Final Defeat but Town C.C. Have Much to Celebrate
Despite Syston Town C.C. going down in defeat to Sileby Town in the County Cup final at Grace Road, it was a splendid occasion. The county did the competition proud by providing a splendid wicket in the centre of the square and both sides were well supported on the day. Syston batted first after winning the toss and set a challenging 175-5 in their 40 overs. The cornerstone of the innings was a well-crafted 85 by Liam O’Farrell in his last innings for the club before heading home to Australia. When Sileby replied, Asif Mai made an initial breakthrough and a brilliant run out by Liam gave Syston cause for optimism but at half way Sileby were 88-2 and in the driving seat. Try as they might Syston failed to make further progress and Sileby got home to win with three overs to spare.
The result of Syston’s first visit to Grace Road may have been disappointing but Chairman Ivan Spibey and the whole club can look back at 2022 with great satisfaction. The club has regained ECB Clubmark accreditation and the 1st XI has been promoted to the Premier Division having won 18 and lost only 2 games all season. The 2nd XI, after a dreadful start to the season won 7 out of their last 8 matches to finish comfortably in mid table of Division 3 East. The Sunday XI won and lost an equal number of games and finished comfortably in mid table in Division 2 of the Grantham and Melton Cricket Association.
Significant progress has also been made in other areas of the club. The women’s team, the Sirens have gone from strength to strength and are enjoying both their matches and their practice sessions. The photo shows the team celebrating after their victory over Broomleys in August. The Burrough League team also had an excellent season. They finished top of their division and will feature in Division 1 next year.
However, probably the most significant achievement during the year has been the rebuilding of the junior section which was so hard hit by covid restrictions in 2020. After taking over as Junior Co-ordinator at the start of the season, Dave Tebbutt deserves great credit for what has been achieved. He and his team have worked tirelessly so that in 2023 the club will once again be fielding junior sides at all levels from kwik cricketers to under 17s. The sight of so many youngsters on training nights learning how to play, developing their skills and enjoying themselves at the same time, is of great credit to Dave and all the coaches.
Roger Pole