Alnmouth and Lesbury CC captain reflects on 'unbelievable' promotion success

Alnmouth and Lesbury CC are set for an exciting new chapter after sealing their promotion from the Northumberland and Tyneside Cricket League Division One this summer.

A final day victory over Stocksfield CC ensured a third-placed finish, and a spot in the newly formed third tier of next season’s North East Premier League.

But speaking to The Gazette, captain Ed Brunton admitted that his side have had to dig deep in recent weeks to realise their promotion dreams. He said: “At the halfway point, we had absolutely no hope.

“We started so poorly, and it ended up being a proper season of two halves. So being able to go on the run we did during the second half and actually end up in those promotion spots was pretty unbelievable in the end.”

He continued: “I think we always knew we'd be able to kick on because if you look at the team we had, it was a real case of players who we know are good enough, but just not performing well. All we needed was for that to turn around a bit and to find a bit of momentum, and then once we found that, once everything clicked, it became like we were most of last season, where we found a method to win that kept working for us.”

And now that Alnmouth and Lesbury are readying themselves for life at a higher level, Brunton believes that their newfound league status could lead to big things for his club.

When asked for his emotions in the aftermath of the team’s promotion, the skipper said: “It's just excitement, I think. We've been in the league we've been in for a long time, and playing the same sort of teams, whereas with this new division forming, there'll be a host of new grounds we've never played at before. It's a really good new challenge for the lads that have played for a long time.

“I think for me I've played at Alnmouth my whole life, and I've seen the club climb quite a few divisions, but we now will be the only Premier League team north of Morpeth, and I think that's a really good way to stand out for attracting players. The Premier League also requires you to have a Sunday academy team, so hopefully for juniors all across North Northumberland, we become the appealing club to go to, which is really exciting.”