Youthful Spa hope to display plenty of bouncebackability

Last season’s relegation has cost the Arlington Avenue side a number of their first-team squad, but with 12 youngsters having been selected for county youth squads and several having already stepped up into senior cricket, hopes are high of an instant return to the top flight.

Mark Best is a member of Warwickshire’s under-19 squad, while Paul Lawrence, Jake Salmon and AJ Gothoskar are with the county as under-17 level.

Darrel Williams, meanwhile, is at Worcestershire, with Jack Bewick, Matthew Davison, Jujhar Johal, Chris Calcutt, Diggory Lynch, Robert Lord and Louis Glover all having been picked up by county sides at younger age groups.

Leamington’s ranks will also be boosted by the arrival of Shabaz Alam, an all-rounder formerly with Nottingham outfit West Indian Cavaliers.

Pacemen Tom Warner is returning from South Wales, while Grant Thornton makes the short hop from Coventry side Highway.

The club are continuing to invest heavily in their youth set-up, with head of youth cricket Mark Davison implementing a number of changes to ensure the conveyor belt is even more productive.

Part of those plans include a youth floodlit tournament to be held at the ground later in the summer.

Net sessions specifically for junior players are held at North Leamington School each Sunday morning, with sessions for players deemed talented enough for the elite development squad beginning on Friday April 19.

Full details are available at www.leamingtoncricket.co.uk.

It promises to be a busy summer at Arlington Avenue with Leamington again playing host to the Warwickshire Bears Visually Impaired squad and having been selected to host four major finals on behalf of the ECB, showcasing the best of ladies’ and girls’ cricket nationally.

In addition, the club hopes to once again stage the National Disabled finals.

Coventry-based Talecom Ltd have signed up as the club’s main sponsor for a fourth successive year, but chairman Damian Dixon is looking for further support from local business and individuals to help expand Leamington’s reach within the community.

“We are in advanced discussions with a number of prominent local businesses regarding sponsorship, but would welcome many more to join us,” said Dixon.

“The committee and trustees of the club have a great responsibility in ensuring the long-term future of cricket in the town.

“We could do so much more to develop community and elite cricket if we had the finance, space and facilities at Arlington Avenue.”

For more information or to provide sponsorship, contact Dixon on 07758 320664 or at [email protected] or head of youth cricket Mark Davison on 07920 213097 ([email protected]).