WERRINGTON skipper Nick Lawson expects ‘a successful season for all sides’ as the club prepare for the start of the season that gets underway on Saturday, provided the weather improves.

The Tron had a trying season last summer in the ECB Cornwall Premier League, only securing survival on the final day with victory at Redruth.

Although it wouldn’t have mattered anyway as Truro were hammered, Werrington were in danger of being relegated for the first time since winning promotion in 2003.

However Lawson, who has seen opening bowler Sam Hockin return to the club from Bude as well as Australian all-rounder Sam Willis, feels they should be much more secure.

He said: “For the first team, it’s ultimately about staying up, but if we can improve on last year there’s no reason why we can’t finish fifth or sixth in the league.

“We also going into the season as Hawkey Cup winners, so it’d be nice to have a good crack at defending that, but it’ll be tough as we have Wadebridge at home in our first game plus probably Callington in the last four.

“But we can’t get too ahead of ourselves. We start the season with the T20 Kernow Crash which we’ve struggled with in the past, so we’ll look to use it as a springboard to hit the ground running once the Premier League starts in May.”

Werrington were involved in several close encounters last term, and Lawson feels ‘small margins’ will once again prove crucial.

Lawson said: “We’ve proved we can compete in games and beat some of the top sides last year in Redruth and St Just, but it’s about being that little bit more consistent in every area of the pitch as it was small margins that cost us a few times last year.

“If you look at some of the games, we lost a couple in the last four or five overs and there were a couple we lost by one or two wickets and there was a tie, so it could easily have been two or three more wins.

“But we just need to execute that bit better whether that’s bowling first to avoid having to chase a larger total than needed, or the other way around when we bat first, to get those extra 20 or 30 runs which will give our bowlers a chance.”

With a director of cricket now in place in the shape of veteran all-rounder Adam Hodgson, the club have been busy training at Launceston College.

Lawson said: “The boys are raring to go. We’ve had a really good winter net programme lasting about 12 weeks where we’ve had lots of youngsters attending which is great, and the feeling around the club is that we should be in for a successful season for all four sides.

“We eased our way in to begin with, with repetition being our main focus whether that’s facing as many balls as possible, bowling as many balls or catching as many as possible.

“Our challenge by the end of the winter was to do a 1,000 depending on what you do.

“Then in the last couple of weeks we’ve done more scenario-based stuff, thinking about what we’d do in a certain situation on a Saturday afternoon.”

Werrington’s bowling attack has a much more dangerous look to it this summer, and there are plenty of options around the club.

Lawson said: “I’m delighted to have brought in our first overseas since before COVID in the shape of all-rounder Sam Willis from the Gold Coast in Australia, and I’m also really happy that Sam Hockin has decided to rejoin us.

“He’s a quality player with heaps of experience at this level and will slot straight back into the first team for us.

“Our third winter addition is Keith Maynard who has come over from Lewdown. He looks a tidy cricketer and will be in and around the first team squad all year.”

Last summer saw both the second and third teams go down from County Division One and Division Three respectively, and Lawson expects them to be towards the top end of their respective divisions.

He said: “It’s not really my place to speak on behalf of the other captains but I’m expecting both the seconds and thirds to have really good seasons.

“The seconds have a really good crop of youngsters that were in and around the seconds last year in County One, and they’re now another year older.

“And if you combine them with several players who have played either Premier League or County One cricket for the last seven or eight years, then it’s got the makings of a good side, so they should be in and around the top three or four. It’ll come down to getting that winning feeling back and seeing what happens.

“The thirds are similar in that there are some talented youngsters who played the majority of their games in the fourths last year, and there are players in the thirds who’ve played much higher, so they should also be up and around the top.

“For the fourths it’s the same as it is every year, a combination of youth and experience and trying to help bridge the gap between junior and adult cricket.”

With a flourishing youth section and four teams to get out on a Saturday afternoon, Lawson expects plenty of dilemmas for the selection committee as the season progresses.

He said: “When everybody is available there’s going to be a lot of competition for places which is healthy for the club.

“If people are training regularly then it’ll come down to performances on the pitch which is how it should be.”

Werrington start with a double-header against visiting Callington in the Premier T20 Kernow Crash on Saturday (midday and 3.10pm), and Lawson is hopeful it’ll go ahead.

He said: “We’ll do everything we can to get the game on. Werrington is a funny old place in that it dries quite quickly, so hopefully it will be on. Callington will be a difficult prospect but we’ll just focus on ourselves. 

“I want to see some no fear cricket without being reckless like we have at pre-season training, and from there we’ll see what happens.”