St Annes look to fill big shoes as Bolus steps up

The Vernon Road club finished ninth in the Northern Premier League last season and will be anxious to climb higher, especially with three teams to be relegated this year ahead of a switch to two divisions of 10 for 2025.

The delayed start to the season means a demanding derby opener at Blackpool on Saturday, when the St Annes teamsheet will be missing some eye-catching names.

Lancashire prospect Harry Birkman will be turning out for the opposition at Stanley Park, while Tom Higson has joined Garstang and Alec McGloughlin is trying his luck in the Greater Manchester League.

St Annes have retained the services of Sri Lankan professional Yohan De Silva for a third year, hoping to build on his 1,300 runs in 2023, and have recruited all-rounder Joe Davies from Great Eccleston.

Bolus told the Gazette: “Tom has opened the batting for six years and Harry has been involved in the Lancashire set-up, playing for the seconds.

“We are losing key players but Joe is a handy all-rounder who can replace Tom with his left-arm spin.

“We had a tough season with the number of games taking its toll – getting to the quarter-finals of the National Knockout and the semi-finals of the league cup.

“There were a lot of close games we could have won and we could swing those this year with a young team now a year older.

“I’m not expecting us to finish in the top four but we can definitely improve on last season.”

Captaincy is nothing new to Bolus, who deputised when predecessor Nathan Armstrong missed the first half of the 2022 campaign with injury.

He gave a captain’s knock with an unbeaten 64 in last weekend’s 33-run warm-up win at home to Didsbury.

Bolus added: “Nathan has stepped down with increased family commitments but I’m familiar with the role and I used to captain South Shore.

“We started outdoor nets at the end of March but haven’t been able to prepare on grass wickets at all because of the weather, so it was good to get a friendly in, with a near full-strength team, and the pitch is looking pretty good.”