Youth policy pays massive dividends for Farnsfield
by Paul Barker, 16th September 2008

When Paul Franks took over the captaincy at Farnsfield at the start of this season, a whole new look to their team matters took place, and how it has worked. Of course it could easily have gone the other way and Franks and the powers that be at Farnsfield may well have had dollops of egg on their faces, but the experiment was a massive success and they took the Championship with a huge 40 points to spare at the end.

Franks pinned his faith in the youth policy that Farnsfield introduced a few years ago and something that he has been personally instrumental in its development. On top of several highly promising youngsters that they had developed themselves, they recruited possibly the youngest opening attack that had ever served them in Brett Hutton a 15 year-old giant from Worksop who is seriously quick and can bat, and Lewis Saxby who swings the ball prodigiously from Glapwell.

Add to them another tremendous young left handed opening batsman in 15 year old Sam Wood who is destined for bigger things if his progress continues and a 19 year-old wicket-keeper batsman who has served them brilliantly since arriving from South Africa, Damion Crowley. It may well have been even easier, but Mark Silcock who has been a tremendous asset to them over the last four seasons was injured at Glapwell half way through the season and hasn’t been able to play since.

Other young players are waiting in the wings and have not let the club down when they have been called upon. Andrew Bell a 13-year-old leg spinner shows immense promise and also with this youthful presence the fielding has been exuberant and breathtakingly fast.

In addition to this they have the right sprinkling of experience that has served them well. Paul Delaney has had a wonderful season with the bat whilst Andy Edwards and Neil Sharp with his excellent swing bowling have both been in prime form. Of course Paul Franks himself has made a massive contribution and has scored a proverbial ‘ton of runs’ that has made a huge difference to his side.

The reason why Farnsfield have won the league is because they were the best side in it. They now take the huge move up into the Premier League, but if any side looks equipped for this challenge it is surely Farnsfield. There were on many occasions as many as six players under the age of 20 in the side and this can only auger well for their future.

In second place came Edwinstowe and if anyone has forgotten, might I remind them that this club were playing their cricket in Division 2 (or the new Division 1) in 2007. If ever a side deserves credit for a wonderful season it is them and skipper Paul Peacock has brought to the fore a spirit and desire to win that has to be highly applauded.

Of course it helped when they acquired the young Australian left-hander Wade Townsend and he certainly has had a season to remember scoring in excess of 1000 league runs for the club. He has a ‘rookie’ contract with Queensland and could well make it to the very top. On top of that he was everything anyone could want from an overseas player, a thoroughly nice chap in addition to being a hugely talented cricketer. Edwinstowe are hoping he may be back next year, but a lot of work needs doing on that project before it is finalised.

However do not run away with the thought that this was a one-man club, far from it. Edwinstowe batted virtually down to number 10 and although the end of the season was a little of an anti-climax they certainly played some excellent cricket and like Farnsfield have a thriving youth policy that is beginning to bear fruit.

Tom Ward, Aaron Rhodes and Jacob Lowe are just three of a crop of talented youngsters who have made their mark this season and there are more to come. Of the experienced players Jeff Appleton, Ian Smith with bat and ball, Gareth Price, Paul Benson and many more have all made their mark with the bat and Richard Gombos and Shaun Bullin are still an asset with the ball.

They have been a credit to the league and deserve their success. If Townsend returns or someone as good joins them next season it could be even better, we will have to wait and see.

In third place, Glapwell have enjoyed their best season since the halcyon days of Iain O’Brien. In skipper Matt Hall they have as good an all-rounder as anyone in the league. Matt’s batting prowess has improved immeasurably over the years and his accuracy with the ball will always trouble people. Add to that he has proved himself a good captain and a superb tactician who all the players respect and he gets the best out of his ranks.

In Jeff Wharton they managed to find an impressive new ball bowler to support Hall and his wonderful eye when he is batting has given them runs quickly when they were needed. Young Danny Bircumshaw is improving in leaps and bounds and will only get better and better as he develops even more. Rob Davison has scored runs and with a little strengthening one can see them being an even bigger threat next season. Richard Hope is also a fast improving player and has shown excellent form with both bat and ball.

Shaun Johnson is a tidy wicket-keeper and Glapwell’s younger element have proved themselves with the second XI expertly captained by Phil Matthews winning promotion with ease this season. The future is looking good here and in addition to the players; the ground is now one of the very best in the league. They have plans to enlarge the bar and pavilion and make no mistake this is a club that will not be happy to rest on their laurels, they are intent on moving forward.

Finishing in fourth place represented a good season for Thoresby Colliery, and it could have been even better. They hired a young Australian Thomas Rickarby but probably unknown to most he has been playing in pain for much of the season with a leg injury and he is without doubt much better than what he did. Not that he was a failure, that is far from the truth, but had he been 100% fit, one can believe he would have been a much bigger nuisance to all the other sides in the league.

Skipper Martin Cheshire once again had a terrific season and Nigel Birkett, Steve Willis and young wicket-keeper batsman Ben Marson is coming on in leaps and bounds. Shailesh Patel and Nyeem Ahmed once again were the pick of the attack and the work done on the wicket by Martin Cheshire and Nigel Birkett has produced a wicket that is second to none. Even if you are facing a daunting total it is not impossible on this track and lightning fast outfield. Yes it really is a huge credit to the club.

Gainsborough side Marshalls have had a terrific season and they really seem to know how to play the 20/20 style of cricket as they retained the Mallen Trophy for the second season. In skipper Paul Van den Heuvel they have a tremendous leader who does things more by example than anyone. He has cored a ton of runs and if the other talented players had reached the same degree of form that he has done, the side might well have finished even higher.

