Wysso's Review

As the new season fast approaches, a look at our teams this year.
Well the new season is now upon us and Dacre Banks head into the campaign in a positive way, hoping to make progress both on and off the pitch. The club has perhaps been through some troubled times in the last few years with certain periods of instability which have even perhaps threatened the club’s existence on occassion. But there is certainly a feeling of freshness in the air approaching the 2010 season and quite a few changes have taken place. Of course, these are still not easy times and there is plenty of work to be done before we end up with a ‘ideal’ DBCC, but progress is being made.

The club has a couple of active internet sites, this being the official website which is linked to the Nidderdale league and other clubs. Me along with Tim will look to maintain this place, mostly just a reference point for certain things such as statistics, and to keep people outside of the club up to date with the latest goings on.

The club also has a blog site which was previously run by Chris Cowell, and now by Andy Merill, Johnny Knocker and a couple of others. This blog is a good way to see some latest information along with some more light hearted articles and stories! With Andy being 1st team vice captain and playing in the majority of matches this season, then I’m sure he’ll be keeping us up to date with some nice match reports each week too! I will do match reports for the 2nd XI.

Here is a link to the blog below, please note that the blog is completely separate and not linked from the main Nidderdale League site. It’s a personal site and DBCC is not responsible for the content on there.

http://www.dacrebankscc.blogsp..


Well I thought it’d be a good idea for onlookers to see what sort of a daunting force they’ll come up against when facing the mighty banks this season!

1st XI

Well my knowledge is slightly more limited here as I’m more involved with the 2nd team but keep an eye on the blog where there are more details on the players. Last season, the 1st XI finished 9th in the division one table, which was a tremendous achievement after a nightmare 1st half of the campaign. Some decent signings helped bolster the squad to become a strong midtable force and it was a good end to the season. Steve Cobley is the new captain of the team and he brings with him plenty of enthusiasm and some new ideas. Dacre look to have plenty of decent bowling options this season with the likes of the Cobley, Lee Siddique, Waqas Rasheed, Steve Ellison, Abdul and Steve Lawrence. This is in addition to the overseas player and Mark Peachey when available! To me, it looks like the sort of attack which will be capable of taking plenty of wickets this season.

Pretty much everyone can bat too and there are no mugs, the batting line up has plenty of depth. However, a few people will need to stand up and score regular consistent runs this season if the team is to maximise its potential. Dacre’s overseas player this year is Kieren Williams from New Zealand. We have been blessed with some excellent overseas players in recent times and it looks like Kieren will be another formidable force both with bat and ball, and also with the gloves if required. So far, new signings have been relatively minimal, although Dave Leather has joined up and of course Waqas Rasheed is a new addition. Having spoken to Steve Cobley on Sunday he said he was looking to perhaps bring in a ‘couple more’ to bolster the squad, and this would be ideal for more strength in depth. When asked about his expectations and predictions for Dacre this year, the skipper said he had ‘no idea’ and that he just hopes the team ‘plays well’ and ‘has fun’ This is probably the best way to approach the season because high expectations and predictions can sometimes end in disappointment.

However, as always, the legendary Steve Lawrence was never shy of an opinion and predicted that ‘there would be surprises’ in division one this season. He thinks the title race could potentially become a ‘wide open thing’ and that Dacre ‘could get in the hunt with a bit of luck’. He wouldn’t be drawn on his tip for the title.
Certainly lets hope that Dacre aren’t involved in the relegation battle this season and will progress to at least a comfortable midtable position. It looks as though the team is more settled than in recent years and a repeat of the sort of form towards the back end of last campaign would produce a very successful season!


2nd XI

For the first time in 8 years, the 2nd team has a new captain bringing to an end the reign of Tim Carrington. Those 8 years produced a mixture of highs and lows and he was certainly in charge in some periods of crisis, doing well to keep the 2nd XI afloat. The high point in the league was in 2005 with promotion from division six to five, whilst the Wath Cup was won in 2004 and will also go down as a great memory. Tim has now stepped down as captain, and must be thanked for his long tenure as skipper, his work is appreciated by all at the club. Taking over is Shaun Marshall with Bill Quarrie as vice, an interesting mix of younger and older generation.

With it being a 2nd team, a lot does depend on who is available for the firsts each week so it can be difficult to get out a settled side each week. A couple of new signings were brought in from Arthington, Chris Pennington and Mark Wigglesworth, however due to player shortages both have initially been called up to the 1st XI, although it is strongly anticipated both will play the majority of the campaign with the 2nds which would be a major boost. Mark Reed comes in from Burton Leonard to boost the squad, although the trio of Goldsbrough’s have left to go to Pateley Bridge.

