Bury St Edmunds are rock bottom of the Gibbs Denley East Anglian Premier League, but the return of last season’s saviour could well be the tonic that the Victory Road club have so badly needed.
West Indian all-rounder, Daron Cruickshank, is scheduled to fly into England this week, to pick up where he left off at Bury last summer.
Cruickshank plundered four centuries in his first six appearances, playing a major role in Bury’s dramatic escape from the clutches of relegation last season.
The 30-year-old from Trinidad & Tobago had been expected to arrive in Suffolk before last weekend’s match at Mildenhall, but the deal was held up by problems with the paperwork – Bury lost at Wamil Way by 39 runs.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming back our overseas player,” enthused Bury captain Sean Park, following that fifth straight defeat at Mildenhall.
“Daron (Cruickshank) made a big difference for us last season, and he should make a massive difference for us this summer as well.
“Hopefully, he will be here in time to play against Sudbury this weekend.
“He is set to stay with us for the rest of the summer, perhaps only missing the last game of the season, so we should have him for about 15 games.
“We don’t have a bad bowling attack, but we’ve had problems with our batting this season. We don’t have enough experience in the batting, but Daron will help to rectify that.
“We are a very young team, but with lots of ability.
“I’m not too worried, because in the previous two seasons that I have been at the club, we have not won many games in the first half of the summer, but then gone on winning runs in the second half.
“I’m sure all it needs is one win, to boost confidence. It can all then change in a heartbeat.
“Daron will provide the experience that our batting has been lacking,” all-rounder added Park.
Bury have so far lost all five of their fixtures. In fact, they are the only club without a victory.
This weekend they play host to Suffolk rivals Sudbury who, by contrast, are joint top after five wins from five games.
Sudbury club captain, Darren Batch, said: “Everything has gone to plan so far. We’ve had a great start, and I strongly believe that we are genuine title contenders this year.”
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