Lancashire change County Championship divisions for the seventh time in 13 seasons

2 minute read

County Championship first division status is crossing the Pennines from Lancashire to Yorkshire and has now made it to, ooh, let’s say Todmorden. It just passed second division status going the other way. (What we’re saying here is that Lancashire have been relegated and Yorkshire have been promoted.)

How did it come to this? Lancashire’s 2024 performance was so poor, even Lanky’s been stripped of a little of his dignity.

Just a little, mind. Giraffes are proud animals. They tend to hold their heads high.

The truth is, this is not unheard of. It is, in fact, Lancashire’s fourth relegation from the top flight since they last won the Championship in 2011. They also went down in 2012, 2014 and 2018. On each occasion, they were clinically fed up, only to immediately bounce back. People bounce back: Dennis Hopper, Alan Partridge – there are others.

Will that happen again? Who can say? They’ve been woefully short of run-scorers this season, for various reasons. (We forgot to mention Liam Livingstone in that article, a surprisingly decent first-class batter who hasn’t played first-class cricket for Lancashire since 2021.) The second division is easier though. That’s kind of the point.

They can also fudge the batting a bit by using all-rounders to open up extra spaces. Luke Wells topped the bowling averages among those players who turned out more than once while also chipping in a couple of hundreds. Then there’s George Balderson, who was top wicket-taker this year. Bowling seems to be his main thing these days, but he’s a 23-year-old with first-class hundreds to his name, so pretty handy to have about the place.

Balderson also sounds like a future nickname for the county’s greatest bowler. Surely Jimmy won’t press on until it’s applicable?

Will he?

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The post Lancashire change County Championship divisions for the seventh time in 13 seasons first appeared on King Cricket.

Related posts:

1. Lancashire are a bit more top in the County Championship
2. Eight counties in the first division of the County Championship?
3. 2011 County Championship players to watch review

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Lancashire pin hopes on some kind of Anderson

2 minute read

Anderson, Flintoff – it’s a strong looking Lancashire team sheet this week. Pity they couldn’t dig out a Chapple or a Fairbrother or a Wasim Akram.

It’s always been reassuring for Lancashire supporters to see Anderson on the team sheet. The club therefore went out and found one.

With the great man himself unavailable, they’ve gone with Anderson Phillip for their last three matches, a West Indian quick whose parents clearly weren’t going to let their family name keep them from maintaining nomenclature equilibrium in the world. (“We can’t let first names take over. Let’s go with ‘Anderson’.”)

Phillip’s contributions during his Lancashire stay have been modest. 2-101 in the shellacking at Durham. 1-35 and 3-81 in the victory over Somerset. The three top order wickets yesterday were very useful though, helping secure two of the 16-to-40 points needed to avoid relegation. (It should be pointed out here that 24 is the absolute maximum available to them, so much of that moving target is already out of sight.)

There’s also the psychological factor. It must feel good to have Anderson opening the bowling and it must feel good to have Flintoff in the middle-order – even when it’s Rocky and he’s only 16 years old and might not serve up his best batting because he’s upset about having his Pokémon cards confiscated.

Stacking the team with familiar names is a good ploy. We fear Lancashire have arrived at it too late.

> Why are Lancashire probably getting relegated?

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The post Lancashire pin hopes on some kind of Anderson first appeared on King Cricket.

Related posts:

1. No James Anderson and no Saqib Mahmood as Lancashire and the Birmingham U-Bears rehash the Bob Willis Trophy final
2. James Anderson, Jamie Porter and Sam Cook plus a whole bunch of lethal overseas dobblers… Essex v Lancashire doesn’t promise to be a runfest
3. Lancashire are making a proper balls of their first match

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Reports, reaction, round-up: September 21-22

Northern celebrate winning the National T20 Cup

Northern are the Love Lane Liverpool Competition’s first ever national champions after winning a bowl-out at Derbyshire CC to defeat Oundle Town in the ECB National T20 Cup.

Captain James Cole admitted it wasn’t the way they’d dreamed of winning it – but it was just reward for a season of sustained excellence in the shortest format.

Liam Grey, Tom Sephton, Alex Vincent and Chris Laker each hit the stumps to seal the win at the County Ground’s indoor lanes, after heavy rain made play impossible.

Cole told the Premier League Cricket Club: “To win on a bowl-out isn’t how you want to do it. 

“But we’d been through seven or eight rounds to get here – and we’ve been trying for years and years to win a national competition.

“And we have done it now.

“I was nervous, and I wasn’t bowling. We hit four out of 10 but it could quite easily have been six or seven – it was a really high standard of bowl-out.”

Sadly, there was no tiebreaker available in the rearranged Lancashire Cup final at Ormskirk, where the hosts made it to 106/3 from 25.3 overs before the weather took over again. 

George Lavelle’s stylish 52* will be lost in time, like tears in rain… but Ormskirk’s name, alongside that of Prestwich, is firmly on the trophy.

Love Lane Liverpool Competition tables

Birkenhead Park were circling the drain, and the umpires were about to pull the plug. 

In a fittingly soggy end to the season, the hosts were in desperate need of a win over Wallasey to save their Premier Division status, after Southport & Birkdale wrapped up a straightforward win over New Brighton.

Captain Ste Hird knew exactly what was required – a win, any win, and he called his players in on 206/2 from just 35 overs, after Mark Rowland had bludgeoned a fine unbeaten 107.

Had S&B not blown the chance to win at Northern two weeks prior, losing three wickets with the scores level, Park would have needed another 14 runs for maximum bonus points, eating up maybe two overs. 

This might have proved decisive. By the time Jack Dixon aquaplaned in from cover to throw down the stumps and dismiss Matty Keogh, “throwing down” was very much the order of the day.

It had been raining steadily, and getting heavier, for about 30 minutes. Andy Ward had almost gone over playing a forward defensive, and Tom Foster had just slipped in his delivery stride.

The umpires had met twice and decided it was safe to stay on, but their patience – and any waterproofing provided by their hats – was wearing thin. There would have been maybe two overs left, or maybe less.

