Captain Jack Welch is confident Atherton are set up for long-term progression following promotion to the Anthony Axford North West Cricket League’s Premiership division.

Welch and company secured second place in the Championship behind champions Read, and it was largely down to an impressive run of 10 wins in their last 12 matches.

Some rocky mid-season form threatened their promotion chances, but in the end they pipped Walkden to the post having won 13 games out of 20 in all.

Many may look at Walkden’s points deduction for fielding ineligible players throughout the campaign as a deciding factor.

But Atherton had overtaken them into second before the points deduction was imposed ahead of the season’s final round last September.

They went on to beat Oswaldtwistle Immanuel in the final game.

Star performers for the Higham Park side were aplenty.

Former West Indies Test opener Shayne Moseley hit 797 league runs added to 10 wickets as professional, while fellow Bajan Jamaine Bullen - their overseas amateur - took 33 wickets and hit 248 runs. Young opener Oliver Gredecki hit 342 runs, Welch himself with 428 and left-arm spinner Zeeshan Alsam claimed 57 wickets.

Moseley was the Championship’s second leading run-scorer and Alsam the division’s second leading wicket-taker.

Moseley and Bullen have been re-signed for 2025, and Welch said: “There’s a lot of Atherton juniors in our team, and we’re not just trying to build for next year but after that as well.

“Oliver is a young player who has taken on a tough role opening the batting and has done really well all season.

“Another lad, Louie Farrimond, batted three in the last few games as well. He’s only 15, so that indicates where we’re at.”

Welch continued in his praise: “Zeeshan has been fantastic for us.

“He’s taken the new ball as a left-arm off-spinner and got us off to a great start in most games.

“He offered us control early, and him and Jamaine have had a good partnership up top. Zeeshan deserves all the credit that he’s getting.

“The pro and overseas have both had superb seasons on and off the field with what they’ve brought to the club, and it’s great news they’re coming back.

“On the field, you can see it with the runs they’ve scored, wickets taken and the results. But, off the field, what they brought to training and around the club, it was a massive plus for us.”

Despite some disappointing mid-season results, Welch says confidence was always high within Atherton’s dressing room.

“We knew we had the ability to get up there,” he said. “We started well, but then we went on a run where we lost a few games.

“But those defeats were by small margins rather than anything significant. We always had the confidence that we could turn that around in the second half of the season.

“We felt like we were chasing it for a long time, but we got there in the end. We’re really happy.

“The aim was always to get ahead of Walkden so that we knew it was in our hands, and we did that.

“We got ahead after the Feniscowles game, which was the second last game. That left us needing 12 points to guarantee promotion, no matter what. We went and did that.”

While batter Welch has praised others, he too deserves credit for leading the side and chipping in with some valuable contributions in just short of 450 runs.

“I could have done more, but it was nice to have a few games where I scored runs. That’s ideal as a captain,” he said before looking ahead to next season.

“That Premiership league looks like it’s lined up to be a nice competition, so we’ll take each game as it comes and see how we go.

“As it stands, we’ll be going in with the same team. It’s a young team but one we have a lot of confidence in. There’s a lot of talent, so we’re happy with that.”