News
Posted Tuesday 22nd July
Match reports
u9 v Port Sunlight
Heather Beattie writes...
Wirral crushed Port Sunlight at Levers. Wirral scored 350 and dismissed their opposition for 215.
Wirral beat their previous u9 record of 269.
Stephen Wiggins was the star of the show smashing 5 sixes and also taking a hatrick.
Well done u9, best performance of the season so far!
u15 v Christleton
Martin Walker writes...
A repeat of the cup fixture earlier on in the week and although both teams made a few changes the result was the same with a Wirral victory. Wirral won the toss and decided to bat first. Chris Partington and Will Callanan opened the batting and got off to a steady start with Chris playing a few unusual shots. One in particular went straight up in the air and was missed by all the fielders and for some bizarre reason just as the ball was about to land by his stumps Chris decided to run, he did avoid being run out!. Runs did not come freely and although the top4 all made contributions nobody really kicked on to make a big score. Indeed it was left to Will to hold the innings together with a patient 24.There were a couple of good knocks by Lewin and Milne. Wirral finishing on 93.
Chrisletons innings started off with momentum….Morgan Jones in particular hitting 3 fours in the first over of the Neston (hockey) bound Mills. Wirral to have any chance had to see the end of this batsman and Mark Griffiths achieved this with the aid of an excellent catch off Chris Milne. Wirral then started to turn the screw with both Ollie Mills and Mark Grifffiths bowling well and Mark before jetting off to trace his ancestry finished with 5 overs 1-6.
After this Wirral rotated the bowlers on a regular basis all picking up wickets including the unpredictable Michael Goulding. Michael always plays with a smile on his face regardless of what the situation. Jordan Rimmer with his leg spin bowling his 5 overs conceding only 12 runs for his 2 wickets including one stumping. He probably should have another one but Will did everything right with a great appeal but forgot to knock the bails off.
Man of the match despite his missed stumping Will Callanan…held the innings together and kept well.
u15 v Christleton
Martin Walker writes...
On a cold blustery evening Wirral saved their best performance of the season to see off Christleton. Wirral won the toss and decided to bat. Chris Partington and Dave Lewis laid the platform for the innings with an excellent opening partnership comprising of sharp running between the wickets and picking off the occasional boundary. Chris made 18 and Dave making 34. Dave being particularly fluent without the shackles of his father Nick being present. Nick having witnessed his son`s first ball duck the night before. The attack was then taken up by both Mark Griffiths and Danny Evans who started to hit boundaries on a regular basis. Danny is showing some really good form recently with some power hitting although he did suffer a painful blow towards the end of his innings. Wirral posted a challenging total of 133.
Christleton set about the total in a positive manner with the excellent Morgan Jones in particular playing some excellent shots. Wirral were a little fortunate with their first wicket when Mark Griffiths deflected the ball onto the stumps to run out the other opener at the non striking end. Luke Atherton then took control and took 3 wickets and saw off the dangerous Morgan Jones in his spell. At one stage Luke was on a hattrick but Adam Lewin spilled the chance …was he dreaming about his jaffa cakes…..Despite the dropped catch…the sharp witted Mark Griffiths managed a run out with a direct hit from the rebound.
The fielding was excellent with all other catches being taken and 2 more run outs with a further direct hit from Will Callanan. Although Christleton continued to go for it Wirral picked up regular wickets and Kieran Morris mopped up the tail with figures of 3-8. One wicket was with the aid of an excellent catch by Chris Milne Wirral ran out winners by 21 runs.
A special thanks to all the parents who came out to support the lads on a particularly cold evening. The support of the parents is appreciated not only by the lads but also by the coaches .
Man of the Match….2 for this game Dave Lewis for setting up a great start with his batting and Luke Atherton for his bowling and taking out the key Christleton batsmen.
Posted Sunday 5th July
Match report
u15 v Hartford
Martin Walker writes...