Kevin Housham was back this season and the side looked stronger when he was in it but they are not short of quality personnel who will be even better for this season’s experience. With both bat and ball Mark Davies was still very useful and left arm slow bowler Gary Andrews gives it quite a ‘rip’ and is very dangerous. In Darren Andrews they have the quickest bowler in the league after Farnsfield’s Hutton and he is young enough to continue to improve. Early in the season he was struggling to get his run-up right but he seems to have sorted that out and he will be a big threat for many years. 

A team who I thought would have been challenging for honours was Kiveton Park and had they played as well in the first half of the season as they did in the second that still might have been the case. There is no doubt that there is a lot of ability there, but they got away to a shocking start and it took them a while to get into their stride.

With batting from Ian Hampshire, Richard Grainger, Matty Cartwright, Rob Coxon, Tim Ward and the all round ability of Lee Brooks they have a side which should never be short of runs. Added to this, Australian Ed Brown made some useful contributions but was not as spectacularly successful as several of the terrific performers that Kiveton have brought in over the years.

Skipper Richard Spurr once again was the leading wicket-taker and in James Hubball they have a most promising quickie that will only get better with experience. This is a good side and if they can once again secure the services of a Steve Frost, Ryan Snape or Harsha Cooray next season, they will trouble everybody.

I tipped Retford at the start of the season to chase Farnsfield home and though they have finished in mid-table the signs are there that this sleeping giant is starting to wake up again and will be a terrific threat to one and all in 2009.

If they can tempt Chandra Kumara once again they will without doubt possess an all rounder of the highest quality. They began the season with a disastrous run before winning in storming style as they knocked off a big score at Glapwell to win with ten overs to spare. At the end of that match, Glapwell skipper Matt Hall remarked that ‘I knew they weren’t as bad as their record would suggest, and I knew Kumara would come good’. He was right as Kumara scored 93 glorious runs on the day.

John Musgrove astutely led Retford and if they are short in one position it is wicket-keeper. Although they have Micky Godber who is as good as anyone in their ranks, he is only available for half a season owing to football commitments and they need more than that. They have a youth policy in place and many talented lads are on the verge of coming through and that is good for the club. As usual Pascal Broadley was a decided asset with both bat and ball as was Darren Spooner and it was good to see Nigel Hall back in their ranks towards the end of the season. I firmly believe they will not be far away next year.

A team who looked likely to challenge Farnsfield until the wheels spectacularly fell off was Bridon. They achieved a famous victory over the champions (which was easily reversed in the return fixture) but they should in all honesty have done much better.

They have some very talented players with Wayne Spooner on his day as good an all rounder as you will find, Roger Wells captained the side well but some of their younger players should have done better. The ability is certainly there but a lack of application is halting their progress.

In Kiwi Tim Muir they had a good slow bowler and batsman and veteran Colin ‘Percy’ Hurst was also an asset on many occasions. Rob McLeod showed he is as capable as ever when available and you can’t really work out why they finished as low as they did. Simon Davison and Matt Makings also are good bowlers and the list is endless. One gets the impression that they are bound to be better next season.

A change in captaincy which saw Dave Wood take over, saw Notts. & Arnold Amateur move up the league towards the end of the season. I have the impression that this side is going to be much better next season, like Bridon, and Dave Wood and cricket manager Richard Pallister are working overtime to improve the personnel for next season.
They have almost clinched the return of Sri-Lankan Dilhan Cooray who they feel will add to his reputation for next year, and Ian Flood is still a very good player who can take apart the best attack in the league on his day and rip through defences at will with the ball.

They have irons in the fire and the younger talent is also coming through. Dave Wood is not they type of guy to be down at the bottom for long, he is a winner and my belief is that he will win here as well.

The most disappointing sight of the season was to watch the demise of Cutthorpe who in their final season before they move into the Derbyshire County League saw them finish second from bottom of the table.

It really was a blow to them to lose the services of Asadullah Butt and Andy Thompson at the start of the season because no side can afford to lose two excellent players such as these. Thompson simply destroyed attacks from the word go whilst Butt was lethal with both bat and ball as well as being a thoroughly nice bloke.

Of course they lost more games to weather conditions than any side in the league, but allowing for that they were simply woeful at times. Strangely enough they defeated Edwinstowe twice and that showed what they are really capable of, but on occasions they were bowled out cheaply like they have never been before.

Next season they start a new adventure, but I would personally like to thank them for the terrific times I have had at the club and their hospitality towards me. I believe they will be missed very much and I wish them every success in the future. They are a good club and it is my fervent hope that they get back on track and show everyone in their new league what they are capable of. Good luck to them.

Waleswood who have risen from the bottom to the very top found the last step much steeper than they could have imagined. It was joy all the way when they met one of the weakest sides, Retford had ever turned out in the opening match and thrashed them in spectacular style.

On the back of this they went to Farnsfield the following week and Gareth Davis scored a century as they held on for a losing draw but did enough to suggest that they would be okay. Even though they lost to Marshalls they didn’t put on too bad a performance but Notts & Arnold Amateur were the first team to really expose their frailties.

They were bowled out for 58 by Edwinstowe and 35 by Glapwell as the other sides showed their teeth and the good start was now a distant memory. Davis still eeked out the odd performance with both bat and ball but it was obvious he couldn’t do it on his own and they gradually drifted to the bottom of the table and never moved from there.

They have had a wonderful roller-coaster ride but it now seems over. They must guard against it destroying them as this has happened to others in the past. They need to re-group and get back on track and possibly next time around things might well be different. Davis is a good competitive player and Martin Long shows rich promise. Simon Cope their skipper has done a great job over the years, but the players they brought in were just not good enough. Lets hope this hasn’t set them back too much.