2025 PREVIEWS: Wavertree’s plan is coming together, says vice-captain Smith

Wavertree vice-captain Ben Smith says skipper Theo O’Brien’s “five-year plan” is progressing nicely.

After finishing ninth and 10th in Division Two in 2022 and 2023, last year’s seventh in O’Brien’s first season at the helm represented measurable progress.

Now Smith is hoping to help continue the good work – both in training and on the field.

He said: “I very much enjoyed seeing the improvements we made last year. 

“One thing myself, Theo and our wicketkeeper, Andy Davies, have been looking at is a bit of a culture shift to becoming a bit more professional. 

“Training with a bit more purpose and looking to apply that as we go into each Saturday. 

“It’s something that will take years but I think we did very well to make those improvements.

“To get up to seventh last year felt like a big shift, and if we could do the same again it would be a really good start.”

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Smith recognises the contributions made by individuals like Saeed Ullah, who joined Rainhill last season and impressed in the Premier Division, and Naveed Saleh, who has joined Parkfield Liscard.

But he believes the team can still get stronger, even without having money to spend on replacements.

“Saeed was a big part of our team, and we were fortunate that Naveed came in last year and played a big role too,” he said. 

“But Wavertree isn’t a club where we sign players for money, we’ve never been reliant on one player. 

“Their contribution was noticeable but I see enough talent in this group of players that if we all chip in, we can put in a very good team performance.”

Left-arm spinner Jack Donohue can expect a busy summer backing up the seam attack led by Smith and Shaoor Ul Haq; O’Brien will be joined at the top of the order by Hamish Farrell, an amateur from New Zealand.

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And as the club launches a fundraising drive to secure its future, the clubhouse is once again fully functional.

Smith added: “I play to win because winning is fun, I’m not the sort of person that can enjoy my day if we’re just being hammered. 

“If we play really good cricket and are beaten by a better team, that’s just sport.

“We’ve spoken about a five-year plan – not based solely on league position but how we look on a Saturday, do we look like a good team, are we going about it the right way. 

“To finish between fifth and eighth would be the goal again. 

“Last year, anyone could beat anyone in Division Two – you’d see results coming in at the end of the day and say ‘I can’t believe they’ve taken points off them’. 

“And some days, we were probably that team.” 

from Merseyside Cricket Online https://ift.tt/N0VkRuS