This contest was most enjoyable and one of the best Sunday games played this season. Wirral won the toss and chose to field first. There was a late replacement when the captain failed in his only task to contact Nick Harvey…Luke Atherton answering the late call. Ollie Mills opened the bowling and was very impressive clean bowling the first three batsman and finishing with figures of 3-6 off his 5 overs. He was ably supported by the other bowlers including Michael Goulding…Wirral’s mystery bowler. You are never sure what is coming and neither does he sometimes. Two consecutive bowls proved that…the first ball was a beamer, the second ball being a bouncer which forced the batsman to fall on his wickets. Hartford made a sporting total of 82 runs.
After being treated to cakes, batches and orange juice and one over of Lock carnage we had a sharp downpour of rain in which everybody dived for cover apart from Wirral’s version of Laurel and Hardy…Tom Lock and Michael Goulding decided they were going to put the covers on. This proved a little difficult for the comedy duo. Firstly, the covers went on sideways and then when they managed to get two of the covers on and looking very pleased with themselves they were told that they had put them on the wrong track. By then the rain had stopped and play resumed with Will taking two painful blows. Hartford’s bowlers were bowling really well and were picking up wickets on a regular basis. However, all the batsmen were chipping in and reducing the total. It was nice to see Luke Harris making his first appearance of the season and he made a useful 14. With the game now becoming tense the Chris Partington and Luke Atherton saw the team home. A good game played in excellent spirit.
Man of the match…Ollie Mills for his opening spell.
Posted Sunday 28th June
Match reports
u15 v Moorfield
Martin Walker writes...
The hardest part about this game was getting 11 players to the ground in Widnes. There was an 8.15am meet and the usual suspects were last there the Callanans and the Morrises...the former stopping off for coffee and croissants. Directions to the ground were handed out…the convoy set off and all was well until the various cars closed in on the Runcorn bridge. The Hodsons set off towards Warrington, the coaches and the Callanans decided to go to Runcorn and Ian Morris was sitting smugly at Widnes Cricket Club thinking they had arrived first only to find that they had gone to the wrong club. After the eventual arrival at the club of 9 players the game got under way with Wirral fielding first. Mrs Evans then arrived at the same time with Mr Evans and the remaining 2 players…the only thing was that she had set out about an hour after her husband.
As for the game Wirral were too strong for their opposition. Moorfield could only make 60 of which 20 were extras with Connor Hodson being the pick of the bowlers with 4-12 off the 4 overs. Wirral knocked the score off easily with captain Dave Lewis making 29. Dave deserves credit for ensuring that all players took some part
As far as we are aware all players and parents made it safely back to the Wirral but we are still waiting for a sighting of the Evans family.
Man of the match…goes to the Lewins and Rimmers for arriving on time without any detours.
u13 v Irby
Derek Gordon writes...
On a warm muggy morning, Wirral captain Jamie Irvine won the toss and invited Irby to bat. A magnificent start was made by opening bowlers Luke Kieran and Max Moran and Irby lost their first four wickets inside three overs for only 9 runs. The Irby middle order then got to grips with the Wirral attack and steadied the innings with good stands for the next two wickets. Irby captain Chris Ehlen batted particularly well and retired on 35 not out.
Good bowling throughout by all the Wirral bowlers restricted Irby’s score to 102 for 6 off their allotted 25 overs. Definite signs of improved bowling pleased the coach – it shows that the recent bowling training has been worthwhile! Special mention should go to Jack Jones who, after having three catches dropped off his bowling, finished with 0 for 13 off his three overs and to Michael Atkinson who took 1 for 6 off his three overs which included a maiden.
The Wirral reply got off to an excellent start with an opening partnership of 43 in 10 overs between Kieran Woodland (whose 27 included 5 fours) and Chris Byrnes. The innings then wobbled somewhat, with four wickets falling within the next four overs, before an excellent steadying fifth wicket partnership of 38 between Jack Jones and Jon Carroll. Jon’s new bat has worked wonders for his batting!
