Cricket: Captain confirms return of Aussie

Nov 30 2007 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post

ADAM WARREN will return to Firwood Bootle next season.

The Australian all-rounder had decided that the summer of 2007 would be his last in England but has opted to help the Wadham Road side secure yet more silverware.

Bootle skipper Ian Cockbain admits he is “ecstatic” about the 32-year-old’s change of heart but it took a long time to convince one of the best “go-to” bowlers in league cricket to commit for another year.

“Next season will be my last in charge at Wadham Road and that was one of my bargaining tools,” he said. “Ultimately I managed to persuade him that it would be good to help us try and win a few trophies in my final year.”

Cockbain’s delight is understandable. Warren is an outstanding strike bowler and a more than useful lower middle-order batsman and his attitude is imbued with a bristling aggression, which only evaporates when he chats to the opposition after the match.

Then Warren turns into amiability personified but anyone who saw him bowl his second spell in the Lancashire Cup Final against Greenmount in September can be in little doubt of his ability to change games.

“Adam is a winner,” said Cockbain. “When we need something in a game, he makes it happen. His whole attitude is based around winning and he is a huge influence on our team. What’s more, he’s never injured.”

For personal and business reasons, Graham Lloyd has decided to play for Accrington next year. His place in the top order will be taken by Jack Kelliher after a brief stay at Ormskirk and is, in Cockbain’s words, “a top class batsman who will be in the top four in the order.”

Lancashire second-team bowler Will Purser has decided to return to Heywood but a “fighting fit” Mark O’Connor returns from a broken leg in a season when Firwood Bootle celebrate their 175th anniversary.