Fleetwood CC skipper doesn't fear their start to the season

Founder members Fleetwood had graced the competition for seven decades before being relegated for the first time at the end of the 2021 season.

Having bounced back at the first attempt, winning the Moore and Smalley Palace Shield by 25 points, Fleetwood can rarely have faced a tougher start to a campaign than the one confronting them.

Their first two opponents are the champions of the past two NPCL seasons.

A day one derby against Blackpool at Stanley Park is then followed by an opening home game against last year’s winners, Garstang.

That doesn’t faze a determined Sharrocks, who told The Gazette: “We are ready to go, happy to be back and looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s a tough start but we have to play these teams some time and we will go into the games feeling positive.

“We have had a good pre-season and went on tour to Derbyshire, when we got some good training in and played a local side.”

It's in keeping with the youthful nature of this Broadwater team that they have engaged a young professional in South African Tiaan van Vuuren.

A product of the Eastern Provinces set-up, Van Vuuren is a 21-year-old left-arm seamer, who bats right-handed.

Sharrocks added “Tiaan is a young pro over here for the first time. He is an all-rounder, who can bat at the top of the order and comes highly recommended.

“He’s also a nice guy and we are sure he’ll fit in.

“He is already here, has settled in and is ready to play. He’s really looking forward to getting going.”

Otherwise, there are few new faces in a squad which has been growing together.

The skipper said: “The squad is very similar to last year and it’s definitely a young side – but it’s a strong squad too, with quite a few good young amateurs.

“We haven’t set any targets for the season, other than to do the best we can.”