MULLANEY'S DASH GIVES LEIGH A LIFT

Date: 14th June 2014

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

Notts star back amongst his mates

It is a bright but sunless Saturday morning at Trent Bridge, the best Test venue in England outside Lord’s. Indeed, for those who prefer large parish churches to mighty cathedrals, the Nottingham ground may take the palm.

But enough of heresy. Steven Mullaney is waiting to have a chat. Unless someone breaks down in the warm-ups - and the home seamers are a fragile bunch at the moment – the Leigh and Nottinghamshire all-rounder will not be required for today’s Division One game against Middlesex, and he will soon be braving the many roadworks round the city on his way to play against Wallasey in the Med Imaging Liverpool Competition this afternoon.

Even though Mullaney is a professional cricketer, the attractions of returning to Beech Walk are many, and predominantly innocent. “I just enjoy playing cricket with my friends,” he said. “My best mate in the game is Karl Brown and I think we’re both playing today for Leigh. It’s great to catch up with him but I’m good mates with all the lads down there.

“I just love going home and it’s convenient for my family to come down and watch. Leigh’s a massive part of my life, so just to repay them in any way I can is magnificent. Hopefully I can help contribute to them winning league games and maybe getting to the finals of competitions.

“There’s not that much pressure on me. If I don’t get any runs or wickets, they’re not too fussed, so I just go back for the enjoyment.”

Mullaney’s association with Leigh’s first team dates back to his debut in 2001, when he featured in the same side as his dad, Andy, a fact of which he is clearly quietly proud. He is well placed to comment on the Liverpool Competition then and now.

“Money’s been withdrawn from a number of clubs, so the quality’s probably not quite as good as it was, but it’s still a very good standard of league cricket,” he said.

“There used to be a lot of first-class cricketers in the Liverpool Competition, and international cricketers for that matter, but it’s still very good. I think if Karl and I can make that standard better by going back playing then that’s a good thing to do.”

Mullaney has seen at least two other standards of club cricket to which the Comp can be compared. Since moving to Nottinghamshire, he has watched Premier League cricket in that county and reckons that the standard of the top three or four clubs in each league is very similar.

But he’s also spent six winters in Melbourne, playing for Dandenong and, more recently, for Casey-South Melbourne, a club which had to relocate sixty kilometres from its inner city home in Albert Park to the suburb of Cranbourne, thus forsaking a famous ground where Warwick Armstrong, Bill Woodfull and Keith Miller learned much of their cricket.

“The Victorian Premier is as competitive as first-class cricket even if the standard’s around county second team,” said Mullaney. “You play on some good wickets, you play against some fast bowlers who put it round your ears. There’s pressure with being the overseas player and you get sledged quite a lot.

“A lot of the batsmen and bowlers would play first-class cricket if they were English. It’s a great standard of cricket and I would advise any youngster to go out there and experience it.”

Note: Mullaney’s colleagues had no reason at all to get fussed with him on Saturday. He made 171 not out off 151 balls, a knock which included 18 fours and seven sixes, and he added 195 with Karl Brown (51 not out) as Leigh piled up 255-1 declared against Wallasey. Mattie McKiernan’s men then bowled out Wallasey for 148, Mullaney taking 3-66.

Back at Trent Bridge Nottinghamshire skipper Chris Read inserted Middlesex, who made 417-5, Chris Rogers 180, Eoin Morgan 172 not out. Oops.

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