Hird fell short of channelling his inner Andie MacDowell (“Is it still raining? I hadn’t noticed,” he didn’t say) but gave off an appropriate mix of joy and relief as Park’s supporters celebrated.

“You can see what it means to the whole club,” he said.

“We know we’ve underperformed this year, but to secure Premier League cricket is massive for this club. 

“That last half hour was bonkers, but Park do weird things like that. 

“People write us off, but we play better when we’re like that. And if we need to do something then we usually do.

“We played in a game at Northern when the rain was worse than that, and it’s up to the umpires. 

“If they’d said to me it’s too heavy, I’d have been happy to walk off – it’s not up to me to make those decisions. 

“I wanted to stay out there and play cricket, and the Wallasey lads never complained. 

“We weren’t far away from coming off, but luckily we picked up wickets in clusters.”

Just four overs earlier, Wallasey had been 168/5.

Foster’s occasional left-arm spin made the breakthrough, removing Barrie and Nathan Beaver, then Malinda Pushpakumara confirmed his status as the division’s leading bowler by bowling Lloyd Eastham then having James Ashcroft caught at cover by David Nevin.

Before the last hour, Wallasey had looked the more likely winners as captain Greg Beaver – one of four Beavers in the line-up, with regulars Dan and Andy missing – compiled a patient 76. 

But when he became the second of Pushpakumara’s victims to make it 139/3, Park sensed an opening. Wallasey were without several first-teamers – Ward, and number 11 Keogh, were the only players outside their top four to have played more than six league games this season.

It’s exactly the kind of situation which they signed the Sri Lankan Test spinner for, even if they envisaged it being higher up the table.

Hird added: “Most of the other overseas players have gone back, but Malinda’s been a superstar all year.”

He was quick to share his sympathy with S&B, who romped to a nine-wicket win thanks to Jack Stanley’s 51, only to fall into Division One anyway – slowly, then all at once.

Love Lane Liverpool Competition results

Northern and Ormskirk were both in a hurry to get their dead rubber out of the way, with finals to look forward to. 

The league champions wrapped up a record-equalling 17th win, coming home by seven wickets after the hosts declared on 20 overs at 132/9. 

Matty Aggrey will remember the game for his 7/75 – Tom Hartley, who began the year winning a Test for England, may not look back fondly on the day the regular wicketkeeper, captain Gary Knight, got a bowl before him.

Knight’s opposite number, James Cole, also sent down an over to complete the end-of-season weirdness – both men had their eyes firmly on bigger prizes.

Rainford began the season wondering how they could improve on last year’s fourth place, their highest ever – this year, they finished third thanks to a six-run win at Wigan. Andy Davies took 7/85, while there were half-centuries for Matty Bailey and Jake Leyland.

Formby’s fourth place was their highest since 2018, sealed with a 57-run win over Rainhill. Ryan Brown made 131 before Ian Souness claimed 5/88.Leigh edged their mid-table clash at Newton-le-Willows, whose captain, Chris Chambers, is stepping down. Mattie McKiernan took 5/39 before Karl Brown’s unbeaten 57 saw his side over the line.

Love Lane Liverpool Competition statistics

Colwyn Bay secured an immediate return to the Premier Division – and grabbed the Division One title into the bargain.

Captain for the day Will Evans top-scored with 96 in their 226/6 against Orrell Red Triangle.

The win was enough to take them top because Firwood Bootle were frustrated by Liverpool, whose 273 lasted 72.2 overs. Jared Clein and Kris Ali made half-centuries in Matty Jackson’s last match as captain; Sagar Trivedi took 5/69 for Bootle, who closed on 69/7 and dropped to second place.Steven Croft made his second successive century for Lytham as they held third-place Highfield to a draw; Sefton Park’s Jimmy Dixon took 6/24 as they finished with a huge win over Old Xaverians; St Helens Town signed off with a win over fellow relegated side Fleetwood Hesketh; and Maghull chased 80 to see off Spring View.

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Sutton overhauled Caldy by the barest of margins to seal promotion from Division Two. 

Nat Brown was the star with 9/21 to demolish Parkfield Liscard for 46 and ensure the St Helens side’s total of 109 was enough.

Caldy could still have held on to second spot with a win or tie at Alder – but, having posted just 95 then reduced the hosts to 80/9, the last pair shattered their promotion dreams.

Prestatyn were condemned to the bottom spot after Norley Hall clung on for a draw. Rohit Kaimal made 75 in vain for the Welsh side, whose immediate future has yet to be settled.

Having been plunged back into the relegation battle by a points deduction, Whitefield saved themselves with a 37-run win over Wavertree. Muhammed Azeem hit an unbeaten 105 then took 6/46.Southport Trinity’s 46-run defeat at Ainsdale, with 6/61 for Steven Lucas, leaves them second-bottom; and champions Hightown St Marys were washed out at Northop Hall.

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Sunday, September 22: Cup finals LIVE

Join me for one last live blog on the Lancashire Cup final between Ormskirk and Prestwich, with updates from the National T20 Cup final between Northern and Oundle Town

https://www.youtube.com/live/h-b49qCddOA

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Saturday, September 21… final day LIVE!

Featuring Birkenhead Park v Wallasey in the Premier Division, and updates from the other games in all three divisions

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‘We’ve got good players, but the table doesn’t lie’ – Birkenhead Park’s Ste Hird on final-day relegation decider

Birkenhead Park captain Ste Hird

Birkenhead Park went into the 2024 season with legitimate expectations of competing in the top half of the Premier Division – they go into the last day needing a win to ensure they stay in it.

Captain Ste Hird was not alone in predicting big things for his newly promoted side. 

The team that earned enough points to finish fifth in 2022, only to be relegated by a points deduction, was still together, augmented by Sri Lankan Test spinner Malinda Pushpakumara and ex-Northern and New Brighton star Andy Clarke.

But Pushpakumara didn’t arrive until after the first five games, Clarke spent the first half of the season injured and Park never really got going.

