Junior potential excites Skuse

Armstrongs Office Furniture Saddleworth and District Cricket League

PETER SKUSE is relishing the task of helping to nurture Saddleworth’s brightest young cricketers.

The Australian, who has committed himself to another two years as the club’s professional, is at the heart of a rebuilding programme at Well-i-Hole.

After two division one titles and three Tanner Cups at the start of the Millennium, Saddleworth’s fortunes have dipped and they now find themselves languishing among the also rans.

But the junior section is going great guns, with the under-13s ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams vying for cup honours and the under-17s through to the final of the Romida Trophy.

Skuse (37) wants to mould the youngsters into a fighting force and get the best out their talent in the years to come.

He is excited by the challenge and the chance to play his part in making Saddleworth successful again.

Skuse said: “There is a lot of hard work ahead, but I’m quite happy to take it on.

“We’ve got so much potential here, with juniors at under-15s and under-16s level coming through and the likes of Steve Taylor and Brian Lord who are already playing first-team cricket.

“But they are still young and they have so much to learn. We need to instil a work ethic into them so they can flourish in the future.

“We enjoyed some great times for six or seven years, but things change and players move on.

“Eight of the side who played in the Tanner Cup final a couple of years ago are either no longer with us or are not playing in the first team.”

Despite being strongly linked to move to Delph in the Drakes Huddersfield League, Skuse agreed to stay on as the club’s pro and has not ruled out the possibility of eventually playing as an amateur.

He added: “I had other offers, but the committee have remained loyal to me, so I’ve remained loyal to them.

“We’ll definitely have an overseas amateur next year, although it’s becoming increasingly difficult to bring one in because of the new regulations governing work permits.

“Michael Ayre, who left us in 2004 after a couple of seasons, was fantastic for the club in that role.

“He was the ideal overseas amateur, but I’m afraid they are hard to come by these days.”