruder footage by an enthusiastic handful of partisan viewers.

The ground staff at Malaga’s Cartama Oval can feel aggrieved that the pitch they prepared, which had already hosted one game that day and would go on to host two more, was declared temporarily unfit.

And the fact Hornchurch finished top of the group – and therefore went straight to the final once the game was called off – added fuel to the speculation. 

But with certain obvious exceptions, what happens on the field tends to stay on the field at this level of cricket. The same applies whether a game is being watched by half a dozen dog walkers or thousands of viewers on their phones and smart TVs. 

So we might never know quite what happened, and it’s not really our right to. 

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In any case, it probably didn’t make much difference.

Northern and Hornchurch were the strongest teams in the group and were always likely to meet in the final. 

The abandonment gave Hornchurch a few hours off, but Hankins’ falls meant he missed the final through injury. 

And who’s to say Northern didn’t benefit from some extra time in the middle as they eased past Austrian Cricket Tigers in their qualifier?

There is another matter, of course. Cricketers playing as hired guns will always raise an eyebrow, especially when they’re as good as Pakistani all-rounder Muhammad Irfan, whose batting and bowling won the final for Hornchurch. 

Irfan has played summer cricket for the Essex club as an overseas signing, but not since 2021; the presence of Formby skipper Ian Cockbain in the defending champions’ line-up was another indication of their approach.

But the wildcard rules that allowed this were known in advance. Northern chose to use them for Louis Bhabra and Stephen Lucas – two legitimate signings who will be with the club this summer, filling slots vacated by players who have left, Jac Kennedy and George Harris.

Captain James Cole, who was ruled out by a finger injury, said before the tournament that 2nd XI or squad players would have been used to fill any further gaps.

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That approach is to his and the club’s credit.

Along with director of cricket Chris Laker, who stood in as skipper in Spain, Cole is a firm believer in The Northern Way – a whole-club approach which would have to be torn up to accommodate a marquee wildcard as a short-term signing.

And it’s worth pointing out that Northern were almost good enough to win on Saturday night having barely managed a run off the first two overs. 

No patronising caveats are necessary – they are an excellent side with excellent cricketers, who with a change of luck might have sent Irfan, Cockbain and co packing.

They will compete for the Love Lane Liverpool Competition again this year, along with several local and national cups. The Northern Way is a blueprint for sustainable excellence, not a road map to the moral high ground.

Coming back from a bad start is the hardest thing to do in short-form cricket – that Northern came so close proves there is plenty of quality in the squad already without needing to compromise the vision. 

On the biggest stage available to club cricketers, they played with determination, nous and skill to reach the group final, then fight their way back into the reckoning.

They didn’t win the match; but they won plenty of admirers across the cricketing world.

Having claimed the Love Lane Liverpool Competition’s first ever national title last year, Northern’s players did the league, the club and themselves proud.

So forget about the controversy – all the alternative timelines would have collapsed into this one.

And now the dust has settled, Northern should think of what they achieved and hold their heads high.

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