BUDE captain Warren Rumble feels his side can ‘beat any of them’ as the Seasiders look for an improvement in 2024 in Division Two East of the Cornwall Cricket League.

The North Cornwall side have been involved in battles towards the bottom in the last two years, but Rumble hopes better availability and partnerships with the bat will see them enjoy a stress-free summer.

From last year’s squad, wicket-keeper batsman Tom Lush is not playing, while batsman Thomas Hall is again unlikely to feature.

However there are positives. Australian left-arm paceman Brett Hunter is back for a second season after initially withdrawing due to a shoulder problem, while bowling all-rounder Anthony Buchanan, who used to be a professional golfer on the Asian Tour, has also moved to the area.

The Seasiders started with a 99-run defeat to Callington Seconds last Saturday (May 4), but Rumble isn’t reading too much into it.

He said: “Pre-season inside was disrupted by exams in the sports hall, so we only had three or four indoor nets, and then we moved outside on to the astro, which luckily for us is usually dry enough to practice on, when the first three games were rescheduled.”

Rumble hopes Buchanan will prove a useful acquisition, while he is delighted Hunter is returning.

He said: “Anthony used to play a fair bit when he was younger and was a professional golfer so he’s obviously a fairly skilled sportsman.

“Although it took him a while to get into it against Callington as he bowled several wides, you could tell that although he hadn’t played for 15 years, the potential is there.

“Having Brett back is also a massive bonus.

“There was a few weeks of it being on off, on off, but he messaged me last Sunday (May 5) to say that he’d had a bowl and the shoulder was feeling alright, and that he’d be here on Wednesday (May 8).

“Last season he showed how good he was and was in the top three wicket-takers in the league, and he fits in really well within the club which always helps.”

Rumble isn’t reading too much into their opening day defeat which was followed by a cancellation at St Blazey on Bank Holiday Monday.

He said: “Callington was almost like a pre-season friendly in that we didn’t have a full team, and that we hadn’t had any pre-season friendlies because of the weather.

“Three of our team hadn’t even even been able to have a net.

“That said we were great in the field bar bowling a few too many extras, and Pew (Matt Mansbridge) and JT (James Turner) bowled well with the new ball.”

So what are the goals for the summer?

Rumble continued: “Ideally we’d like to see the second team promoted from Division Five, and with it sounding like there’s going to be ten-team leagues next season, to make sure we’re that we are away from the bottom of the table so we don’t have to worry about the stresses of the unknown.

“Availability is always a big thing for us and sometimes we need to be more sensible with the bat, particularly if chasing a low total.

“Another thing we need to be better with is building partnerships with the bat. If a team makes anything between 200/220 at Bude you’re fairly happy, but we need to bat batter. It’d be great to see a few innings where at least three batsmen make 50.

“We’ll just focus on each game and if we play our best cricket, we’ll beat many of them.”

The club also brought back All Stars and Dynamos cricket last summer under the guidance of head coach Wayne Adams, and this year have entered under 11 and 13 teams into the Cornwall Youth League.

Rumble said: “It’s great to have under 11s and under 13s this year as it’s a massive goal of the club to get the junior section thriving again.

“We have close links to Budehaven School, so things are hopefully looking good!”

Their Crooklets ground is the envy of many, and they continue to look forward.

Rumble concluded: “We’ve got a couple of new sightscreens and we’re carrying on with our advertising boards project around the ground. We’ve got half of the sea side of the ground covered now.

“We’re also continuing our partnership with Veritus Sports and we’ve got a new shirt sponsor in Tamar Vets. I’d like to thank them and everybody who has got a board so far.”

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