Cookhill open campaign with a victory
PROMOTED Cookhill made a winning start to life in Division Six of the Worcestershire League with skipper Ollie Hills admitting that they won’t just be there to make up the numbers.
The side won the league and cup double last year and although big-hitting stalwart Pete Alexander is no longer at the club having moved to Australia, there have been new arrivals with Dave Kendall arriving from Five Ways while teenager Joe Williams has returned.
“The main thing for us last year was consistency and we managed to get the same eight or nine players out every week,” Hills said.
“I think we went pretty much unbeaten through the first half of the season to put some daylight between us and the other teams. It got a bit touch and go at the back end of the season when we lost a couple but we just got over the line.
“We have a few juniors who have been at the club for a number of years and are maturing into stronger cricketers who are now learning some of the ways of adult cricket - being patient, bowling in the right areas, and not trying to bowl the magic ball each time. It’s vital for the future of the cricket club to have these juniors coming through.
“We are really excited that we are going to be playing at some new grounds now even though we have a few long journeys starting with a trip over to Burghill in Herefordshire next week. The standard seems to be very similar between divisions so I can’t see why we can’t challenge in the top half of the table. I’d certainly like to think we’ll be able to hold our own.”
Fielding first, Cookhill had a dream start against Himley 3rds on Saturday, skittling out their visitors for just 76. It would have been even better for Hills’ side had William Casey-Fitton (35) and Jim Ross (6no) put on 24 for the last wicket.
The pick of the bowlers were Ben Smith (4-13) and Mark Richardson (3-26) while Kendall’s 2-12 off five overs on his debut also caught the eye.
In reply, Cookhill slumped from 43/3 to 51/6 before an unbeaten 21 from Richardson saw them over the line. Harvey Phillips (21) and James Stanley (15) were the only others to reach double figures.
