Swardeston 1st XI captain Lewis Denmark has stepped down after three years in the role.
Lewis will continue to play for the team in 2025 having been a member of the 1st XI since joining the club in 2012 and will remain a key figure in the 1st XI leadership group.
Swardeston chair Stuart Bartram: “We are sad to see Lewis step down but fully understand and support his decision. Lewis has carried out his captain’s role with the utmost dedication, skill and care in a very conscientious way. We are delighted he will continue to be a strong playing presence in the team as well as staying part of the 1st XI leadership group. Further, his valued coaching contribution is a vital part of our youth set-up.”
Over Lewis’s three years in charge, Swardeston won the Thurlow Nunn East Anglian Premier League in 2023 for a record eighth time after finishing seventh in 2022. This season the team finished fourth. The team also won the Colemans Opticians Norfolk T20 in 2022 and 2024 and finished runners-up in 2023. His term as captain has also seen a number of young players introduced to the EAPL team.
Lewis, 30, was appointed Swardeston skipper in October 2021 after being vice-captain under Joe Gatting for the previous three years. He joined Swardeston in 2012 from his boyhood club Bradenham. Lewis has also played a major role in Swardeston’s youth coaching set-up, including continuing to be the lead coach for both the club’s ECB All Stars and Dynamos programmes and running our women and girls softball and hardball teams.
In 2020 Lewis was appointed Development Director for the Norfolk Cricket Board.
Lewis said: “It has been a privilege to captain the men’s first team of this cricket club that has such a proud history of success over many years. To follow in the footsteps of many club legends was never going to be easy but I am extremely proud of the players who have worked so hard to deliver three trophies on the pitch over the last three years, especially during the 2023 season which saw us win the men’s East Anglian Premier League for a record eighth time.
“It has not been a decision that I have taken lightly but I now feel that this is the right time to stand down from the role as I pass on the reins to somebody new that can take the first team forward and continue to compete across all competitions.
“I thoroughly enjoy playing for the club and will fully support the new captain next season but at the same time, I look forward to giving myself some additional time off and allowing myself to focus on my family life and career, which has been a tough juggling act over the last six seasons.
“I’d like to place on record my thanks to everyone at the club who has supported me over the last three years in the role, especially the volunteer committee, first team leadership group, ground staff and caterers who give up so many hours every season to make cricket possible for us as players.
“Of course, my biggest thanks must go to all the players. We’re a family club and the first team epitomises that spirit, we enjoy each other’s company on the pitch, but more importantly, we enjoy it off the pitch whether we win, lose or draw and I have no reason to believe this will ever change.”
Swardeston’s new 1st XI captain will be announced in due course.
