Batsmen take lead at Trafalgar Road
Love Lane Liverpool Competition: ECB Premier League: Southport and Birkdale (7pts), 307 for eight declared, drew with Formby (9pts), 249 for five
IT is common to hear retired cricketers say that either the game or their club – maybe even the whole country – is not what it was. Most of the time it is best to nod as noncommittally as possible or reply with a sage, “I see.”
However, when S&B’s former players turned up at tea-time on Saturday for their reunion and glanced at the Trafalgar Road scoreboard, their expressions of incredulity might have prompted a stronger response. S&B were 298 for 6.
One could have understood the old boys doubting their bifocals. Many of them will have played in the era when Liverpool Competition matches began at around two o’clock and roughly 7.45.
Tea would be a proper meal and socialising with the opposition after the game was almost compulsory. Anything around 180 was probably a decent score.
On Saturday, some outstanding batting by Isaac Lea and Jonny Whitehead had enabled S&B to better that par by over a hundred runs. What was more, Chris Cunningham opted ended at to bat for another 2.1 overs after the interval and did not declare until his side had posted 307 for eight, thus beating by over 10% their previous highest Competition total of 274 for eight.
That score was rattled up on June 22, 2008, when the side from Cricket Path were also the visitors and S&B emerged the victors by an improbable 174 runs.
Saturday was rather different. Calum Turner and Ollie Sutton enjoyed the excellent pitch and glassy outfield quite as much as Lea and Whitehead had done (the conditions had helped determine the declaration.) The pair put on 160 for Formby’s second wicket and were only parted when Turner holed out in the deep off Bobby Wincer for an excellent 124.
Within another four overs Sutton and Tom Simpson had fallen to Cunningham’s off-spin and Sam Oldham had been brilliantly run out by JJ Fielding. At that point Formby were 208 for five with ten overs left to be bowled.
Perfectly understandably, they settled for bonus points while S&B’s captain could reflect on a bowling display that had been rather tighter than in the opening weeks of the season. The only shame from Cunningham’s point of view was that the pitch had only begun to turn very late in the day.
The main memory most of S&B’s spectators will take from the game might be the excellence of Lea and Whitehead’s secondwicket stand of 166 in just over 27 overs. Lea made 107 while Whitehead contributed 92. Both batsmen scored at more or less a run a ball and it is becoming even clearer that S&B’s top order is as strong as it has been for very many years.
The challenge for Cunningham over the next four months is to utilise that strength against teams who are well aware of the danger it presents.
At Cricket Path S&B’s second team lost to Formby by ten runs in a fine match.
The home side opted to bat first and made 223 for six declared in 45 overs. Their innings was held together by Michael Booth, who made 104, while Tom Baybutt took three for 22 for the visitors.
S&B’s reply got off to a good start, with Jack Stanley making 60, but despite a plucky bid for victory, Alex Halsall’s side was bowled out for 213 with Alex Powell taking five for 63.
On Sunday S&B’s third team defeated Leigh by four wickets, and there was also a victory for the first team last Friday, when they defeated Southport Trinity by six wickets in the first round of the ECB Vitality Club T20.
Batting first, Trinity made 109 all out with Salman Ahmed making 59 and Tom Crew returning the remarkable figures of five for 6.
Cunningham’s batsmen overhauled that target in 16.2 overs, Isaac Lea making 32 and Jack Carney 30.
S&B
Lea c Simpson b Jones .................... 107 Fielding c James b Ellis ...................... 13 Whitehead c James b Jones ........... 92 Carney c Simpson b Jones .............. 13 Snellgrove c P’field b CK Turner ..... 25 Sultan c&b Ellis ....................................... 11 Brathwaite b Ellis .................................. 23 Gregory c Brown b Turner ............... 10 Wincer not out ........................................ 1 Extras ......................................................... 12 TOTAL (for 8 wkts. decl.) ................. 307
FORMBY
CK Turner c Fielding b Wincer ...... 124 Porterfield c Brathwaite b Firth ........ 8 Sutton c Sultan b Cunningham ..... 60 Oldham run out (Fielding) .................. 5 Brown not out ........................................ 22 Simpson c Sultan b Cunningham... 0 Turner not out ....................................... 21 Extras ........................................................... 9 TOTAL (for 5 wkts) ............................. 249
Birkenhead Park v Ormskirk, Formby v Northern, New Brighton CC v Southport & Birkdale, Orrell Red Triangle v Newton-le-Willows, Rainhill v Leigh, Wigan v Wallasey
Bootle v Highfield, Caldy v Fleetwood Hesketh, Colwyn Bay v Sefton Park, Liverpool v Ainsdale, Lytham v Spring View, Northop Hall v Rainford
Alder v Wavertree, Norley Hall v Hightown St Marys, Old Xaverians v Maghull, Parkfield Liscard v St Helens Town, Sutton (St Helens) v Southport Trinity