Both Jack and Jon were dismissed in successive overs and, with the required rate running at 5 or 6 per over an exciting seventh wicket partnership between Michael Hulley and Luke Kieran took the score to 99 for 7 with only three balls left. By now the spectators were on their feet, urging their teams on and the atmosphere on and off the field was electric.
Good, intelligent running – taking byes to the wicket keeper – by Michael and Charlie Gordon saw the Wirral innings close on 102 for 7. The tie result was a fair one as both teams had played very well and the game was played in an excellent spirit, for which thanks must go to the Irby players and coach.
It was especially pleasing to see some mature thinking by the later batsmen when chasing and maintaining a run rate of more than 5 per over. None of the Wirral players panicked and the tie was achieved by a good all-round team effort. Well done lads!
u15 v Toft
Martin Walker writes...
Wirral were too strong for Toft and excelled in all areas of the game. Toft decided to bat on a lively wicket and were never comfortable against the pace of Alex Griffiths who bowled his 4 overs at a cost of 4 runs and 1 wicket. There were also excellent displays from Luke Atherton with his 5 overs for 5 runs and deserved a wicket. Adam Lewin took 3 wickets for 2 runs and at one stage was on a hatrick. Further contributions with the improving Jordan Rimmer of 1-15 and Chris Partington 2 wickets for no runs saw Toft all out for 43. In addition to the bowling spells there were 2 direct hits from Tom Lock for run outs and an excellent diving catch from Jordan Rimmer .
Wirral’s reply was comprehensive with Dave Lewis dominating the scoring and was in the 20`s before Tom Lock had even hit a ball let alone score a run but once he hit the ball the game finished quickly with two 4`s and a 6
MAN OF THE MATCH…very difficult one but it goes to Luke Atherton…he gave away only 5 runs in his spell and deserved better.
u15 v Runcorn
Martin Walker writes...
This was the return fixture at Runcorn’s ground. Wirral won the toss and decided to bat on a good wicket. Wirral had a new opening partnership with Chris Partington and Jordan Rimmer. They got off to a steady start if a little slow…their partnership came to and end though with Chris being involved in another run out. This time he was run out when Jordan decided to run back but didn’t bother to tell Chris. Mark Griffiths came to the crease with Danny Evans after the dismissal of Jordan. They both had a game plan that they were going to attack and took the game to Runcorn. Boundaries and good running between the wickets soon gave the momentum to Wirral. The stage was set for Alex Griffiths to come in and dominate which he did with four 4`s and a 6 in his innings of 35. Wirral finishing on 114 off their 20 overs.
Runcorn in reply again made a slow start pegged back by some accurate bowling by Kieran Morris and Connor Hodson. Wirral picked up regular wickets and looked to be comfortable. However young Brown from Runcorn took the attack to Wirral and made a very quick 24 and took a liking to the bowling of Chris. Michael Goulding bowled 2 overs of variety…if Michael worked at his bowling he could become a tricky bowler. The game became very tight but Wirral held on and won by 7 runs
Man of the Match…Danny Evans..for an attacking knock not just for boundaries but attacking running between the wickets.
u15 v Barrow
Martin Walker writes...
Wirral in dream world could be a subtitle for the game this Sunday. Wirral were batting first on a glorious day for cricket or dreaming. Wirral got off to an excellent start with Dave Lewis and Will Callanan putting on 46 for the first wicket. Will is improving week by week in the opening position and helping Wirral to get off to a good start. With this excellent start Alex Griffiths kept the momentum going with some quick runs before departing to bring in the first dreamer of the day birthday boy Tom Lock. Tom got off to his customary start with a trademark boundary but admitted that he went into a bit of a daydream about chocolate cake and wondering if his mother had bought him a new razor. I am afraid his wickets were shattered and he trudged off to be replaced by Mark Griffiths who thankfully was awake and played some excellent shots and finished with 36 not out. He was supported by Nick Harvey and extras which saw Wirral reach a total of 153.
