Back once again with another weekend review. We’re well into August now but the games keep coming thick and fast.
Here’s how our senior sides got on…
Friday 7 August
Harriers at Ramsbottom
Saturday 8 August
Harriers vs Bacup
There was no time to dwell on the Ramsbottom defeat, as just 12 hours later the Harriers were back in action and ready to put things right, this time in the super8’s hardball league.
Having beaten Bacup by more than 60 runs just a couple of weeks earlier, we knew this time around we were in for a much tougher test.
After losing the toss, Harriers were put in to bat. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the ideal start, with the first wicket falling in the very first over. Sharon found herself on the wrong end of an awkward delivery, which popped up off the bat and gave Bacup a straightforward catch.
Thankfully, there was no need to worry for long, as Sarah quickly made up for the early setback. She went on to score a brilliant 36 during a strong four-over partnership with Sharon, getting the Harriers’ innings firmly back on track. That was certainly a relief for the team, as Sarah went into the game carrying an injury that could have made running between the wickets a bit of a challenge. Thankfully, she had a much simpler solution — smashing fours and sixes so she barely had to run at all.
There was just one more wicket to fall during the rest of the Harriers’ innings, with Lydia unlucky to be given out LBW. However, there were plenty more valuable contributions along the way, with Martha scoring 28 and Jess chipping in with 13.
By the end of the innings, Bacup had a target of 332 to chase.
Still battered and bruised from the night before, the Harriers headed back out into the field. Darcy got the breakthrough, bowling Bacup’s opening batter in the third over to put the Harriers on the scoresheet.
The next wicket came in the 10th over, when Gill struck and Martha, lurking short, took a brilliant catch.
The Harriers’ final wicket of the morning came courtesy of Lou, as Bacup’s batter sent one of her deliveries skywards. With plenty of time to get underneath it, Lou made sure she was in position and calmly took the catch.
With the Harriers firmly in control, it gave the whole team the perfect opportunity to get some valuable bowling practice in. However, the standout performance came from young Darcy, who was superb with the ball, conceding just 5 runs from her two overs while also picking up a wicket.
Bacup finished on 313 meaning Harriers won by 19 runs.
A crucial win for the Great Harwood women which sees us move joint top of the league with Littleborough — and now the stage is set for a huge showdown as they come to The Cliffe this Thursday evening for a juicy six-pointer. Hope to see you there!
2nd XI at East Lancs
So it seems I upset a few last week with my Operation Pisstheleague whimsy.
Are you stupid, they said.
The opposition will read this and redouble efforts in key upcoming games, they said.
Lets piss the league before we set sail on HMS Pisstheleague they said.
At 13.17 on Saturday afternoon, East Lancs were 23-7.
Having elected to bat first, East Lancs crumbled like the cheese of the county in their name in the face of an impeccable double bowling performance from Dominic Steele (4-14) and Sam Newton (3-19).
They did rally, as you would expect from any side that had won seven in a row, Lokhandwala and Babi combining to add 43 for the 8th wicket, but the damage had already been done.
There was a wicket each for Paul Newton (1-29) and Ciaran Holden (1-14) before a run out from Chris Oddie ended the innings, East Lancs all out for 91.
The response didn’t go altogether to plan; 4 of our top 5 were out for single figures, with former GHCC player Abid Hussain among the wickets, but amidst all of this Euan Rushton was metronomically going about his afternoon, calmly hitting yet another 50 in what is becoming a remarkable season. .
Whilst he was out shortly after reaching 50, Chris Oddie and Paul Houldsworth saw us home.
A 12 point win against one of our title rivals leaves a 25 point gap back to Enfield in second and a 35 point gap to today’s opponents in 3rd. With 5 games to go and 2 teams promoted it could be the case that a win next week at home against Middleton could seal promotion, but that won’t be an easy game against a side that have won 10 of their 17 games.
We’ve still a long way to go but this was a particularly impressive performance at a time it really mattered, and come the end of the season could be seen as a pivotal moment in this campaign. Keep attacking teams the way we are and, whisper it, the boat may well have set sail by September.
1st XI vs East Lancs
Our 1st XI used to play on Saturdays. They used to play every Saturday and win on most of them.
