‘I’m not stopping any time soon’… why 9,000 is just the start for Northern star Liam Grey

Liam Grey celebrates his century in the 2023 Lancashire Cup final
Pictures by GEORGE FRANKS

It’s 9,000 runs and counting for one of the Love Lane Liverpool Competition’s most consistent performers… and Liam Grey says he’s a long way from done yet.

The Northern all-rounder ticked off the milestone during his 12th century for the 1st XI last Saturday, against Formby.

He made his debut for the Crosby side in 2015, against the same opposition – in one of those coincidences cricket seems to specialise in, his first innings was ended by a catch by Ian Cockbain Snr, the father of the player who caught him on Saturday.

The game ended in a narrow defeat for Northern, despite Grey’s 106.

“I’ve never been a massive believer in stats unless your team wins a game of cricket,” he said.

“It tarnishes it a bit – I found myself sitting in the clubhouse thinking it doesn’t feel the same because at the end of the day we play to win games of cricket.

There have been plenty of opportunities to celebrate over the years, though.

Grey has won two league titles, two Ray Digman Trophies, a Lancashire Cup and a National T20 – alongside finishing as a runner-up in two leagues, one Digman and two National Club Championships.

He’s still only 28, and he’s hungry for more – especially after missing out against Brentwood in the final of the National last year.

Grey said: “I’m pining for the National. And I want to win the league again. 

“We don’t put all our eggs in one basket, we want to win everything. 

“We’ve not had the best start to the league season but it’s only May and there’s a lot of cricket to be played, anything can happen. 

“We pride ourselves on being a strong cup team and I think we’ve proved that.”

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Originally from Rochdale and still based in Greater Manchester, Grey moved to Northern to play at a higher standard than his home town club, Thornham, could offer.

Chances came and went at the fringes of the professional game, on the 2nd XI merry-go-round and with Cumbria – older and wiser, Grey recognises why he never quite made the step up.

He said: “I probably left a little bit out there and didn’t train as hard as I should have done to give myself the best opportunity. 

“There’s a whole group of us in the Comp who wanted to be professional cricketers and it didn’t quite happen.”

But he insists there are no regrets, especially given what he has achieved in the club game.

“The way it’s panned out, I’m more than happy,” he added. 

“When you look at the pressures people on lower-end county contracts are under, when the money’s not great and every two years you’re fighting for a new contract… I think that would have taken the enjoyment out of it, playing a sport to earn a living rather than enjoying it. 

“I get a big enough kick out of the competitive cricket we play at Northern.

“There’s a lot of cricketers in this league who could be playing county cricket, and the competitiveness is what keeps me enjoying the game. 

“And I’ve got friends for life – I don’t see myself leaving, it’s just complete enjoyment, it’s what I look forward to.”

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Club captain James Cole gave Grey his debut, having recruited him as a seamer who batted a bit.

Over the years, he has seen him grow into a top-order fixture and a key man in all formats, with both bat and ball – taking 447 wickets to go along with his 9,000 runs.

Cole said: “He was probably a bit tentative with the bat at first, a bit more of an accumulator; now he’s a multi-format batter, opening the batting in limited overs cricket. 

“He’s a big reason we’ve been successful in overs cricket over the last few years. 

“And on a Saturday he can bat anywhere in the top five. 

“He’s a fantastic batter, a fantastic bowler and an equally good bloke. We’re lucky to have him.”

Both Cole and Grey agree on his high point in a Northern shirt – an unbeaten run-a-ball 118 in the 2023 Lancashire Cup final at Emirates Old Trafford, to set up a big win over Longridge.

Grey also hit the stumps in the bowl-out against Oundle Town which secured the National T20 last year – making Northern the Comp’s first ever national champions.

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In terms of the future, it helps that Grey is playing alongside the likes of Chris Laker and Tyler McGladdery, friends of a similar age, with a similar career path and a similar ambition to win things for their club.

“It’s not looking like I’m going to be stopping any time soon,” he said.

“We still want to be the best cricketers we can be.

“That’s why we play Saturdays and Sundays and midweek T20s, playing 40-odd games of cricket a year – if we didn’t want to get better, we wouldn’t be doing that to ourselves, we’d play closer to home. 

“For me, I’m enjoying it and I always have done. 

“Never at one point have I thought about jumping ship – it feels like my club now, it’s where I belong.”

from Merseyside Cricket Online https://ift.tt/dV0Tfg8