This week’s weekend roundup comes comes to you courtesy of two new writers.
Lou Greenwood covers the Harriers games, whilst this weeks mens fixtures are covered by the currently injured Jason Kayley. Thanks to both for their very welcome assistance.
Ok, I might still do the T20.
Wednesday
Harriers vs Nelson
On a bright evening at Cliffe Park, we hosted Nelson for our next Softball League fixture – a side that trades its winter hockey sticks for summer bats when the off‑season calls for a new distraction.
After winning the toss, we elected to field first. In hindsight, asking Nelson to bat might not have been our smartest idea, as they proceeded to launch the ball into various parts of Lancashire, finishing on 313, including eight sixes. We knew they favoured the leg side, but some of those shots were hit with such enthusiasm we briefly considered checking neighbouring postcodes for the ball.
Mercedes provided the fielding highlight of the night with a direct hit from mid-wicket that sent the stumps flying. Lou also judged the ball superbly, running in from deep mid-wicket to take a well-held catch and give Gill a wicket. While Darcy, Isabelle and Mercedes all rattled the stumps with clean-bowled dismissals.
Our reply got off to a steady start, but chasing 314 proved a step too far. Despite matching Nelson’s wicket tally with five wickets apiece, we couldn’t quite keep up with their boundary count and finished on 252.
So, a 61-run defeat on the scorecard, but plenty of laughs, some excellent fielding, and confirmation that if Nelson’s hockey careers don’t work out, they’ve got a future in baseball.
Nelson 313
Great Harwood 252
Friday
T20 at Accrington
I want shiny hair too…
I’m growing to like these Friday T20 games. two wins in a row have left us top of the table and dreaming of an away day in Crompton or Littleborough (not a hint of sarcasm or irony here, we’ll have bus running if we make it to the quarters).
Tonight we make the short trip to Accrington to face opposition who are currently riding high atop Division 2 in the 50 over format, but who have struggled in the T20, recording two defeats and the scorn of one particular Lancashire League legend who, when I asked of their chances in a brief conversation prior to the game, called them ‘the worst T20 side there’s ever been’.
Our opponents were missing their professional for this one, so had drafted in a familiar face, Whalley pro and former Church player Levi Wolfenden.
The build up to today’s game hadn’t gone exactly to plan. Both Oddie brothers ruled out through injury with that of the latter, T20 captain Matt, a particularly serious one. We all wish Matt well in what will undoubtedly be a lengthy recovery and prolonged absence.
In came Euan Rushton and Jack Hancock for their T20 debuts, whilst Kasir Masood took over the captaincy.
And he got off to a great start, winning the toss and electing to field first.
We know what happens here, it’s a familiar story, Thikshila de Silva and Sheraz Ahmad tear through the top order in the powerplay before whoever’s left tries to present a defendable score.
But this was not the case tonight. I mean yes, Sheraz took the wickets of both openers, including sub pro Wolfenden within the powerplay, but de Silva went wicketless, albeit only conceding 14 runs from his three overs.
Kasim and Kasir Masood came on and the latter had former Accrington professional Clarke caught by Siraj for just 3. but after that, wicketkeeper Haratbar (37) and mulleted failed appealer (I’ll get to this later) Farnworth (23) did pretty well, adding 45 before both falling within 4 balls of each other with the score on 93.
One of the wickets was taken to the spin of debutant Jack Hancock, who stated afterwards this was the first time he’d bowled in several years.
Dack and Hanson added 10 each, but Dominic Steele took two wickets in the last over to keep a lid on things. Accrington closed 115-7
So another manageable total on the face of things. If you’re chasing less than a run a ball in a T20 game you have to fancy your chances.
Two new openers this week, as Kaz clearly felt as captain he may be needed later in the innings. In the absence of Matt, Caleb opened with Kasim.