Both have made up for lost time – Pushpakumara is joint-top of the Prem wicket charts with Newton-le-Willows’ Safi Abdullah, himself a former Park star, and Clarke is second behind Mark Rowland in the club’s run scorers.

Still, after 21 games, Park have only won five. If that doesn’t change with the visit of Wallasey today, Southport & Birkdale can relegate them by beating the division’s weakest side, New Brighton.

Love Lane Liverpool Competition tables

Hird remains confident, and says the mood in the dressing room is positive.

He said: “It’s a big game but the mood is quite good. 

“We’ve been in this kind of situation a lot over the past couple of years, whether it’s promotion or relegation. 

“The last relegation from the Prem was a bit out of our hands, but when we’ve needed to win on the last day, more often than not we have done it. 

“We’re confident that we’ll do the job – it’s in our hands, and any win is enough.” 

Hird accepts the league form has not been up to the standard expected, or that suggested by their success in winning the ECHO Cup.

“We think we’re a better side than the table reflects,” he said. 

“Winning the ECHO Cup proves we’ve got some good players but we haven’t won enough games in the league. 

“People’s form hasn’t been good, some could have performed better, and availability hasn’t been good. 

“I could name three or four games where we’ve been really close to getting over the line but we haven’t – it’s an accumulation of things. 

“Two years ago, we were the fifth best side in the league and I still think we are. 

“I think in another season it could have been a different story, but we are where we are and all our focus is on the last game, and ensuring we are where we want to be. 

“The league table doesn’t lie but I still back us to do the job and ensure we play Premier Division cricket next year.”

Love Lane Liverpool Competition results & fixtures

One of New Brighton’s two wins in a desperately difficult season came against S&B, but Hird knows better than to rely on a favour.

And he believes with Pushpakumara still available, unlike many other overseas players such as Wallasey’s Sumit Ruikar, his side has the quality to ensure the Sandgrounders’ efforts will be in vain.

He added: “You want it to be in your hands – all we need to focus on is to turn up and win, whether that’s bowling them out and chasing the runs or setting a total, all we are focused on is winning.

“Malinda is still here – in a must-win game, it’s great to have him. 

“We’re at full strength so I’ll be very disappointed if we don’t deliver the goods on Saturday and I’m very confident we will.”

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Hightown St Marys Division Two champions… and Whitefield back in trouble after fielding ineligible player

Hightown St Marys have been crowned champions of Division Two due to Whitefield fielding an ineligible player in their clash on Saturday.

The offence, uncovered after an investigation by the Love Lane Liverpool Competition’s management committee, means Hightown are awarded all 25 points from the game, which the Roby side won by 84 runs.

Whitefield have been stripped of the 24 points they earned and handed a further 10-point deduction, plunging them back into a relegation battle.

A player registered as Shamroz Ilahi made 113 out of their total of 205, but an investigation by the committee found him to be playing under a false name, in breach of the Comp’s regulations.

Love Lane Liverpool Competition tables

Captain Shahbaz Ahmed has been suspended by the club and may face disciplinary action from the league.

A Whitefield spokesman said: “The club has accepted the relevant charge and punishment handed to us by the Liverpool Competition. 

“Shahbaz Ahmed has been suspended by the club committee and we cannot comment any further until the league has conducted its disciplinary process.”

Ahmed was contacted for comment.

Love Lane Liverpool Competition results & fixtures

Whitefield, promoted from the Southport & District league last year, are now just 11 points clear of bottom place Prestatyn going into Saturday’s season finale against Wavertree at Court Hey Park.

If they fail to win, Prestatyn could overtake them by beating Norley Hall at Beach Close.

Hightown were already promoted after Saturday’s results, but now they cannot be caught at the top of the division.

The second promotion slot will go to either Caldy, who travel to Alder, or Sutton, who host Parkfield Liscard.

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Lancashire Cup final preview: Rankin and Lavelle hoping to become homegrown heroes for their boyhood club

Champions Ormskirk – back, l-r Harvey Rankin, Toby Bulcock, Sam Marsh, Calum Turner, Sam Holden, John Armstrong, Kevin Wilson (scorer); front, l-r George Lavelle, Scott Lees, Jamie Barnes, Gary Knight (captain), George Politis

Two born and bred Ormskirk lads could not be more excited for Sunday’s rearranged Lancashire Cup final at Brook Lane.

Prestwich will arrive for take two, having had the better of the 17.3 overs that were playable at Blackpool before the rain arrived two weeks ago.

Having wrapped up the Love Lane Liverpool Competition and with the Ray Digman Trophy already in the bag, Ormskirk are looking to complete a treble last achieved outright by Northern in 2013.

Both Harvey Rankin and George Lavelle were quick to stress that anything can happen in a final – but both are looking forward to taking their place in the top order on home turf.

Rankin’s six fifties and 778 runs in all competitions this year are a new personal best, and he’s hoping for more of the same.

He said: “We’ve been in the same groove all year so I just hope things don’t change. 

“Sometimes in big games, you can overthink things and do things you just wouldn’t do if it were an average Saturday earlier in the season. 

“But if we’re positive, stick to our plans, stick to what we’ve done all year, that’s all we can do as a side.

“Being on the pitches we’ve played on all year definitely helps. 

“We’ve been quite destructive at home all year. 

“It’s been the same for the last two or three years at Brook Lane – get a score on the board of 170 or above and back our bowlers to do the work. 

“The pitch doesn’t always play in the batters’ favour, but you start to work out how to score runs and make an innings there.”

Love Lane Liverpool Competition tables

Lavelle’s Lancashire duties took him away from Ormskirk in the middle of summer, but having fallen down the pecking order at Emirates Old Trafford, he’s enjoying being back at his boyhood club.

He said: “In the second half of the season, I’ve been a bit more involved with Ormskirk and I’ve loved playing this year. 

“We were saying in the dressing room, it’s been one of the most enjoyable seasons we’ve had – everyone gets on with everyone and there’s no egos. 

“The pitches are a bit more bowler-friendly at Ormskirk so the role of myself and the other lads is to try to set a platform which allows the bowlers to have something to bowl at. 

