Heyside raring to go for ‘make-or-break’ weekend
Reporter: Kevin Richardson
Date published: 14 August 2008
BAMFORD Fieldhouse and Heyside will be sick of the sight of each other come Sunday evening. The championship contenders go head to head twice in the space of 24 hours, with vital league points and the prestigious Tanner Cup at stake.
Here, cricket writer KEVIN RICHARDSON previews what could be the defining weekend of the Saddleworth and District Cricket League season.
OPENING batsman Steve Firth admits it’s “make or break” for Heyside as the double-header against Bamford Fieldhouse draws ever closer.
The two teams lock horns in the league before battling it out for Tanner Cup glory.
Heyside are the hosts on Saturday, while Bamford enjoy home advantage on Sunday.
Firth (22) and the team are ready and raring to go for the challenge and are confident they can wreck their opponents’ bid for back-to-back titles.
He said: “It’s probably the biggest weekend anyone at the club can recall for a long time and I can’t wait for it to start.
“We know what we’ve got to do and we’re quite confident of turning them over, but if we do get on top, we’ve got to stay on top.
“We’re capable of beating anyone on our day and, although we’ve messed up in a couple of games recently, we could have won both of them.
“It could all go wrong this weekend. It’s make or break for us, but if we do come out of it unscathed, we’ll have won the Tanner Cup and be in a strong position to win the league title.”
Inspired by the leadership of Mark Barnes and the run-making of professional Roelof Hugo, Heyside have already had a season to remember.
It is a far cry from 2007 when a rocky spell of form in the second half of the summer saw them slip from the top half of the table to fourth bottom in the final standings.
They have kept things going this time and are on course to emulate the class of 1993 and claim the double.
Barnes was a key member of the Heyside team in the mid-1990s which won three consecutive championships.
Firth went on: “The players had a meeting at the skipper’s house the other night.
“Mark has been there and got the T-shirt. He’s been through this before and we’re learning from his experience.
“He has given us a great deal of confidence all season and I hope we can see it through.”
For Heyside’s Nick Campbell, Tanner Cup finals are becoming a bit of a speciality.
A beaten finalist with Shaw in 2006, the all-rounder went on to claim the coveted piece of silverware 12 months later when the Holebottom Clough outfit overcame Austerlands.
After switching to Heyside in the close season, he is now counting down to his third final in a row.
