Astley bridge cricket club
2024 Season
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Senior Cricket
SEASON OVERVIEW
This season brought its challenges. Our First Team faced tough competition in the NWCL Premiership, finishing in 11th place and subsequently moving to the NWCL Championship. While results in the league didn’t go our way, we showed real consistency in cup competitions, making an impressive run to the Hamer Cup semi-finals. Though we fell short against Little Lever CC, who themselves were beaten in the final by Championship side Read CC.
Our Second Team also had a challenging season, experiencing an unexpected relegation after finishing 3rd the previous year. However, just like the First Team, we found success in the cup, reaching the Quarter Finals before bowing out to Cherry Tree CC.
Among the season’s standout moments was the First Team debut of James Northrop against Ribblesdale Wanderers on 8th June, when he took the field alongside his dad, Rick (both pictured left). It marked the first “Dad & Lad” inclusion in an Astley Bridge squad for many years.
Another highlight was Ismael Patel’s incredible maiden century for the First Team against Padiham on 31st August (pictured left), accompanied by a stellar bowling performance of 4-45 — a true all-round display!
Off the field, the arrival of professional Alex Kok had a tremendous impact on our junior players, always showing up on Friday nights (often wrapped up in a coat and hat!). Meanwhile, Ulli Bronkhorst returned as our Amateur Overseas for a second consecutive season, once again proving to be a huge asset, particularly as he hit peak form towards the latter part of the season.
Club Captains
1XI - Matthew Hargraves
2XI - Ady Cooper
3XI - Zahid Makkan
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League Competitions
This season we have three senior-level cricket teams playing on Saturdays and Sundays. Our 1XI and 2XI are playing in the second-ever season of the North West Cricket League after the Bolton Cricket League and Ribblesdale League merged at the end of the 2022 season.
We hope to improve on last season's up and down results (and weather!).
We also compete in a T20 competition with games taking place on Friday evenings. These are usually in the heat of summer so are sure to bring in the crowds and make a good night for all (depending on the result maybe!).
Our 3XI plays in the Greater Manchester Cricket League with matches played on Sundays.
Cup Competitions
Our 2XI reached the semi-final of the Ramsbottom Cup last year losing out to Farnworth CC, who went on to win.
There are 6 cup competitions throughout the season. Hoping to improve last year's results, we are all excited to see what our teams can do this year.
We can't not mention our 2022 heroics, as our 1XI won one of the oldest amateur cricket competition in the country for the first time, The Hamer Cup, which started in 1930!
Club Captains
1XI - Matthew Hargraves
2XI - Ady Cooper
3XI - Zahid Makkan
2024 Overseas Players
Ulli Bronkhorst
Junior Cricket
2024 Schedule
Training
Junior Cricket Training throughout the summer takes place every Friday (Excl. U18s) from 19th April 2024.
Astley Bridge Cubs - Every Friday 18:15 - 19:15
U9s - U15s - Every Friday 18:15 - 19:45
U18s - Every Thursday 18:00 - 19:45
Match Days
(Age Group, Day of week, First Scheduled Match)
U9s - Sunday Mornings - 5th May
U11s - Monday Evenings - 29th April
U13s - Wednesday Evenings - 25th April (LKO Match)
U15s - Monday Evenings - 2nd May (LKO Match)
U18s - Thursday Evenings - 13th June
Please note that cup matches maybe played on a different day to the regular week.
Junior Cricket Managers
U9s - Asfak Patel - Team Information
U11s - Safwaan Gangaat - Team Information
U13s - Kalyan Guduru - Team Information
U15s - Taimur Khan - Team Information
U18s - Ulli Bronkhorst - Team Information
