OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

October 10^th - The annual sportsman’s dinner took on Monday October 10th. This is normally sold out within weeks of the previous event, but this year there were a few up for grabs. The speaker was Alan Kennedy (pic) who won major honours with the Liverpool invincibles of the 1980s. The defining moment of Kennedy's time in the Liverpool team came in the European Cup final, staged in Paris, against Real Madrid. The game was a tight affair with few chances, but in the last ten minutes Kennedy made a surging run down the left flank and fired a vicious shot into the Real net at the near post. Liverpool's third European Cup was sealed.

He was supported by compere Alan Platt and comedian Johnny Kennedy

NOVEMBER 11th - The CLL Annual Dinner took place on Friday November 11th and there was a surprise in store for Adam Holt who added to the club’s most promising young player award by winning the same award for the whole of the Central Lancashire League adding his name to a long list of prestigious previous winners. Congratulations are due from everyone at the club. Ian Morris will now have to change his address for the upcoming AGM from the one given at presentation night in which he said the club hadn’t won anything in 2011 !!

The NMCL dinner took place in the Elizabethan Suite at Bury Town Hall on the same night. The chief guest was Gary Yates who is currently assistant coach at Lancashire. Again the statement that we didn’t win anything has to be changed as Mark Unwin and Phil Royle both won raffle prizes. True to character, Unners went for the alcohol and Phil for the choccies !!

14^TH - Congratulations to Bill Dorsey and Jim Ainscough who put aside their sky blue and ’red rivalry for a day and came 1^st at the Annual CLL Golf Day last week.

16^TH - The club is delighted to announce the acquisition of Sri Lankan quick bowler Aganpodi Madura Lakmal Perera as our professional for season 2012. It will be the 26 year old’s first visit to Britain and he comes with a recommendation from Lancashire’s Farveez Maharoof. As a seventeen year old he won a sponsored competition in Sri Lanka to find the nation’s up and coming quick bowlers when he clocked 85mph.The season in Sri Lanka starts soon so you can keep tabs on his performances via cricketarchive or espncricinfo.

LES GARNER

Former committee member and stalwart of the club, Les Garner died in November at the age of 68 in his adopted home of South Africa. Les emigrated during the 1980s after working tirelessley for the club off the field despite never playing the game himself. Les and his wife Diane, emigrated having helped to set up the platform from which the club took off in the nineties and went on to even greater things after the millenium. Anyone who was around at that time will remember him as a hard working dedicated committee member and true friend.

IAN BRADLEY

The club was sad to have learned of the untimely’ death of former player Ian Bradley who has passed away after a long battle with cancer at the age of 48. Ian played in successful 1^st XI sides in the 1980s and was renowned as a bowler of some pace. At Clifton, he found the slope difficult to manage and had to bowl uphill in order to avoid bowling no-balls. Our condolences go to his family.