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Cricket teams ready for a new summer of challenges
The new local cricket season is upon us - and here we find out how some of our top local sides who begin their campaigns this weekend have been shaping up.
CHICHESTER
This is the year Chichester are out to stop being the county' yo-yo club – and stay put in the premier league.
Their last stint in the top flight lasted only one season, but this time they aim to be there much longer.
Skipper Mark Bamford explains how the land lies at Priory Park...
Ins: Jacob Whiteaker, coach from Australia. Played for Western Australia under-19s and son of club coach from about 10 years ago, Brett Whiteaker. Top-order batsmen and off-spin bowler; Daniel Joseph, seamer returning after a year away with Bournemouth CC.
Outs: Effectively out is Stewart Kayne. League registration rules prevent him from playing as he is not qualified as a 'conditional player' and would have to be registered as overseas - not possible with Jacob Whiteaker here. Very unfortunate.
Still here: The core of the team from last year. Richard Logan remains with us as club coach. I'm still captain and James Stedman still vice-captain.
Aim: Establish ourselves as a permanent fixture in the Premier League following two championships and two relegations in four seasons. Would love to finish in top half of the division.
2nd X1: Jon Heaven steps down as captain and is replaced by Simon Brice, with Guy Montgomery as vice-captain. Team keen to give youth an opportunity to flourish, and very keen to be promoted.
3rd X1: Alex Greenlees remains as captain. He is also the junior cricket manager, so youth is given the chance to experience open-age cricket. In fact, this is the main aim of the team.
Sundays: Under-18 league with three adults – playing locally to give those youngsters that have finished their core u-16 cricket the opportunity to continue their cricket.
Women: Chichester Cheetahs women's cricket team formed to play 20/20 and 40 over games. Coaching sessions on Friday evenings in Priory Park at 6.15. For further info, contact Richard on 781702 or 07792 889360.
Preparations so far: Already played Havant both 1st and 2nd X1s. Havant at near full strength and our first X1 missing four or five players. They won in a 45-over match. They batted first and posted 296 for six (John Edwards 4-40). In reply, we posted 208 for eight (Paul Terry 68, Mark Bamford 66). Second X1 lost too, but by only 12 runs, with Graeme Bennison top scoring with 71.
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STIRLANDS
STIRLANDS skipper Sean Heather says Stirlands would like to gain
promotion back to the premier league – but it's not the be-all and end-all for them.
"We are not emplying the services of an overseas player this year because of cost," Heather said.
"We did not feel it was a priority for us to get promotion and spend the money required on an overseas, so we will be investing money into youth cricket and bringing our younger players through.
"We have lost Anthony Ender, who is leaving the area for a new job, so he will no longer be at the club.
"Other than that we have the same squad of players with no real
newcomers.
"We'll be looking to give two or three of our 18-year-olds opportunities in the ones and possibly even Aru Kathegesu, who is 14 and plays for Western Warriers.
"He's a young leg spinner with a lot of potential who may end up playing some first XI cricket at some stage this year.
"We will of course go out to win every game and if promotion comes along with that, great.
"But if not bringing our youth players along and giving them 1st X1
experience will be our main objectives."
MIDDLETON
They're expecting a season of transistion at Sea Lane, with skipper Matt Warren juggling a variety of newcomers to the division three west outfit.
"A number of players have moved on from the club, mainly going to university, retiring, or even going off travelling," Warren said.
"Mark Hoare and Ben Hansford (above) are the two noticeable ones from the first XI, however Jack Lerwill has returned from his travels and will bolster the squad, as will Jamie Thompson who has come in as a new recruit.
"We have signed a Sri Lankan overseas spin bowler who will be with us in the next week or so.
"While the squad is small there are also promising youngsters coming through – notably Will Burroughs, who clocked up his maiden senior century in a pre-season friendly against Wisborough Green.
"Our ambitions remain to be competitive in the division and so while we know it's going to be a very tough competition this year we would like to be competing at the top end of the league, hopefully right until the end of the season.
"A lot of teams will rightly fancy their chances this year and hopefully that will make for a fascinating competition."
MIDHURST
Midhurst are looking forward to a successful season in 2010 with only first-team captain Tim Powell in post from last season.
Powell is looking to consolidate on last season's mid-table finish and has recruited new players for the coming season.
"It's looking good for our second season in Hampshire League division one," said Powell. "With new players Alistair Smith and Leon Fourie, we have strengthened our first team squad."
Richard Gough takes charge of the second team and has made promotion to Hampshire four a priority.
He said: "Last year Colin Sharp did a great job and we were close to promotion, but this year we have more players and are very well placed for a strong promotion push."
Dan Moon takes over the third team and said outgoing captain Simon Flint would be a tough act to follow.
"Simon brought so many of our younger players into the side and encouraged them to learn to play league cricket. I want to continue that policy this season while getting the winning habit," he said.
Nick Plater will run the Sunday side continuing the successful friendly social cricket at the Ruins, also giving opportunities to the junior players.
Midhurst's flourishing junior section continues to thrive, with more than 200 junior members the norm on Friday evenings.
Lauren Staveley takes on the mantle of managing the junior section and will be co-ordinating a growing team of qualified coaches.
New chairman Sean Kearney is in no doubt Midhurst are moving in a positive direction.
"The coming season is an opportunity for everyone in the club to look to their own contribution and to see what they can do to make this club the premier club in the area," he said.
"We've come a long way since joining the Hampshire league with one side in the 90s. We're a strong club on a firm financial footing with some of the best facilities in the whole of Sussex."
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Weather for Chichester
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 5 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Light sleet showers
Temperature: -4 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: South east
