IT is all change at Reading Cricket Club with many newcomers signing on to replace those who left during the close season, writes Dave Wright.

Since being relegated from Division One of the Home Counties Premier League, the Sonning Lane club have also had a complete change in their coaching set-up.

Their indoor nets sessions were under the direction of Level Four coach Dan Housego, the former Gloucestershire, Middlesex and Berkshire player with coaching academy colleague Joe Howorth helping out.

Now the club have switched to outdoor nets, Reading are being assisted by Julian Wood, the ex-Hampshire batsman and Berkshire county captain who has been involved with the England squad in his role as a power-hitting specialist.

His wife, Samantha, also a qualified coach, has been appointed the Under 13 team manager, while their son, Kieran, is among several assistant coaches.

Former Reading player and Berkshire team manager, Jeff Jones, is back with the club, overseeing the selection of their teams.

He will also support Firaz Amjad, the young wicket keeper who has been appointed first-team skipper.

Amjad will lead out a new-look first team containing several players of unknown quality.

Jones said: “We are still on the lookout for a few players, especially batsmen, preferably in their 20s or 30s.”

Reading will be strengthened once the university term ends, as it will see the return of Martin Andersson, Phil Brennan, Hamish Scott and Sam Gemmill.

Andersson, the Middlesex 2nds and Berkshire player, is currently playing for Leeds Bradford and recently scored two centuries in a week, including 138, his highest for the university.

Reading have appointed their first female captain with Shenica Gumbs taking charge of their fourths, which will be mainly a development team.

Reading, now under a new chairperson in Jacqui Salazar, have appointed a new part-time groundsman with Melvin Silvey, a senior gardener at Reading University also advising Abdul Wahed.

Reading have also ordered new team kit, with the club reverting to its old colours of bottle green, maroon and gold.

The scorebox has been refurbished, while new fencing and tables will enhance the front of the pavilion.

  • A CRICKET bat, signed by England’s Ashes winning team from 2013, will shortly be adorning the pavilion wall with the club having ‘won’ it through a random draw made by insurance brokers Kerry London.

The company’s commercial development manager Matt Dawson, along with executive director David Chard, visited Sonning Lane to present the bat to club chairperson Jacqui Salazar (pictured above left).