Accrington’s Clarke, celebrating the start of the World Cup by turning up looking like the World Cup (shiniest hair in Lancashire) opened the bowling, but it took Caleb 3 balls to plop him back over his head for 6.
8 runs followed in the second over before Kasim joined the party. He dispatched Clarke for three fours in the third over, then did exactly the same to Wolfenden in the fourth.
4 overs in and we were 44-0 and looking like making easy work of the run chase. But you know as well as I do that we NEVER make anything easy.
Accrington changed things up, bringing on Hanson, and he had an instant impact. After a couple of wides, he straightened things up and bowled Caleb for 14, before trapping Kasim LBW for 28.
A couple of tight overs followed as the powerplay ended before the moment of the game happened soon after Accrington turned to Farnworth.
Farnworth has the longest run up I’ve seen of any bowler. It seems to take forever for each delivery, but early into his spell he steamed in from the boundary and was convinced he had GHCC professional Thikshila de Silva caught behind.
de Silva knew otherwise, and stood his ground, and the umpire didn’t raise his finger. The incredulity of the Accrington side was very apparent, and threatened to boil over until the captain got a grip on things and calmed the situation. The travelling crowd were involved and this only seemed to motivate the Accrington team even more.
Farnworth, to be fair, bowled very well. He took the wickets of Siraj and captain Kaz, and his four overs yielded figures of 2-20.
There was another moment as GHCC closed in on the required total, Farnworth again convinced he had taken the edge, this time of Alex Kennedy, and he didn’t bother appealing, simply running past the wicketkeeper, arms aloft, screaming THANKYOU, THANKYOU!! only to eventually turn round and find Alex calmly preparing for the next delivery and the umpire checking how many were left in the over. The travelling crowd enjoyed this, and quietly let him know.
But amidst all of this, the game was getting tight; the light was fading, there was needle in the air, we were losing wickets and it was absolutely freezing.
Yet whilst we perhaps didn’t fully appreciate it at the time, we were watching an absolute masterclass in how to get your team over the line in difficult conditions. Whether or not you can argue he got a life, from that point on Thikshila de Silva was both uncharacteristically restrained and absolutely faultless.
He realised long before Accrington did that there were ones either side of the wicket, and repeatedly dropped the ball into gaps and jogged through for singles.
Siraj, Kaz and Alex all understood the assignment and played their part in doing the same, and we edged towards the total.
Of his 36 not out, 22 were scored in ones, and we chipped away at the Accrington attack, scoring only one boundary, a late cut from de Silva, in 15 overs.
Needing 8 off the last over, he effortlessly switched gears and took a two, before dancing down the wicket and splatting Hasham into the trees to win the game.
3 wins from 3, top of the table, and whilst we have two tough teams yet to play in Nelson and Colne, there’s every reason to be positive.
On to the next one
Saturday
2nd XI at Burnley (Cup QF)
The Twos bowed out of the cup at Burnley.
Burnley won the toss, elected to field, and got off to a flyer albeit with some questionable looking decisions from the coats.
Only skipper Miles Corish made any impression as he made an unbeaten half-century in his side’s 134.
And it proved not to be enough as the home side eased home four down.
3rd XI B vs Rishton
With the 3a team without a game due to fixture congestion, the 3b side hosted near neighbours Rishton.
A late change saw Joel Houldsworth dropping out of the 2nd XI cup match at Burnley to be replaced by Sam Newton – although Joel was able to join the Bees once he answered an emergency call from work.
Skipper Andy Brown won the toss and sent the visitors in and restricted Rishton to 168 all out with Darab Khan and Hamza “Golden Arm” Qayoom taking three wickets apiece and Joshua Cousins weighing in with two. Joel was unable to bowl after protestations from the opposition skipper.
Richard Law-Riding almost pulled off the run out on a millennium when he “Cruyff flicked” and cover drive from his position at short cover towards the non-striker’s end’s middle stump only for the ball to hit the batsman.
