Superiority at Bull Hey bolsters belief
NO matter how talented or confident a group of cricketers might be at the start of the season, they still feel a sense of relief when they have notched their first victory.
A delay of even a few weeks has an effect on the league table and it also encourages the thought that this might be one of those seasons in which optimism will drain away in the face of harsh results.
So one can easily imagine the emotions in the visiting changing-room at Wigan on Saturday evening after S&B had easily defeated the home side by nine wickets.
It little mattered that the win earned Chris Cunningham’s batting-heavy side only 20 points because they had chosen to bowl first.
What was important that a side lacking David Snellgrove, whose latest stamp on his NHS loyalty card was earned when he broke his finger against Leigh, had easily demonstrated their superiority at Bull Hey, a ground where many teams come unstuck.
It helps, of course, if a rather thin bowling attack possesses someone of the quality of Chris Firth, a spinner who can open the bowling and still be as penetrative as a highclass seamer.
Against Wigan, Firth bowled Charles Taylor with the fourth ball of the game and had added two more wickets inside the 13 overs which saw Wigan collapse to 33 for four.
However, the fourth wicket to fall was arguably more important than the trio taken by Firth.
That, at any rate, is how Tom Crew might see it when he reflects that his first victim in the hard school of Liverpool Competition cricket was Aaron Redmond, a man who once played Test matches for New Zealand.
It will not matter to Crew that the 43-yearold Redmond last played a five-day game nearly a decade ago.
The S&B bowler has properly launched his league career in grand style and subsequent successes will probably come more easily.
They didn’t take too long to arrive for S&B’s other bowlers at Bull Hey, either. Partly thanks to another routinely outstanding grab by Basil Sultan, Wigan were 84 for six before John Richardson and Jordan Hampson put on 51 for the seventh wicket.
However, Bobby Wincer then took two wickets in an over and Firth returned to remove the last two batsmen, courtesy of slip catches by Aryan Juyal.
That gave him the umpteenth fivewicket haul of his competitive career and caused his skipper to reflect on the contribution Firth makes to S&B’s successes.
“We take Chris for granted but perhaps it’s difficult not to,” said Cunningham.
“He holds our attack together and the wickets he takes are almost always vital to our successes.
“As much as any player can be, he’s irreplaceable.”
The second half of the game at Wigan was pleasingly anti-climactic.
JJ Fielding showed that he is settling back into Liverpool Competition cricket by making his second successive fifty and the opener’s unbeaten 65 off 73 balls was pleasantly complemented by Jack Stanley’s fine 53.
The pair put on 107 on 20.3 overs for the first wicket and the result of the game was clear some time before Juyal strolled out to administer the last rites.
At Trafalgar Road, S&B’s second team made it two wins from two matches and went to joint-top of the early season table thanks to a six-wicket defeat of Birkenhead Park.
Skipper Alex Halsall took five for 36 to help dismiss the visitors for 119 and after losing three wickets for seven runs early in their innings, the home side were indebted to Charlie Carney and Sam Holliday for all but seeing them home.
Carney finished on 54 not out and Holliday made 43.
After their opening day loss to Sefton Park S&B’s third team returned to their usual ways with a 111-run defeat of Formby.
Skipper Ian Sutcliffe led the way with 124 in his side’s 202 for eight declared before Peter Crew’s four for 21 and Mia Smith’s 2-23 skittled the side from Cricket Path for 91.
WIGAN
Taylor b Firth ................................................................................................. 0 Leyland lbw Firth ...................................................................................... 11 Burrows b Firth ............................................................................................ 3 Redmond b Crew ..................................................................................... 15 Richardson not out .................................................................................. 72 Miakhel run out (Wincer) ........................................................................ 9 Yates c Sultan b Cunningham ............................................................... 0 Hampson st Carney b Wincer ............................................................. 24 Howley c&b Wincer ................................................................................... 0 Barnes c Juyal b Firth ................................................................................ 0 Kasser c Juyal b Firth ................................................................................. 2 Extras ................................................................................................................ 4 TOTAL .......................................................................................................... 140 FoW: 1-0 2-8 3-23 4-33 5-73 6-84 7-135 8-135 9-136 10-140 Firth 19.5-4-60-5 Crew 10-3-28-1 Cunningham 8-0-48-1 Wincer 2-0-2-2
S&B
Fielding not out ......................................................................................... 65 Stanley b Miakhel ..................................................................................... 53 Juyalnot out ................................................................................................ 17 Extras ............................................................................................................... 8 TOTAL (for one wkt.) ............................................................................. 143 FoW 1-107
Richardson 8-1-33-0 Hampson 5-1-22-0 Taylor 2-0-16-0 Kasser 3-0-18-0 Miakhel 5-0-34-1 Barnes 2-0-13-0