CRICKET CLUB REVIEW
With the cricket club rousing itself from winter
hibernation this seems a good time to look back at last season
and forward to the 2003 campaign ahead.
 Last
season saw the club ís continuing development . The major
achievement of 2002 was the promotion of the Saturday 1ST
XI to the Premier division of the Leicestershire County League.
The side, captained by Gavin Noon, ended the season at the
top of Division One. It quickly found a habit of winning and
sustained this throughout. Overseas player ‘Ronnie’ Hassan
established himself with a number of high quality performances
with bat and ball - on the Saturdays of July he amassed almost
500 runs. He was well supported by his team mates, who with
the classic mixture of youth and experience, turned in some
very competitive performances.
For next season, matches in the Premier Division will be
of 110 overs (55 per side). The ECB (the governing body for
cricket) believes that this sort of endurance test is related
to the quality of the game. We donít agree, but this is unlikely
to be reduced before 2004. Visit the cricket ground anytime
between lunchtime and bedtime on a Saturday when the 1st.XI
is at home and you will be able to watch cricket! Seriously,
it will be worth seeing teams of the strength of Loughborough
Town and Kibworth playing again at Barrow. We are expecting
Ronnie Hassan to return and to have a professional cricketer
playing alongside our established players. The League rules
allow for one overseas and one professional player for each
club.
In contrast, the 2nd. XI did not fare as well. Having been promoted in the
previous season the team lost a number of key players to injury and Captain
John Worley moved to London. This had the makings of a difficult season,
Division Four is mostly the reserve sides of Premier division clubs.
This proved to be the case and the team was relegated to Division Five. Nevertheless, this is a good standard for 2nd. XI
cricketers. It gives good experience to young players and we intend this for the forthcoming season. These matches remain at 45
overs per side.
Our Thursday cricketers were also successful. They finished at the top of Division One of the Loughborough Cricket Association
Evening League and are promoted to the Premier Division of this league in 2003. The teams run rate , over the season, was the
highest of any team in the league . Powerful batting was a clear trademark for this team which, on occasions, contained three
Australian cricketers and a number of other fierce hitters of the cricket ball.
Our junior cricketers continue to flourish and we are organising teams from under
10’s to under 15’s in 2003. These teams all have managers and the availability of
a professional coach. The teams also enjoyed success in the last season, each one
reaching the semi-finals of their respective competitions. We welcome junior
cricketers to join the club and have organised indoor winter practice nets for them.
We want to maintain our junior cricket section and bring our young cricketers
through to the senior sides. The re-introduction of Sunday cricket will help us achieve
this in the forthcoming season. We again expect to host Junior inter-county matches
at Barrow C.C.
We continue to devote as much resource as possible to the maintenance and
development of the Nottingham Road ground. For example, next season we will
provide changing facilities for match officials. However, our best efforts are often
undermined -sometimes by the weather, Autumn storms flattened fencing again. We
are also subject to the mindless action of a few individuals. Thieves lifted roof tiles
in three places and broke the ceiling before gaining entry to the pavilion only to find
absolutely nothing of any value.
Any information to ourselves or the Police, please.
We continue to be grateful to our advertising sponsors and would be pleased to hear from any business or individual(s) who would
like to buy advertising space or sponsor a match ball. We can, as always, use more help on our committee.
To contact Barrow Town Cricket Club:
Club Secretary - Alan Willcocks 43, The Banks, Barrow upon Soar, Leics LE12 8NL 01509-413996
Club Chairman - JohnWilliamson 01509-412689
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