THE Bolton Cricket League has been stunned by the sudden death of 43 years old Kearsley CC secretary Gary Thornley.
Gary took over as secretary in 1993 and quickly became a driving force within local cricket both at club and league level.
At the weekend he was present at both Kearsley's games, against Walkden in the league on Saturday and on the trip to Kendal the following day when the Bolton side were beaten in the National Knockout, but collapsed and died on Monday.
In his first year, Kearsley won the Hamer Cup and following that enjoyed years of championship challenges with rivals Tonge before becoming champions in 2000.
League president Peter Stafford said: "Gary was hugely popular throughout the league and we are devastated by the sad news. He will be sadly missed by everyone connected with local cricket and our condolences go out to his family."
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