Tweet

Tom Evans

11 Sep, 79 tweets, 9 min read

@lpoolcomp

Autumnal day at Northern, where the hosts can wrap up the @lpoolcomp title with a win over New Brighton. The visitors have been asked to bat and are 15/0 from 4 overs after a nick through the slips by Armand Rabot off Ryan Maddock.

Sorry - Daniel Shillinglaw hit the four; Rabot is the other batter. I’d hate to get complaints.

21/0 from 6 overs, positive start from the visitors. Both Maddock and Tom Sephton have beaten the edge a few times but the batters haven’t been bogged down.

Maddock if anything dropping a little too short. Chris Laker replaces Sephton. 28/0 from 9 overs.

Runs, Rabot, runs… he carves Laker for four through gully. Not middling many but he’s looking to play some shots. 33/0.

Change of ends for Sephton so it’s Maddock having a blow.

No it’s not, Maddock has changed ends too. Stop it now.

Batters going nicely and showing some #intent - Rabot lofts Sephton over mid-on and Shillinglaw smacks Maddock through the covers. It’s been their first hour so far. Another cover drive, shot of the day, brings up the 50 partnership.

But Sephton makes the breakthrough, drawing Shillinglaw (23) out of his crease and beating the outside edge. James Cole does the rest. 51/1.

Skipper Matt Thompson is the new man.

The wicket has dried the runs up, as tends to happen. Thompson aims a big sweep at Sephton, eyeing the funny shaped leg-side boundary, but misses - LBW shout is turned down. Rabot gets Maddock away through point to break the drought, then drives four more. 59/1 from 18 overs.

Thompson eases Maddock through square leg. Northern maybe a little short of seam options, assuming Liam Grey (who normally opens but has just come back from injury) won’t be bowling. 66/1.

Horrible moment for mid-on as Rabot cloths one to him, but he can’t hang on. Quite windy but he’s clearly disappointed. As is Maddock, the bowler, who loses his line a bit. 68/1 from 22 overs.

But he finds it again soon enough, and takes Thompson’s outside edge; Cole holds the catch. 69/2 as the skipper departs for 5. Never got going. Dan Cook replaces him.

Sephton getting some joy against Rabot but the batter survives a caught behind shout. 73/2.

Septhon gets an LBW verdict against Rabot, who’d just swept him for four. Players are taking drinks at 77/3; honours about even so far, though New Brighton will be disappointed to lose Rabot for 36.

Number of times I’ve typed “Septhon” this season.

Adam Sandalls, who is actually wearing cricket boots, is the new batter. Important for New Brighton they don’t just let Sephton bowl at them. 83/3.

Maddock’s run-up is a strange one. He seems to slow down over the first eight paces, before a sudden flurry propels him through the crease. Bowling a bit fuller now, asking plenty of questions. 30 overs gone, 84/3.

Really is quite cold when the wind gets up. Maddock has bowled 16 overs without a break (except to change ends) - pretty sure I heard a “great spell” as that over ended. 86/3.

Cook goes for a second run after top-edging a sweep and is run out for 13. Never looked on. 88/4.

Just a dreadful way to lose a wicket with the innings hanging in the balance. Ball can’t have gone more than 20 yards. Andrew Clarke the fielder. Now Hale edges Maddock (who is still bowling) to second slip and this is starting to look ominous for the visitors. 89/5.

Sebastian Botes sends his first ball skidding through the covers, then leaves the second alone and loses his off stump. 93/6. Maddock glad he got another over.

That’s three wickets for five runs in seven balls.

Make that four wicket; Adam Neal tries to clear mid-on off Sephton but fails. 94/7.

And another - Maddock pins Luke Jones in front of all three. 99/8.

Less than 20 minutes ago, it was 87/3. Sandalls scampers a single to bring up the 100.

Sandalls hits Maddock for successive fours; but you get the feeling the damage is done. Phil Lees is the number 10. 112/8.

Lees is playing quite nicely, sweeping Sephton hard for four. These two have added 29 pretty much untroubled; 128/8 from 42 overs. Laker replaces Maddock.

Second bonus point in the bag for New Brighton, but Lees is bamboozled by Sephton and stumped. Ashraf Nawab trots to the crease at 132/9.

