“WE’VE HAD some great memories along the way.”
That was the parting comment of former Finchampstead captain Dan Marles as he bids farewell to his boyhood club after 10 years.
Marles surprised many by announcing last week that he would be leaving to join Home Counties Premier League rivals High Wycombe for the 2018 season after three brilliant years as Finches captain.
The 22-year-old guided his side to promotion from HCPL 2 in 2015 and then to the top flight title a year later.
After a tough start to the 2017 campaign, Finches fought back well to end in a more than respectable third place.
And Marles admits he had no plans to walk away.
“I was never, ever intending on leaving,” he told The Wokingham Paper.
“High Wycombe approached me and that did make me think about where I want to play my cricket.
“It’s always nice to feel wanted I suppose and they’re going to be hopefully looking to win the league again in the next couple of years.
“That’s obviously something I want to buy into and hopefully that’ll happen over the next few years.”
He added: “It was a bit of a shock to a few of the lads.
“But I thought quite long and hard about my cricket, where I want to go with it and I think it’s a good opportunity to play at a big club and potentially bat at three or four for them.
“It’s just to give myself a new challenge really, playing with a few different guys and a few different training methods they’ve got.
“It’s just something I’ve looked at and I think it’s something that could suit me a bit more long term and actually potentially be a pathway to Minor Counties cricket.
“Eventually that’s my long-term plan, so it’s a new challenge and some higher up cricket.”
Whatever Marles achieves with High Wycombe, who finished fifth last season, it will be hard to top his time at Finch.
The young squad tore through everyone for almost three years, but he admits that success arrived as something of a surprise to the club.
“I massively enjoyed my time as captain,” said Marles.
“I thought it was a fantastic few years. Going up and then winning the league and then finishing third is obviously a really good three years for the club.
“Unfortunately I think that all happened a bit too quickly really for the club.
“It was kind of a long-term project, but now that’s happened I’ve had that and I want to focus more on myself, look at my training, hopefully get fitter and that kind of thing.”
He added: “I’ve been at Finch for 10 years and I’ve had 10 fantastic years there.
“I’m thankful to everyone at the club for what they’ve done for me and we’ve had some great memories along the way.
“It was always going to be a big decision leaving my home club I suppose. But I think it’s something I’ve got to do in terms of my cricket.”
One big change for Marles next season will be that he will no longer take the role of a captain.
And being Finch skipper has included handling off-field issues, namely last season’s spell where Marles was suspended for “failing to control his players” during a defeat to Tring Park.
And he admits that it was tough at times to deal with that responsibility as a young player.
“I think that’s definitely a big part of (leaving),” he said.
“Not being captain anymore is a bit less pressure on me and I can really concentrate on scoring more runs, taking more wickets and potentially winning the league again. That’s the plan.
“I could just step down as captain at Finch, but going and having a new challenge and not having to get involved in everything behind the scenes is something I’m looking forward to doing.
“At 22 it was quite a big responsibility being captain and being that involved with the club.
“I think going somewhere different and challenging myself in different areas will affect me in a good way and that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Finchampstead have not yet decided who will captain the first team for the 2018 campaign, which gets underway in May.
