LAUNCESTON Cricket Club first team skipper, Kevin Worth, wants to put right the mistakes they made last year after being awarded a reprieve to stay in County Division One of the Bond Timber Cornwall Cricket League.

The Lawhitton outfit finished second bottom last summer, and were expected to be relegated, despite finishing level on points with Ludgvan. But the West Cornwall club’s superior head-to-head record meant they survived.

However Troon’s failure to have their ECB Clubmark status renewed by the October 31 deadline, means Launceston will enjoy a third successive season in the second-tier, and Worth hopes they can take advantage.

He said: “Obviously it’s not the way we would have liked to have stayed up, but we’re happy to be given the chance to put right the mistakes we made last year.

“It took a bit of discussion as to what we wanted to do, but we decided that if we can keep the rest of the team together, recruit an overseas and bring in a couple of players then we’ll be okay.

“With five games to go we were in mid-table, so there’s no reason not to give it another go. A bit of complacency and a couple of bad tosses/losses ended up costing us.”

Launceston will have to do without the services of former Somerset seconds and Easterns bowler Robert Mutch, who has departed for Premier League side Callington.

In four seasons at Lawhitton, the left-arm seamer took 182 league wickets at an average of just 10.79.

Despite that, Worth believes they can compete, especially now that star all-rounder Sam Pengelly, who ended with 604 runs and 50 league wickets to his name last summer, has agreed to stay,

He said: “Rob’s obviously a massive loss, he’s one of the best, if not the best, bowlers in the league. Thankfully Sam has agreed to stay with us, which is great, and batting wise we’ve got Jon Parsons back as my vice-captain. He fills a big void which we’ve had as he’s a steady top-order batsman. We’re already searching for an overseas player and several local players have been approached.

“Also it’s up to the other bowlers we’ve already got to step up. If each of them can pick up an extra five to ten wickets each, then there’s no reason why we can’t do well.”

With several areas in the squad needing addressing, especially in the bowling department, Worth is keeping an open mind as to what sort of overseas player they are looking for.

He said: “We’re looking for someone who’s really keen and enthusiastic to come over who’s young. To replace a player of Rob’s quality isn’t going to be very easy but we’re in touch with potential overseas already to see what’s available.”

With the division looking stronger than last summer following the promotion of former Premier League clubs Hayle and Newquay, Worth knows that they can ill-afford the slow starts of recent years.

He said: “We’re looking to try and change the culture a bit. We need to warm up before games and take it a bit more seriously, which should hopefully give us a bit more consistency.

“Last year we beat some of the top teams but lost against some of the sides we perhaps should have beaten.

“We need to improve our consistency through practice and through warm-ups, which builds the team spirit needed to carry you through games.

“Until the season you don’t know how teams are going to line up but the league looks stronger. Very rarely do you get an easy game in County One, so we’ve got to make sure we’re ready and show everyone what Launceston are made of.

“Yes we’re looking to sign a couple of players, but there’s also the juniors and younger players. We want to try and promote from within and make sure that everyone plays with a smile on their face.”

The planning for next summer has already begun.

Worth said: “We’ll be getting winter nets sorted soon and I’m also hoping to organise a pre-season tour. We also want to get the nets rearranged.”

Off the field there’s also been much change, following last month’s annual general meeting, which was held at the ground.

Long-standing chairman Phil Spry has stepped down and replaced by Peter West with Matt Bloomfield elected as vice-chairman. Spry has taken on the role of Chairman of Selectors.

Geoff Hills replaces Mervyn Dawe as president while David and Marie Cox have taken on a number of roles.

David Cox is now the head groundsman for both pitches after replacing Paul Bunn, who has also relinquished the third team captaincy to Al Cartwright.

Marie Cox has taken on the running of the bar while her and husband David have taken on the 100 Club from Pat Dawe and Grace Young.

The second team, who look likely to be placed in Division Four East next summer after relegation, will be led by Darren Jenkin who took over the reigns from Matt Bloomfield in the summer. Lois Thornton and David Cox are the joint vice-captains.

Worth said: “The aim of the new committee is to keep building the club. We’ve come from just having a couple of cabins a few years ago to having a lovely ground with great facilities, so we want to make sure everyone’s pulling in the same direction as well having more social events and make more use of the clubhouse.”