The second half I am afraid saw the dreamers out in full force…Nick Harvey`s mother normally packs a picnic for him but not today and he spent large parts of the day when he should have been keeping thinking of food. Thankfully for young Nick, the Barrow hospitality was excellent and he was able to stock up at the end of the innings. Will Callanan started dreaming about his grandmothers birthday party and Nathan Longshaw instead of running out the Barrow batsman who was half way down the wicket was concentrating on his mothers Sunday roast and forgot to take the bails off.
Wirral did share the bowling around 10 bowlers and also shared the extras conceded. Apart from good knocks by two batsman nobody else got into double figures for Barrow. Birthday boy Tom did pick up 2 late wickets and Wirral finished comfortable winners.
A special thanks should be given to the hospitality shown by Barrow and it left the parents and coaches of Wirral dreaming about playing here every week. The only thing Wirral left in return was the massive fur loss from the Lock dog
Man of the match…Mark Griffiths…a classy 36 not out
Posted Wednesday 10th June
Match reports
u15 v Oakmere
Martin Walker writes...
Wirral made a quick return to Oakmere for a cup match. Wirral lost the toss and were invited to bat. Captain for the day Chip Adkins minus his lucky bracelet opened the batting with Will Callanan and got off to a quick start which set the tone for the innings. Chip however tried one shot too many and was bowled. This brought Tom to the wicket and the opposition opening bowler tried to bounce Tom out but he was having none of it and and put one ball in the road and many more either in the hedge or through it. He even hit a car with one of his shots. Next season Oakmere may consider putting their wicket further away from the road or banning Tom. Mr Lock made an excellent 41. Sam having reacquainted himself with his book of cricketing stars failed to find a batsman and in his words batted like Monty and was easily stumped. During this time Will quietly went about his job finding the singles and leaving the big hitting to his partners. Wirral eventually posting a score of 147 thanks to a quick-fire 26 from Alex Griffiths.
Oakmeres response was soon in trouble with Mark Griffiths claiming a wicket in his first over Mark and Ollie Mills put Oakmere behind the clock very quickly with excellent opening spells. Chip gave most of his bowlers a spell and Chris Milne was the pick of the bowlers. Oakmere however pressed the self-destruct button with a series of run outs. The game was always in Wirrals control and there was even time for one or two of the players to have impromptu toilet breaks during overs .Oakmere did reach a total of 114-6
Man of the Match…Tom Lock for some big hitting appreciated by the spectators but not the drivers on the A49.
u13 v Port Sunlight
Derek Gordon writes...
On a cool, very windy morning at Leverhulme, Wirral captain Kieran Woodland won the toss and invited Port Sunlight to bat first. The opening bowlers kept the score down and Oliver Murphy bowled one of the openers in his second over.
All eleven Wirral players had a turn at bowling and, although they all bowled well and nobody was taken to the cleaners, only Michael Atkinson managed not to bowl a wide. The pick of the bowlers was captain Kieran, taking 3 for 13 in his three overs and being on a hat-trick in his first over. Jack Jones, Josh Crombleholme and Oliver also bowled particularly well.
Port Sunlight’s innings closed on 140 f0r 5. This total was boosted by too many extras – 44, including a mammoth 29 wides. One very pleasing feature was Wirral’s catching – all the chances were taken expertly.
Wirral’s top order batsmen Kieran, Josh and Chris Byrnes got the innings off to a good sound start, reaching 51 for 1 by the thirteenth over. Sadly some really excellent bowling from Port Sunlight meant that Wirral could not build on that start and the innings closed on 94 for 9. The star batsman was captain Kieran (again!) with 22 and honourable mentions also go to Josh (16), Chris (11), Andrew Oake (9 not out) and Jon Carroll (8 not out), the last pair enjoying an unbroken tenth wicket stand of 23.
Overall, against a strong team, this was a very good performance by Wirral.
