Boro’s boys into
CLINTON Perren had a smile on his face as wide as his bat seems to be for opposition bowlers this season as Littleborough progressed to the semi finals of the Wood Cup with a hard earned victory against Greenfield in an enthralling tie at Hare Hill.
It was a pleasure to watch as he led this young homegrown team to victory.
Littleborough chose to bat after winning the toss on an overcast afternoon and had progressed swiftly to 28 before losing their first wicket when Tom Pye was adjudged lbw to Cadd for six.
This brought deputy pro Ernest Kemm to the wicket and he could consider himself unlucky when he was caught down the legside for four again off the bowling of Cadd.
This brought Ryan Miskella to the crease and he and his skipper set about laying the foundations for the innings.
They added 109 for the third wicket, of which Miskella scored a solid 32 before he watch in disbelief as he jarred a yorker into his boot and saw the ball roll back onto his stumps off the bowling of Woolley.
Skipper Perren, in the meantime, had coasted to 80 and it just seemed a matter of when and not if he reached his century.
So it came as a surprise when he missed a straight one from the gangly Khalil and was dismissed for 98 with the score on 164 as he passed 700 runs for the season.
A score of 200 was there for the taking but the home side nearly messed things up as Hernon, struggling to time the ball, ran Barnes out for one and then fell for three himself.
Nash and Knight both played unnecessary shots when all that was called for was one a ball to get the home side past the 200 mark. Both fell in identical fashion, caught behind off the bowling of Caudwell which left the home side floundering a little on 179-8 with four overs left.
Fortunately for the Boro, teenagers Kershaw and Wilman batted sensibly and put on what turned out to be an important 24-run partnership before Wilman and then Jones were both out off the last two balls of the innings as the home side finished on 203.
If they were to progress to the semi final they had a decent total to defend and everything was going to plan as Knight and Wilman both picked up a wicket apiece to leave the visitors on 15-2 and after ten overs they had progressed to 29-2.
Then came a period in the game that the skipper will be looking to eradicate from his young side’s future game plan.
They just seemed to let the game drift, go through the motions, were very quiet in the field as change bowlers Miskella and Kershaw bowled failed to find a consistent line and length and as a result Gill and Krugel coasted to 76-2 off 20 and it was definitely game on.
Skipper Perren tried desperately to stem the flow of runs but he couldn’t find a willing partner to keep both ends quiet as Kemm bowled very tidily and returned figures of 1-15 off eight overs.
He then produced a master stroke when he recalled opener Knight and he repaid his skipper’s faith when he removed the dangerous Gill for an impressive 50 caught by the skipper himself in the slips.
He then bounced Caudwell out for a duck to leave the visitors on 112-5 and the home side started to gain control. Miskella then replaced Knight – who had bowled out – and found more accuracy than in his first spell but still the visitors wouldn’t give in. They had reached 140 before Miskella enticed an edge from pro Moonsamy and Hernon took a smart catch stood up at the wicket.
That soon became 145-7 when Miskella picked up another wicket courtesy of a catch by Knight at backward point.
Greenfield still kept giving it their all and have moved the score to 167 with just 36 needed off 6 overs. Perren then bowled Ashworth as the home side sensed victory.
Wilman returned and picked up the last two wickets to give keeper Hernon his third and fourth victims of the day as the visitors were all out for 177.
This young homegrown Littleborough side are now just one game away from a place in the last ever Wood Cup final, a competition they called their own in the 1990s, winning it five times.