“It might not be a batting paradise, but we know our roles and how we can help a team get a result out of it.”

Rankin played a key role with the ball in Ormskirk’s last Lancashire Cup win, over Burnley in 2021, taking 3/50 with his leg-breaks before brothers Alex and Rob sealed the win with a partnership of 134.

But it’s a side of his game which has taken a back seat since then, especially since a winter spent honing his batting in Australia. 

And with a seam attack of Sam Marsh, Scott Lees, Jamie Barnes and Sam Holden, and spinners Toby Bulcock and Tom Brown, it’s not like skipper Gary Knight has been short of bowlers.

“I hadn’t bowled as much in Australia over the winter because I had a shoulder injury,” said Rankin.

“Gary said he saw me more as a batter, My batting has come on quite a lot in Australia, and he saw a particular role for me. 

“I’m not always needed with the bowling attack we’ve got, so it’s taken a back seat.”

He believes his spell on the Gold Coast has brought his batting on leaps and bounds, adding: “I learned how to construct an innings – I was playing in a lesser team over there and was more of the main man, whereas at Ormskirk I’m coming in after four or five batters who could all play 2nd XI county cricket. 

“It definitely helped me construct an innings and find ways to score, it’s definitely helped with how I’ve played since I’ve come home.”

Love Lane Liverpool Competition statistics

Knight often speaks of the importance of matching imported talent with a solid local foundation, and Lavelle agrees he’s got the blend just right.

“Having a core group of lads who’ve come from here or have played here for a long time is really important,” he said.

“I think it’s shown in the cup runs over the last few years, that sort of togetherness. 

“If we’re in a tough situation, we’ll get out of it and we know each other’s game really well.”

Rankin added: “I grew up watching some serious cricketers play, and I was playing for the 3rds and 2nds and really aspiring to get into the side – it takes you by surprise a bit to think I’m in the team now, and we’re exceeding what the teams I used to watch in the past had done. 

“We’re getting better and achieving things we haven’t in the past. 

“I love playing for Ormskirk and playing in these games and winning things – it’s unmatched.”

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Worrall, Burns, Jennings, Gregory – the Not-Quite-England players shaping the County Championship run-in

2 minute read

If you’re in charge of a county cricket club and you want to deliver on-field success, the last thing you want to do is produce England players. If you want to do well in the County Championship, your goal should be to develop (or hire) as many Not-Quite-England-Players as you possibly can.

This is something that is always in the back of our mind when we look at a scorecard. We see the names ‘Sam Cook’ and ‘Jamie Porter’ and we think, “Man, that is who you want opening the bowling in the County Championship.”

England’s selectors will give credit to the likes of Cook and Porter. They will say they have an eye on them. But they don’t really want to pick them. Not really. Not unless they’re absolutely forced to do so.

That means Essex are free to pick them. Result. England matches take place pretty much throughout the summer and if you’re playing for England, you’re not playing for Essex.

Or what about Keaton Jennings at the top of the order for Lancashire? As Somerset scythed through his team-mates yesterday, it was no surprise that Jennings offered some resistance. He is very obviously a significantly better batter than almost all his colleagues and, crucially for Lancashire, he is also tarred by having already played for England without double-sided-sticky-taping down a spot.

Jennings doesn’t just need to do well for Lancashire to lose use of him to England; he needs to do sufficiently well to overcome what is now active resistance. The ceiling for Keaton Jennings’ County Championship performances is therefore higher than if he’d never played for England at all.

Then there’s the man who took four of those Lancashire wickets before chipping in one of Somerset’s better scores in their reply. Lewis Gregory is an indecently handy cricketer to have at your disposal. From his county’s perspective, he also boasts a near-perfect blend of age, attributes and ability to keep him just below the ‘higher honours’ threshold. Gregory has played three one-day internationals when England lost a whole squad to Covid and nine T20 internationals.

Surrey of course provide plenty of England cricketers, which means their title push is consequently driven by those who don’t quite fit the bill. Rory Burns and Dom Sibley are the wrong kinds of opening batters. Dan Worrall is the wrong kind of opening bowler.

At the time of writing, Dan Lawrence is next in to bat. Then Ben Foakes.

After them it’s Sam Curran, whose ‘reliable county stalwart’ status is either approaching with age, or (more likely) receding with each rotation of the T20 franchise merry-go-round.

> Rory Burns and Dom Sibley could be one of the all-time great aesthetically displeasing opening partnerships

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The post Worrall, Burns, Jennings, Gregory – the Not-Quite-England players shaping the County Championship run-in first appeared on King Cricket.

Related posts:

1. What in the name of all that is good and pure is going on in the County Championship?
2. Who will initially be named as a County Championship title contender but actually end up getting relegated?
3. We’re mostly talking about Dans Lawrence and Worrall, Essex’s bowlers, Jordan Cox and Tom Banton this week… and also Keaton Jennings

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Edgbaston Cricket Ground’s spectator code of conduct (a match report)

3 minute read

Send your match reports to king@kingcricket.co.uk. We’re only really interested in your own experience, so if it’s a professional match, on no account mention the cricket itself. (But if it’s an amateur match, feel free to go into excruciating detail.)

Sam Blackledge attended day two of this year’s England v West Indies Test at Edgbaston.

Sam writes…

When attending a cricket match, it is important to follow the spectator code of conduct at all times.

1. Zero tolerance to bad behaviour 

Walking from Birmingham New Street station to Edgbaston, I was flanked by a group of fans in fancy dress. I think they were supposed to be cavemen.

As we made our way along Pershore Road, they started having a pretend fight, wrestling each other to the ground and rolling into front gardens. I thought about saying something. ‘Lads, there’s no need for that. We’re all just trying to get to the cricket.’ I chose to stay quiet. But inside I had zero tolerance. 

2. Stay off the field

My playing career, such as it was, ended some time ago. Ageing limbs and family life mean I no longer have the ability, time or energy to cross the proverbial white line, let alone the spongy advert-strewn boundary toblerone.