Posted Tuesday 14th April
Want to smash it like Freddie? Spend the week at his academy in 2009
Match reports
u9 v Port Sunlight
Heather Beattie writes...
Wirral crushed Port Sunlight at Levers. Wirral scored 350 and dismissed their opposition for 215.
Wirral beat their previous u9 record of 269.
Stephen Wiggins was the star of the show smashing 5 sixes and also taking a hatrick.
Well done u9, best performance of the season so far!
u15 v Christleton
Martin Walker writes...
A repeat of the cup fixture earlier on in the week and although both teams made a few changes the result was the same with a Wirral victory. Wirral won the toss and decided to bat first. Chris Partington and Will Callanan opened the batting and got off to a steady start with Chris playing a few unusual shots. One in particular went straight up in the air and was missed by all the fielders and for some bizarre reason just as the ball was about to land by his stumps Chris decided to run, he did avoid being run out!. Runs did not come freely and although the top4 all made contributions nobody really kicked on to make a big score. Indeed it was left to Will to hold the innings together with a patient 24.There were a couple of good knocks by Lewin and Milne. Wirral finishing on 93.
Chrisletons innings started off with momentum….Morgan Jones in particular hitting 3 fours in the first over of the Neston (hockey) bound Mills. Wirral to have any chance had to see the end of this batsman and Mark Griffiths achieved this with the aid of an excellent catch off Chris Milne. Wirral then started to turn the screw with both Ollie Mills and Mark Grifffiths bowling well and Mark before jetting off to trace his ancestry finished with 5 overs 1-6.
After this Wirral rotated the bowlers on a regular basis all picking up wickets including the unpredictable Michael Goulding. Michael always plays with a smile on his face regardless of what the situation. Jordan Rimmer with his leg spin bowling his 5 overs conceding only 12 runs for his 2 wickets including one stumping. He probably should have another one but Will did everything right with a great appeal but forgot to knock the bails off.
Man of the match despite his missed stumping Will Callanan…held the innings together and kept well.
u15 v Christleton
Martin Walker writes...
On a cold blustery evening Wirral saved their best performance of the season to see off Christleton. Wirral won the toss and decided to bat. Chris Partington and Dave Lewis laid the platform for the innings with an excellent opening partnership comprising of sharp running between the wickets and picking off the occasional boundary. Chris made 18 and Dave making 34. Dave being particularly fluent without the shackles of his father Nick being present. Nick having witnessed his son`s first ball duck the night before. The attack was then taken up by both Mark Griffiths and Danny Evans who started to hit boundaries on a regular basis. Danny is showing some really good form recently with some power hitting although he did suffer a painful blow towards the end of his innings. Wirral posted a challenging total of 133.
Christleton set about the total in a positive manner with the excellent Morgan Jones in particular playing some excellent shots. Wirral were a little fortunate with their first wicket when Mark Griffiths deflected the ball onto the stumps to run out the other opener at the non striking end. Luke Atherton then took control and took 3 wickets and saw off the dangerous Morgan Jones in his spell. At one stage Luke was on a hattrick but Adam Lewin spilled the chance …was he dreaming about his jaffa cakes…..Despite the dropped catch…the sharp witted Mark Griffiths managed a run out with a direct hit from the rebound.
The fielding was excellent with all other catches being taken and 2 more run outs with a further direct hit from Will Callanan. Although Christleton continued to go for it Wirral picked up regular wickets and Kieran Morris mopped up the tail with figures of 3-8. One wicket was with the aid of an excellent catch by Chris Milne Wirral ran out winners by 21 runs.
A special thanks to all the parents who came out to support the lads on a particularly cold evening. The support of the parents is appreciated not only by the lads but also by the coaches .
Man of the Match….2 for this game Dave Lewis for setting up a great start with his batting and Luke Atherton for his bowling and taking out the key Christleton batsmen.
Posted Sunday 5th July
Match report
u15 v Hartford
Martin Walker writes...
