Date: 29th Mar 2024
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ENJOYMENT IS THE KEY TO IMPROVEMENT AT RAINFORD

Date: 14th August 2015

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

Farrar's approach paying dividends.

Rainford skipper Paul Farrar believes that enjoyment has been the passport to success for his young side as they attempt to win promotion to the Med Imaging Liverpool Competition’s Premier League.
 
Farrar’s team go into tomorrow’s home game against Prestatyn just four points ahead of third-placed Maghull, with outsiders Fleetwood Hesketh a further 22 points in arrears.
 
Since leaders Colwyn Bay currently hold a 56-point advantage on the rest of the First Division, the chasing trio are effectively competing for just one promotion place, although even to be in the hunt is remarkable, given Rainford’s start to the season.
 
“We had a poor start and things could really only go in one direction from there,” said Farrar. “But we have a very young team and it was a question of learning how to win with this group of players. I certainly think that we’ve started to do that since halfway through the season.”
 
The statistics bear out Farrar’s contention. Rainford lost five of their first seven games but have emerged victorious in six of their last eight. Their only draw was last Saturday’s high-scoring affair at Penrhyn Avenue where Farrar’s young side proved they could go toe-to-toe against Colwyn Bay, a team most people believe to be of Premier League standard already.
 
“We play an exciting brand of cricket and we’re hungry for success as a team,” said Farrar. “As a captain I try to make sure that everyone is involved and that everyone feels wanted. The last thing I want is for people to turn up on a Saturday and not to enjoy their cricket. You play your best cricket when you are enjoying it and are in a positive frame of mind.”
 
Two  players who have benefited from Farrar’s involvement have been opening bat Joe Noctor, who has scored 493 league runs, and spinner Andy Davies, who has taken 42 wickets. However, Farrar is also pleased that John Dotters opted to return to the club, especially given the intermittent availability of Pravin Tambe.
 
Farrar’s day job as a coach at Old Trafford’s Indoor Cricket School is a great help when it comes to bringing the very best out of his young players but he also admits that when it comes to developing cricketers, there is no substitute for playing hard league cricket.
 
“Last year was a disappointment because we ran out of gas towards the end of the season and I don’t think anyone knows whether they’re ready to be promoted until they actually get to the higher division,” he said.
 
Over the next month or so, Farrar and his players will discover whether they are to get that chance. For the moment, though, all Farrar wants is for his players to turn up, enjoy their cricket and learn as much as they can.
 
On Friday evening Rainford lost to Firwood Bootle by 46 runs in the semi-final of the Liverpool Echo Invitation Knockout. Replying to the visitors’ 139-8 declared, Rainford  mustered 93 all out and Bootle will now play Northern in the final on a Sunday in September when both sides are free of other cup commitments.   
 
There is the usual high-quality programme of Premier League and Second Division cricket tomorrow and on Sunday a lot of attention will be focused on Brook Lane, where Ormskirk meet cup holders Chester Boughton Hall in the regional final of the NatWest Club T20 with the winners going to the televised Finals Day at Cardiff on September 1st.
 
First published in the Liverpool Echo
 
 
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