SOUTHPORT & BIRKDALE
Winning the First Division championship, however, may take a little longer.
Despite Orrell Red Triangle’s rather surprising defeat at Fleetwood Hesketh, S&B’s lead over their seasonlong rivals is only 48 points and Orrell have a game in hand.
But so much for the arithmetic. Firth has always said that the manner of his side’s cricket matters nearly as much as its results and S&B’s performance on Saturday was much more encouraging, especially against opponents whose courageous display mocked their lowly position in Division One.
No one exemplified Burscough’s resistance more clearly than Jon Stone, whose three wickets caused S&B to crumble to 86 for five.
However, once Stone had been forced by injury to stop bowling, Isaac Lea built on the secure foundations he had laid and made 82 in what was his best innings for S&B.
Indeed, had Lea not played on to Chris Andrews’ slow left-arm a first league century beckoned.
Let us hope it will not be long delayed. As it was, S&B’s progress was left in the secure hands of Firth, who made a useful 21, and Chris Cunningham, who removed the encumbrance of his front leg and belted the ball to all parts as frequently as the mood took him.
These contrasting tactics ensured that S&B collected five batting bonus points from the game but Burscough still did their damnedest to deny the championship favourites.
Despite Angus Gailey’s superb three-wicket burst with the new ball, Daniel Unsworth and Brendan Domigan offered stern resistance with a 54-run stand and Domigan followed up by making 71 off 70 balls and taking heavy toll of both Cunningham and Firth by clouting them over the short boundary.
Cunningham eventually exacted revenge when he bowled the New Zealander but Burscough loyalist Alan Murray then showed commendable craft to make an unbeaten 41 and only three overs remained when James Crowley was leg before to Gailey, thus ending one of the best game seen at Trafalgar Road this season.
Cunningham might have been most people’s man of the match but Saturday marked an important stage in the development of both Lea and Gailey. Young cricketers – maybe all cricketers – need reassurance they still cut the mustard.
Lea and Gailey should be vital figures in the immediate future of cricket at Trafalgar Road and it was encouraging to see them do well. It was also a vindication of their captain’s faith in them.
S&B’s second team found Northern too strong for them at Moor Park on Saturday and lost their Premier League match by 80 runs. In the first innings of the game Craig Todd took three for 64 but was unable to prevent the home side amassing 221 for five declared, with Ben Sloan making an unbeaten 102 and Karl Garcia adding 61. In reply S&B were bowled out for 141, although Dean Skelton was undefeated on 41 when the win was completed and Jonny Hine made a rapid 38.