A quieter one this weekend, with just 4 games to cover. Without further ado: –
Friday
Friday saw our T20 side look to build on the resounding win in last week’s opener away at Church, as we welcomed Burnley CC to Evolve Document Solutions Cliffe Park
T20 vs Burnley
And then you put your arms around me
And we tumble to the ground and then you say….
We faced Burnley on Friday, and following a heartening 10 wicket win last week we were in bullish mood to follow up against the team probably best fancied to win our JW Lees Founders group.
Indeed our opponents had opened up with a win last week too, comfortably beating Accrington thanks in no small part to a 53 ball 83 from Bedford.
So it added further impetus to see them arrive without last week’s match winner. But make no mistake, this is a very strong side we would be playing, one that have only failed to progress from the group stages once since the league expansion, when they finished 3rd below ourselves in 2021.
As ever we lost the toss, and Burnley elected to bat. There had been scattered showers through the week but these had thankfully cleared up by midday on Friday and the wicket had withstood it quite well.
In attendance tonight were our friends from Watson Ramsbottom Solicitors, sponsoring the game on the back of the announcement of their recent long term commitment to sponsor the front of the club’s shirts. They are a long-standing sponsor of the club and we thank them greatly for their support.
So out the players came. Thikshila de Silva and Sheraz Ahmad opened up and pressed the openers well. To call it a batting powerplay would be borderline mis-selling, Burnley’s first 6 overs saw three wickets and just 15 runs, a remarkable feat, with both openers Clarke (5) and Shah (2) falling within 3 balls of each other, and Roberts falling soon after.
The introduction of Burnley pro Erasmus coincided with the end of the powerplay, and a change of bowling provided some relief to our opponents, 10 runs coming from the 7th.
Sheraz completed an excellent spell of 2-8 from his four overs with the wicket of Hodge, well caught by Caleb Greenhalgh, before Erasmus and Brunt set about rebuilding.
And they did a reasonable job, adding 36 before Brunt was bowled by the last ball of Kasim Masood’s third over. Erasmus sought to take the game to us, hitting Matt Oddie for a six onto the roof of the pizza van positioned in the car park, but runs overall were hard to come by.
Neherkar was run out for 10 in the penultimate over, before Dominic Steele took the prized wicket of Erasmus, caught behind for a run a ball 45. He followed up with another, Khan caught by Siraj next ball, but there was no hat-trick, the Burnley 8 and 10 rallied to drag the total past 100. Burnley closed 102-8.
I was on my 4th Thatcher’s Blood Orange by this point and headed for a pizza, so watched the first 3 overs of the chase by the van as my pizza was made.
Kaz and Matt opened up for us, combining for 10 before Kaz was trapped LBW by Naveed for 7.
Thikshila de Silva came in at 3 and set about it, frustrating the Burnley team nudging quick singles before hitting Hodge into the car park for six. He and Matt added 54 for the second wicket, and when de Silva cleared the wall at the Dog and Otter end, we looked to be well on our way to victory.
But 2 balls later he was gone, repeating the shot only to just pick out Erasmus on the long off boundary. Gone for 33, from 23 balls with three sixes.
Siraj came in, hit a big six before being bowled by Ishaq Khan, but Matt was still there.
He was joined by Caleb, who took a few deliveries to get himself set before seeing us to victory, hitting 4 fours in 5 deliveries to finish 16*. Matt unbeaten on 32.
Two games, two wins in this year’s T20. Make no mistake, there are some strong sides still to play but there are a lot of positives to take from these two performances. Accrington away next week, can we make it 3 in a row?
A final shout to our post match entertainment, the fantastic Spiked Island. We’ve had them at GHCC a few times now and they never disappoint. If you need a covers band give them a shout.
On to the next one.
Saturday
No game on Saturday, so nothing to report. NEXT!
Sunday
A wet Sunday, but not wet enough that there would be no cricket, just enough to ensure rain delays and DLS. Yay!!
1st XI at Rochdale
Our 1st XI like winning these days. If you discount the first two weeks of the season, we’ve only lost once in the league, and even that was a 6 run defeat which yielded 7 points.
We’re in a good place, and that place on Sunday, was Rochdale.
There isn’t much to talk about on this one, we were rained off partway through our innings and never got back on, but it would be remiss of me not to note an excellent 55* for Matt Oddie and 42 from Thikshila de Silva.
Credit also to Rochdale opening bowler Oddy, who returned 2-20 from 13 overs.
