LYTHAM NEWS: O’BRIEN IS NEW SKIPPER AND LESTER SIGNS ON FOR 2016

Date: 21st December 2015

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

Ding Dong! Ringing the Changes at Church Road

The end of the year has been a herald of change at Lytham where Dominic O’Brien has taken over from Guy Roberts as first team captain and the club has completed the signing of Lancashire left-arm seamer Toby Lester.

Roberts had been in charge for three seasons at the Church Road club, whose first team finished eighth in last season’s ECB Premier League. However, Roberts’s wife recently gave birth to their second child and it has been emphasised that there has been no major fall out on the Fylde. Roberts, a widely-respected middle-order batsman, will continue to play for the club.

The signing of Lester, who made his first-class debut against Essex last season, should provide O’Brien with the spearhead Lytham have lacked since Marcus Sharp suffered his shoulder injury a few seasons ago. The 22-year-old Blackpool-born bowler is capable of swinging the ball both ways at some pace and should provide a stern test for Premier League batsmen next season.

But Alex Davies will no longer offer a challenge to Liverpool Competition bowlers. Lytham have announced that Lancashire’s wicketkeeper-batsman, whose appearances have in any case been severely restricted by his county commitments, has returned to his home club, Darwen.

Yet again, though, cordiality is the keynote on the Fylde. While offering the warmest of welcomes to O’Brien and Lester, Lytham have also expressed their thanks to both Roberts and Davies, and they have wished the latter cricketer every success in his future career away from Church Road.