Mike Hannaby talks to Blake B
Player Information
At last I bring you a reflection on an interview with Mike Hannaby- the new 3rd XI captain at Challow, taken prior to the season. The 3s got off to a flying start this season despite the rain abandoned games with 1 win and 3 no results. The win came in emphatic and explosive fashion, chasing 101 in just 11.2 overs against Steventon 2s. Despite not giving himself the opportunity to bowl or bat in last week's victory, Hannaby was very impressed with his all-round team performance and led the team strongly by uses of positivity and motivation. Mike admitted in his interview selflessly that this season isn't about him and he hopes he can bond a togetherness within the squad and give the opportunities to youth players coming through which would bring enjoyment to his game. In the Steventon victory this was demonstrated by there being over 3 players over the age of 20. Mike said he understands from many years around the club as both a cricketing parent and a club umpire that availibility becomes a tough area to manage as 3rd XI captain and requires a lot of dedication to recruit players in, even if it is just to scrape 11 together to get a game on. This makes his role even harder, knowing that his 11 may differ a lot throughout the season unlike the advantage e that Joe Harris has as 1st team captain, for example. Mike recognises due to the merge that his team are very much into the unknown this season with many teams coming across from the OCA into tier 7C with the 3s similarly to the 2nd XI in tier 5C also. Struggling to give a straightforward objective in the current league season due to the unknown competition, Mike hopes he can lead his team to success by being able to motivate players to enjoy playing 3rd XI cricket, something that has been an issue at times over the years. If one game is anything to go by, it can be expected that Challow 3s will have a great balance of roar youth talent and experience, along with a majority of late teens who have also got 4-5 seasons of 2nd and 3rd XI cricket under their belt; making them an exciting team to keep an eye on this season. Everyone at Challow will be supporting Mike in his change of role and hope he will bring the team success in the upcoming season.