Ormskirk cruise to victory

Liverpool Gin Liverpool Competition: ECB Premier League: Ormskirk (25pts), 228-9 declared, beat Southport and Birkdale (5pts), 127 all out, by 101 runs IT was no surprise that Southport and Birkdale lost to Ormskirk on Saturday.

The Brook Lane team are one of the best club sides in the country; they reached the semi-finals of the national knockout last year and will surely be in contention for the Premier League championship come September. After all, it is nearly three years since they won the title and that must seem like an age to Matt Glayzer and his players.

On Saturday Ormskirk’s batting proved to be far deeper than S&B’s and their bowling more penetrative.

The former quality allowed the home team to recover from 92 for five and eventually post a total of 228 for 9; the latter capability saw Ormskirk’s seamers, led by the S&B old boys Scott Lees and Josh Bohannon, take early wickets and then snuff out the workmanlike recovery mounted by Chris Brownlow and Adam Phillips.

The margin of 101 runs was about right; Glayzer’s cricketers will humble teams by larger margins before Michaelmas.

But having acknowledged Ormskirk’s overall superiority, S&B’s supporters at Brook Lane on Saturday could be encouraged by the things their own team got right. Chief amongst these was probably the Andy Warhurst and Justin Labuschagne’s new ball bowling, which accounted for four of Glayzer’s top order at a cost of 46 runs.

Throughout Bohannon and Caunce’s innings, however, S&B’s fielding remained keen and competent. Bradley Yates took three catches behind the stumps and three others were taken in the outfield. Runs were rarely given to the opposition; and if this becomes a characteristic of S&B’s cricket over the next five months, the team will reap the profits.