Tanner rivals’ shared belief

POSITIVE ATTITUDE: Glodwick skipper Nigel Stock expects his side to give Heyside a tough battle in Sunday’s final.

CRICKET:

DON’T write us off says skipper Nigel Stock as he prepares his Glodwick team for Sunday’s Tanner Cup final against Heyside (1.45pm).

Boasting the leading run-scorer in the Saddleworth and District Cricket League in professional Gerrie Snyman, the lads from Little Hey Street are a warm order to emerge victorious at Moorside’s Turf Pit Lane ground.

Glodwick beat Uppermill, Hollinwood and Friarmere to reach their first final and shouldn’t be taken lightly, Stock says.

He said: “Heyside have excelled in the cups, but we believe the cup suits us.

“Our opening bowlers, Mark Whitehead and Imran Asghar and spinners, Imran Khan and Rehan Rafiq, are as good as any in the league.

“We are second favourites, but if we perform on the day who knows what could happen?”

In the pursuit of runs, much depends on the steadying influence of pro Rehan Rafiq and the explosive style of Shahid Mahmood.

Glodwick joined the league in 2007, but it wasn’t until 2011 that they actually won a game in the Tanner Cup.



HEYSIDE are hoping to kick-off a “massive three weeks” by beating Glodwick.

It is the first of three pieces of silverware which could be heading to Little Hey Street.

Captain Nick Campbell’s men are also in the last four of the LCB Cup and Twenty20 Cup — in the club’s 125th anniversary year.

“Mark Barnes and Tony Heaton have played in 10 Tanner Cup finals between them,” said Campbell, who is making his fifth appearance in the showpiece occasion.

“That experience is invaluable, and it probably means the pressure is on Glodwick, because this is their first time.

“It makes a change to be the favourites.”

Professional Gerrie Snyman has made a big impression in his first year at Heyside — he is approaching 1,000 runs in the league this season.








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