Look who’s back!

Mel Whittle - back on the field

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2015 CLL PREVIEW

CROMPTON

CROMPTON may have lost key swing bowler Carl Taylor to Royton, but they have a ready-made replacement in a veteran who can still show young hopefuls a thing or two.

Although he is 68, the evergreen Mel Whittle has shown Glebe Street skipper Simon Wright enough in the nets to suggest he will take his fair share of wickets this season.

When he last played in the CLL - for Oldham in 2010 - Whittle took 100 wickets – a quite remarkable achievement for a player of his age.

He may have lost a yard of pace, but the swing is still there, says Wright.

“I’m quite excited about it,” said Wright of Whittle’s decision to rejoin Crompton, a team for whom he made his debut as a 14-year-old and went on to represent for many years.

“Mel plays snooker at the club and he mentioned that he wouldn’t mind giving it one last try.

“One thing you can’t teach is experience and I know Mel can still do a job.”

Whittle is likely to open the bowling attack with Sammy Ullah, who has rejoined Crompton after a short spell away, while all-rounder Wright and Danny Taylor will provide seam back-up and

professional Josh Tolley and left-armer James Allott spin options.

Tolley, who scored 768 runs at an average of 36.57 in his debut season for Crompton, can do much better, maintains Wright, who will be looking for the paid man to reach three figures after last term’s best of 95.

Starts were rarely a problem, but the really big scores eluded the former Bamford Fieldhouse batsman.

Tolley is likely to open the batting alongside Andy Yates, with middle-order support coming from Denis Louis – back for a fourth season as overseas amateur and a vital member of the team given his wicketkeeping expertise – the skipper, Stephen Wright, Darren Lee and Darren Graham.

The captain said: “Promotion (from the Championship) is always the aim, but realistically we will have to see how the season pans out week by week. It’s up to everyone to step up to the plate.”



OLDHAM

THE only way is up for Oldham, who go into the new campaign determined to ensure there is no repeat of last season’s Championship wooden spoon.

The Pollards club has a new professional in 23-year-old Aneeq Hassan, who played a few games as an amateur for them in 2011, but at that stage was at the beginning of his cricketing development.

He has since blossomed into a proficient top-order batsman and leg spin bowler.

Since his initial spell at the Pollards, Hassan has played as an amateur and professional in various leagues and 2014 saw him represent Salisbury CC as an amateur in the Ribblesdale League.

He scored eight half-centuries in an impressive total of 887 runs at an average of over 40.

Skipper Rashid Hussain will be hoping for a similar return in the CLL for Hassan, who is likely to bat at number three after openers Hamza Hussain, the skipper’s son, and Asif Shafique.

Middle order batsmen Abid Faizal, Tauqeer Hussain, Adnan Shafique and wicketkeeper Saimon Gauri will be hoping to accumulate their share of runs, while the bowling attack will be led by pace men Kanniappan Thirusangu and Ash Eric.

Rashid and Hamza Hussain will bowl offspin, backing up professional Hassan.

Given the club’s recent struggles, the Oldham skipper has no lofty ambitions for his side, but he will demand that they do the basics right: “I want us to play with a professional attitude, enjoy the game and develop our players,” he said.



WERNETH

WERNETH stalwart Ian Dronsfield is facing a huge task as captain at the Coppice after seeing the first team severely weakened by the loss of four key players.

Not only have cousins Matt and Joe Taylor gone to join Littleborough in the Premier Division, but professional Mohammed Zaman Khan and prolific batsman Ali Muzaffer have joined them at Hare Hill.

The gap left by the quartet is huge, but at least 35-year-old Dronsfield knows expectation

levels in the Championship will not be high, which means the pressure is off him and his side.

He said: “The loss of those players at least means that those who have not been given many chances before will get their opportunities now.

