Former St Annes captain Nathan Armstrong looks forward to new role when cricket returns

Nathan Armstrong's 2019 campaign was blighted by injury

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Batsman Armstrong has stood down as first XI skipper at Vernon Road, passing the baton to Tom Higson.

While the 2019 campaign was one of injury-hit frustration for Armstrong, it was a season of two halves for his team. Having failed to win a single Northern Premier League fixture in the first half of their season, St Annes then surged up the table and won the 40-over cup .

It provided plenty of momentum for the new captain to take into 2020 and Armstrong (below) explained: “It’s just because of the injuries that I stepped down. I felt I was putting myself at undue risk and I wanted to concentrate on my batting. If selected, I hope I’ll be in a better position to contribute fully to the team.

“I enjoyed my two and a half seasons as captain and gained more confidence doing it.”

As with the rest of recreational cricket, the NPCL season has been delayed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, with clubs able to access an ECB funding package of more than £20m to help that sector of the game manage financial pressures.

St Annes had been looking forward to seeing new professional Ryan Ayres in action.

The all-rounder is a multiple championship and cup winner with Farnworth Social Circle in the Bolton League, in which he is a three-time amateur player of the year.

As Ayres is not an imported pro from overseas, he should be ready to play as soon as cricket gets the green light.

Armstrong feels almost like a new player himself after putting his injury problems behind him.

He added: “Hopefully I’ll be in better shape than ever to help the team. We’d done a lot of nets before lockdown, we’ve all kept in touch and if we do get any cricket played we will be ready. It’s all up in the air, though, and safety does have to come first.”