This contest was most enjoyable and one of the best Sunday games played this season. Wirral won the toss and chose to field first. There was a late replacement when the captain failed in his only task to contact Nick Harvey…Luke Atherton answering the late call. Ollie Mills opened the bowling and was very impressive clean bowling the first three batsman and finishing with figures of 3-6 off his 5 overs. He was ably supported by the other bowlers including Michael Goulding…Wirral’s mystery bowler. You are never sure what is coming and neither does he sometimes. Two consecutive bowls proved that…the first ball was a beamer, the second ball being a bouncer which forced the batsman to fall on his wickets. Hartford made a sporting total of 82 runs.
After being treated to cakes, batches and orange juice and one over of Lock carnage we had a sharp downpour of rain in which everybody dived for cover apart from Wirral’s version of Laurel and Hardy…Tom Lock and Michael Goulding decided they were going to put the covers on. This proved a little difficult for the comedy duo. Firstly, the covers went on sideways and then when they managed to get two of the covers on and looking very pleased with themselves they were told that they had put them on the wrong track. By then the rain had stopped and play resumed with Will taking two painful blows. Hartford’s bowlers were bowling really well and were picking up wickets on a regular basis. However, all the batsmen were chipping in and reducing the total. It was nice to see Luke Harris making his first appearance of the season and he made a useful 14. With the game now becoming tense the Chris Partington and Luke Atherton saw the team home. A good game played in excellent spirit.
Man of the match…Ollie Mills for his opening spell.
Posted Sunday 28th June
Match reports
u15 v Moorfield
Martin Walker writes...
The hardest part about this game was getting 11 players to the ground in Widnes. There was an 8.15am meet and the usual suspects were last there the Callanans and the Morrises...the former stopping off for coffee and croissants. Directions to the ground were handed out…the convoy set off and all was well until the various cars closed in on the Runcorn bridge. The Hodsons set off towards Warrington, the coaches and the Callanans decided to go to Runcorn and Ian Morris was sitting smugly at Widnes Cricket Club thinking they had arrived first only to find that they had gone to the wrong club. After the eventual arrival at the club of 9 players the game got under way with Wirral fielding first. Mrs Evans then arrived at the same time with Mr Evans and the remaining 2 players…the only thing was that she had set out about an hour after her husband.
As for the game Wirral were too strong for their opposition. Moorfield could only make 60 of which 20 were extras with Connor Hodson being the pick of the bowlers with 4-12 off the 4 overs. Wirral knocked the score off easily with captain Dave Lewis making 29. Dave deserves credit for ensuring that all players took some part
As far as we are aware all players and parents made it safely back to the Wirral but we are still waiting for a sighting of the Evans family.
Man of the match…goes to the Lewins and Rimmers for arriving on time without any detours.
u13 v Irby
Derek Gordon writes...
On a warm muggy morning, Wirral captain Jamie Irvine won the toss and invited Irby to bat. A magnificent start was made by opening bowlers Luke Kieran and Max Moran and Irby lost their first four wickets inside three overs for only 9 runs. The Irby middle order then got to grips with the Wirral attack and steadied the innings with good stands for the next two wickets. Irby captain Chris Ehlen batted particularly well and retired on 35 not out.
Good bowling throughout by all the Wirral bowlers restricted Irby’s score to 102 for 6 off their allotted 25 overs. Definite signs of improved bowling pleased the coach – it shows that the recent bowling training has been worthwhile! Special mention should go to Jack Jones who, after having three catches dropped off his bowling, finished with 0 for 13 off his three overs and to Michael Atkinson who took 1 for 6 off his three overs which included a maiden.
The Wirral reply got off to an excellent start with an opening partnership of 43 in 10 overs between Kieran Woodland (whose 27 included 5 fours) and Chris Byrnes. The innings then wobbled somewhat, with four wickets falling within the next four overs, before an excellent steadying fifth wicket partnership of 38 between Jack Jones and Jon Carroll. Jon’s new bat has worked wonders for his batting!
