Here we are again for another weekend roundup. A weekend in which our 3rd XI B cemented their place in Division 2 for another year, our 1st XI continued their impressive form, our Harriers had 4 games scheduled but didn’t make it on to a field and our 2nd XI looked to secure promotion back to the top tier.
Despite trying 4 times, there was no game to report on for the Harriers this week, so Louise Greenwood gets another week off.
Saturday’s games are covered by Jason Kayley. I’ll do the Sunday games.
Saturday 22nd August
3A at Enfield
A much-changed A-Team made the short trip to Enfield looking to finish strong in their penultimate game of the season.
With Graham Campbell making his league bow and skippering the side, the visitors were invited to bowl first and were made to toil as Enfield racked up 234-7.
Harry Corish (4-19) and Joe Cookson (2-36) took the wickets.
Freddie Campbell (73) and Ciaran Holden (68) put on 124 for the second wicket but despite Harry’s 34 – and amidst some bizarre shot selection by the lower order – the A Team ended up 19 runs short.
3B vs Crompton
The Bees however secured their 3rd XI League Division 2 status thanks to a thumping win over Crompton.
Needing just two points to stay up, we won by seven wickets and staving off relegation.
Crompton were put in and thanks to some particularly miserly bowling, were restricted to 99-9 from their 40 overs, with the wickets being shared amongst all of the bowlers except Zachary Houldsworth, who after bowling three overs for just two runs, was unceremoniously yanked out of the attack by Captain Brown. It’s a tough school, Bean.
The run chase got off to an inauspicious start with Dad and Lad Sheridan opening.
After running a three, Dad Mark played on for a Golden Duck and made for the iron lung waiting for him in the pavilion. Thankfully, after a vat of Carlsberg top delivered intravenously, he’s made a full recovery.
The rest was simple as the Bees coasted home with 19.4 overs left. Nathan, Darab and Ash all got into the 20s for a 10-point win.
Sunday 23rd August
1st vs Rochdale
On Thursday last week I received a letter. It was a handwritten one in joined-up text that wasn’t immediately legible and clearly written by somebody of an older generation, who had taken great care in creating it and thought very purposefully about what they wanted to say.
I don’t get many letters, aside of course from one a month trying to flog me a barclaycard or regular disappointments telling me the cost of something I’ve signed up to, either through absolute necessity or, more commonly, inadvertently whilst trying unsuccessfully to escape from Great Harwood Morrisons with just a hot jalapeno sausage.
So this was not only something of a surprise, but quite a joyful moment. I ripped open the envelope in a manner more borne of an excitable child on Christmas morning than that of a 42 year old lump of a man still slightly wheezing after walking up a flight of stairs just having eaten a disappointing dried-up chicken kiev, and unfolded the letter. Lined notebook paper, still with serration lines and straggly bits down the left showing it had been torn from a ringbound notepad. On the page was a trace of a circular mark, a sign that a coffee cup had been sat on the page at some point, but the ink of the writing sat over this, indicating the coffee long predated the letter.
My mind processed the writing style and the words came into focus, it was clear it was a short message. and it read…
Today our long unbeaten, left it too late but smashing everyone in sight ones looked to continue doing exactly that, as we welcomed 5th placed Rochdale to Evolve Document Solutions Cliffe Park.
We named an unchanged team, looking to add a 5th win in a row to this unbeaten streak that stretches back to early July.
Rochdale have Dale Phillips as a regular sub pro this year. Former Rishton pro and brother of New Zealand test regular Glenn. He’s been in some form, hitting 660 runs at 80 across the ten games he’s played for them.
Rochdale won the toss and asked us to bat first. Jack fell early, nicking Oddy to Muzaffar at slip, but Matt and Caleb steadied things, taking the score to 59 before Matt was bowled.
Thikshila de Silva joined Caleb and the two continued to make steady progress. Bu the introduction of Phillips saw both fall quickly and changed entirely the momentum of the game.,
Thikshila went for 27 with the score on 95 and then having batted watchfully for his 31, Caleb was out caught by Muzaffar off Phillips with the score 109. This triggered something of a collapse, with Siraj, Kasim and Nathan all falling without troubling the scorers. We had fallen from 109-3 to 112-7 and our prospects of posting a competitive score were looking slim.
BUT WE KNOW BETTER THAN THAT DON’T WE!!
In walked Sheraz to join Kaz. Together they added 48 before Kaz was out for 32. Captain Stuart came out and clubbed a rapid 12 before he was trapped LBW by Phillips. 172-9 and we had something to bowl at.
But Sheraz wasn’t nearly done yet. He showed once again what a destructive batsman he can be, smashing 77 off just 51 balls, with 10 fours and 4 sixes.
He was out caught on the edge to the very last ball of the innings, having added the bulk of a last wicket partnership of 69 with Dominic Steele (8*)
We closed the innings all out for 241
We know what happens here now don’t we. Thikshila and Sheraz have been tearing through batting orders in recent weeks, and there was to be no exception today.
