LCB must step in to safeguard local game - club secretary

GROUNDS FOR CONCERN . . . Hollinwood CC secretary Eddie Hardaker.

CRICKET:

HOLLINWOOD CC secretary Eddie Hardaker has issued a determined appeal to the Lancashire Cricket Board.

He said members should “get off their backsides” and save local league cricket.

Mr Hardaker spoken of his fears for the game after the Central Lancashire League advertised for eight new clubs, with the aim of the extended competition being up and running for season 2015.

Unsworth had proposed the increase from 16 to 24 clubs at the CLL’s annual meeting in December.

For Mr Hardaker that could spell potential disaster for the Saddleworth and District Cricket League, which Hollinwood have been part of since 1906.

There aren’t enough clubs to go round, he says: “The time has come for the LCB to step in, otherwise there is a very real danger the Saddleworth League will not be a viable competition. My main moan is with the LCB. They should get off their backsides and do something about it.

“They should get all the executive committees together from the various leagues to discuss the future of the game because, at the moment, it is slowly dying.”

Mr Hardaker claimed the players who are pushing for change, but have no idea how much things will cost if their club joins another league.

He went on: “The LCB is there to lead us, but I can see precious little of that and it is ludicrous that they allow this to happen.”

Decreasing membership spelled the death knell for the Manchester and District Association in 2013 and, as a result, South-West Manchester, Whalley Range and Wythenshawe were accepted into the Saddleworth League, increasing their membership to 16 clubs.

But Mr Hardaker reckons those three could end up moving on again if the Lancashire County League also decides to grow its numbers.

“They are a lot closer to the likes of Denton and Flowery Field than they are to Saddleworth and Greenfield, for example,” he explained.

“With the CLL after eight clubs and then possibly the Lancashire County League in future, what

happens to the Saddleworth League?



SADDLEWORTH and District Cricket League secretary Trevor Harrison wrote to the Lancashire Cricket Board last month detailing his concerns over the CLL’s plans to expand.

He said that the league is in a “very vulnerable situation” and that there are “not an infinite

number of clubs in the region”.