Ashton's aims

Excitement is steadily building ahead of the opening round of fixtures in the Greater Manchester Cricket League on Saturday.

For Ashton Cricket Club, whose first team will be challenging in Division Two B against the likes of Micklehurst, Denton West 2nd XI and Denton St Lawrence 2nd XI, the opening fixture against Werneth, taking place at Rayner Lane, gives the players a chance to enjoy some competitive cricket whilst returning to some kind of normality in a social setting.

Ashton will be captained by James Edmodson and backed up by former skipper Siraj Kadodia, who returns to the club following a spell with Oldham.

Whilst Ashton have struggled to make an impact in recent years, the forthcoming season presents a fresh opportunity to  put their name in lights during the GMCL’s sixth season in existence.

And with all clubs entering the season with limited training and preparation, the opening month could prove to be crucial in terms of long-term success or failure.

Ashton chairman Stan Adshead is looking forward to the opening fixture and believes it will be something of a celebration following 12 months of misery. Speaking to Reporter Sport, he said: “This is obviously unprecendented and we didn’t know what was coming.

“We didn’t know how keen people would be to return to the sport and if they’d taken up other habits or wanted to do other things, but people are keen to get out, play cricket, and to just get away from the bad experience over the past few months during the winter lockdown.

“We only started training last week, so there hasn’t been an opportunity to play any kind of cricket over winter. If people haven’t been able to find a new club or find their feet in a new area, they’re always welcome at Ashton.”

Like all clubs, Ashton are always looking for ways to raise money and fundraise to improve the facilities at Rayner Lane. One of the ways they have done this is to host the Fields of Gold Festival in September. The club previously staged the popular tribute act event in 2019 and are excited to welcome back music fanatics once again on Friday 3 and Saturday 4 September.

Acts include The Smiths, Queen, Oasis and The Stone Roses.