EXCLUSIVE by Stuart Dunn
Jack Shantry, the highly rated Shropshire allrounder, has left Shrewsbury and signed for Bradford League club Farsley as a professional for the 2009 season – insisting: “It was too good an offer to turn down.”
Shantry, the younger brother of Glamorgan star Adam, has been much in demand from other clubs for the last couple of years. Now, having helped Shrewsbury regain their place in the premier division of the Birmingham & District Cricket League, he has opted to take up one of the offers by putting pen to paper for Farsley.
He admits it is a real wrench to leave Shrewsbury but, as a student nearly halfway through a three-year course studying English Language at Manchester University, the financial incentive from playing for Farsley tipped the balance in the Yorkshire club’s favour.
“A few clubs approached me including a couple in Shropshire,” said Shantry. “I didn’t want to leave Shrewsbury and I’ve been delaying it for a while but, being a student, this was too good an offer to turn down.
“It is a major wrench to leave Shrewsbury and hopefully I’ll return one day. In an ideal world, I would still be there and Ed Foster, the captain, says the door will always be open for me.
“I think they will do fine in the premier division this season as they’ve got such a brilliant team spirit and a lot of very good young players.”
Shantry, who will still be available to play Minor Counties cricket for Shropshire, believes he really blossomed as a player in his years with Shrewsbury after starting his career across the county town at Perkins.
He’s become a feared opening bowler and a more than useful middle order batsman whose talents have seen him become a regular for the Minor Counties representative under-25 side and also turn out for Worcestershire’s second XI.
He hopes linking up with Farsley, also a good move from a geographical point of view given his studies in Manchester, will further help him improve and, as disappointed as he is to call time on his Shrewsbury career, he’s excited about his new challenge.
“Farsley have just been promoted back to the top division of the Bradford League which is one of the top leagues in the country,” said Shantry.
“This is a very good opportunity for me and their chairman Ashley Metcalfe, the former Yorkshire opening batsman, really sold the club to me. They’re very ambitious and Ray Illingworth, the former England captain, is the club president.
“They’ve got good links with first class counties so hopefully I can get some second XI games and I hope playing for Farsley can progress my career.”
Shantry was one of the leading lights in Shrewsbury’s Birmingham League division one title success this year, taking 33 league wickets at 15.82 and hitting 501 league runs at a healthy average of 35.79.
His sporting talents are not limited to cricket for he is currently the first choice goalkeeper for the reserve team of Hyde United, Blue Square North rivals of AFC Telford United and Blyth Spartans, the club who recently knocked Shrewsbury Town out of the FA Cup.