SOUTHPORT & BIRKDALE CC

Liverpool Gin Liverpool Competition: First Division: Southport & Birkdale (6pts), 167, drew with Newton-leWillows (5pts), 99-9

THAT is more like it, although it may be a week or two before Southport and Birkdale’s cricketers appreciate the fact.

It goes like this. The glory of playing timed cricket is that in many games you need to bowl your opponents out to win the game.

Draws are often tense and wonderful affairs, even if they occasionally test one’s patience.

Thus on Saturday, having made 165 all out on a slow wicket and lush outfield, S&B drew their match against Newtonle-Willows because they could only take nine wickets against a side who showed scant interest in victory after Andy Warhurst had removed both openers before their mushroom vol-au-vents had gone down.

In 55 overs S&B’s visitors compiled 99 runs, 15 of them extras. Welcome to the House of Fun.

However, anyone thinking of dismissing the efforts of Newton-le-Willows’ batsmen should also consider how slim were their hopes of victory against an S&B attack including Gary Keedy.

The former Lancashire slow left-armer is currently going for less than a run an over and he is a formidable weapon in Chris Firth’s attack.

But he is by no means the only one and it will be interesting to see what happens when a batting side takes on S&B’s bowlers.

On Saturday such aggression was absent as Chris Cunningham bowled a fine spell and Firth picked up his first league wickets of the season.

Newton-le-Willows’ batsmen blocked it out. Rohan Bhalla faced 102 balls for 15 runs, Nathan Hughes 40 for four not out. Fair enough.

A highlight of the play after tea was Isaac Lea’s superb run out of Tom Gunshorn, although by that time some spectators may have lapsed into deep comas.

However, if S&B’s supporters needed some comfort as their vital signs returned, they may have found it in the strokeplay of Alex Trimboli, whose 43 was the centrepiece of the home side’s innings.

Other batsmen began well, seven of them making double figures, but one or two were open to the charge of giving it away when most of the hard work had been done.

S&B have some fine young batsmen and they are capable of more than pretty scores in the teens or early twenties. Such limited achievement was severely punished in the Premier League and it will be no different when they come up against the best sides in the First Division.

For the moment S&B are third in the table having played one game fewer than their rivals. They visit bottom-placed Wavertree on Saturday.

Southport and Birkdale’s second team experienced mixed results over the weekend, something which is unlikely to satisfy skipper Craig Todd and his ambitious team.

On Saturday Jonny Hine made 42 in S&B’s 167 all out, a total which was easily overhauled by Ormskirk, Luke Platt making 52 not out in a seven-wicket win.

The following day, however, Jack Baybutt picked up three for 40 as Orrell Red Triangle were bowled out for 154 and Josh Hine’s 87 (in an opening stand of 107 with Dave Aston) was enough to see S&B on their way to an eight-wicket victory. Those results leave S&B 26 points clear at the top of the Premier Division, albeit they have played two games more than almost everyone else.