Match didn’t go to plan confesses Sykes
FLEETWOOD Hesketh ground out a ‘cagey draw’ against top of the league side Wigan on Saturday. Derek Sykes won the toss and put the opposition into bat but the captain always knew it was going to be a long haul to get the victory.
“They were top of the league so it was a very tough game and it turned out to be a pretty cagey draw,” said Sykes.
“Aaron Redmond, who used to play for New Zealand, was batting for them at number four and he was too good.
“We tried to put them into bat first so they could set a score and we could chase it and go for the win.
“Redmond ended up with 120 not out and they made a score of over 260 so it was always going to be hard.
“We lost an early wicket in bat and it didn’t go well for us. Lee Rimmer hit 50 not out near the end as it became clear we were going to draw. “It just didn’t go to plan,” he added. Hesketh sit in third position in the Liverpool and District First Division, behind Wigan and Ainsdale who top the table.
However, with just a six point gap, Sykes believes his side are definitely still in the running and is looking forward to a big clash this weekend.
“The result kept us quite close to them, near the top. We’re still there and we’re just trying to make sure we can stay there and push right until the end.
“It’s a big game against Southport and Birkdale this weekend as it’s a local derby,” added Sykes.
“They were near the bottom when we first played them but they’ve been doing well recently so it should be tough.
“It’s a game we always look forward to and the two teams get on really well so it’s nice to socialise afterwards.”
Hesketh are missing a key batsmen this weekend as Huw Summerfield goes away for four weeks but Sykes was confident his side would still field a strong squad.
“Huw’s away for four weeks and he’s been doing well so he will be missed but hopefully we’ll select a second team player to come up and do well.
“I’m sure he’ll be able to do the job Huw’s been doing. We might have to change the batting order though.”
Hesketh haven’t lost their last four fixtures so they’ll be hoping to get another result on Saturday against in-form S&B.