BROCKHAMPTON chairman Roy Wargen has paid tribute to the club’s backroom team after another season of non-stop success for the village club.

“I’ve been working on the square with Derek Edwards and Tony Hope,” he said. “And Robin Hood is up here every day keeping the ground tidy.

“Rachel Tobey has been fantastic this year and won the club person-of-the-year award.

“And then there is Jo Jennings who does our incredible teas.

“You can’t buy people like that – they just cannot be replaced.”

The hard work off the field has been rewarded with further progress on the playing side.

The first-team, after leading the Premier Division of the Birmingham League for much of the early part of the season, finished with the runners-up trophy.

The club’s second-string gained promotion to the top flight of the secondteam competition.

And Brockhampton 3rd will be playing in Division One of the GB Liners Marches League after finishing in the promotion places, too.

“The season has really exceeded expectations,”

said Wargen.

“When we discussed things at the start of the season, we thought that if the first-team were fourth or fifth then we would have done well. To be runnersup is fantastic.

“Back in the 1970s and 1980s, when you looked at the Birmingham League and saw clubs like Old Hill, West Bromwich Dartmouth and Walsall, they were like mega-teams.

“We couldn’t even have competed with them but now we are beating them.

“And now that the secondteam has been promoted, both sides are playing at the highest level that they can achieve.”

Wargen reserved special praise for Chris Boroughs, who has again been the first-team’s outstanding performer.

“He has won our batting and bowling awards,” said Wargen. “And he’s a great slip-fielder, too.

“If any of our young players want to play at a high standard and are looking for a role-model, then I always recommend that they look at Chris. He just turns up and plays and always gives 100 per cent.

He’s taught me a lot, too.”

Second-team skipper Glyn Harrhy has also made a huge contribution, said Wargen.

“You could not wish for anyone better to deal with all the younger players that we have,” said the chairman. “You never hear anything negative from him and all the boys like playing for him.

“Our third-team skipper Steve Jennings had never played cricket before he joined our club but now he’s a level two coach and the team has progressed from Division Five to, now, Division One under his captaincy.

“Next year, our thirdteam will be playing against the likes of Garnons and Kington, whom our first-team were playing 20 years ago.”

After such a successful season at all levels, the challenge remains to continue the progress for next season. But Wargen is in no doubt that his club can continue to develop.

“All of our players are staying for next season,”

he said.

“And we have some fine young players coming through with the likes of Joe Crichard, who is a real talent, Max Porter, who made more than 600 runs for the second team in the Birmingham League, Jack Bailey, who has been a real find for us, Jack Aldous- Fountain and Oli Cross.

“Our youth section is going very well and ultimately it would be great if we had 11 Herefordshire boys playing for our firstteam in the Birmingham League.

“Good clubmen and finances are the key things, though – if you have those then the players will come.”