LCFKO defeat... but Stags still eyeing treble

New coach for Dale’s Ladies

NORDEN went into a tough threegame weekend with four trophies still to play for and finished it with the possibility of a Lancashire League treble still intact.

The league title push had taken a hit last week but Norden bounced back in fine style with a maximum point home victory over Lowerhouse, who themselves had hopes of forcing themselves up into the group of contenders.

Hashum Malik opted to bowl first in a match reduced to 36 overs a side but the Lowerhouse opening pair got off to a fine start and added 50 within the first 9 overs.

As so often, it was Ash Zaidi who provided the breakthrough and once he had the home side were able to calm the run-rate by picking up wickets at regular intervals.

Sami Waheed had visiting professional Stephen Parry caught behind and Dom Humphreys, although wicketless with the ball, pro

Lowerhouse JJ Whitehead b Ashar Zaidi 24 J Martin c Butterworth b Waheed 27 SD Parry c Crabtree b Waheed 12 DF Haasbroek c Humphreys b Butterworth 24 PTBM Martin b Butterworth 6 CR Cottam b Butterworth 0 DJ Barlow c and b Ashar Zaidi 19 CJ Bleazard run out (Humphreys) 17 T Hussain not out 5 JM Hawke c Crabtree b Ashar Zaidi 4 DEB Stuart run out (Humphreys) 1 Extras 19 Total (all out, 32 overs) 158 Fall of wickets: 1-55 ( Whitehead), 2-63 (J Martin), 3-75 (Parry), 4-105 (PTBM Martin), 5-105 (Cottam), 6-117 (Haasbroek), 7-140 (Bleazard), 8-152 (Barlow), 9-157 (Hawke), 10-158 (Stuart, 32 ov) Bowling: Humphreys 4 0 21 0, Austin 3 0 20 0, Ashar Zaidi 9 1 21 3, Waheed 7 0 30 2, Butterworth 6 0 40 3, Taylor 3 0 16 0 Norden JR Tolley b Hussain 67 H Malik c Hussain b Parry 23 G Butterworth b Martin 39 Ashar Zaidi not out 17 +L Crabtree not out 1 Extras 13 Total (3 wickets, 33.1 overs) 160 Fall of wickets: 1-43 (Malik), 2-128 (Butterworth), 3-150 ( Tolley) Bowling: Hawke 1 0 13 0, Stuart 6.1 0 43 0, Hussain 8 2 34 1, Parry 10 1 34 1, PTBM Martin 8 0 28 1

vided the spark in the field with two run-outs and an outstanding catch at longon to dismiss the dangerous Francois Haasbroek.

A total that had looked like being in the region of 200 early on ended up at 158 all-out with 2 crucial overs left unfaced and Norden appeared to be favourites at half-way. Malik and Josh Tolley

Ormskirk

Alex Rankin lbw b Malik ................................ 46 Scott Lees c Crabtree b Waheed ................... 0 Robert Rankin b Malik .................................... 55 Gary Knight c Waheed b Butterworth ....... 6 Ian Robinson c Pimm b Taylor..................... 39 Harvey Rankin run out Pimm...................... 16 Sam Marsh c Crabtree b Taylor ...................... 1 George Politis c Taylor b Butterworth ........ 0 Sam Hepke ct & b Taylor................................ 16 Joshua Thompson not out .............................. 5 Jamie Barnes not out ......................................... 2 Extras: .................................................................... 16 Total: (45 Overs, 9 Wickets) ....................... 202

Norden

Josh Tolley c Knight b Marsh .......................... 1 Hashum Malik b Thompson ........................ 17 Greg Butterworth c Lees b Thompson ...... 0 Ash Zaidi c Knight b Thompson ................... 0 Dominic Humphreys not out ......................... 4 Lee Crabtree b Thompson............................... 0 Stephen Pimm not out ..................................... 0 Extras: ....................................................................... 5 Total: (8.3 Overs, 5 Wickets) ......................... 27 Bowling: Sam Marsh 4.3 1 9 1, Joshua Thompson 4 1 18 4

started in similar vein to their counterparts so when Malik skied to longon off Parry it allowed Greg Butterworth to join Tolley and play risk-free cricket.

Their partnership broke the back of the run chase and totalled 85 when Butterworth was bowled on the sweep for 39.

Some tight bowling from the visitors meant that when Tolley was dismissed for a fine 67 looking to hit a decisive boundary, there were still 10 runs needed from 11 balls.

Lee Crabtree looked to have decided things with a straight six but apparently the Lowerhouse fielder at long-on could not tell if his spiked cricket boots were in contact with concrete or grass as he palmed the ball back into play from beyond the rope and after an initial signal of six the umpires decided that they didn’t have a clear enough view and such awarded just a single. Norden were not to be denied though, and two boundaries from Zaidi finished the job.

The match saw Norden professional, Ashar Zaidi, pass the milestones of 1000 runs and 50 wickets for the season in all competitions; a superb effort with nearly half the season still to come.

Unfortunately, Norden’s hold on the LCFKO trophy came to an end on Sunday afternoon.

A tough draw away to Ormskirk saw Norden once again bowling first and the hosts looked on course to post a sizeable first innings score when well set on 97 for 1 with 20 overs gone.

The Stags battled hard, though, and dragged themselves back into the game. 16-year-old Jack Taylor was particularly impressive with figures of 3 for 34 from 8 overs and Ormskirk had to settle for 202 for 9 from their 45.

With rain on the way, a DLS calculation looked inevitable at some stage but a disastrous flurry of early wickets meant that Norden were never going to be on the right side of it and when the heavens opened after 8.3 overs of the reply it was Ormskirk who deservedly took their place in the semi-finals.

The 2nds, again missing a number of players, had their game at Lowerhouse reduced to 25 overs-a-side.

The home side looked to be falling short at 100 for 8 but an unbeaten 9th wicket partnership of 65 meant that the chase looked to be a tough one.

Alfie Radcliffe bowled a superb spell on his debut, taking 4 for 26 for the Stags who fell 27 runs shy of their target despite a halfcentury from skipper Phil Docker and 40 from Spencer Allen

ROCHDALE AFC Ladies, sponsored by Bluebird Care Rochdale, are excited to announce Todd Neilson as the new Head Coach of the Open Age team.

Todd brings a wealth of experience in women’s football that has made his integration into his new position with Rochdale AFC Ladies seamless.

Neilson, who hails from Oxford, has held numerous positions in the female game, most notably as coach of Manchester Metropolitan University Ladies, but has also held roles with Oxford United, Bradford City and Wigan Athletic.

Todd has had to bide his time for a shot at the Open Age team, but steps up into the role following the departure of Tabby Magida to Blackburn Rovers at the end of last season.

Spending 2020/21 developing the Under-16s squad, Neilson has impressed everyone with his professionalism and demand for high standards, which resulted in a hugely successful undefeated league campaign in the South Manchester League, coaching alongside seasoned Community Coach Stephen Lorimer.

“Having the Community Trust be so supportive of my coaching aspirations this year made moving to the Open Age role a no brainer for me,” said Neilson.

“I feel they have matched my enthusiasm and high standards every step of the way since appointing me to the role and I hope to repay them with a lot of success.”

Rochdale AFC Ladies restarted training last week and are open for any new players who wish to join them for the 2021/22 season.

“We would be happy to welcome any new players or volunteer coaches to our ranks to help in the running of the club,” commented Keith Hicks, Chair of Rochdale AFC Ladies.

“The progression of Todd from the Under-16s to open age shows that we develop coaches as well as players and it’s a great time to be involved with club.”