It should be noted that this was a more successful attempt at nimble-footed athleticism from Rick following his Cruyff turn a number of years ago which led to a dislocated knee and three years out of action.
Unfortunately, the reply was a lame as Rick during his rehabilitation, and the Bees limped to 67 all out – Hamza top scoring with 15.
here’s the runout ‘attempt’
Sunday
The morning saw our Harriers take on Darwen, whilst in the afternoon it was Rawtenstall all round as both the first and seconds faced their Rawtenstall counterparts and recording comfortable wins wrapped up before 4pm.
Harriers vs Darwen
Great Harwood Harriers welcomed Darwen to Cliffe Park for our latest Softball League 1 fixture. Having lost the toss, we were invited to bat first in the 16-over pairs contest.
We eventually scrambled our way to 245. Credit to Darwen, who managed to get us out seven times during our innings, while we did our best to demonstrate that batting remains very much a work in progress.
The standout contribution with the bat came from Sarah, who top-scored with a composed 16 runs from 14 balls. Her partnership with Sandra was briefly interrupted by a run-out that stemmed from a minor communication issue — if by “minor communication issue” we mean neither batter seemed entirely certain whether they were running or not. After a moment of collective indecision, Darwen happily accepted the invitation to remove the bails at Sandra’s end.
Not to be outdone, Lou contributed to the entertainment by absent-mindedly leaving her crease, allowing the keeper to complete a straightforward stumping.
With birthday drinks awaiting after the match, it’s possible her mind was already elsewhere. Either way, Darwen gratefully accepted the gift.
Despite our occasional generosity with the bat, 245 gave us something to defend, and the Harriers produced a much sharper display in the field.
Special mention must also go to Megan behind the stumps. Taking the gloves for only the second time, she looked remarkably assured after receiving a pre-match wicketkeeping masterclass from Kirstie. Whether it was Kirstie’s expert coaching or Megan’s natural talent is up for debate, but she barely put a foot wrong and showed all the signs of someone who might be getting volunteered for the job a lot more often in future.
Isabelle was the star of the show, claiming an impressive three wickets. The highlight was a superb caught-and-bowled that required lightning-fast reflexes, proving that while some of us were daydreaming, others were very much switched on.
Kirstie enjoyed a productive morning, claiming a wicket, holding onto a catch and adding a run out for good measure — a fine effort that saw her feature in just about every section of the scorebook.
Sarah wasn’t finished after her batting heroics either. Entrusted with the final over, she wrapped things up in style by bowling two Darwen batters, ensuring there would be no late comeback.
Lou made amends for her earlier lapse by picking up her first wicket of the season, which was received with considerably more enthusiasm than her batting dismissal.
By the end of the 16 overs, Darwen had reached 222, leaving the Harriers winners by 23 runs.
A victory on the scoreboard, plenty to work on with the bat, and birthday celebrations safely preserved for afterwards. All in all, a successful morning at Cliffe Park
1st XI vs Rawtenstall
Firsts skipper Stuart Maher sent the visitors in, and it was soon over as thanks to a magnificent seven from Sanka – Rawtenstall were blazed out for just 83 – with de Silva finishing with 7-44 and taking his total to 48 wickets for the season in all competitions.
And Maher’s merry men got to the total five down with. The pro backed up his impressive showing with the ball with a composed 33 not out. Chris Oddie and Mr Extras both contributed 19 to the chase for a comfortable 12 points.
2nd XI at Rawtenstall
Moments later in the Rossendale Valley, Miles’ men bagged a dozen to keep up their promotion chase at the Memorial Ground.
Electing to bat first, the hosts were shot out in less than 31 overs, with Joel Houldsworth bagging five and birthday Guru Paul Newton taking three as Rawtenstall made 103.
After losing Freddie Campbell early on, Miles (66*) and Jack Hancock (28*) put the hosts “bowling” to the sword and knocked the runs off in less than 17 overs.