Highfield: Premier In More Ways Than One

Date: 16th July 2010

Courtesy of Liverpool Daily Post & Paul Edwards

Highfield's cricketers have spent much of the past couple of months tweaking the noses of the Premier League giants in the Bridging Finance NW Liverpool Competition.

Six wins from their eleven games have lifted the Billinge Road club into second place in the table and given Michael Farrell's team a chance of winning the title within ten years of being admitted to the league.

Their first Premier League victory, at Lytham on May 29th, followed three defeats and was the product of an attacking declaration by the home side; their most recent, a seven-wicket towsing of Firwood Bootle, was well-deserved.

However, what is most noticeable about Highfield is that it doesn't just possess a Premier League side, it looks like a Premier League club.

Improvements on the field have been matched by ambitious ground development plans and a junior coaching set up which boasts two teams at every age group up to Under 13.

"The club's very strong," said chairman Gary Speakman. "We've been working very hard to a clear framework for some years and bringing on young talent is a key part of that."

"We're very proud of the fact that our best ever junior, Chris Liptrot, became a professional cricketer and now plays for the club where he first learned his cricket. Likewise, our best ever amateur, Michael Farrell is now first team captain."

Indeed, if Farrell scores 27 runs in tomorrow's very tasty-looking home game against New Brighton, he may become the first Premier League batsman to reach 500 runs this season.

It is, however, virtually certain that the Highfield skipper will be more concerned in avenging his side's opening day defeat and bolstering a championship challenge dented by last week's loss ot Ormskirk.

"I think we're still outsiders but it might be our best ever chance of winning it," said Speakman. "Obviously it's important that our key individuals like Chris and Michael continue to produce the goods, but I've also been pleased for people like Andy Hargeaves, who has made some solid contributions from the mddle order, and 17-year-old slow left-arm bowler Scott Cornish. who is learning what top level cricket is all about.

"It's important to see that our first team is not a place for mercenaries, it's a group of friends from a roughly similar age range, " he added. "Yes, we signed the South African Hillroy Paulse this summer but he is an addition to our junior coaching staff and it was a pre-requisite of his coming that he played a full part in that area."

And if other Liverpool Competition clubs are intrigued as to how Highfield have afforded their heavy investment in their pavilion and and facilities, they may care to reflect that this is a club whose Bonfire Night celebrations attract a crowd of 3,000. They also run a pantomime and a Valentine's Night Ball.

More immediately, on Monday evening the ground will host a charity Twenty20 cricket match between two Wigan Warriors sides, one representing England, the other, the Rest of the World. The game begins at six o'clock, the gates open at five and a crowd in the region of 1,500 is expected.

"We are a true community club,"said Speakman. "The knock on benefits of our coaching programmes in terms of things like extended memberships are considerable. We've been pleasantly surprised by the success of the first team but it's a fair reward for a lot of hard work."