Premier Section Cricket Committee 

 
Roger Pugh 
Head of Premier Section 
Roger was the chairman of the Yorkshire South Premier League before its merger with the SYSCL. His cricket background is in umpiring and administration. His league umpiring career stretched from 1975 to 2013, initially in the Yorkshire Council and, from 2002, in the Yorkshire League. Since 1982, he has held a wide variety of administrative roles in cricket leagues and umpires’ associations. As a member of the then Yorkshire Pyramid Working Party, later the Premier League Management Board, Roger played a significant role in the restructuring of Premier League cricket in Yorkshire, and was a driving force behind the merger of the YSPL and SYSCL. As the Head of Premier Section, he is responsible for Premier Section operations; reviewing its playing conditions as and when necessary; reporting to the LEB on Premier Section activities and issues; and for ensuring that LEB decisions are carried forward in the Premier Section. He is currently also the League's website and administration manager. Roger is a retired civil servant, with a background in communications and public relations, and is the club historian of Hull Kingston Rovers RFC. 
 
Mark Beardshall 
Mark was a founder member of the YSPL committee and served on the Yorkshire League committee before that. As a player, Mark was an opening bowler who was good enough to represent Derbyshire at first class level, and had a distinguished league career in both the Bradford, Huddersfield and Yorkshire Leagues. A qualified coach and a longstanding vice-chairman of Barnsley WMCC, Mark brings a wealth of experience and ideas to the committee. 
 
Mick Forrester 
Mick Forrester has served on the YSPL committee since 2017. He is the first team scorer and active committee member at Appleby Frodingham, becoming involved with the club when his sons started to play there. In addition to representing the interests of the two Lincolnshire clubs, Mick brings to the committee a common sense perspective from his background of club administration. 
 
Andy Harrison 
Andy has vast experience of South Yorkshire cricket, initially through his spells at Upper Haugh and Rotherham Town, and more recently through his 25-year involvement with the Wickersley club. After a very successful career as an opening bowler, he has continued to serve the club in a number of roles, including club chairman, and he remains head groundsman at Northfield Road. Andy played an important part in the negotiations leading to the formation of the YSPL, becoming a founder member of its committee, to which he has contributed enormously with his experience, knowledge and common sense. Andy was inducted into the YSPL Hall of Fame in 2017. 
 
Jason is the first team captain and cricket manager at Barnsley Woolley Miners CC. He has played senior club cricket for over 35 years after a brief spell at YCCC academy. He played second XI for Kent CCC and has had a great career with Yorkshire clubs including Barnsley, Elsecar, Methley, and Whitley Hall, and has now been back at Barnsley for the past 10 seasons. Jason is the Equity & Diversity Group representative on the Premier Section committee. Jason is the Chief Operations Officer at the Grounds Management Association – a not-for-profit membership organisation that trains and educates grounds managers at all levels. Aside from cricket, Jason enjoys watching most sports, and has a small share in a racehorse. 
 
Steve Ward 
Premier Section  
general manager 
Steve was formerly the secretary of the YSPL and before that he was chairman of the Yorkshire League. His two main areas of expertise are administration and scoring. For many years, Steve was secretary and scorer at Doncaster Town CC. Another tireless worker for the game, Steve is the ACO Regional Scorers Officer for the North, carrying out scorer training across the area, and is a respected voice on scoring issues. As Premier Section General Manager he is responsible for the day-to-day management of Section operations, including player registration, all scoring issues and matchday liaison with clubs; advice and support to clubs on attaining ECB club accreditation standards; organisation of Premier Section cup competitions.  
 
Alex Fletcher 
Alex joined the YSPL committee in 2018 and has been closely involved in organising end-of-season functions, as well as managing the league representative team. An experienced hard-hitting batsman and former captain of Whitley Hall, Alex played a significant role in the club's Jack Bland Trophy success last season.  
 
Chris Froggett 
League Compliance Manager 
A former founder member of the YSPL committee, Chris is chairman of Wakefield Thornes CC, where he has overseen the club's rise from the second tier of the Central Yorkshire League to White Rose Yorkshire Premier Leagues Champions on two occasions. Very knowledgeable in all aspects of the game, Chris is particularly experienced in the difficult area of overseas recruitment, and as compliance manager is responsible for ensuring that the Premier Section clubs are aware of and meet all relevant Premier League accreditation, grounds and playing criteria; approving the registration of all overseas players in the league, ensuring compliance with relevant rules; and for advice to clubs on overseas player issues. A keen golfer, Chris works for sports consultants Steve Wells Associates. 
Bryan was the general secretary of the South Yorkshire Senior Cricket League before the merger. He is also on the Senior Section cricket committee and is on the committee of the South Yorkshire Cricket Umpires Association. As a cricketer, Bryan played for Yorkshire Main Colliery, from the age of 14, for 36 years before he retired from playing. Bryan's role on Premier Section cricket committee is to represent the interests of the Championship clubs, and to provide a link with the Senior Section cricket committee. Outside cricket, Bryan's main interest is football. He refereed for 30 years, and was a linesman on the Football League and Premier League for 15 years. 
Dates of meetings in 2022/23 
Wednesday 24 January 2024 
Wednesday 20 March 2024 
Wednesday 12 June 2024 
Wednesday 24 July 2024 
Wednesday 11 September 2024 
 
All meetings by Zoom with a 7.30 start