Both Jack and Jon were dismissed in successive overs and, with the required rate running at 5 or 6 per over an exciting seventh wicket partnership between Michael Hulley and Luke Kieran took the score to 99 for 7 with only three balls left. By now the spectators were on their feet, urging their teams on and the atmosphere on and off the field was electric.
Good, intelligent running – taking byes to the wicket keeper – by Michael and Charlie Gordon saw the Wirral innings close on 102 for 7. The tie result was a fair one as both teams had played very well and the game was played in an excellent spirit, for which thanks must go to the Irby players and coach.
It was especially pleasing to see some mature thinking by the later batsmen when chasing and maintaining a run rate of more than 5 per over. None of the Wirral players panicked and the tie was achieved by a good all-round team effort. Well done lads!
u15 v Toft
Martin Walker writes...
Wirral were too strong for Toft and excelled in all areas of the game. Toft decided to bat on a lively wicket and were never comfortable against the pace of Alex Griffiths who bowled his 4 overs at a cost of 4 runs and 1 wicket. There were also excellent displays from Luke Atherton with his 5 overs for 5 runs and deserved a wicket. Adam Lewin took 3 wickets for 2 runs and at one stage was on a hatrick. Further contributions with the improving Jordan Rimmer of 1-15 and Chris Partington 2 wickets for no runs saw Toft all out for 43. In addition to the bowling spells there were 2 direct hits from Tom Lock for run outs and an excellent diving catch from Jordan Rimmer .
Wirral’s reply was comprehensive with Dave Lewis dominating the scoring and was in the 20`s before Tom Lock had even hit a ball let alone score a run but once he hit the ball the game finished quickly with two 4`s and a 6
MAN OF THE MATCH…very difficult one but it goes to Luke Atherton…he gave away only 5 runs in his spell and deserved better.
u15 v Runcorn
Martin Walker writes...
This was the return fixture at Runcorn’s ground. Wirral won the toss and decided to bat on a good wicket. Wirral had a new opening partnership with Chris Partington and Jordan Rimmer. They got off to a steady start if a little slow…their partnership came to and end though with Chris being involved in another run out. This time he was run out when Jordan decided to run back but didn’t bother to tell Chris. Mark Griffiths came to the crease with Danny Evans after the dismissal of Jordan. They both had a game plan that they were going to attack and took the game to Runcorn. Boundaries and good running between the wickets soon gave the momentum to Wirral. The stage was set for Alex Griffiths to come in and dominate which he did with four 4`s and a 6 in his innings of 35. Wirral finishing on 114 off their 20 overs.
Runcorn in reply again made a slow start pegged back by some accurate bowling by Kieran Morris and Connor Hodson. Wirral picked up regular wickets and looked to be comfortable. However young Brown from Runcorn took the attack to Wirral and made a very quick 24 and took a liking to the bowling of Chris. Michael Goulding bowled 2 overs of variety…if Michael worked at his bowling he could become a tricky bowler. The game became very tight but Wirral held on and won by 7 runs
Man of the Match…Danny Evans..for an attacking knock not just for boundaries but attacking running between the wickets.
u15 v Barrow
Martin Walker writes...
Wirral in dream world could be a subtitle for the game this Sunday. Wirral were batting first on a glorious day for cricket or dreaming. Wirral got off to an excellent start with Dave Lewis and Will Callanan putting on 46 for the first wicket. Will is improving week by week in the opening position and helping Wirral to get off to a good start. With this excellent start Alex Griffiths kept the momentum going with some quick runs before departing to bring in the first dreamer of the day birthday boy Tom Lock. Tom got off to his customary start with a trademark boundary but admitted that he went into a bit of a daydream about chocolate cake and wondering if his mother had bought him a new razor. I am afraid his wickets were shattered and he trudged off to be replaced by Mark Griffiths who thankfully was awake and played some excellent shots and finished with 36 not out. He was supported by Nick Harvey and extras which saw Wirral reach a total of 153.
