Westmorland Cricket League 2023 season: club by club guide Part 2

The Westmorland Cricket League (WCL) starts its 2023 season for Division 1, 2 and 3 teams this Saturday.

The Division 4A and 4B teams commence play on Sunday May 7.

This is our second preview in the series which takes a glance at Galgate, Heysham, Holme, Milnthorpe and Morecambe’s cricket clubs.

Galgate have one senior team who are in Division 3. The cricket club can be found at the south end of the village near to Ellel Village Hall which is to the rear of The Plough Pub.

The team are captained by Matthew Cooper and finished last year’s campaign in eighth spot.

The 2023 season starts with an away trip to play Burneside 2nds, followed by two back-to-back home games on the next two Saturdays versus Trimpell 1sts then Silverdale 2nds.

In the divisional cup group games, Galgate are to play Ingleton away on Monday May 15, then face Bare 2nds two weeks later on May 29 at home.

In 2022 Galgate did not progress beyond the cup group games.

Heysham’s 1st XI will probably be the bookies’ favourite to win Division 1 this summer after putting up a great campaign finishing a close second behind 2022 WCL Division 1 Champions Westgate 1sts who have now gone on to the next level in the Palace Shield.

Captain Lewis Plackett will be hoping that his team can take that final step in his new role after replacing Damion Keegan.

The first game is at home against Bare 1sts.

The divisional group games see the 1sts travel away to Carnforth 2nds on Monday May 22, followed by a home cup game against Morecambe 2nds on Monday 5th June.

Last year the 1sts were knocked out of the divisional cup quarter final by neighbours Bare by nine runs which was one of the shocks of the 2022 WCL season.

The 2nds, who also had a successful 2022 campaign having been crowned champions of Division 3 with a comfortable 53-point difference over Morecambe 3rds, find themselves in Division 2 for this coming season.

The step up this season has them taking on Morecambe 3rds away at Woodhill Lane in the first game of their campaign, which has been moved to Sunday April 16 as Morecambe 2nds are at home the previous day.

In the divisional cup group games, Heysham play Milnthorpe 1sts at home on Monday 8th May, followed by an away trip to Shireshead & Forton 2nds on Monday June 5.

2nds captain Harry Wallbank will be looking forward to the step up in both the higher division and cup competitions.

The 3rds, captained by David Whittaker, are a new team to the WCL and will play in the (regional) Division 4A.

The games will be played on Sundays and the season gets underway on Sunday May 7 with a home match against Westgate 3rds.

A round 1 divisional cup derby against Morecambe 4ths is scheduled for Sunday June 26 at home.

Holme’s first team team are now in Division 1 after winning Division 2 last season, staying unbeaten with some very impressive results and stats along the way.

Captain Liam Teasdale will be looking for the same from his teammates as the Cumbrian village team compete with some well-established top tier outfits.

The 1sts start life in the top division with a home fixture against Sedgwick.

The divisional cup group games start on Monday May 22 with an away match with Burneside 1sts and their home cup game is with Kirkby Lonsdale 1sts on Monday 5th June.

Holme came close to winning the Divsion 2 British Rose Trophy last year but were beaten by Shireshead & Forton in the final by 10 wickets.

The 2nds will want to improve and hopefully take inspiration from the 1sts’ performances in 2022.

Their division 3 season last year finished with the team in eighth position which captain Ryan Teasdale will be wanting to improve on this year.

The team start the 2023 season with a 1pm start away at Silverdale 2nds.

In the Divisional cup the 2nds are drawn at home with Burneside 2nds on Monday May 1 then an away game at Windermere 1sts on Monday 29th May.

Last season the team were beaten in the quarter-finals by Arnside 2nds.

Milnthorpe, like many cricket teams in the WCL, are still trying to encourage more people to get involved in many ways: seniors (aged 13 and above), juniors and female players for a potential women and girls’ team can join the club, but they are also looking for people to help in the running of the club.

If anyone is thinking about playing a sport this summer or general volunteering in cricket then get in touch with the club via milnthorpecc@gmail.com or via Facebook.

Milnthorpe’s 1sts finished last season in 10th place in Division 1 and in 2023 will be playing in Division 2.

The 1sts’ first game of the season is an away trip to Coniston who finished in 5th place last season.

A big loss for Milnthorpe will be James Parkinson who has departed to play for Carnforth 1sts, but captain Andy Cormack will be hoping the 1sts’ past experience in Division 1 will help them prosper in Division 2.

In the divisional cup, the 1sts will be looking to better 2022’s quarter final exit against Sedgwick. Their group games are a trip to Heysham 2nds on Monday 8th May then a home group game on Monday May 22 against Shireshead & Forton 2nds.

The 2nds also finished in 10th place last year in Division 3 and have taken the option to play in the new (regional) Division 4A this season, captained again by Bob Baldwin.

The first game takes place on Sunday April 30 at Lunefield Park against Kirkby Lonsdale 2nds.

The divisional cup round 1 game is away against Ulverston 3rds on Monday June 26.

Morecambe are one of the bigger clubs in the local area. The first XI play in The Palace Shield Premier Division and just missed out on a return to the Northern Premier Cricket League last season finishing fourth, but did go on to win the 2022 Meyler Cup.

The 2nds are a new addition to the WCL replacing promoted Westgate 1sts.

Captained by James Lambert, they will start life in Division 1 and will probably be one of the teams to watch. Their first game in the Division is a home tie against Warton.

In the divisional cup their first group game away against Heysham 1sts will, on paper, probably be one of the best of the group stages and takes place on Monday 5th June. Their next group game will not be much easier playing Carnforth 2nds at home on Thursday June 22.

The 3rds will start the season one day later than the rest of the Division 2 on Sunday April 16 with a home game against Heysham 2nds. These two teams both arrive from Division 3 last year and promises to be an opening day derby classic.

The Divisional cup group games start for the 3rds on Thursday May 11 at home against Silverdale 1sts. The away game will be against Westgate 2nds on Tuesday June 6.

Morecambe 3rds, captained by Kevin Demain, won the Kendal Trophies Divisional 3 Cup in 2022, beating Leven Valley in the final and will be hoping for success in the British Rose Division 2 Cricket Trophy as they step up this year.

The 4ths, who will be captained by Ryan Grime, will play in Division 4A and their first game will be at home against Sedgwick 3rds on Sunday May 7.

They finished third in the old division 4 last summer and should do well in the new 4A (regional) division.

The divisional cup round 1 game for the 4ths is away at Heysham 3rds on Monday June 26. Morecambe 4ths won this cup competition last year beating Sedgwick 3rds in the final.

Our third and final Westmorland Cricket League 2023 preview will look at Shireshead & Forton, Silverdale, Trimpell, Warton and Westgate.

For more information on The Westmorland Cricket league check out the league’s website.

James Main, the WCL Communication Officer will be speaking about the forthcoming cricket season on Beyond Radio’s Saturday Sports Show on Saturday April 15. Tune in from 9am.

Related Story: Westmorland Cricket League 2023 season: your local club by club guide Part 1 - Beyond Radio