Red Rose U17 boys show cup class
DIPESH ASHER THE LCB Boys Under 17 progressed through to the National Final of the Royal London County Cup where they will meet Middlesex at Kibworth CC on Sunday (10.45am start).
Having topped the North Regional group with wins against Durham, Yorkshire and Derbyshire, and only one defeat against Cheshire, they qualified for the semi-final against Northamptonshire at Ormskirk CC.
The semi-final was a close encounter. Northants elected to bat first and made a good start posting 55 for the first wicket, but with excellent bowling from Lancashire’s Lewis Dove (4-44), reduced the opposition to 172 all out.
In reply Lancashire lost four early wickets, but an excellent fifth wicket partnership of 75 by captain Rehan Udwadia (57) and Sam Dorsey 44* and a quick-fire 41* by Lewis Dove led Lancashire to victory by five wickets with two overs to spare.
Bob Deardon, LCB Under 17s manager, speaking about the semi-final performance, said: “In a tense game on a challenging pitch I was delighted to see the boys apply great application and determined batting particularly by the middle order to clinch the win.
“We’d like to thank Ormskirk CC for hosting the game.”
Gary Yates, LCB Under 17s Head Coach and LCCC Academy Director, is looking forward to the final. He added: “It’s great to see our Under 17s perform well to get to the national final on Sunday. This group of players have shown some determination and fight with winning some close games along the way.
“If we achieve our potential on Sunday we can hopefully win the final, and for the team, this will be an excellent experience of competing on a big day.” ●● Liam Jackson hit 46 for Enfield ●● Alex Coleman top-scored for Haslingden SHELDAN KEAY
BACUP Cricket Club picked up a big victory in the Lancashire League after they defeated Church by nine wickets at Blackburn Road.
Church were put into bat first after Bacup won the toss, but the home side struggled to make any real impact.
Only four batsmen could make it into double figures, with the other seven players managing just 13 runs between them.
Sam Holt (25) and Craig Fergusson (24) hit their team’s biggest scores, but Church were bowled all out for 105.
Matthew Aspinall was the pick of the bowlers for Bacup after finishing with figures of 4-40, while Jack Bradford also impressed with 3-6.
It was a comfortable run chase for the visitors, led by professional Ernest Kemm who top scored with 39. Tim Farragher (28 not out) and Matthew Schofield (20 not out) then saw Bacup over the line to help them reach the target within 31 overs and win the match by nine wickets.
Bacup are up to 13th place in the table after the victory, while Church have now dropped to 11th.
RAMSBOTTOM were also triumphant on Saturday after they overcame Enfield by seven wickets at Acre Bottom.
Enfield won the toss and decided to bat first, but lost both openers cheaply and found themselves 18-2.
Liam Jackson steadied the ship with 46 from 67 balls, while Joseph Wrigley also tried to contribute further down the order by adding 20.
The rest of the team didn’t offer much though, meaning that Enfield were bowled all out for 120.
Jon Fielding was the star with the ball for Ramsbot- tom after he finished with 5-33 from his 11 overs.
Ramsbottom got off to a shaky start in response when they lost opener JJ Fielding for just seven, but professional Grant Thomson (47), Martin Cropper (32 not out) and Tom Parton (28) helped the team to a straightforward victory.
Ramsbottom are in seventh place after their sixth win of the season, with Enfield finding themselves in 12th spot.
It was another frustrating afternoon for RAWTENSTALL after an eight wicket defeat to Clitheroe meant they are still searching for their first win of the campaign.
Rawtenstall won the toss and decided to bat first, but it was a poor batting performance as only Rizwan Shafiq (19) and Dean O’Brien (10) made it into double figures.
The rest of the team struggled, and Rawtenstall’s innings came to an end when they were bowled all for just 81 runs.
Clitheroe’s main bowler was Marcus Sharp as he ended with 5-21, while Sam Halstead also chipped in by taking figures of 3-46.
It was an easy run chase for Clitheroe, led by Charlie Dewhurst as he hit an unbeaten half century from just 67 balls.
That helped his side reach their target in just 16 overs and condemn Rawtenstall to yet another defeat.
Rawtenstall remain rooted to the bottom of the table and are now 12 games without a win, while Clitheroe are up to fourth.
HASLINGDEN also suffered defeat on Saturday after they lost to Accrington by five wickets at Thorneyholme Road.
Haslingden won the toss and decided to bat first, but just like in a number of other teams over the weekend, they found things tough.
Only Alex Coleman (28) and Chris Cook-Martin ●● Jon Fielding took five wickets for Ramsbottom (12) made it into double figures, as the other nine batsmen made just 16 runs between them.
It meant Haslingden were bowled all out for 69 after 33 overs, with Jake Clarke the pick of the Accrington bowlers after taking figures of 4-27.
Accrington were always on course to win but they would have hoped to keep