But that hasn’t happened since 2016, and so whilst captain Stuart Maher will hold fond memories of tearing through Ribblesdale League batting lineups then being able to head out for 15 pints afterwards, most of the side playing today had barely been born, let alone plopped any sixes over Edenfield’s clubhouse
But there was obviously some nostalgia in the air today. Sunday’s Worsley Cup final made it one of those rare occasions where all Lancashire League 1st and 2nd XI fixtures move to Saturday. We took full advantage.
We welcomed East Lancs to Evolve Document Solutions for today’s game. A side openly in the middle of a rebuild which their charman spoke very impressively about earlier this season on Radio Lancashire (sadly I can’t find the link to point you all to), yet a team that find themselves alongside us in mid table having put together some fine performances this season.
We came into today’s game in the midst of something of a season revival, on the back of a couple of impressive wins. Win today and we may be able to make a late season push towards the higher end of the table.
East Lancs won the toss and, on a rock hard surface in 30 degree temperatures, made what appeared to be a sensible decision to bat first.
Sheraz Ahmad, who joined us over the winter from today’s opposition, opened the bowling with Thikshila de Silva, and neither were in any mood to stay out in the middle in that heat all afternoon.
The two of them were exceptional. Sheraz taking 4-31 and Thikshila 6-31 as we tore through the East Lancs lineup, skittling them out for just 74.
In response Matt and Jack made easy going of the target, finishing 23* and 31* respectively as we got there in 14.4 overs to win by 10 wickets.
A rare early finish, and a good double happy hour at the bar to celebrate the club’s three victories in the day.
I’ve been asked to include here, by the victim I may add, the ‘greatest insult of all time’ which was uttered post game by a daughter to her father, however when I write it here it loses all of its humour and just reads like an unnecessary dig, and these match reports are all about bringing happiness and positivity to the reader. If any of you want to know what it was, ask Mark Sheridan next time you see him.
Middleton away next week, on to the next one.
Sunday 9 August
3rd XI A vs Burnley
I don’t really want to talk about this one, other than to express how well we batted and to remind our young side that, somedays, no matter how much you throw at an opposition, it’s simply their day and there’s nothing you can do about it.
We took on Burnley on Sunday. Having won the toss we chose to bat and Euan hit yet another 50, ably backed up by pretty much everyone. We batted through our 40 overs posting 209-8, which on most days would be a winning score at this level.
Side note too for Joseph Armer, who batted very well for his 29.
In response, there were wickets for Ciaran Holden, Dominic Steele and William Armer, but the Burnley opener Tomlinson and number 3 Syed batted very well, scoring 90 and 84* respectively. They reached the target with 5 overs to spare and ran out deserved winners.
We go again next week.
Tuesday 11 August
Harriers at Darwen
The Harriers travelled to Darwen for their Softball League 1 fixture on a gorgeous sunny evening. After losing the toss and being sent in to bat, Isabelle and Katie opened with purpose and produced the standout partnership of the innings. Their composed start yielded a fluent 38 without loss — Katie scoring 20 and Isabelle 18 — providing an ideal platform for the rest of the batting line‑up. With three pairs still to come, the instruction was to take it easy and avoid slipping into the usual habit of cross‑batting, something the team is working hard to reduce. Harwood continued to build steadily, losing only two wickets across the innings, and 53 opposition extras helped lift the final total to 322.
Having set a strong total, the Harriers were able to rotate their attack and experiment with different bowling options, giving valuable overs to players who usually bowl less frequently or those returning from injury and needing match‑time practice. Lydia, recovering from a broken leg sustained in a freak rugby accident earlier in the year, delivered an excellent spell, finishing with 2 for 17 from her three overs. Sharon, who normally keeps wicket, stepped out into the field and showed her versatility by taking two excellent catches — one off Lou and the other off Isabelle. Megan took over the gloves for only the second time this season and produced a solid, assured performance. Katie added to the bowling highlights by claiming her second wicket of the season with a delivery that went straight through middle stump, a deserved reward for her accuracy. Alongside the five wickets taken, Harwood’s fielding was notably tight, with sharp pickups and strong throw‑ins to counter a leg‑side‑heavy Darwen batting approach.
A superb all‑round team performance, securing another three points and keeping momentum strong with just two games left in the softball format.