The second half I am afraid saw the dreamers out in full force…Nick Harvey`s mother normally packs a picnic for him but not today and he spent large parts of the day when he should have been keeping thinking of food. Thankfully for young Nick, the Barrow hospitality was excellent and he was able to stock up at the end of the innings. Will Callanan started dreaming about his grandmothers birthday party and Nathan Longshaw instead of running out the Barrow batsman who was half way down the wicket was concentrating on his mothers Sunday roast and forgot to take the bails off.
Wirral did share the bowling around 10 bowlers and also shared the extras conceded. Apart from good knocks by two batsman nobody else got into double figures for Barrow. Birthday boy Tom did pick up 2 late wickets and Wirral finished comfortable winners.
A special thanks should be given to the hospitality shown by Barrow and it left the parents and coaches of Wirral dreaming about playing here every week. The only thing Wirral left in return was the massive fur loss from the Lock dog
Man of the match…Mark Griffiths…a classy 36 not out
Posted Wednesday 10th June
Match reports
u15 v Oakmere
Martin Walker writes...
Wirral made a quick return to Oakmere for a cup match. Wirral lost the toss and were invited to bat. Captain for the day Chip Adkins minus his lucky bracelet opened the batting with Will Callanan and got off to a quick start which set the tone for the innings. Chip however tried one shot too many and was bowled. This brought Tom to the wicket and the opposition opening bowler tried to bounce Tom out but he was having none of it and and put one ball in the road and many more either in the hedge or through it. He even hit a car with one of his shots. Next season Oakmere may consider putting their wicket further away from the road or banning Tom. Mr Lock made an excellent 41. Sam having reacquainted himself with his book of cricketing stars failed to find a batsman and in his words batted like Monty and was easily stumped. During this time Will quietly went about his job finding the singles and leaving the big hitting to his partners. Wirral eventually posting a score of 147 thanks to a quick-fire 26 from Alex Griffiths.
Oakmeres response was soon in trouble with Mark Griffiths claiming a wicket in his first over Mark and Ollie Mills put Oakmere behind the clock very quickly with excellent opening spells. Chip gave most of his bowlers a spell and Chris Milne was the pick of the bowlers. Oakmere however pressed the self-destruct button with a series of run outs. The game was always in Wirrals control and there was even time for one or two of the players to have impromptu toilet breaks during overs .Oakmere did reach a total of 114-6
Man of the Match…Tom Lock for some big hitting appreciated by the spectators but not the drivers on the A49.
u13 v Port Sunlight
Derek Gordon writes...
On a cool, very windy morning at Leverhulme, Wirral captain Kieran Woodland won the toss and invited Port Sunlight to bat first. The opening bowlers kept the score down and Oliver Murphy bowled one of the openers in his second over.
All eleven Wirral players had a turn at bowling and, although they all bowled well and nobody was taken to the cleaners, only Michael Atkinson managed not to bowl a wide. The pick of the bowlers was captain Kieran, taking 3 for 13 in his three overs and being on a hat-trick in his first over. Jack Jones, Josh Crombleholme and Oliver also bowled particularly well.
Port Sunlight’s innings closed on 140 f0r 5. This total was boosted by too many extras – 44, including a mammoth 29 wides. One very pleasing feature was Wirral’s catching – all the chances were taken expertly.
Wirral’s top order batsmen Kieran, Josh and Chris Byrnes got the innings off to a good sound start, reaching 51 for 1 by the thirteenth over. Sadly some really excellent bowling from Port Sunlight meant that Wirral could not build on that start and the innings closed on 94 for 9. The star batsman was captain Kieran (again!) with 22 and honourable mentions also go to Josh (16), Chris (11), Andrew Oake (9 not out) and Jon Carroll (8 not out), the last pair enjoying an unbroken tenth wicket stand of 23.
Overall, against a strong team, this was a very good performance by Wirral.
Posted Tuesday 14th April
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