MAN WHO KNOWS HIS ONIONS!
by Chris Knowles

Emley Clarence president Mick Onions takes time out to discuss his practical involvement with the club, how elections work, and a non-uniform…

Having begun his cricketing career at 12 years old, Mick climbed the junior ladder and enjoyed a few senior years at Clarence before leaving to play for Lascelles Hall. He tells me, ‘I played for Hall for five or six years and came back to Emley around 1979. I moved out of Emley in the late 1980s but returned in 2000 and kept playing for the club.’

Mick also adds: ‘I was voted in as president of Emley Clarence in 2001 while still turning out for the club on a regular basis, so you could say it was something of a hands-on role in comparison to the preceding presidents!’

It was just before the 2005 season when Mick stopped playing and swapped his role on the field for a new role off it as club president. When asked about what his new job entails, he declares: ‘Nothing special – there’s no uniform or cap!’ But he continues earnestly, ‘I suppose I’m a worker really, I take a more practical approach to the running of the club and the issues that surround it.’

This is certainly the case. I learned that Mick is currently heading the club ground committee, which is the panel responsible for the development of the new clubhouse at Upper Lane. He states, ‘I firmly believe that if someone has a particular skill, I aim to utilise it for the benefit of the club and I’m putting that into action with the building of this clubhouse.’

Emley are undoubtedly on the rise. When I asked the potential reasons for this, Mick highlighted something which many people connected with Emley have also unanimously emphasised: the junior set-up.

‘We have a fantastic junior organisation here. The people involved are working really hard at the minute to achieve the Clubmark status and they put in a huge amount of their time to train the kids. The juniors are a huge part of Emley Clarence and will continue to be for a long time.’

The Emley stalwart also revealed how the process of election works: ‘The committee opt for someone at the AGM, usually around March each year. It runs for a year-long term but I suppose it could be interrupted if there are exceptional circumstances or if it simply isn’t working out! As long as the committee are happy that I am the right man for the job, it runs for the full duration, and I’m sure they’re happy!’
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