In general, the batting probably looks more stronger than the bowling. At the top of the order, Steve Wyss and Tim Carrington will look to kick on from an encouraging 2009 season, although Carrington might not be able to play as much this year due to work commitments. The skipper Shaun Marshall who won the batting averages last season will also be looking to bag plenty of runs again, whilst stalwart Bill Quarrie is very reliable in the middle order and should be good to hit a few 50s this year. Wicketkeeper Chris Eckford is extremely sharp and can make a big difference behind the stumps. With the bat, perhaps he is due a strong season too and hopefully some consistency of being in the 2nd XI most weeks will prove to be a good thing. With the expected Wigglesworth and hopefully Pennington playing as the season progresses then the batting looks strong. The middle order and tail is also quite useful with guys in that area improving each year, I certainly think there aren’t any genuine ‘mugs’ in the team anymore, whereas in the past there was always at least a couple who just made up the numbers.

However, if the batting could potentially be one of the strongest line ups in division 7, the bowling is perhaps a bit more dodgy and will depend exactly who is available due to 1st XI selection. Dacre do have two reliable spinners in Johnny Knocker and last season’s leading wicket taker Glyn Burgess, but maybe lack the spearhead of a pace attack. The skipper is a likely opening bowler each week and young Callum McIntosh will hope to get in the wickets more this year, but they look like the only genuine pacey threats. There are a number of players who can turn their arm over and do a decent job, but in terms of wicket taking maybe Banks are a little light. All could depend how much Pennington plays, if he does then he’ll be a fantastic weapon to have.

Of the other opposition in division 7, here are my brief thoughts about them.

Sessay - were unlucky not to go up last season and along with the promoted teams had the best bowling attack in the division. They work extremely well as a team, won the Peter Bentley Cup and have a great bunch of talented juniors. Definitely favourites to get promoted based on last year’s form.

Scotton - would’ve gone up had it not been due to a league technicality for fielding an ineligible player. They had the best batting line up in the division with genuine strength all the way down to number 7 or 8 capable of scoring a 50. The bowling isn’t as strong but they still have a couple of reliable players such as Andy Marshall and Andy Northing.

Blubberhouses - Always a hard team to predict, bit their 1st XI is looking strong this year which is sure to have a positive effect on their 2nd team. However, a lack of consistent team selection might cost them promotion, their line up usually changes on a regular basis. Should be in the mixer though and new captain Nick Haigh is a fighter and will be strong.

Ripon - overachieved last season and rely upon certain strong individuals. Should be a decent side, but overall unlikely to have enough quality in depth to get promoted.

Wath & Melmerby - newly promoted team who little is known about. They had excellent stats in division 8 and could be dark horses for sure.

Birstwith - a club with a massive playing squad who do have some ability. They do have some good individuals, especially in the batting department such as Lyons and Richards. The bowling was weak last season with the exception of Will Neale. Should be midtable, but probably no better.

Staveley - came down from division 6, and from what I’ve heard they are nothing special. Usually its very difficult for relegated teams to adapt and it could take them a season or two to find their feet. One to watch, but probably wont challenge in the upper reaches.

Raskelf - have now suffered 3 consecutive relegations so its kind of hard to expect them to do much this season. Looks like they could be midtable force and maybe find their level in division 7? Should they launch a promotion bid it’d be a good comeback and a surprise following 3 turbulent years.

Burnt Yates - sad to say but I think our nearest neighbours will struggle this season. Their first XI has lost a massive amount of players which is sure to have a knock on effect. They might well be fighting a relegation battle.

Ouseburn - were very lucky not to go down last season and were a poor side. Unless an improvement is shown then I make them one of the favourites for the drop.

Helperby - have done well to be promoted but I expect them to struggle. Their 2nd team are only one division higher and from what I saw of them in the Peter Bentley Cup last season they are sure to be in the relegation dogfight.

That’s how I see the opposition faring this season, who knows how right or wrong that’ll prove to be or where Dacre fit into the equation. I personally would hope we can be in the mixer at the top, although to be fair there are a couple of teams, especially Sessay who look strong. It would be good to have Dacre 2nds move upwards again and a long term aim is to get the side up to about division 5. New skipper Shaun Marshall said he was ‘very much looking forward to the job and he expects to the team to improve this year, maybe even getting promoted’

Lets hope for a good year for both teams, also best of luck to all of our respective opponents in both division one and seven.