SALESBURY Cricket club stalwart Michael Foley has been awarded an MBE in the New Year's Honours list.

Foley has been a dedicated junior organiser at the Jennings Ribblesdale League club for the past 40 years.

He receives the award for services to the club and to young cricketers in Blackburn.

Modest Foley began an Under 18s side - the club's first junior team - back in the late 1960s.

He had previously played for the club and wanted to put something back, and Salesbury now boasts one of the best junior set-ups in the area with teams at Under 13, 15 and 18 level.

Foley, who lives a stone's throw from Salesbury's Ribchester Road ground, spends up to five nights a week in the summer coaching local youngsters.

Each year he takes the Under 11s and 13s on cricket tours and in the winter he spends at least one night a week coaching indoors.

He has brought through hundreds, if not thousands, of young cricketers in the East Lancashire area.

Phil Bolton of East Lancs, Phil Sykes of Church and John Wharton, who is now back at Salesbury after stints at Rishton and East Lancs, are all players who have come through under the guidance of Foley.

"I have been involved at Salesbury for more or less all my life," said Foley.

"I started back in the late 60s with just one team and as we got more members, we split them into different age groups."

The teams played in the Lancashire Colts League which was made up of clubs from the Northern League, Lancashire League and some Ribblesdale League sides.

Foley later ran the Under 15s Lancashire Colts representative side.

Over the years other clubs have also built up their junior sections but not many can boast a coach with such commitment.

"It is three or four nights a week in the summer, sometimes five nights. In the winter it is more likely to be one night a week," said Foley, who refused to admit he was anything special in the game.

"Lots of people work as hard as I do and do the things I do.

"When I started out I just wanted to help out. I am interested in cricket like most people who do this sort of thing.

"There's the satisfaction of seeing the young players develop and seeing them improve. It is good to see them come through and play for the senior teams.

"Cricket in this country needs a big basis from below. A lot depends on how the players transfer from youth cricket to senior cricket and the local leagues are still the right way to go in terms of bringing players through.

"When you get a good response from the kids you are working with, it makes it worthwhile but I couldn't possible comment about how kids have changed in all that time!"

Successful Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance, whose father Bob was once professional at Rossendale golf club, receives an OBE.