Skipper Horton’s intervention key to Park’s victory
SEFTON Park got the better of their tussle with Caldy at a sun-kissed Croxteth Drive.
The crucial intervention came from the hosts’ skipper, former Lancashire favourite Paul Horton – unusually for him, with the ball.
Haroon Khan and visiting captain Mark Wilkie had put on 63 together and Caldy were 113/2, with Park’s 230 coming into view.
Horton, deprived of frontline spinner Raheem Kasser by a nasty hand injury suffered the previous week, gave his off-breaks a go and immediately trapped Khan playing around his pad.
Five balls later, Ayan Madhu persuaded Wilkie to chip to mid-on, a full-pitched punchline to several overs’ worth of rough stuff.
South African teenager Corne Nel took Horton for three fours in four balls – but the next delivery beat his forward push.
With 94 still needed, half the side gone and 13 overs left, the lower order was left to shut up shop. But Horton and Madhu continued to make inroads and, when the latter was removed from the attack for bowling two beamers, Huzaifa Zubair ripped out Lloyd Eastham’s stumps, leaving the skipper to claim the last wicket with 4.1 overs to spare.
His 4/32 was more wickets than he’s taken in a season since 2006.
“We know we’re not blessed with huge amounts of spin bowling at the moment, so I’ve got to provide an option,” Horton said. “But I’m not really that concerned if I take wickets or score runs, I want to win games of cricket.
“So it was good to get a couple of wickets, but hopefully someone will step up next week.”
Having won the toss and chosen to field, Wilkie saw his bowlers make regular breakthroughs.
Ben Percival, George Lee and Horton all got in, but when left-arm spinner Dan Hamm removed both Lee and Horton, the innings teetered at 146/4 in the 45th over.
But Rob Supria and Zubair gave the innings some muchneeded momentum.
Supria finished unbeaten on 46, having earned his side maximum batting points, and made Caldy’s task that crucial bit tougher.
“There’s just that 5-10% that’s costing us victories at the moment,” Wilkie said.
“When we were 110/2 chasing 230, I felt confident – but a couple of things go against you and all of a sudden you’re chasing the game, batting second.
“Hopefully, we can kick on now over the next three or four weeks against the teams that have had similar starts to us.”
The match was probably unique in featuring three England players – Caldy’s Chris Edwards, who captains the learning disability side; Hamm, who plays for the physical disability XI; and the home side’s Dixon, who stars for the deaf team.
Both captains stressed they were on the field for purely cricketing reasons. But not long ago, their skills might have been overlooked – here, they were front and centre.
Wilkie said: “It shows how far cricket has come in the last 25-30 years, it’s brilliant.”
Horton added: “I don’t really notice them as disability cricketers – they’re just cricketers to me.
“It’s great that they can play and be involved, and they play on merit because they’re talented cricketers.”
Wallasey kept up their 100% record with a 122-run win over Wirral rivals Birkenhead Park - thanks in no small part to a man on an impressive run of his own.
Sumit Ruikar followed his unbeaten 78 – setting up a total of 243/4 – with an allinnings spell of 7/50 which sent the visitors tumbling from 32/0 to 52/4. Safi Abdullah struck six sixes in his 56, but it was all in vain.
Teenage opener Jac Kennedy scored his maiden century for Northern – an unbeaten 100 – to set his side on their way to an 82-run win over Wigan. Tom Sephton sealed the deal with 7/37.
Rainhill had Ormskirk’s 181 in their sights at 122/2 but their last eight wickets fell for just 22 runs. Chief destroyer was Jamie Barnes, who finished with 5/54; earlier, Alex Rankin had top-scored with 59 as Imliwati Lemtur took 6/59 for the visitors.
New Brighton had to settle for a draw with Newtonle-Willows after Owais Shah’s 98 and David While’s 50 underpinned their 237/6; Subhaan Mahmood made 90 for the visitors, but only 42 overs were possible and they closed on 191/3.
It was a similar story at Leigh, where the hosts posted 220/6 thanks to Mattie McKiernan’s 76, only for visitors Orrell Red Triangle to slam the door shut at 130/7.
UNBEATEN Maghull piled on
256/8 against Norley Hall in Division Two, thanks to Liam Crilly’s 78 and Anthony Molloy’s 83. But Chris McLoughlin’s 84 and Ryan Wood’s 50, in an unbeaten stand of 94, saw Hall to the close 50 runs short and five wickets down.
Alder came within 21 runs of their first win of the season at Hightown St Marys, but fell at the last. Greg Coogan took 6/57 for the West Derby side.
Old Xaverians managed to defend 96 at St Helens Town, and with plenty to spare; the hosts crumbled for 42, having been 28/9. Sharen Rajendran’s 5/21 was some consolation for the home side.
Salman Ahmed finished unbeaten on 79 as Southport Trinity beat Prestatyn by nine wickets; and Sutton chased 154 for a five-wicket win at
Wavertree.