Teenage duo lead Boro to key victory
IF Littleborough get promoted this season then they will look back at this victory at at a murky Alexandra Meadows and highlight it as a significant point of the season.
Hero of the hour was 14-year-old Louis Russell, who showed nerves of steel to guide his team over the line with the 13 runs needed for the last week.
He showed great calmness and a cool head for someone so young.
He was very well supported by 17 year old Ben Williamson who had an outstanding day also contributing with the ball and in the field and then sharing a valuable 20 run partnership with Russell when the game was starting to slip away and the home side were beginning to smell blood.
Clinton Perren won the toss and decided to bowl first and his decision seemed justified when Willman had Boyle well taken by Hernon behind the stumps to leave the home side 8/1.
Bolton and Westhead then started to steady the ship and Bolton was especially clinical on anything and duelly dispatched anything loose to the boundary.
Townsend had to withdraw from the attack with a side strain and he was replaced with the impressive Williamson who got the ball to swing and regularly beat the bat.
Bolton had a few lives, two sharp chances were put down and a clear and obvious run out was turned down by umpire Nicholson.
Eventually Littleborough got the breakthrough care of an excellent run out by Zac Perren in the deep to dismiss Westhead and leave the home side 78/2.
Then ex Littleborough professional Kaber played a poor shot and was excellently caught one handed by young Williamson running back at mid on with the score on 88.
In the next passage of play Littleborough must improve on and it was reminiscent of passages of play from last season.
They gifted Paul Turner and the obdurate Bolton 67 easy runs in the next 10 overs as Littleborough failed to turn the screw and made Ali and Russel pay from some less than accurate bowling.
Perren then turned to Willman to comeback and stem the flow of runs and he did so with his very first ball as he bowled Bolton for 84 and with the score on 160. Paul Turner was then taken behind the sticks for 36 to give Williamson a deserved wicket.
A few lusty blows from the lower order got the home side up to a competitive 221/7 off their allotted overs.
A special mention goes to Alastair Chew who took one of the highest catches I have ever seen at deep mid wicket to dismiss Mohammed.
Littleborough musn’t let games drift as they did on Sunday, they need to get more vocal and intimidating and always let the opposition know they are in a fight and every run needs to be earned.
Tom Pye was promoted up the order due to Townsend’s side strain and he and young Perren looked in no trouble at all as they added 49 for the first wicket before Pye was bowled by Aspinall.
He then grabbed the prize wicket of Perren senior lbw for 6 to leave the visitors on 65/2.
Out strode the inform Hernon to join his young counterpart at the crease and again both batters looked in no trouble as they took the score 107/3 at halfway before Hernon decided to try and hit Smith’s first ball over the top and was caught by Mohammed at mid off for 15.
With the score 120 Umpire Nicholson took approximately 0.000001 of a second to give Perren out despite the young batsman hitting the ball. A poor decision to say the least.
The thing in Littleborough’s favour was that the run rate never got above 6 all innings and this was highlighted by ex Littleborough professional Kaber who returned figures of 1-60 off 10.5 overs including 15 wides.
He never gave his captain any control and this was something he was guilty of during his time at Hare Hill.
Unsworth joined Townsend at 120/4 and they looked in no trouble at all as they took the score to 167 before Unsworth attempted to sweep Smith and was adjudged lbw for 14 and when visiting professional Townsend chopped on for 37 the visitors had their backs against the wall with the score on 186 albeit with plenty of overs left.
They were in dire straits when young Russell left his partner Willman high and dry and he was run out for a duck.
Out strode teenager Wiliamson to join fellow teenager Russell.
Cometh the hour cometh the young man. Williamson decided attack was the order of the day and he hit two exceptional cover drives but youthful exuberance showed as he holed out to long on to give Kaber his only wicket for a quickfire 13 off 11 balls.
And 16 to win with two wickets left soon became 13 to win with one wicket left as Chew was stumped for one.
However, Hamza dug in with young Russell who crowned an excellent match winning innings by hitting the winning runs through the covers to give the Boys from the Boro a much needed victory.
East Lancs will rue the fact that they sent down 35 wides in such a tight game with the winning runs coming with only seven balls remaining whilst Littleborough must let games drift, need to be a bit more vocal and a little less polite in the field and let the opposition constantly know that they are in a fight and that every run needs to be earned.
Next stop for Littleborough is a trip to bottom club Colne on Sunday.