Signings, Obituaries and Pre-season – Stans Chairmans Column

LOWERHOUSE CC NEWS SPONSORED BY H.RIGG PROPERTIES

Obituaries

The club were very sorry to hear of the passing of club member and neighbour Tony Eatough. Tony followed the club for many years as a member and in supporting fund raising activities. The club were represented at the funeral and our condolences go to son Paul and the family.

Also passing is former club stalwart Terry Johnstone who formed a formidable double act with John Carroll in the 1990s and beyond the 2004 Worsley Cup win. John gave a lively and humorous tribute to Terry at the funeral which included the playing of the recording “Lowerhouse is our home “from the 2004 cup final. John reflected on how much this first trophy meant to Terry and indeed all of us, and was a very moving tribute to Terry.

The club were represented at the funeral and our condolences go to all the family especially wife Jean and daughter Eileen and grandchildren.

John has asked me to publicly thank Adam Hope for his help in arranging the above recording for the crematorium.

Transfers

We are pleased to announce that the transfers of Phil Metcalfe from Padiham, Matt Hope from Feniscowles and Jonny Whitehead from the professional ranks, have all been ratified by the League. A further transfer is pending.

Phil will captain the 4th eleven. The 4th eleven will play in the same competition as the 3rd eleven although they are in different divisions. We have introduced the 4Xth eleven to give our under 14s age group the opportunity to play senior cricket. Selection is not hard and fast but it is intended that the 3rd eleven will be for the older juniors and those who couldn’t be squeezed into the 2nd eleven on a given weekend.

Matt Hope needs no introduction and returns to the club as 2nd eleven player – manager. The intention is to add more experience to the 2nd eleven when necessary.

Jonny similarly needs no introduction so isn’t getting one. His return is of course a massive boost for the first team squad. I was very pleased to read his comments in his interview on the website.

It ought to be stressed at this stage that we expect sufficient positions for players to progress. I mention this because some may be concerned that the in-comings may push them further down the development ladder. As everyone knows, selection is based on form and performances but we will continue to be ever mindful of the need to progress junior talent.

Support and donations

Thanks to all for the magnificent attendance at the junior presentation and similarly the David Wren Memorial dinner. Many thanks to Tony Woodworth for his organisation of an excellent evening which was obviously enjoyed by all judging from the number of kind comments I have received.

Pre Season

Training for the younger juniors has commenced at Hameldon community college with 40 juniors in attendance.

Pre-season projects that will start soon will be the usual painting and general sprucing up of the ground. Any volunteers gratefully received. Outside contractors will fulfill the main project which will be an £11k upgrade to the outside nets and an additional £2k landscaping around the nets area to reduce the adverse impact on the nets.

Donations

New Year raffle ticket money is coming in already and includes a number of additional donations. Many thanks to Terry Whitham and Michael Hillam for their cash donations, and Elaine Hayes and Brian Higgin for their donation of raffle prizes. Any one wishing to donate raffle prizes – please liaise with Frank or Stan