Underdog billing no hurdle for seconds
SOUTHPORT Trinity 2nd XI made their way to the Tittershill Cup Finals Day at Ainsdale Cricket Club on Sunday knowing they were up against it.
Phil Jones’ team were the only representatives from Division Two of the Liverpool Competition, with Leigh, Ainsdale and Rainford all plying their trade in Division One.
A late cry-off from Leigh meant that the format was changed, and a roundrobin tournament commenced, with Trinity taking on Rainford in the first game. Jones winning the toss and choosing to bowl on a good looking pitch with the overnight dew on the grass nearly dry.
Despite the Rainford top order getting off to a flying start, with the top order helping themselves to a number of boundaries during the powerplay, Trinity fought back well with the left arm pace of Olly McKeown particularly effective, as Rainford’s innings ran out of steam to finish on 138 in their 20 overs, a total Trinity were quietly confident of overhauling with the strength of their batting key in the successful league promotion campaign.
The opening spell of Iain Fenney soon shattered those dreams. Getting the ball to move around off the seam was no mean feat on the glorious batting track prepared, and prolific run-scorers Scott Francis, Olly Butler and Olly McKeown all fell cheaply. After that, and the dismissal of Joey Damen and Phil Jones, despite some good hitting down the order from Jamie Piggott and Mike Roberti, victory was never really on the cards, and the innings closed on 103 all out in the 19th over.
There was no time for Trinity to lick their wounds though, as a game with Ainsdale followed immediately after. Skipper Jones again won the toss and batted first. A much more positive 20 overs of batting followed, with Francis reaching 42 in good time, supported by good cameos from Damen, McKeown and Roberti. Shehan Alokbandaralage will no doubt be practicing his running between the wickets over the winter as he was run out for the second successive game, but by the time the innings was closed, Trinity had reached 174/7 in their 20 overs, which looked like a good score.
The Ainsdale innings started well, with runs coming quickly during the powerplay overs from George Campbell and Jonny Firth. The usually excellent Piggott behind the stumps missed what can only be described as a goober of a catch which allowed Daniel Fitzpatrick a second life, but wickets began to fall with the introduction of Alokbandaralage and Roberti, and in truth, although Ainsdale reached the halfway point on track at 91/4, the lack of wickets in hand meant that Trinity needed only to manage the game and prevent boundaries, something they did nicely, as the end of another fine McKeown spell wrapped up the game, Trinity winning by 20 runs.
Trinity’s players stayed to watch the final match between Rainford and Ainsdale, aware that their chances of winning the trophy had gone, due to their poor net run rate. The final game was an exciting affair which got very close at the end, as Joel Barlow and Charlie Allen nearly worked a miracle to chase down Rainford’s total of 153/6, but Mark Brook’s team held their nerve to deservedly win both the game and the Tittershill trophy.
A big thank you to supporters of all three clubs who combined to create a great atmosphere on the day. Thanks also must go to the league and umpires for putting on the successful event, and to Ainsdale for hosting the event so well. A really enjoyable day all round, and a fine exhibition of 2nd XI cricket.