Fleetwood Hesketh have given their hopes of returning to the Med Imaging Liverpool Competition’s top division a New Year fillip with the signing of the highly-regarded Tasmanian batsman Harry Nichols.
The 20-year-old played as an overseas amateur for Central Lancashire League Middleton in 2014, scoring over 800 runs in his first English summer. He is also a qualified coach and is the first Australian signed by the Marshside club since 1998.
“Harry’s being able to coach was a big thing for us because we’re always trying to build a better club for our juniors,” said the new Sea Cop skipper Derek Sykes. “Harry plays for South Hobart Sandy Bay CC and people who’ve played cricket with him report that he’s a good player who’ll get runs for us.
“The club he plays for is certainly very strong. The Australian one-day skipper George Bailey comes from there, as does Xavier Doherty and Alex Doolan. Harry will obviously be batting in the top order but I haven’t discussed a specific position with him yet. He’s been opening in their first grade but I may want to slip him in at three or four.”
However, there may yet be more good news for the fruit-juice-sipping regulars on the Sea Cop balcony before the season gets going. No player has said he is leaving the club and Sykes remains sanguine about the chance of signing a couple more players.
“There’s a couple of people I’ve spoken to and I’m just waiting for them to give me their decisions,” said Sykes. “The guys in the squad are really happy that we’ve managed to get an overseas player in good time and the mood seems fine.”
