Sum performance as Ruikar sinks Ormskirk
14 9 2 1 2 0 0 32 24 246 14 9 2 2 1 0 0 36 18 239 14 8 2 3 1 0 0 28 23 216 12 8 1 2 0 1 0 7 36 208 14 6 0 6 2 0 0 11 38 179 14 6 0 5 3 0 0 26 18 179 13 5 0 5 3 0 0 17 20 152 13 3 0 8 2 0 0 22 30 122 13 3 0 8 2 0 0 17 22 109 13 2 1 8 1 1 0 29 28 107 14 0 0 11 3 0 0 11 27 53
IT will have come as no comfort to Ormskirk captain Gary Knight that his point had been proved so perfectly, so soon.
Days earlier, he was bemoaning the frustration of a club captain who snubs overseas signings in favour of bringing through talented young players, only to see them taken from him by Lancashire, sometimes with very little warning.
“Wallasey have got a brilliant pro,” he added, as an example of the road not taken.
The next day – with Knight himself unavailable – Ormskirk became the latest side to find out the hard way just how good Sumit Ruikar is.
The Indian left-arm spinner took their first six wickets, leaving Harry Meehan to mop up the tail and dismiss the West Lancs visitors for just 74.
In 11 league games this year, Ruikar has taken a scarcely credible 53 wickets – one behind the ECB Premier Division’s leading wicket taker, Northern’s Tom Sephton, who has played three games more.
His 6/41 on Saturday finished the game as a contest and meant Wallasey’s seven-wicket win was wrapped up in time for the rueful Ormskirk players to catch Tom Hartley’s latest matchwinning exploits in the Hundred.
Alex Eagles’ side are now second in the table, having won five and drawn one of their last six, including successive victories over leaders Northern, defending champions Firwood Bootle and now 2017 winners Ormskirk.
Had Ruikar been available for the start of the season, who knows how the top of the table would look – as it stands, Northern still have a 45-point cushion thanks to their similarly comprehensive six-wicket win over Bootle.
With both captains missing, Northern standin Chris Laker showed he’d been paying attention by throwing the ball to Tom Sephton, who promptly took 5/28.
Fellow spinner Justin Snow was even less playable, taking 4/3 to finish off the hosts’ innings on just 75. Skipper for the day Will Purser and former Lancs man Toby Lester earned a couple of bonus points, but there was little to cheer for a side who find themselves, staggeringly, in the relegation zone albeit with two games in hand.
Rainhill overcame Leigh, who continue to blow hot and cold. Alex Mason’s 6/75 restricted the visitors to 179, with Sam Kershaw’s 55 the top score; David Atkinson’s 5/30 ensured it was more than enough, despite Matty Hurst’s 52.
Sefton Park look well adrift at the bottom; they crumbled for 73 at home to Orrell Red Triangle, with Duvindu Tillakaratne’s 5/16 doing the bulk of the damage. Earlier, Andrew Baybutt’s 66 helped the visitors post 222.