The former struck first with a double blow with the score on 9. Ayres and Kasmiri both bowled.
Then the big one, the extremely dangerous Phillips out to a brilliant legside catch from Nathan Sheridan, standing up to Sheraz’s bowling.
Opener Ali Muzaffar was digging in, but when he fell, caught by Siraj off Sheraz, it triggered a collapse similar to the one we had experienced in the first innings.
36-3 became 36-7 as captain Harling, Gilbertson and Wackrill all joined Muzaffar back in the pavillion.
Pauline and Bluer did well to stem the tide, but when Thikshila bowled the latter, and followed up bowling Oddy in the same over, the score was 56-9 and we were all set for an early finish.
Or were we.
Well, yes, but not as early as perhaps anticipated. Pauline and Poscha, perhaps buoyed by our two opening bowlers taking a well deserved rest, set about bringing more than respectability to their team’s score. They put on 75 for the last wicket, and with plenty of overs lefty you just started to think, they couldn’t, could they?
No.
Pauline was bowled by Matt Oddie and Rochdale were all out for 131. A fifth straight victory for our ones.
It is still mathematically possible we could catch the top three, but this is highly unlikely at this stage; this run has in all probability come a couple of weeks too late for us to realistically seek to challenge. Alas, we travel to Rawtenstall next week looking to add another win to the unbeaten streak knowing exactly what this group of players is capable of.
2nd at Enfield
The last report of the weekend, and it promises to be a big one.
Our title chasing, top of the table twos travelled to second placed Enfield on Sunday, knowing that 2 points would be enough to secure promotion back to the top tier, whilst a 12 point win without allowing our opposition any bonus points would be enough to secure the division title.
Into today’s team came Oliver Roscoe, Freddie Campbell and Joseph Cookson, replacing Euan Rushton, Joel Houldsworth and Sam Newton.
Miles lost the toss and Enfield elected to bat. They have the league’s leading run scorer opening in Cameron Clarke (though Euan may yet have something to say about that), so when he was out in the first over for just 4, we were off to a positive start.
O’Loughlin and Cook took Enfield to 50, but both then fell in quick succession following the introduction of Samuel Davies.
When Harry Corish returned for a second spell, he took three quick wickets and Enfield were 77-6 and the unlikely title confirmation was a distinct possibility.
In came Garratty and he and O’Farrell steadied our opponents innings. They batted well in the face of unrelenting pressure from our bowlers, combining to add 59 for the 7th wicket.
Garratty was out, caught by Paul Houldsworth off Cookson (2-42), but O’Farrell was set, and with overs running out, it looked as though Enfield would complete their allocated overs.
With three overs left, Miles again turned to the experience of Houldsworth, seeking to break the deadlock, and with his fourth ball, it proved effective. Same combination as last week, O’Farrell out caught by Miles off the bowling of Paul.
into the 44th over and Sam Davies immediately trapped Cook LBW. Enfield were 9 down and out of nowhere, we now had 11 balls to take the final wicket and seal the two bonus points that would clinch promotion.
Three dots, a well struck boundary, and then this happened…
OUR TITLE CHASING, TOP OF THE TABLE TWOS ARE PROMOTED!!
Such celebrations mid game are not often seen, but the season’s ultimate objective had been sealed right in that moment.
So to the run chase. Whilst 163 to win was undoubtedly more than it looked like we would be chasing at one point, it wasn’t one that would particularly overawe a side used to chasing down totals.
From very early on however it became apparent this would not be a straightforward task.
Freddie Campbell had warmed up for this one, scoring 73 on the same ground just yesterday, but he went for just two inside the first over. Hamza followed soon after for 5.
Alex Kennedy was looking untroubled however, and he and Miles took the score past 50. However when Miles chipped one to Howarth, it triggered something of a collapse. Alex, Paul and Sam all fell in quick succession and whilst Chris Oddie was battling hard at the other end, the wickets kept coming.
Harry Corish was out LBW and Oliver Roscoe bowled by Garratty, who took 5-35.
Paul Newton and Joseph Cookson dug in, successfully seeing off both O’Farrell and Cook who completed their 12 overs. We were about to see if Enfield has a fourth or even fifth bowler, but a mix up deciding whether to run a second resulted in a run out, and our opponents completed the victory.
Paul and Joseph added 19 for the last wicket, taking us to 118 and acquiring an additional bonus point in the process. As a result we sit 16 points clear of todays opponents, and know that 2 wins from our final three games should be enough for the title.
So a slightly disappointing day, but one in which is ultimately extremely positive as promotion is confirmed. Well done to Enfield, who put themselves in a great position to join us in Division 1 next year and ensured the title race will go deep into the season.
Rawtenstall at home next week for our promoted, title chasing, top of the table twos. As Miles succinctly put it following the game, job done – now let’s finish in style.
The letter? What letter? Oh, yes, of course I remember. It simply read…
WHEN DOES THE BOAT SET SAIL?
Soon…