Woodhouses’ big day out

Photo: PICTURES by CHRIS SUNDERLAND

WOODHOUSES skipper Mike Cassidy.

Batting key to Lord’s victory, says Cassidy
WOODHOUSES captain Mike Cassidy takes his team to Lord’s on Sunday for the Persimmon Village Cup final showdown with Rottingdean — and he has not lost any sleep over the opposition.

The skipper, buzzing at the prospect of playing at the ‘home of cricket’ for the first time in his career, is not concerned with the threat posed by the side from Brighton.

“I do not know much about Rottingdean to be honest, but that is fine because we are focusing on our own performance and giving a good account of ourselves on such a big day for the club,” said Cassidy.

“Our strength throughout this competition has been our batting. If we get that right on Sunday, we will give ourselves a great chance of winning the final.

“Josh Tolley has led the way this season, particularly in this tournament, in which he is the highest runs scorer. We will be looking to Josh to give us one more big performance.

“There is no point in worrying about what the opposition are going to do, in this or any other game.

“We go into it with our own ideas and our own plan. Hopefully it will all work out for the best.”

After all the build-up and expectation, the enormity of the occasion is beginning to dawn on Cassidy.

He added: “There has been so much to do in terms of organisation — coaches, hotels etc — it has been difficult to think about the final as a contest.

“But it is upon us now and I think as soon as we get on that coach on Saturday morning it will become very real.

“I have never played at Lord’s and only went once as a spectator — I watched England against South Africa in a Test match, when Mike Atherton was out for a duck!

“It means so much to any player to walk out at Lord’s. I cannot wait.”

Cassidy believes a decent turn-out at the famous venue will create an atmosphere to savour come Sunday.

“I know there will be at least a couple of hundred Woodhouses followers heading down to London this weekend,” he said.

“With Rottingdean being based in Sussex, they are not a million miles away from the ground so I think they will have a fair few fans at the match as well.

“It should be a cracking atmosphere. Everyone connected with our club has waited a long time for an occasion like this.”

Woodhouses are almost certain to finish second behind Prestwich in the Lees Brewery Lancashire County League Division One.

If the Medlock Road outfit do miss out on title glory, Cassidy and Co can still look back on a superb season.

He added: “I think the league form has been hit slightly by our Village Cup commitments, but second in the table would still be a good achievement.

“If you were to ask most people at the start of the season if they would take the runners-up spot and a trip to Lord’s, the answer would probably be ‘yes’.”




Player guide



WOODHOUSES skipper Mike Cassidy talks us through the team he is taking to Lord’s for the Village Cup final showdown with Sussex outfit Rottingdean on Sunday.



Mike Cassidy — I am the captain of the side and I will be opening the batting on Sunday, so hopefully I can help us get off to a positive start.

Nick Doyle — A popular member of the team, Lancashire under-16s star Nick opens with me and is a dangerman for us.

Josh Tolley — The leading runs scorer in the entire competition, let’s hope Josh does the business for us again in the final.

Luke Swards — Right-arm

paceman from Tasmania. Luke has enjoyed a brilliant campaign, deservedly taking plenty of wickets.

James Clarke — James is a fine fielder and is a good guy to have coming in at number five in the order.

Nick Hardman — Left-arm seamer, who has bowled well this season and can also score freely with the bat.

Gareth Tuson — Wicketkeeper who will be at number sevenagainst Rottingdean.

Doug Sloan — Veteran wicket-taker who can slog with the bat if necessary, Doug can be a big influence for Woodhouses.

Brian Sloan — Doug’s nephew and a handy medium-pace bowler will be looking to make a name for himself at the ‘home of cricket’.

Callum Megram — Fast-medium bowler is also decent with the bat and a good fielder. He has made a good impression this term.

Ashley Prescott — A key member of the seam attack, Ashley got the winning wicket in the semi-final victory over Sessay.




Cup final opposition



THE side standing in the way of Woodhouses cup-final glory at Lord’s are East Sussex Division One side Rottingdean.



Led by skipper Henry Ledden, the Brighton outfit — established in 1758 — expect to take hundreds of fans to the famous venue, a much shorter trip than the one facing Woodhouses supporters.

Rottingdean saw off visitors Dumbleton at Falmer Road in the last round to book their place in the final.

Runners-up in the league last term, they find themselves in sixth place and heading for a mid-table finish this time around, making success in Sunday’s showdown even more pivotal.

Ledden said: “Although we’ve never played at Lord’s before, we have played on grounds with slopes and have a variety of swing and spin bowlers who I’m sure will enjoy the experience.”