Liam Winter continues his series of previews with midlands clubs.
Mullingar Cricket Club are looking to bounce back this season following a hugely frustrating 2020 campaign.
The Westmeath side managed just 12 competitive fixtures last season across their three senior teams, managing just one win and missing out on six games due to the Laois Offaly Kildare lockdown preventing their scheduled opponents from playing.
Their only win being an upset victory for their 1st team over Merrion who would normally compete two leagues higher than them.
Fortunes were considerably better for the clubs youth set up with the programme growing throughout the season.
“One bright spark was the continued growth of our youth structure. 30 plus kids attended sessions every Wednesday night across the summer created an excellent outlet for the younger members of the club” said Craig Sweeney the club’s pro player.
With a return to a more regular league system Mullingar will once again be entering three teams into Leinster competition.
Their 1st team will be taking part in Division 6 following their relegation in 2019, while their 2nd and 3rd teams will enter Divisions 12 and 16.
Club president Mark Condell believes that this could be another challenging campaign for the club with the focus more on survival and growth rather than chasing trophies.
“If our first team can survive and be competitive in the league they are in we’d be happy. Our second team have slipped down the leagues and are hoping to rebuild they would be a team we hope can go well this year”
With their 3rd team serving as a way to introduce younger and more inexperienced players to senior cricket.
It may be a tough season on the field this year but the efforts behind the scenes hint at a much brighter future for the club.
“A reinvigorated junior section, more qualified coaches and much more focused drive has put us into a position to provide a much more dedicated ladies programme, the beginning of which saw an excellent turnout in the first session following the return of cricket.” said Sweeney.
With now over 50 juniors and a push being made to introduce both a developmental and a women’s team this summer major efforts are being made to produce the next crop of Mullingar cricketers. Mullingar will start their 2021 campaign with a home fixture against Malahide at their St Finian’s College ground.
For those looking to get involved with Mullingar Cricket Club they can be contacted their club email mullingarcc@gmail.com or through their social media pages.
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