Those who can, do. Those who can’t, flick through their Playfair Annual looking for obscure statistics. 

3. Show respect to staff, players and fellow fans

On arrival at the ground, I got caught in a crush of spectators surrounding a very tall man who seemed to be attracting a lot of attention. It was Curtly Ambrose. He could barely walk five steps without somebody asking for a handshake or a selfie. I thought about doing the same, but the great man clearly just wanted to be left alone. 

Lunchtime arrived, and with it my regular visit to the Raglan stand to meet up with your friend and mine, Ged Ladd.

Rain was beginning to fall, but it was lovely to be reacquainted with this parish’s most prolific commenter, along with Daisy, Harsha Goble and Johnny Two Phones (who informed me one of his phones was broken). Remembering my pledge of respect, I made my excuses and left them to it.

4. Remain seated during play so that others can see

For most of the day I was in the West Stand, side on to the pitch. At teatime I was invited to join some friends high up behind the bowler’s arm at the Pavilion End. It was a much better view. But I’d been smuggled in using somebody else’s ticket, so didn’t technically have a seat.

My pals kindly stood with me for a while, until three chairs became available. The rest of the session passed in the thrilling knowledge that I was still following the code of conduct. 

5. Drink responsibly

The bar had a disappointing selection. With no real ale on tap – and a general consensus that Carling is the devil’s piss – we opted for a couple of pints of Stowford Press. They were £8 each. I suppose that’s one way to promote responsible drinking.

6. Enjoy your day

Job done. I look forward to returning very soon to maintain my 100 per cent code of conduct record.

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The post Edgbaston Cricket Ground’s spectator code of conduct (a match report) first appeared on King Cricket.

Related posts:

1. England v Australia at Edgbaston – day three match report
2. England v India, Edgbaston Test match report
3. England v Australia at Edgbaston – day two match report

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‘It was like playing us’ – Northern fall short at final hurdle as brilliant Brentwood claim national title

Northern’s ECB National Club Championship journey ended in heartbreaking defeat, as a jubilant Brentwood side cantered to a nine-wicket win.

The men from Essex were deserved winners at Worcester, as James Cole’s all-conquering cup side fell short when it mattered most.

The parallels were eerie with their only other final appearance, in 2015, when Blackheath came home by the same margin after chasing a sub-par score.

But this hit different – after a season in which their limited-overs game has touched new heights, James Cole and his side were desperate to have something to show for it.

As high as they could all hold their heads for getting so far, only ex-Rainhill teammates Tyler McGladdery and Ben Edmundson matched the occasion with their performances.

Their unbeaten stand of 60 turned 118/6 into a hopeful 178; 33 runs came from the last 12 balls to give Northern the momentum going into the interval.

McGladdery’s unbeaten 93 was an epic of concentration, and frustration, with timing hard to come by. He cut loose at the end, clobbering Jack Hebron straight then ramping the excellent Ben Allison, who has just signed a contract to play country cricket at New Road.

Watching chief executive Ashley Giles would have been impressed with the tall seamer, who claimed two early wickets and never let up with his relentless, challenging length. 

Cole said: “It was a used wicket and a bit fruity, and did a bit of everything – and they had a first-class seamer who bowled exceptionally well. It felt like we were batting against what we do at times. 

“We stuck at it and Tyler batted extremely well – but for him not to be able to time it, you could see what a difficult wicket it was. 

“We thought 180 was a decent score but we didn’t hit our straps, no-one bowled to a plan. “They turned up with six or seven players who played really well and we had two – it’s never a good sign. We were on the bad side of the conditions but they were the better side. 

“Without Tyler, we’d have been looking at a 110-120 game and it would have been over a lot sooner – but I stick by saying that 180 was a decent score on that wicket.”

Aaron West’s decision to bowl first quickly looked a masterstroke.

Chris Laker and Liam Grey came out swinging but quickly departed the same way to Allison, Jac Kennedy and James Cole played around Aaron West’s in-dippers, Alex Vincent got a grubber from Charlie Griffitsh, and George Harris nicked Hebron to James Redwood, seconds after the keeper had given McGladdery the second of two lives.

He made them pay the best he could, but Brentwood’s batters played with more purpose and more application, accelerating slowly rather than trying to belt the cover off the thing.

With the pitch playing truer thanks to rain in the interval, and the ball getting wet on the outfield, Northern’s bowlers couldn’t find the wickets they sorely needed to keep pressure on the batters.

Ed Ballard skewed Grey to mid-off with the score on 32, but that only brought Will Buttleman to the crease.

In partnership with West, the former Essex man thrived on the taunts from the noisy Northern supporters and batted their side out of the game.

At drinks, Brentwood were 74/1, pretty much level with the DLS par, but six overs later it was 117/1. West pushed Josh Thompson for a single to reach 50, then Buttleman flayed the next ball through the covers; for the first time in their cup run, Northern’s heads dropped.

The winning stand ended on exactly 150 when Buttleman flayed Laker over gully for four, with 3.5 overs left; Northern’s fielders slumped to the ground, thinking what might have been.

But as the Brentwood fans jeered “champions of England, you’ll never sing that”, Cole knew his side would soon have the chance to prove them wrong in next Sunday’s National T20 Cup final at Derby, against Oundle Town.

He added: “It’s hard to hear everyone celebrating but we know if we do the job next week we’ll have a national trophy in the bag. It’ll be a long winter otherwise.”

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ECB National Club Championship final… AND IT’S LIVE!

Join me for live coverage of THE BIG ONE between Northern and Brentwood

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Who needs what, where and why: Saturday, September 14

ECB Premier Division

Ormskirk will be champions today if they beat Birkenhead Park and gain one bonus point; or if they beat them with no bonus point and Northern fail to gain the full 25 at New Brighton. If they fail to win, Ormskirk will still be champions if Northern don’t gain five more points than them.