On to the next one
2nd XI vs Enfield
Much like our 1st XI, our 2s like winning these days too. Indeed they’ve only lost once all season, by a single run in this ridiculous game away at Bacup.
Going into today, we sit 4th, just 11 points behind today’s table-topping opponents. Quite the opportunity.
For once we won the toss and asked the league leaders to bat. And bat they did, openers Haworth and Clarke adding 60 for the first wicket before Ciaran Holden had the former caught behind by Ben Rogers.
William Armer had A Cook trapped LBW for a duck, but that was as good as it got for a while from a GHCC perspective as J Cook joined Clarke. Both passed 50 as they added 93 for the 3rd wicket.
At this stage Enfield looked on course for 300+,
But before the score hit 200 both were caught by Freddie Campbell, as was former GHCC player and one of my favourite humans Anthony Steele, with Ciaran Holden (3-32) and William Armer (2-51) taking the wickets.
O’Loughlin continued to pile pressure on the GHCC attack, and even with there being time for Paul Houldsworth to pick up two wickets in successive balls, Enfield set an imposing total of 227-7
But we’ve chased this kind of total down several times already this season, so would have felt relatively confident at tea.
Former GHCC player Marcus Hamer opened the bowling for Enfield, an intriguing move which on another day could have paid dividends; we know all too well how many wickets his spin can take at this level. But Jack and Freddie were having none of it, and got us off to what is becoming their customary solid start.
They added 46 before a change of bowling saw Freddie trapped LBW by Abbas for 16.
Alex Kennedy (12) joined Jack (29), and they got going again before both were also trapped LBW to Abbas.
A brief rain delay meant we lost 2 overs, with a revised target set at 221 from 43.
Max Cocken was joined by William Armer and both played freely, adding 34 and taking us past 100 before the former GHCC combo of Steele and Hamer combined to remove Cocken for 24.
Captain Miles Corish joined Armer, and combined for 67, with Armer reaching another impressive 50.
As the rain began to fall again, he was adjudged LBW off the bowling of S Cook for 60, from just 68 balls with 7 fours and a six. This contribution meant we were ahead of the DLS par score when the umpires took us off.
The rain set in for the night, there was no chance of further play and an hour or so later the umpires called the result.
GHCC win, 10 points by DLS. Enfield picking up 2 points for taking 5 wickets in the 34 overs we were able to play.
Up to second. 3 points behind league leaders Enfield, and with a small gap now back to third.
Rawtenstall away next week. I hope Hamza’s picked as he scores 100 every time he plays there.
On to the next one
Monday
On Monday our Harriers women’s team travelled to Moorside for the first hardball game of the season.
Lou has provided a match report for this one, so I’m signing off, I’ll be back next week, and now I will hand over to Lou for the Harriers Report.
Harriers at Moorside
The Harriers finally stepped onto the field to start the defence of their league title, after weeks of lousy weather had washed out every previous attempt. Their opponents, Moorside, were making their debut in the hardball league, setting the stage for an intriguing contest in Oldham.
Harriers lost the toss and were sent in to bat. Scoring proved difficult, and the team managed 27 runs, with the standout contribution coming from Martha, who struck a superb 18, including several crisp fours that were only inches away from clearing the rope.
Despite the modest total, the Harriers came out with real intent in the field. Caitlin struck early, taking a wicket with the fourth ball of the innings.
The highlight was Mercedes, who tore through Moorside’s starting pair with a sensational hat‑trick, taking three wickets in three consecutive balls. The collapse continued as Martha and Caitlin added further breakthroughs, leaving Moorside rattled.
Moorside’s third pair, however, steadied their innings. With wickets drying up, they began to accumulate runs more comfortably, nudging the momentum back their way.
⭐ Standout Performances
Two players shared the spotlight:
* Jess Ross — stepping up for wicketkeeping duties at the very last moment so the Harriers could unleash Mercedes with the ball. It was her first time behind the stumps, but she carried herself with the weary confidence of someone who’s definitely been volunteered for this before.
* Mercedes Palmer — immediately justified the tactic by storming in and taking a hat‑trick, proving the plan was less “risky experiment” and more “genius move.”
Their combined impact was the heartbeat of the Harriers’ fightback.
🏆 Final Result
Moorside ultimately claimed victory by 15 runs, but the Harriers showed real character, energy, and promise — especially considering the lack of match practice and the quality of Moorside’s youthful side.
There’s plenty for the coaches to work with, but also plenty to be proud of.