“I’m not going to put pressure on the players by setting any targets. We will have a new team, a team we must rebuild, and it will take time for them to gel together. I probably won’t even know what my best team is until eight or 10 games into the season. I am looking for us to enjoy our cricket and for everyone to contribute. Then, we might we able to cause a few upsets.”

Dronsfield has taken the bull by the horns by electing to open the batting alongside Rizwan Javed, whom Werneth have signed from Oldham.

Abdul Ghaffar, another ex-Oldham player, will bat in the middle order, as will Sri Lankan professional, 23-year-old Kaushalya Gajasinghe, who comes to the club on the recommendation of Werneth’s former Sri Lankan pro, Sajith Fernando.

Batsman Fiaz Khan has rejoined after a couple of seasons at Hollinwood, while there will be chances for Jason Lutener and Darren Longden to prove they are better than second-teamers.

On the bowling front, Michael Wilson and Mohammed Abbas are expected to lead the attack

following the departure of the Taylors, Ghaffar provides medium pace back-up, and the spin

department will be represented by Rashid Khan, Andy Walker and left-armer Longden.



HEYSIDE

HEYSIDE embark on their first season in the Lake Garage CLL with high hopes of mounting a challenge for promotion from the Championship.

Skipper Ryan Barnes (28), who plays alongside his father Mark in the Heyside team, said: "We are excited and looking forward to getting going in the CLL. We have not entered the league just to make up the numbers, and we want to be playing in the Premier Division like every other club.

"It will be a challenge playing new opposition on new grounds, but we are looking to be more than competitive."

Barnes is likely to bat at three in the Heyside order, just behind openers Ben Holt and Jon Selby, and

immediately before South African professional Shadley van Schalkwyk, who will be playing in his second season for Heyside.

Van Schalkwyk was a big hit in the 2014 Saddleworth campaign, scoring 1,250 runs and taking 60 wickets. The left-hand batsman and right-arm medium fast bowler is a true all rounder who goes into the 2015 season in top form after being leading wicket-taker in South's Africa's T20 Grand Slam competition.

The batting will be bolstered by Nick Campbell, Matthew Chadwick and Barnes snr, while swing specialist Scott Bloor is likely to open the bowling alongside the professional, with seam man Carl Newton providing back-up and Danny Cashin offering spin.

Heyside have also signed all rounder Mark Goddard from Elton, while batsmen Steve Fitton and Matthew Robinson are likely to be pushing for a first-team place.



ROYTON

A RAFT of bowling options will give Royton skipper Denny Hulme the most welcome of headaches for the club’s 2015 campaign.

The only one of our five local clubs in the Premier Division, Royton finished fifth last term and have the potential to do even better this time round.

New Sri Lankan professional Geeth Alwis (26) is a left-armer and will complement the spin of Alan Durose and Callum Porteous.

Overseas amateur Sam Fielding has impressed since coming over from Adelaide and is likely to open the bowling attack alongside Adam Good, who had a fine 2014 and is rated by Hulme as one of the best opening bowlers in the CLL.

Carl Taylor and Aqib Zulfiqar, who have joined Royton from Crompton, are also likely to be potent weapons with the ball while the likes of Liam Brown, Chris Jewell, Matt Smith and Tony Walsh will provide variation and back-up.

On the batting front, the loss of openers Liam Mason (to Heywood) and Khurrum Hussain (to New Brighton in the Liverpool Competition) is a blow, but Zulfiqar and Walsh will, initially at least, fill the void left by their departure.

With Alwis – who scored 1,400 runs for Todmorden in the Lancashire League in 2012 - batting at three, followed by Durose, Brown and former Milnrow skipper Nathan Sinkinson, there is no reason why Royton should not post some imposing scores.

Said Hulme, who will keep wicket this season: “We are in a good position – this is one of the strongest squads we have had for some time. We had a very good year in 2014, when our aim was a top-five finish (thereby booking a place in this summer’s LCB Cup) which we achieved.

“We will be looking for something similar while also having a good run in all three cup competitions.”