Newton-le-Willows, who travel to Rainford, need just three points from their last two games to be mathematically safe; Wigan, away at Rainhill, need 13 in total but are unlikely to be overhauled. If Birkenhead Park win at Ormskirk, they will be on at least 203 points, so Southport & Birkdale will be relegated unless they secure more than five points at home to Leigh; a 25-point win for Park will leave S&B needing a tie or a win to stay in touch. New Brighton are down and certain to finish bottom.

Latest Love Lane Liverpool Competition tables

Division One

Firwood Bootle, who are away at Lytham, need just five points to secure promotion. If Colwyn Bay win at St Helens Town, they will be up unless Highfield win at Orrell Red Triangle; Orrell themselves have an outside chance if Bay slip up. Liverpool are mathematically in touch but with two of the sides above them playing each other, will need something special to overhaul both.

Fleetwood Hesketh will be down if they fail to win at Spring View. If Old Xaverians win at Maghull, St Helens Town will have to beat Colwyn Bay – and ensure they score within five points of Xavs – or they will be down too.

Love Lane Liverpool Competition fixtures & Results

Division Two 

Hightown St Mary’s are almost up, and nine points at Whitefield will make it certain. This is because Sutton and Caldy, in second and third and separated by a point, play each other; at least one will certainly drop at least 10 points, probably more. If Sutton get 25 points and Caldy 0, they are up – but any other outcome and it goes to the final day.

If Prestatyn fail to win at Parkfield Liscard, they will finish bottom. Even a 25-point win will not be enough if Southport Trinity beat Alder and Whitefield earn eight points against Hightown.

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A surprisingly easy effort to catch up with the County Championship after several months with our eyes elsewhere

3 minute read

Our calendar says it’s time to check back in on the County Championship.

When we last reported on the first division, all the way back in May, Surrey were top, Kent were bottom and Jordan Cox was the hot topic of conversation.

As we return to it now, Surrey are top, Kent are bottom and Jordan Cox is the hot topic of conversation.

Everyone’s played five more games though. Something must have happened?

Somersecond

We’re not sure we’ve got much to add to that subheading. The most significant development is that at some point in the last few months, Somerset and Essex swapped places. Somerset are second now.

This would probably be a little more exciting if the big Somerset v Surrey game were still to come, but in fact we’ve just missed it – and it was whatever the hell a doozy might be.

Anticipating a turning pitch, Surrey hired Shakib al Hasan for a game and he took nine wickets across Somerset’s two innings. (Surrey use the deluxe temp agency.) Shakib’s efforts promised a manageable fourth innings chase until an injured Tom Banton came in at number 11 and made 46 – the second highest score of the innings – having already top-scored with a hundred in the first dig.

As we remarked earlier in the season, Banton felt like the next big limited overs thing for a brief period a few years back, but hasn’t played for England since 2022. We wondered then whether it was a bit of a foundations thing, like with Jason Roy. If that’s the case, the groundworks have since been going well. He’s made 891 runs at 49.50 so far this season.

Anyway, his partnership with Craig Overton (49*) helped set Surrey 221 to win. Somerset spinners, Jack Leach and Archie “Son of Michael” Vaughan, had shared all 10 wickets in the first innings, so they began that pursuit what you might call ‘watchfully’, making 31 runs in the first 22 overs. Dom Sibley and Ben Foakes then showed England what they were missing with a partnership of 49 runs off 176 balls before seven wickets fell for 17 – Leach and Vaughan again sharing all 10 wickets.

Victory was secured by Somerset with all of five minutes of the game remaining. No word yet on how many points they’ll be docked for making county cricket interesting, but we assume it’ll be plenty.

The win means there’s only eight points in it at the top with two games to go.

The run-in

Somerset play Lancashire at Old Trafford next week and should win because Lancashire are terrible at the minute. After that, they’ve got Hampshire at home. Given Hampshire’s seam-reliant bowling attack, that’ll presumably be another one where they’ll be weighing the production of an interesting pitch against the points that might be stripped for doing so.

Surrey play Durham, who have been solid, at the Oval next week, before a tricky trip to Essex.

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The post A surprisingly easy effort to catch up with the County Championship after several months with our eyes elsewhere first appeared on King Cricket.

Related posts:

1. 2013 County Championship – chapter nine
2. Let’s have a 2023 County Championship catch-up
3. Last week’s County Championship news… today!

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ECB National Club Championship final preview: Captain Cole fired up for Northern stars’ shot at cup glory

Northern celebrate winning the Lancashire Cup final last summer
Pictures by GEORGE FRANKS

Northern captain James Cole reckons his side will take some stopping as they make their play for club cricket immortality.

Norfolk’s Swardeston, in 2019, are the only team ever to do the national cup double of both the ECB National Club T20 and the 40-over National Club Championship.

And Cole, towards the end of his 15th season as skipper, believes his side have what it takes to repeat the feat.

Standing in their way are Brentwood from Essex in whites and Oundle Town from Northamptonshire in colours, worthy opponents with their own dreams of glory.

But Cole insists if the Northern stars align, there’s little any side can do to stop them – starting with Brentwood at Worcester’s New Road on Sunday.

He says: “We know that if we don’t perform, we won’t win the game, but equally the flipside is that if we play our best cricket then we don’t think anyone will beat us. 

“This is probably the most well-rounded side we’ve had, especially in cup cricket. 

“We’ve got fellas that can go really hard at it, and fellas that can dig in and get you out of trouble. 

“Bowling-wise we’ve got plenty of options too – we’ve got a very well-rounded cup side, and that shows in how well we’ve done in the national competitions.”

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In particular, the captain believes his side’s 40-over displays this year have been at their absolute peak. 

In their quarter-final, at home to old adversaries Ormskirk, they gave a lesson in the art of the middle-over squeeze after Chris Laker’s century set an imposing target; in the semi-final at Kimberley Institute, the whole batting order chipped in with runs before the bowling and fielding unit reduced their hosts to the ruins of 17/5.

“Both powerplays were nearly perfect,” Cole reflects.

“Especially in the 40-over cup, we’ve played some really good cricket, that’s where our best performances have come this year. 

“In the T20, we’ve had the rub of the green and some special wins, defending some low scores and having a little bit of luck to some extent, but you make your own luck.

