Woodmancote Cricket Club are celebrating their 80th anniversary this season and they would like nothing more than to mark it by winning promotion back to the top flight of the County League.

They dropped out of Division One at the end of last season and skipper Barron De Rose is determined to see the good times return to the club.

Last season was his first as captain and he sees 2018 as a chance “to right a wrong”.

And he’ll be leading a new-look team because a number of players – Eliot Acton, Ben Sidney-Jones, Christian Fereday and Ross Constantine – won’t be playing this season.

There will still be some good players in the ranks, however, including new ball bowlers Paul Taylor and Suda John.

“Paul bowls left-arm pace and Suda is right arm,” said De Rose. “Suda has been with us for 15 years but wasn’t available much last season but he should be able to play much more this season.”

De Rose said that their bowling is likely to be stronger than their batting although he remains optimistic that there are plenty of runs in the side.

“I am hoping that this is the year that Jason Gore finally delivers on his undoubted talent with the bat,” said De Rose. “Malcolm Walls is also a steady-eddie so we’re expecting runs from him as well.”

De Rose is also pleased that Richard Staff is available to play this season and, of course, the skipper himself will be a key player and says he will bat wherever needed.

The 43-year-old, who has been with the club for 12 years, will also bowl first change.

“I’m a dibbly-dobbly swing bowler,” he said. “If you miss, I’ll hit. I pick up quite a few wickets, mainly on the back of Paul Taylor’s excellence. He’s a truly superb bowler.”

And it’s a pretty good wicket at Woodmancote too.

“There’s plenty in it for everyone,” said De Rose. “It’s a fair wicket, it’s definitely not a road. If you knuckle down you can get runs on it.”

This season there will be three senior Saturday teams turning out for the club with the 3rd XI made up of ‘dads and lads’ to try to bring the next generation through.

The club also have a vibrant junior set-up and have also set up a ladies’ team so this year could well be one to remember for the club.