Love Lane Liverpool Competition reports, reactions & round-up… May 24-25

Ormskirk’s Tom Brown on his way to 100* against Leigh
All pictures by RAY HIBBS

Tom Brown should have been nervous. Instead, walking out at 23/5, with Leigh’s table-topping seamers running amok, Ormskirk’s 19-year-old English Australian was a 6’6” pillar of calm, compiling a maiden Comp century that blunted everything the visitors had to offer.

It meant that having been 10/4 in the fifth over, Gary Knight could call his men in on 252/9, seconds after Brown had pushed Adam Shallcross for the single that brought up his ton.

A couple of hours earlier, the skipper wouldn’t have dreamed of such riches; a couple of hours later, he was celebrating a 159-run win that moved his side to the top of the nascent league table.

“This will go down as one of our best wins,” Knight said. 

“Having been on the back foot again, to turn it around was unbelievable. 

“Browny had a really good winter, he bats in the top order for South Australia under-19s, so we knew it wasn’t an issue putting him up against good seam bowling, and he’s taken that form into this season.”

With the predicted rain staying away, hopes had been high for the second day of Ormskirk’s beer festival. But soon after the 11am start, the hosts were in danger of being a lost cause before the Play Cricket app even realised there was a game on.

Patrick Allan had struck twice in the opening over, finding the outside edges of Calum Turner and George Lavelle. 

Harvey Rankin survived the hat-trick ball then unwisely tried to take on the arm of Shallcross from point. Two overs later, Allan bent a yorker into George Politis’s pads. 

Shallcross pinned Ian Robinson to get on the board himself; skipper Mattie McKiernan replaced his opening pair after just five overs each, then immediately felt vindicated when Karl Brown had Knight playing on to make it 52/6.

Leigh scented blood, and a statement win over the defending champions. Instead, Brown and Sam Marsh compiled a stand of 161, a Premier Division record for the seventh wicket as far as records can tell.

They started off by counter-attacking then, when McKiernan put the field back to protect the short square boundary, switched seamlessly to accumulation.

Marsh proved equal to Ben Martindale’s short stuff, while Brown hardly took a risk for any of his 12 boundaries. 

Tom Brown in watchful mood during his century

Their running between the wickets was flawless and they were able to punish the bad balls effectively as Leigh’s attack wilted – even the return of the openers could not dislodge them.

Marsh brought up the 200 with his second six, a flat pull that threatened to demolish the taco stand, before McKiernan snuck one through his defences on 82 – his highest score for Ormskirk, and his first half-century since 2022.

With the 55-over cut-off nearing, Leigh managed to starve Brown of the strike before, with last man Jamie Barnes at the other end, he swung Shallcross to the long-on boundary to move to 97, then cut two more to set up his big moment.

Born in Sheffield and brought up Down Under, Brown idolises both Joe Root and Nathan Lyon; his off-spin was not required, but his Root-like rescue innings had already turned the game.

He said: “It was a relief after not getting many runs last year to show everyone what I can do, having had a good summer at home. 

“I feel like I do better in situations like that where I have to switch on, otherwise I can get a bit lazy and play a rash shot so I think it was better for me to feel like I was in a contest, and to get us out of trouble. 

“We tried to keep it simple – hit the bad balls and keep the good ones out.”

The second innings began like the first – high-quality seamers getting rid of high-quality batters. Scott Lees removed the dangerous Martindale before Marsh took over, castling Luke Prescott then having McKiernan held low by Turner at slip.

Karl Brown departed LBW first ball, then Tom Grundy edged high to Turner; at 21/5, then 70/6 after Harry Church and Shallcross attempted a recovery, the similarities between the two innings were striking.

The difference was that after Church chipped to mid-wicket on 30, giving Marsh his first five-for of the season, nobody stuck around. Knight took a flying catch at mid-on to remove Edwin Brewer (“the lads said I should have moved my feet instead of diving”), before Jamie Barnes did his thing with the tail to wrap up the win.

Knight insists he doesn’t look at the table this early in the season, but he will be pleased if he accidentally catches a glimpse of one. 

He said: “We know how good Leigh are and to get them on the back foot as early as we did was pleasing. 

“Marsh and Lees are a pain for batters at the best of times but that was a first-class spell from them, to get some really good players out.”

Love Lane Liverpool Competition results

ECB Premier Division

Formby got the better of local rivals Northern in a high-scoring thriller at Moor Park.

Ian Cockbain made 140 and Lucas Kennedy a personal best of 95 in a mammoth stand of 230, which made up most of the visitors’ 288/8. 

In reply, Stephen Lucas and Liam Grey posted 154 of their own; Lucas fell for 77 but Grey went on to make 106. At 221/2 the chase looked in hand, but the spin pair of Archie Davies and St Lucian left-armer Larry Edward had other ideas – they each claimed five wickets to wrap up the win with two overs to go.

