They put on a stand of 134 together to win the Lancashire Cup for Ormskirk – but Liverpool captain Matty Jackson insists their ability isn’t the only reason he snapped up Rob and Alex Rankin.

In the surprise move of the winter, the brothers left the Premier Division champions just over two years after that glorious day at Emirates Old Trafford, to join Jackson’s merry men in Division One.

Well, it was a surprise to some – but Jackson knows just why they came.

He said: “We’re seeing the benefits of what we’ve done the last few years, in that our dressing room is concerned.

“If you take me and Dan Clubbe out of it, the other 14 or 15 lads are all within two or three years of each other age-wise. 

“It’s not a coincidence that we’ve managed to build that and we’re definitely seeing the benefits. 

“It allows us to enjoy ourselves, but also it makes us appealing to the likes of Alex and Rob. 

“They’ve all been training the last few weeks and none of them feel like new players.”

In a happy coincidence, they will also slot into the Liverpool top order in the gaps left by Bootle-bound Steve Rimmer and Ali Andrady. 

Jackson knows what they have to offer on the field, but insists the cricket is a secondary factor.

He added: “Internally in the club, there’s no expectations on them. 

“Everyone is aware of what they can do but there’s been no conversations about what they’re capable of. 

“We just want them to enjoy their cricket; we brought them in to improve the batting and we are excited to see what they can do, but we don’t want them to feel any pressure.”

Jackson is also excited to see ‘Big Jim’ Poulsom, an all-rounder who joins the club from Kent, via the University of Liverpool.

And Ross Allen, the Irish left-arm spinner who managed 28 wickets at 7.54 in less than half of last season, will be available to fill the space left by Sabbir Patel, who has returned to Fleetwood Hesketh.

“Sabbir is the nicest man I’ve played cricket with, but we had to make a decision when we knew Ross was available for the year,” said Jackson.

“Ross is a genuine all-rounder who fits in well and we made that call. 

“His stats when he did play last year were incredible but there’s no pressure on him, it’ll be his first full season playing timed cricket and he’ll have moments where he needs a bit more support from us.”

All that isn’t going well is the weather – but Jackson can see the bright side of that, too, as he looks for an improvement on last year’s sixth place.

He said: “We’ve used these last couple of weeks to do some extra training as a group. 

“It feels like we could spin it into a positive and spend a bit more time together before the season kicks off. 

“We’re always looking to improve. This will be my ninth year now, and my position for the last three or four years has been as long as we’re improving, I’ll carry on. 

“We definitely feel like it has. We’ve shown a curve going up for the last five or six years, maybe longer, so as long as that improves we’ll be happy.”