Oldham back from brink

First cut of the year at The Pollards

OLDHAM Cricket Club is firmly on the up after being rescued from the threat of extinction.

Prospects at the Pollards looked bleak in November when, after years of struggles on and off the pitch, officials decided they had run out of reasons to keep going and quit en masse.

Oldham did not even have a representative at the Central Lancashire League’s annual meeting, sparking speculation that they were about to quit the league.

But those negative vibes have been turned on their head by new club chairman Rashid Hussain, who will also captain the first team in the CLL this summer.

“This is a cricket club which bears the name of Oldham. It even has the town’s coat of arms and was one of the founders of the CLL,” said Hussain.

“It is a club which belongs to Oldham and anybody who has ever played here or been a member here should remember that it is their club and they can help.

“I want this place to keep going. If this club leaves the CLL it is finished.”

Hussain, a graduate in electronic engineering, has lectured at Rochdale and Oldham colleges and currently runs a business as a wedding planner.

“If I can plan a day like that then I can certainly cope with running a cricket club,” he quipped.

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