Firwood Bootle continued their unbeaten start to the season with a four-wicket victory at winless Newton-le-Willows. Seamers Kieron New and Sagar Trivedi did the damage with four wickets each to dismiss the hosts for 129.

Liam Gaskell’s 5/28, his best figures for Rainford, sealed a 105-run win at Rainhill, who are also yet to pick up a win. Paul Farrar top-scored with an unbeaten 84 in the visitors’ 197/6.

Birkenhead Park are on the board after beating Wirral rivals Wallasey by six wickets. Chris Stenhouse, Safi Abdullah and David Nevin took three wickets each to roll the visitors for just 80.

Nathan Barnes with 4/7 was the pick of the bowlers for Wigan in their eight-wicket win over Colwyn Bay, who were bowled out for 87.

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Division One

Spring View thumped Maghull to go top after Nathan Ashford made his first ton since 2021 against the same opposition.

Ashford’s unbeaten 106 defied Joe Campbell, who took 5/81, as View closed on 236/9; James Critchley’s 4/26 helped run through the hosts for just 59.

Against the backdrop of a music festival, Orrell Red Triangle earned One Big six-wicket win at Sefton Park. Sam Heeley, Andy Baybutt and Matthew Wareing all made 40s in their successful pursuit of 163.

Liverpool failed to win for the first time this season on a slow day at Aigburth, as Southport & Birkdale took 59 overs to make 196 – Raunak Roy the top scorer with 58, as Jared Clein took 6/42. Early wickets hampered the chase and the hosts had to close out on 102/8 from 50 overs.

Hightown St Marys earned their first win since promotion, Jamaican Gordon Bryan taking 5/20 to dismiss the visitors for 105. Bryan had earlier top-scored with 49 out of his side’s 142.

New Brighton’s Damitha Silva took 5/19 to roll Old Xaverians for 96 and set up a six-wicket win. 

Highfield and Sutton shared the honours after the St Helens side ran out of time chasing 191. They closed on 139/5 after Kallis Anders’ 57; earlier, Mohit Jangra made 54 for the hosts.

Love Lane Liverpool Competition tables

Division Two

Caldy skipper Mike Grealis led from the front in their huge win over Southport Trinity, making 67 out of 257/8. Rohan Sanjaya took 5/18 to seal the victory.

It was a similar story at the division’s other 100% side, Ainsdale. The captain, Oli Green, top-scored against Whitefield before the overseas pro, Dilanka Auwardt, took 6/42 to wrap up a 97-run victory.

Northop Hall’s Paul Jenkins had Prestatyn in a spin, taking 4/1 to roll the Welsh side for 69 and set up a six-wicket win.

Nathan Condon’s unbeaten 54 led Fleetwood Hesketh to an eight-wicket win at Wavertree. Aqeel Mustafa took 5/42 to restrict the hosts to 143; captain and opener Theo O’Brien was last out for 64.

St Helens Town had to settle for a draw against Prescot & Odyssey, the visitors closing nine down. Ryan Donnelly made 83 and Jamie Ellis 61 to get the hosts off to a great start with an opening stand of 150; but P&O’s last pair of Mark Plumbley and Matty Nation survived 23 balls to deny them the win.

Norley Hall’s Ryan Wood blew Parkfield Liscard away with 5/7, nobody below the top six making a single run as Hall earned an eight-wicket win.

Love Lane Liverpool Competition statistics

Sunday

ECB National Club Championship

Formby’s Archie Davies bowling against Westhoughton

Anyone who enjoyed Northern and Formby’s clash on Saturday can look forward to a rematch in the Group 6 final.

Stephen Lucas top-scored with 86 as Northern chased 192 against Lancashire Cup co-holders Prestwich, after former Rainhill man Sam Kershaw made 68 and Tom Sephton and Dan Wilson took three wickets each.

Fancy seeing you here… ex-Formby teammates Sam Oldham and Calum Turner during Leyland v Ormskirk

Ian Cockbain and Jack Carney put on an unbroken stand of 150 to earn an eight-wicket win for Formby over Westhoughton. The skipper finished on 84 and the wicketkeeper on 74 after George Darwood was the pick of the bowlers with 5/27.

The Love Lane Liverpool Competition rivals will meet at Moor Park on June 15.

Ormskirk reached the Group 5 final after a runfest at Brook Lane. Calum Turner hit 145 and Gary Knight 87, the pair’s stand of 170 setting up a total of 287/5 against Leyland. Jamie Barnes took 4/54 and Sam Marsh 3/18 as the visitors put up a fight but fell 24 runs short.

Knight’s men will host Roe Green in the final after the Greater Manchester Cricket League side overcame Blackpool.

from Merseyside Cricket Online https://ift.tt/cqg4zFA