The Crickets AFC targeting another season of Newbury Sunday League progress
The Crickets AFC are targeting another year of progress in Newbury Sunday League.
Last summer they bucked a downward trend, becoming the first new team to join the league and taking its total membership to five.
12 months on, the league is up to twelve clubs, with Thatcham pub The Kings Head most recently confirming that they’d be entering a team.
NWX, Kingsclere, Diamond, Paggie’s Elite, Old Chequers, Thatcham Tornadoes, Aldbourne Royals, Plough on the Green, OLA Irons and Challow Sports will complete the rejuvenated Sunday League lineup.
Last year was a successful debut for The Crickets.
They struggled to keep up with more established sides in the league, as did most new joiners, but found success by winning the Vic French Cup against Frilsham.
Manager Ady Smith was happy with the club’s debut campaign.
“The league was dying,” he reflected.
“Our first season was just about getting the club up and running, so to win a trophy was a bonus.
“If you look at the results, at the start of the season we were getting hammered.
“The players didn’t know each other, but when they started to, you could see the results getting better.”
Smith is targeting improvement in season two, looking to develop alongside the league as a whole.
“This time we’ve been a bit more ruthless,” he explained.
“We’ve let a few players go. We want to be more competitive this year.
“It’s really good for the community that there’s four Thatcham teams in there now.
“Paggie’s, Chequers, Kings Head and us. We can have some competition with them.
“The league is getting better and there are some good players, experience and youth.
“We have that too, our youngest is 19 and our oldest is 44!”
Smith heads up the Crickets management, supported by coaches Grant Rodger and Pete Atkins, as well as club secretary Steve MacGowan and landlord of the Thatcham pub itself, Dean Cheal.
“No one can do it on their own, so we have two great coaches,” he said.
“Steve does the admin along with Dean, so there’s five of us behind the scenes.
“It’s quite a lot of hard work, so you need a good balance to juggle it all.
“But the players have the confidence to talk to each other.
“We film all of our games and watch them back in the pub.
“We lay food on for the opposition too and it helps with team spirit.”
The Crickets want to improve this season, but with so much change across the league, knowing how they compare to the other sides can be hard to judge.
Smith is confident that the side can at least compete more consistently.
“We want to cut out the seven and eight nils against the best teams,” he explained.
“We’ve got a bigger squad now, two players for every position, so we have options.
“I’m not saying we’ll beat the big sides, but it’ll be closer.
“We’re targeting top half, and maybe another cup run.
“It’s nice to win silverware, so we want to emulate that.”
The Crickets are powered by a set of generous sponsors.
A number of local businesses are on board to support the side, helping to fund kits and equipment.
Dee’s 2hr Dry Cleaning, Turners Plumbing and Heating, Inks Personalized, Surecam and Old Mews Hair & Beauty Lounge have all provided assistance, along with the pub itself
“Inks have been brilliant with our kits,” said Smith.
“And Dee’s are a massive help, getting the kits dry cleaned quickly.
“We don’t ask for massive contributions and we raise a lot of money ourselves.
“But it all really helps, it all knits together.”
