Cleeve Cricket Club

Mike Haswell’s Thoughts on Last Year’s Achievements and This Season’s Goals:

What are your thoughts on the 2008 season?

“Last year’s promotion to the B&D Senior Division was a great achievement for Cleeve Cricket Club. I returned to the club to help reach the goal of promotion and it feels good to be part of a winning team. The promotion has done a great deal to raise the profile of the club and the standard of our game which will help the team in the coming season. Recognition of the promotion also gives the youngsters of the club role models and something to aspire to and teaches them the rewards of playing cricket at a higher level. It is important to show them that you need to raise the bar and test yourself because we need our young talent to continue the club’s successes in the future.”

What are your ambitions for the team in 2009?

“Next season is going to be hard but interesting and there is no doubt that it is going to be a challenge with tough competition. It is therefore necessary that our game is of a high standard from the beginning. I think that it will be unrealistic to push for a back-to-back promotion this year, but aiming for a mid-table finish will give us time to recruit new talent and strengthen the team. To be able to succeed at a higher level, we need this season to establish our team in the division and then push for promotion again in 2010.”

What are the team’s strengths and potentials?

“The team’s strength is the mix of young players with high potential and experienced players who the youngsters can learn from. However, it is important that everyone takes responsibility for the team’s performance and take the matches seriously every time. The team spirit is good, our facilities are great and I am confident that we have the capabilities to reach the Twenty20 cup this year.”

What are the team’s weaknesses?

“We need to strengthen our team to succeed in the B&D Division and we need everybody to want to perform well and take responsibility at every match. It will take the pressure off new players when the team is working well and the experienced players are taking responsibility. The higher up in the leagues you go the more professional you have to be to ensure you are taken seriously and respected as a dedicated team.”

Do you feel the team is well supported?

“The support from the club and the families of the players is good but I feel that we could do more to get the local community more involved. Cleeve Cricket Club should be part of the village community and I think we need to make an effort to get the villagers involved and get them down to watch the matches. We have an excellent club house and have the facilities to organise activities which will attract a bigger crowd to the matches.”

What players are you hoping to attract to the club?

“We need to attract new players to the club in order to achieve our goals of continuing promotion. I am looking for players with experience and quality who will take an active part in the club and who can assist our young players in reaching their potential. Currently, we are trying to attract international players from Denmark who have got the potential to add depth and strength to the team. We will be able to give them the opportunity to play in a well established league and give them an introduction to county cricket. If we succeed, it could create links to cricket clubs in other countries which we can benefit from in the years to come.”

Do you have any events planned for the team in 2009?

“I am hoping to organise an evening with the team before the season starts to boost the team spirit. It is really important that we have a good relationship, as we need to depend on each other at the matches. I would like to see the club atmosphere improved the next season by players staying after matches to socialise. This will help improve the team spirit and will make us more united.”

What does the support of Chris Taylor’s benefit year mean to the team?

“First of all, it definitely gives the club status to be playing Gloucestershire in a match like that. It will attract a lot of people to the club and the atmosphere should be really good. Secondly, it gives us a real opportunity to see the difference in level of professional and amateur cricket. The match against top level players will show us what we need to work on as a team. Although it is a fundraising match and should be fun, we still need to take it seriously to gain the respect from Gloucestershire. Our team is lucky to be able to play against high profile players and we owe it to the club, the spectators and our opponents to play up to our best.”