“We’ve played a lot of Sunday cricket, and a lot of finals days, and some of the sides we’ve got over the line against didn’t have that experience.

“Sometimes those things happen when you’ve been in those pressure situations before. It can give you a bit of an edge at times.”

Click here for the latest Love Lane Liverpool Competition statistics

Cole has been in the game too long to completely write off his side’s chances in the league, but he accepts Ormskirk’s relentless form, combined with a slight dip from his side, have cast that particular die.

Since Northern froze their rivals out for a draw at Brook Lane in June, Gary Knight’s side have won eight out of 10 in the league, tying one and drawing one; against such a run, any slip-up is going to be punished.

Tom Sephton took three wickets in four balls with the scores level to retrieve a tie with Southport & Birkdale on Saturday, but the real damage was done in the previous week’s failure to defend 220 at Wallasey.

Cole admits: “In the league, we’ve fallen away a bit and don’t feel like we’ve played as well as we could have done – we’re still in it, but it’s out of our hands now, we’re relying on Ormskirk to not win. 

“But if someone offered you two national cup finals at the start of the year, you’d take it every day of the week.

“We’ve said as a group that we haven’t played as well as we could on a Saturday. 

“It’s not that we’ve taken our eye off the ball, it’s that there’s so many good cricketers in the league, you can’t afford to have an off-day. 

“Ormskirk are relentless at the moment, whereas we lost a bit of momentum. 

“But we’ve still got an outside chance of doing something – we’ve got to win on Saturday, and then that rolls into Sunday.”

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Two great rivals spurring each other on to greater heights is one of the oldest tropes in sport, and Cole agrees there’s a case for the Love Lane Liverpool Competition giants being among the strongest club sides in the country.

“They’ve got to be, really,” he says. “We’ve got into two national finals in the same year, and they’re ahead of us in the league. 

“We’ve had some great battles over the years and hopefully we’ll continue to do that.”

Northern’s template is to bat first, set a score then put on the squeeze. 

The Kimberley game, or last year’s Lancashire Cup final win over Longridge, are the template – but Cole believes they’re a more adaptable side than they used to be.

He adds: “You have to take a decision on the day as to what kind of cricket to play. 

“Last year, we were really lucky at Old Trafford, it was a flat wicket and 25 degrees and we got to bat first – we like to set a score, but if conditions dictate otherwise then we’ll make that call accordingly. 

“If you’d asked me 10 years ago, a lot was reliant on the toss and batting first, putting pressure on them that way, but we feel like we’ve got a lot of experience of doing both now.

“So whatever we have to do, we’ll try to go about it in the best way we can.”

And with busloads of fans making the long journeys to Worcester, then to Derby, the skipper hopes to make it all worthwhile for those on and off the pitch.

He says: “It’s a hell of a commitment with the amount of cricket we play – people sacrifice their personal lives and family lives to play the best standard of cricket they can, so it’s nice to share occasions like Sunday.”

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Brentwood captain Aaron West is confident his side are strong enough to take on Northern in the ECB National Club Championship final, even without Aussie star Jordan Silk.

The Tasmanian batter has made more than 1,100 runs this season, including an unbeaten 73 to see his side over the line in the semi-final against Bath.

But he will be 10,000 miles away from Worcester’s New Road when they line up for the final.

West said: “We always knew Jordan would be unavailable for the final, so I said to him, you get us there and we’ll get the job finished. 

“He’s been pretty instrumental in our run, now it’s our job to get us over the line.”

Brentwood finished second in the Essex League and are unbeaten since July, so opening batter West has plenty of reason to be feel confident.

He admits the opposition are a bit of an unknown quantity, but has done his research on YouTube.

He added: “The teams seem fairly well-matched – we’ve got two left-arm spinners, like they have, and a left-arm seamer too. 

“It looks like both teams try to be really positive in the power play. 

“From what I’ve seen, it looks like it could be an even contest and I’m looking forward to it.

“These days don’t come around very often so we’re all just looking to enjoy the moment, play competitive cricket and hopefully bring the trophy home.”

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ECB National Club Championship final preview: Run machine McGladdery keen to make it count

Tyler McGladdery in action for Northern
Picture by ROGER GREEN

Tyler McGladdery hailed Northern’s squad of matchwinners ahead of the club’s national finals double header.

The Crosby side take on Brentwood in the 40-over ECB National Club Championship in Worcester on Sunday, a week before facing Oundle Town in the National Club T20.

Together with challenging Ormskirk for the Love Lane Liverpool Competition title, they’ve done it all with just 17 players.

Seven of them – McGladdery,  Liam Grey, Jac Kennedy, Alex Vincent, Ben Edmundson, Dan Wilson and Tom Sephton – have played all 38 games, while Chris Laker, captain James Cole and Josh Thompson have topped 30.

If it’s a sign of Cole having a settled group of elite cricketers to call on, it’s also a reflection of excellent fitness levels and luck with injuries.

McGladdery says: “We’ve got a lot of matchwinners in our XI. 

“Guys who have been there and done it know how hard it is to fight a battle on all fronts – a league and two national competitions. 

“Luckily, we’ve had a squad of players who have stayed fit all year.”

The left-handed runsmith qualifies as a guy who has been there and done it, for sure. 

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After topping 1,000 league runs in the league two years running, and making 2,048 in all competitions last year – including 52 in Northern’s Lancashire Cup win over Longridge – his 2024 returns have been numerically down by his own standards.

Whether it’s the conditions, or a knee operation which restricted his winter activity, McGladdery isn’t looking for excuses.

Notably, there hasn’t been a century, after 11 in league and cup matches over the two previous summers.

But it’s not always about how many, it’s sometimes about when. In a bowler-friendly season, his runs have often made a crucial difference.

“It’s that type of league where the standard of bowling is good enough to outweigh the batters when the conditions are in their favour,” he adds.

“Obviously, I’d have liked to have scored the same amount of runs as last year, but it’s not going to happen, you have to be realistic. 

