PAUL EDWARDS IS THE NEW MAN AT THE ECHO

Date: 2nd March 2016

Cricket writer will cover the Comp and the Cheshire County League.

Paul Edwards has been appointed cricket correspondent of the Liverpool Echo with immediate effect. The Southport-based journalist has agreed to take over the paper’s coverage of Liverpool Competition and Cheshire County League cricket and was given sole authority to administer the Liverpool Echo Invitation Knockout Trophy.

Edwards will be writing the weekly previews and reports which appear in the Echo on Saturdays and Mondays throughout the cricket season and will also be covering other Liverpool Competition issues as required by events. His work will also appear, sometimes in more detail, on the highly-regarded Echo website.

“I was very pleased to be offered this job and had no hesitation in accepting it,” said Edwards. “Although I do cover a lot of county cricket, and will continue to do so, I have written about the recreational game since 1992 and it remains very dear to my heart. Every Test player begins his career at a club and my colleagues in the press box are often envious that I still get to write about league cricket.

“As regards practicalities for the new season, I hope to be speaking to the clubs at the pre-season meeting on 5 April and possibly the captains when they meet at Wadham Road on March 31. In respect of the Echo Knockout I am now offering captains, umpires and other interested parties an opportunity to make their views known regarding any issues they wish to raise. I am aware that my predecessor, Jamie Bowman, to whose fine work I once again pay tribute, was lobbied to tweak the rules of the Echo and I now want to give clubs the chance to let me know what they think by email (paul.edwards44@btopenworld.com).

“Unless informed otherwise, I will assume that all the Competition clubs who entered last year wish to participate in 2016. I ask clubs from other leagues to let me know if they wish to be in the preliminary- and first-round draws.

“Finally I’d like to thank all my many friends in the Liverpool Competition. I have learned so much from watching players whose levels of skill were far greater than my own and from talking to experienced officials. My aim now is to do justice to the full richness of what remains an excellent league. Have a great season.”

John Williams

2 March 2016