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Bright future ahead for Ashton Cricket Club

The dust has barely settled on Ashton Cricket Club’s record-breaking treble winning campaign, but the club are already planning on how to ensure their success continues for years to come. 

The club have just come off the back of their best season since 1940, winning the GMCL Division Three title, the Greater Manchester T20 Trophy and the GMCL John Barrow Trophy in the same campaign. 

Ashton CC first team captain Dan Hawthorne says last season’s success has been long overdue: 

“Going back to 2019, the whole club’s future was in jeopardy,” Hawthorne told the Reporter. 

“The senior section was struggling, and we were falling down the leagues- so to finally be going in the right direction is a real positive, it's exactly what we’ve needed for a long time.” 

Hawthorne partly attributes Ashton’s success to their strong recruitment prior to the 2024 campaign: 

“After how well we recruited at the start of the season the plan was to try and win all three (trophies), but there’s a big difference between planning to do something and actually doing it. 

“Lots of things can go wrong in a season but fortunately for us, everything seemed to go right. 

“We made two stellar signings in Vishva Chathuranga and Ramis Mustafa, and they both took us up a level- Vishva got the most runs in the whole division last season and Ramis got the third most. 

“The strength of our past youth teams has also been key- I look at the first team now and it’s full of players I’ve played with for like 15 years, we’ve kept the core of the team the same which has helped us massively.” 

The Black Knights completed the first leg of their treble back in August, picking up the T20 Trophy with a dramatic last ball victory over Wythenshawe in the final. 

“The first trophy set the tone really,” the Ashton captain told the Reporter. 

“We knew the T20 Trophy would be the most difficult to win out of the three and so I’d say that was my favourite.” 

Ashton then made it a quickfire double just weeks later, picking up the John Barrow Trophy after a 72-run win over Adlington, a match which Hawthorne admits was a little more straightforward than the previous final: 

“When you have a pro like ours who’s on 60-odd runs after 20 balls, he can just take the game away from the opposition, and he was the difference in that final (Vishva Chaturanga)- he made it comfortable for us.” 

Ashton then wrapped up the illustrious treble on the very final day of the season, defeating Prestwich 2nds to put their name on the GMCL Division Three title- which Hawthorne says was the main goal of the campaign: 

“It’s nice to win other trophies but the league was always the priority for us going into the season, and we said anything else would be a bonus.” 

The league win means Ashton will play their cricket in the division above next season- the GMCL Division Two, and Hawthorne says his side are relishing the challenges that will bring: 

“We’re definitely ready for that step up and we’re looking forward to it. We don’t want to rest on our laurels either, we want to try and climb even higher up the leagues.” 

As well as excelling on the field, the club has also been improving off it over the past few months- back in September, the club opened its newly renovated terrace area, which MP and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner came to visit. 

The club’s main priority going forward though is to develop the next generation of young cricketers: 

“We want to try and rebuild the junior section ahead of next season, from Under 9’s right the way up to Under 18’s” said Ashton captain Dan Hawthorne. 

“The future of the club lies in the hands of the junior section. We’re a great club with great facilities, and we want the young people of Tameside to come and be a part of that. 

“As well as a new junior section, a women’s side could also be on the cards.  

“We hosted a softball event last month and it went really well- some players who didn’t seem so keen initially were asking if we could set a team up next year, and that’s what we’re working towards.” 

The club is already recruiting for players ahead of the 2025 season.  

To find out more, visit the club’s Facebook page. 

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