Pinfield is new league boss

Pinfield, a member of last year’s league and Parish Cup winning team at Lane, takes over from Wayne Cotton, who stepped down recently.

His side face a tough West Yorkshire Area Council Knockout Cup game at home to the York Senior League in a tie to be played by July 5.

The other semi-final is between the Scarborough Beckett League and the Huddersfield Central League.

Pinfield, who was approached by league president David Normanton, has moved quickly by appointing Richard Laycock as captain and he plans to work closely with the Booth player.

Laycock’s father Geoff is a former team boss and both Richard and his brother Robert have played for the league side.

Pinfield said he was delighted to take the job and was hoping to put together a young side with an emphasis on good fielding.

Approaching Richard Laycock had been an obvious starting point.

“I rate Richard as the best young all-rounder in the Halifax League and he has experience of playing for the league side,” said Pinfield, who is a former Halifax Town commercial manager.

Having Laycock as part of the set-up should also help quell any concerns that Pinfield might lean too heavily on players from former Bradford Central League pair Jer Lane and Thornton, arguably the league’s strongest clubs.

Pinfield, who has scored a remarkable 45 centuries in a career which has included spells in four leagues, has drawn up a list of 16 potential team members.

He said Laycock had helped him to compile it.

“We will be contacting the players to see if they are available. They are drawn from a lot of Premier Division teams,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jer Lane will warm up for their title defence with a home friendly against Central Yorkshire League side Scholes next Sunday.

The Halifax League season starts on April 19 and they have a mouthwatering Heavy Woollen Cup tie away to Bradford League giants Hanging Heaton the day after.