MATTIE JACKSON LEAVES LIVERPOOL FOR S&B

Date: 19th March 2013

A Paul Edwards copyright exclusive for L&DCC Official Website.

travelling to Trafalgar

After spending his entire cricket career to date at Liverpool, former skipper Mattie Jackson has announced that he will be leaving the Aigburth club and playing for Southport and Birkdale in the ECB Premier League this summer.

The opening batsman will be S&B's second major signing this close season after Australian batsman-wicketkeeper Jay Lenton agreed to join Chris Firth's side in the autumn.

"This is a lovely place to play cricket and I'm looking for a fresh start," said Jackson. "I've never played in the Premier League before but it's a big step up and I want to see how I'll adapt to it. I've played against the top teams in cup games over the years and I've really enjoyed the challenge. I'm looking forward to testing myself against them again.

"I've been at Liverpool since I was four and I only live round the corner but a lot of people have moved on and I think it's the right time for a move."

For his part, S&B skipper Firth was pleased to have recruited a player he had admired for some time.

"In terms of paperwork it's the end of a long pursuit," admitted Firth, "but we've known for some time that Matty might join us. I've just watched him bat in the nets for the first time in a couple of years and his batting has a lot of fluency about it.

"He'll fit in with the rest of the batting order and the rest of the team. We're looking to build a side that will go forward for the next four or five years. The core of the squad is quite young and we'll have a lot of options for the first six games of the season. That's a fantastic position to be in."