Widnes win promotion on dramatic final day
WIDNES Cricket Club’s first XI went into the last game of the season sitting in the second promotion place but only three points ahead of fellow promotion rivals Upton.
With several possible outcomes, Widnes knew winning and gaining 25 points would be the only way to go up and not rely on Upton’s result.
The other twist in the tail was that Barrow were fighting a relegation battle to remain in Division One although they not only had to beat Widnes other results across the league had to go in their favour.
Widnes arrived at Barrow to find a bowler-friendly wicket. That at least would take the possibility of a draw further out of the equation.
Widnes skipper Tom Evans called the coin toss incorrectly and as expected his side were put into bat.
James McCoy and Chris Kirby opened the batting for Widnes and instantly the wicket looked tricky to bat on.
McCoy was caught and bowled by Ryan Holloway for four.
Mike Byrne joined Kirby in the middle and they put on a cautious 25 before the former was bowled by Holloway having made six.
Matt Burns was next in but soon departed without troubling the scorers, Alex Reid taking a catch off another Holloway delivery.
Majid Majeed now came to the crease and with Kirby they moved the score onto 43 in 19 overs. At this point, Kirby was bowled by Holloway having scored a cautious 20.
This brought overseas player Johnathan Campbell to the middle with Majeed. They managed to put on 28 before Majeed lost his wicket, trapped lbw by Iroshan De Silva.
Alex Hewitt joined Campbell but unfortunately another wicket fell just five runs later when the total had reached 76, the Zimbabwean going for 18.
Rob Magee was next in for Widnes, but departed for a duck, an lbw victim to Aniket Sengupta.
Qamar Hafiz now joined Hewitt and the former decided the attack was the best form of defence.
This tactic managed to boost the Widnes total beyond the 100 mark. They reached 124 when Hafiz was out for 36, lbw to De Silva.
Captain Evans now came to the middle and the total moved onto 136 when the penultimate wicket fell, Hewitt bowled by Nick Mumford for 15.
Widne’s last man, Will Myers, departed ● without score while Evans finished seven not out. Widnes were all out for 136.
Meanwhile, news came through that Upton, who had also batted first, had scored 176-8 off 50 overs in their game.
This meant as things stood with the batting points accrued in both matches, Upton were now ahead in the promotion race. It was now becoming apparent Widnes would have to bowl Barrow out to be promoted to the Premier Division.
Hafiz opened the bowling with Campbell for Widnes.
Meanwhile, Barrow had their Sri Lankan player De Silva and captain Reid opening the batting for them having 59 overs to surpass the Widnes total of 136.
Fortunately for Widnes, Hafiz trapped De Silva lbw with the very first ball of the home outfit’s reply.
Instantly this put Barrow on the back foot. As they progressed their total very tentatively, it took until the 13th over when the spin of Majeed had been introduced to get the wicket of Reid for 17 and Barrow were 32-2.
Some 15 runs were added to the total when Majeed struck again bowling Lee Dwyer for 15.
News was now filtering through that Upton were in a very commanding position in their game.
The fourth Barrow wicket to fall was not too long away, Majeed snaring Chris Woodcock lbw for five with the score on 55. And just one run later, Hafiz struck trapping Holloway lbw for a single.
Suddenly Widnes thought they could grasp the much-needed victory. Two more wickets fell with the total on 59, again a wicket apiece for Hafiz and Majeed with Prashant Pandey and Stephen Ogilby heading back to the pavilion. The total only moved on by a singlewhen Sengupta was out lbw for Majeed’s fifth wicket.
It took until the 42nd over for the ninth wicket to go when Evans bowled Tom Allen for 12. Barrow were now 79-9 with 17 overs remaining in the game.
Widnes were hopeful they could grab this last wicket to gain promotion ahead of Upton who had already won their game. They had to wait for another seven overs to get over the finish line, Hafiz eventually bowing opposition skipper Malcolm Barrow for six.
This was the cue for scenes of great celebration by Widnes players.
Barrow finished 92 all out in 48.2 overs. So for the 2019 season the first XI will be playing in the ECB Cheshire Premier Division.
Majeed was the pick of the Widnes bowlers taking an extraordinary 5-9 off 14 superb overs, six of them being maidens. Teammate Hafiz grabbed 4-28 off his 14.2 overs of work. ● Unfortunately for Widnes, the second XI were relegated from the First Division into the Second Division.
They needed a victory over Stockport Georgians and for other results to go in their favour. Widnes won the toss and Stockport batted first scoring 196-6 from 50 overs. This total was not beyond the Widnes batting as the boundary had been brought in a substantial amount.
However, Widnes were bowled out for 124 in 37 overs though ensuring relegation to the Second Division for 2019. ● Players of all abilities interested in playing cricket for Widnes next year can contact andrew.burns@lstmed.ac.uk or keep an eye on the official club website and social media for further information during the off season.