Droylsden CC finish season in style

Droylsden Cricket Club rounded off their stellar season on Saturday with a win away to the leagues bottom placed side, Woodley. 

The victory capped off what has been a terrific campaign for the club, in which they picked up the Greater Manchester Cricket League (GMCL) Division One title, as well as the GMCL T20 Championship. 

Droylsden Cricket Club Captain Cameron Mapstone partly attributes this season's success to the disappointment the club has endured in previous years: 

“I think missing out on promotion so narrowly last year really spurred us on,” Mapstone told the Reporter. 

“We missed out (on promotion) by a single point last season and just a couple of points the season before that, but we knew if we could keep everyone fit this season then we’d have a great chance. 

“Promotion was the minimum requirement for us this season so to go one step further was just fantastic. 

“It was great to get it done with a few games to spare as well as it allowed us to play those without much pressure.” 

The club achieved promotion with three games to spare after thrashing Thornham by 136 runs, before sealing the title a week later with a win over Winton. 

This was not the clubs only piece of silverware though- as mentioned, they picked up the GMCL T20 Championship back in July, defeating Greenfield Thunder in the final. 

“I don’t think anyone will ever forget that final,” club Captain Cameron Mapstone told the Reporter. 

“We were chasing 168 and after about seven overs we looked dead and buried, but we managed to turn it around and win with two overs to spare. 

“It was just bedlam after that, and no matter where anyone ends up in their careers, I’m sure they’ll look back on that with a lot of pride. 

As well as being spurred on by the disappointment of previous seasons, Mapstone believes there are many other factors that have been key to their success: 

“There are a multitude of reasons really- to succeed you need players with both the right ability and the right attitude, and we had that. 

“Our recruitment has not been perfect over recent years, but this season has been as good as we could have possibly hoped. 

“We brought in Ali Azmat who has played a lot of league cricket, as well as Rehan Afridi, and those were two fantastic additions. 

“But we didn’t want to make too many signings as continuity is key, we wanted to keep a nucleus there of players that we knew and trusted rather than recruiting a new team. 

“As well as this, I think having so many players who are all able to get a reasonable amount of runs helped us massively. 

“Some clubs have one or two key players who they look to to win them matches and if they don’t turn up, they won’t win, but we have at least six or seven. 

“We were also able to keep most of our first team players fit which was massive, and even some of the younger players who were called upon from the second team impressed when they came in.” 

Having won the GMCL Division One title, Droylsden will play their cricket in the GMCL Championship next season, a challenge that Mapstone and his side are relishing: 

“We’re really looking forward to the step up, the batsman told the Reporter. 

“We’ve played a few Championship sides over the past few years in the cup and we’ve always done well against them, so we’re feeling optimistic. 

“It’s difficult to say how we we’ll get on because you don’t know the strength of the sides coming down or how other teams will recruit, but I’d be lying if I said we weren’t looking to get promoted again. 

“I think we’re more than capable, we know how strong we are and we’re looking to get even stronger with a couple of new additions that can hopefully take us forward.”