Heysham Cricket Club win Westmorland Cricket League Division 1

Heysham Cricket Club’s first team were crowned champions of the Westmorland Cricket League Division 1 at the weekend.

Their league victory was confirmed on Saturday after a convincing victory over Sedgwick by 88 runs.

It’s the first time since the 1960s that the team have won Division 1 of the WCL.

The team haven’t lost once in the league this season, and have only once had a losing draw, against Shireshead and Forton.

Captain Lewis Plackett spoke to Beyond Radio all about the team’s success.

“The main target was to the win the league," he said.

"We came close last year so the target was to compete on all fronts and to win the trophy and as a team we’re delighted that we have.”

The role of captain is one Lewis only took on at the start of this season, replacing Damion Keegan.

Lewis has played cricket at Trimpell, Morecambe and Carlisle in the past, and has been at Heysham for three full seasons now.

“I took over from ‘Damo’ at the start of the season," he said.

“I’ve loved being captain this season, the players have made it a lot easier because of our great performances. I’ve enjoyed the player recruitment side of it – getting a bigger pool of players, not just for the firsts, but for the seconds and thirds.

“The selection headaches were good to have and on a personal level I’ve loved it, I’m looking forward to continuing as captain moving forward.”

The team will take up the option of entering the Palace Shield league structure next season, the league in which the likes of Westgate’s first team and teams from Morecambe, Lancaster and Carnforth compete.

The club have had some very impressive players this season, many of whom have had their first seasons at Heysham.

Lewis has scored 603 runs this season – the most in the team.

“We had an overseas amateur come in, Riley Wilson, we worked for a long time on trying to get that over the line. He’s the top wicket taker in the league, he’s been fantastic on and off the pitch.

“Phil Bovis has been great too, he’s another really important addition to our team this year. Shaun Wyse has played a lot of cricket in the Lancashire leagues so his experience was very important.

“Sam Calverley is the second highest wicket taker this season, many people say he’s the best cricketer in the league.

“But everyone has been great, it’s a collective team effort which has won us the league, I don’t think there is one player who hasn’t contributed to us winning a game.

“We’ve got one more game this season against Shireshead and Forton this weekend, who are second, and we still want to play our best cricket. We want to end the season on a high, they’re a quality team to play against so we will be taking it seriously.”

The second team and the third team, the latter playing in their first ever season, have had solid seasons, finishing fourth in Division 2 and sixth in Division 4 South respectively.

One of the players for the second team is Charlotte Whittaker, the only female player in the three senior teams.

“Charlotte’s done really well, it’s great for the club to have her in our ranks.

“Our third team has been run by David Whittaker and in that team there’s been a lot of juniors coming through which is great to see. A lot of those players in the thirds played in the seconds towards the end of this season as well.

“We’re passionate about the development of our juniors so it’s really important to see that progression.

“To have three senior teams and a junior section as well is brilliant and it’s a credit to everyone involved – the seconds’ captain Harry Wallbank, David Whittaker and everyone else who’s been a part of it.

“Dave Dixon, our chairman and groundsman, has worked tirelessly on and off the field. His vision for the club was to get into the Palace Shield – his son Josh plays for Netherfield and he sees the Northern League mentality. Dave has been a massive influence on us in pushing the club forward, so we really appreciate his work for the club.