‘It’s not quite sunk in yet’… George Lavelle on the ‘special’ feeling of helping Ormskirk get to Lord’s

George Lavelle on his way to 102 against Knowle & Dorridge
Picture by RAY HIBBS

George Lavelle enjoyed a “special” day in the spotlight on Sunday – but he says this year’s Ormskirk side is so good, it’s always someone’s turn to shine.

Lavelle hit 102 to help his boyhood club reach the Lord’s final of the ECB National Club Championship thanks to a two-wicket win over Knowle & Dorridge.

With Gary Knight’s side in pole position for a third successive Love Lane Liverpool Competition title, and now with a shot at their first ever national honour, Lavelle is loving being part of the fun.

He said: “Gary summed it up perfectly in our team talk on Saturday – he said if it’s not someone’s day, it’ll be someone else’s.

“And if it’s no-one’s day then the team seems to pull it out of the bag anyway.

“That’s the pleasure of being at a club like Ormskirk, there’s so much strength in depth.”

Lavelle is one of five Ormskirk batters to have topped 500 runs across all competitions this year, while four bowlers have taken more than 30 wickets – including Sunday’s hero with the ball, Jamie Barnes.

The seamer produced three quick wickets to still the momentum of the visitors from Birmingham after a flying start, and keep the run chase manageable.

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Then it was over to Lavelle, who hit 14 fours and one six in his 85 balls at the crease.

He said: “It was a little bit of a tricky pitch, it was probably a little bit on the slow side.

“I think the way Barnesy bowled meant we weren’t chasing 400, and I thought we put in a good team performance to get across the line.”

Lavelle says the calmest place to be was in the middle, especially as a clatter of wickets left penultimate pair Nicky Caunce and Toby Bulcock needing to get the side over the line.

He added: “It felt like every time we had the game in the bag, we’d lose a wicket.

“We have a habit of not winning games very easily but we do manage to get over the line most times.

“It was a very nervous changing room, I think Nicky was probably the worst of a lot and then he had to bat and he looked like he had no nerves at all.

“A lot of us have played in big games but those nerves never quite go away.

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“Probably the easiest place to be is actually out in the middle, that’s the only place you really feel comfortable.”

Lavelle certainly felt comfortable on his only appearance at Lord’s in his Lancashire days, top-scoring with 72 in a 10-run One-Day Cup win over Middlesex in 2023.

But he knows going there with his club, with a trophy on the line, will hit different.

“It’s a dream for everyone to go and play at Lord’s,” he said. 

“And it means so much to all the players and all the fans to go and have that trip out.

“I think over the last few years we’ve played some really good cricket and I feel like we’ve deserved that trip out there.

“It was a pretty special day seeing how much it meant to so many people – it’s not quite sunk in yet.”

from Merseyside Cricket Online https://ift.tt/SL7hg4W