Stoneywood-Dyce will get the 2023 season under way next month with a new president at the helm who is intent on taking the area’s only top flight side into the upper reaches of the Eastern Premier League.
Mark Lambley has succeeded former Scotland international Jan Stander as president of the People’s Park club.
The 51-year-old, who was born and raised in Sheffield, acknowledged the enormity of the task facing him at the club which came into existence in 1992 when Stoneywood and Dyce merged to become a force in north-east cricket.
He said: “The club has a proud tradition, built on hard work and vision.
“Jan will be a hard act to follow but there is a long established strategy and structure for me to keep alive at People’s Park.
“I feel privileged to be asked to take on the role.”
The new president will be a hands on one who will continue to play, although most of all he will be committed to seeing all three senior clubs fulfil their obligations in the Eastern Premier, the Strathmore Union and the Aberdeenshire Grades, while developing under-age cricket, and not least through the promotion of a women’s team.
Lofty ambitions for new president
In outlining his targets for his term of office, Lambley stressed his desire to see the club perform at the highest level, including competing with the top clubs in Edinburgh who currently dominate the Eastern Premier.
He said: “We can no longer be content to talk about consolidation in the EPL.
“We must aim to best Heriots, Grange and Forfarshire if we are to establish ourselves as a force on the national scene.
“We are now in a situation where some of our young talent should be coming through the ranks to compete with the best in Scotland.
“After all this is a club who in a relatively short time have produced players for the national team.
“Kyle Coetzer went on to captain Scotland, while Michael Leask has developed as a top all-rounder for his country.
“Gordon Goudie was a class act for Scotland and Ailsa Lister is now established in the Scotland women’s team, and hopefully there are more to come.
Lambley’s son Jack is an all-rounder who has played at under-19 level for Scotland, while commanding a regular place in the first team. His sister Lucy is also making her way in the sport and this coming season is likely to play alongside her father in the Grades team.
Lambley, an opener of some note, does not confine his ambitions to Stoneywood-Dyce but insisted Aberdeenshire and Gordonians, the two other big players in the area, are well capable of making the grade at top club and international level.
He added: “Both these clubs have excellent, well-developed youth sections. I would love to see all three clubs come good at the top of the club game.
“I also note that Huntly are making good progress in the Strathmore under the captaincy of former Stoneywood-Dyce captain Jack Mitchell.
“The north-east is a great place to play cricket.
“I could not have picked a better place outside of Yorkshire to live and work.”
The first team will once again have South African input as Garreth Wolmarrans and Preez Du Stander, a cousin of Jan, are back to bolster a team that Lambley believes will finish in the top half of the league.
“That’s the target,” said the ambitious new president.
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