LIVERPOOL & PETER MCEVOY LOOK FORWARD TO 2011

Date: 8th September 2010

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

ONE MATCH DOWN, FIVE OR SIX TO GO

If Liverpool Cricket Club had wanted to advertise itself as a suitable venue to host the bulk of Lancashire's four-day games in 2011, it could hardly have put on a better show than it managed last week.

The weather suggested that club chairman Peter McEvoy has a hotline to the Almighty, the wickets for the two matches were very good and the games themselves ended in tense last over finishes. Oh, and Lancashire won both of them. They were, to paraphrase Lou Reed, just five nigh on perfect days.

But McEvoy knows that the major work has yet to come. While he treasures the warm tributes from the Hampshire and Worcestershire players, who said that Liverpool was the best outground they had played on, he knows that five or six games will make demands on his staff far greater then those presented by a one-off week in the sun.

For one thing, a county match at Aigburth will cease to be a special event. Lancashire at Liverpool will become the norm. For another, it might rain a bit at times and not all the games can end as grippingly as last week's. Can they?

"These are all things that we've talked about," said McEvoy. "Last week was wonderful for both Liverpool and Lancashire, but we've already got ideas about next year and areas where we need to improve the experience for everyone. For example, we're aware of the difficulty some people had in seeing a scoreboard and we're in discussions with Lancashire to resolve this problem.

"Our organisation will need to be more extensive next year and we're looking to attract more commercial partners and corporate sponsors."

On which note, if anybody wishes to offer ideas or discuss sponsorship at Liverpool next summer, McEvoy will be only too pleased to discuss their plans. The club's numbers are 07764879190 and 0151-427-2930.

"We also want to run a festival of junior cricket," said McEvoy, "and we've already been in contact with Liverpool Council about that. The idea has also been put forward that we should sell season tickets for next summer's games and, of course, work will begin on the wickets for those games as soon as this season is over."

Liverpool should have some interesting matches on offer too, most intriguingly, the Roses Match. "We expect to get the Yorkshire game and it will be a great honour to bring that game to Aigburth," said McEvoy. "Lancashire have said they will do all they can to bring the Roses Match to Liverpool."

And meanwhile, McEvoy will do all he can to make sure that Liverpool's club cricket isn't harmed either. "We've got a ground in mind that we could use for first and second team games and we're determined that out own members won't suffer," he said. "And before we finalise anything, we'll talk to the Liverpool Competition about our plans."

So there we are then. One wonderful week is a memory and the work needed to make sure Liverpool enjoy five or six such weeks in 2011 has already begun. Every true cricket lover in Merseyside and beyond will wish McEvoy and his staff all the best as they prepare to offer Lancashire a second home of which they can be proud.