“I’ve had a decent season, and managed to win us a few games, so it’s not all doom and gloom. 

“But I set my standards so high and I’d like to have done better. 

“If we win these couple of games now, I’ll look back and think it’s been a good year personally.”

Click here for the latest Love Lane Liverpool Competition statistics

There is a general acceptance at Northern that the league has probably gone. Saturday’s tie with Southport & Birkdale leaves them needing snookers to catch Ormskirk, who also ended their Lancashire Cup defence at the first hurdle.

McGladdery says the early exit from one competition may have been a blessing in disguise when it comes to the others. 

He adds: “Getting knocked out by Ormskirk has allowed us to do well in the other competitions. 

“It’s come down to the last few games in the league and we’ve kind of dropped off – we’ve not dealt with the Saturdays as well as they have. 

“Whether it’s because we’ve been playing so much high-intensity cup cricket on a Sunday, I don’t know, but they’ve stuck to the task and picked up two more wins than us.”

1st XI players used in all competitions

ECB Premier Division clubs, 2024

	Games	Players
Northern	38	17
Ormskirk	38	20
Formby	37	20
Rainford	36	21
Leigh	30	23
Wigan	27	24
Birkenhead Park	31	24
Rainhill	25	25
Southport & Birkdale	25	25
New Brighton	31	26
Newton-le-Willows	26	27
Wallasey	32	30

Now settled at number three, with Chris Laker and Jac Kennedy the regular openers, McGladdery is in exactly the position he wanted to be when he arrived from Rainhill at the end of the 2022 season.

He says: “I felt like I’d done all I could at Rainhill, and moved to Northern to play in games like Sunday, and the following Sunday. 

“With my injury, batting at three has given me a bit of a breather when we’ve fielded first.

“It’s testament to the fact we’ve got so many lads who can bat in different positions – it’s about mixing it up, and people can take on different roles in different games.”

The T20 final is at Derby’s County Ground, where McGladdery has played 2nd XI county cricket. But Worcester’s New Road will be a new experience on Sunday.

“Whenever you go to a county ground, you’re playing a guessing game over what wicket you’re going to be on,” he adds. 

“Will you have a short boundary at one side, will you be on a wicket they’ve played on last week? 

“We know a bit about Brentwood but at the end of the day if we play our best cricket, the best team’s going to win. 

“We’ve got to turn up on the day and deal with what’s in front of us.”

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ECB National Club Championship final preview: Grey taking nothing for granted as Northern approach the summit

Liam Grey celebrates his century in the Lancashire Cup final last year
Picture by GEORGE FRANKS

In Liam Grey’s first season at Northern, in 2015, they reached the final of the ECB National Club Championship.

So the all-rounder admits he took it a little bit for granted. 

“We got on a bit of a roll,” he recalls. “With it being my first year, I didn’t really appreciate the achievement. 

“Then for the next nine years, it’s been what we’re striving to get back to, and I didn’t realise how difficult it really is.”

One of three survivors of that 2015 defeat at the hands of Blackheath – captain James Cole and spinner Tom Sephton the others – Grey now knows all too well how tough it can be.

The Love Lane Liverpool Competition is rightly regarded as one of the strongest in the country, but the lack of a national title sometimes counts against it in these conversations.

Northern failed to defend 161 at Beckenham, and two years later Ormskirk came agonisingly close against Wanstead & Snaresbrook at Chelmsford. 

But other than that, nothing. Even in the mid-2000s, when Bootle were winning four successive Lancashire Cups, they didn’t get closer than a quarter-final; Wallasey, Northern and Ormskirk reached one semi each in the past five years but all fell short.  

Hard-luck stories abound – Northern fell foul of a bowl-out in last year’s knockout stages – but that’s sport for you. 

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Sunday’s clash with Brentwood at Worcestershire’s New Road ground is a chance to put an end to those years of hurt, and plant the Comp’s flag firmly at the top of the club game.

Grey says: “We don’t enter it every year just to play in it, we enter it to win. 

“It’s the pinnacle of club cricket. It’s what we work hard for throughout the season, for games like Sunday. This is why we sacrifice all our Sundays as well as Saturdays.

“It would be a nice feeling to be the first side from the Comp to win it, but there’s a lot of work to be done. 

“It’s the final of the national knockout, it’s probably one of the hardest games you’re going to have in club cricket.”

Grey was the star of Northern’s last cup success, hitting an unbeaten 118 to set up a thumping Lancashire Cup final win over Longridge at Emirates Old Trafford last year.

He followed that up with two wickets in the power play, bowling in tandem with Sephton – that combination has been a huge part of the side’s limited-overs success.

Nowhere was that laid out more plainly than in their semi-final win at Kimberley Institute. Setting off in pursuit of 242, the hosts were 17/5 before they could catch their breath; Grey’s six overs with the field up cost just 19 runs.

“When we beat Kimberley, I went and had a look at the team from 2015,” he says, finding the badger-est way to celebrate a win.

“It was a great team, but this one we’ve got now has all the bases covered. 

“It’s up there with the best I have played in, man for man. Everyone has each other’s backs.

“Me and Sephy have been at the club for years now and that’s our model, we open the bowling, try to take early wickets and restrict them to as few runs as possible.

“We know our roles, we’ve done it that often, and it’s worked really well for us. 

“The whole team have been phenomenal in Sunday cricket.”

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Sunday’s final is just part one of a double-header for Northern, one of only three sides to reach the final of both the 40-over knockout and the ECB National Club T20.

Ormskirk, who replay their rained-off Lancashire Cup final with Prestwich on the same day as the T20 showdown, have the high ground in the league and are unlikely to yield it.

Nonetheless, Grey believes his side have proved their quality by getting to the finals. Now it’s just a case of winning the damn things.

He adds: “To get to two national finals speaks for itself regarding how good our team is at the moment.

“You don’t get many opportunities to play in a national final, let alone two in seven days. 

“The defeat in 2015, losing a bowl-out last year, the previous semi-finals… it all makes you more hungry, it makes your appetite for success grow and grow.”

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