Sandalls isn’t going to hang around, he collars Laker through the covers. 136/9

Nawab throws everything at a wide one from Laker and edges to Cole; Northern need 138 to seal the title.

Players are emerging as the sun tries to do likewise. Nawab windmilling his left arm on the outfield - suspect it’ll have to work some magic if the visitors are to make a game of this.

Maddock, seemingly concerned he’s not been involved enough after his 21 overs, 4/79, is opening the batting with Grey, who creams Mark Hale through the covers to kick things off. Then he clips four more through mid-wicket. 10/0, 128 needed.

Grey is in a hurry, another four off Seb Botes’ first over. Bowling very full, he finds an edge but it drops well short. 15/0.

Now then - Hale gets one to rear at Maddock and brush his glove; Neal takes the catch. 15/1.

Chris Laker in; long way to go before New Brighton can start to get ambitious, but that extra bounce will encourage Hale.

When Grey connects, he CONNECTS - more scorched earth through the covers off Botes. Neal comes up to the stumps. 27/1; 111 needed.

Laker nicks one and the Hale/Neal combination has another wicket. 31/2. Andrew Clarke, in excellent nick, joins Grey at the crease.

See earlier tweet re Grey, he’s just done it again.

Attacking field as Hale has Clarke in his sights. A thick edge JUST evades a diving fourth slip. Doesn’t look comfortable - against the club he used to captain - but he gets one away over point. 37/2, 101 needed.

Sorry 41/2, 97 needed

Another catch for Neal - this time it’s Grey, pushing at one from Botes. Smart catch standing up. Grey out for 24; 41/3. You never know…

Skipper Cole is the new man. Still a bit to do.

Clarke breaks the tension by pulling Botes for six on to the bowling green. He’s pitched almost everything up; perhaps he should carry on doing so. 48/3.

Now Cole gets off the mark with a push through the covers off Hale. 52/3, 86 needed.

Clarke goes - another c Neal b Hale - bit of an airy drive. 61/4. Justin Snow to the middle, greeted by his captain. 77 needed.

Huge - Cole snicks one down the leg side and Neal can’t quite hang on. Umpire’s finger was up before he realised he’d spilled it. Very tough chance. 62/4

Lees has replaced Botes from the far end by the way. Similar testing full length with the keeper up. Snow has a big yahoo at a wide one from Hale. 63/4, 75 needed.

“Wolves are beating Watford!” someone breathlessly announces from over to my right. Cricket or football mate, pick a side. 66/4. Nawab into the attack, replacing Lees.

Northern get these and it doesn’t matter, but Wallasey are chipping away at Rainhill’s batters having posted 223/6. No Ruikar though, he’s gone back to India. Currently 36/2.

At the other end, Bootle are 17/3 replying to Ormskirk’s 224/5; S&B have Sefton Park 19/6 after being bowled out for 190. So that could well go down to the last week.

Back here, Cole is content to push the ball into gaps; Snow inside edges one for four. 79/4; 59 required to win the league. Cole’s reprieve on 8 could prove decisive.

Lees has changed ends and replaced Hale. Scoring not easy. #TomViz 65-0-35

Snow belts Lees for four over mid-off. 87/4, 51 needed.

Drinks. Nawab giving it #revs and getting #drift and #turn but Cole in particular playing him very cautiously. New Brighton still in this though. 70-0-30 or, in old money, 87/4.

Snow belts a rare loose one from Nawab for four, then does the same with a wide one. Should add there is virtually no chance of Northern not winning the league; lose all their wickets now and they’re on 351 points, the most Wallasey can get in any circs is 357. 97/4.

100 - and a bonus point - for Northern courtesy of a three by Snow to the deep point boundary.

100/4. 38 needed. These two have done the hard work now, playing themselves in patiently to see off the possibility of a collapse. Now they’re on the brink.

Sefton now 42/9. Assuming S&B win, they’ll be on 175 points; Bootle, who are 41/5, are currently on 175.

Snow lofts Lees through square leg then pulls him for six. 117/4. Cheers from the watching Northern players and supporters switching from supportive to triumphant.

Thompson bringing himself on. 21 runs needed.

Snow belts Thompson back over his head then works one into the leg side; he’s on 46, the score 124/4. 14 to win.

A twist? Probably not - but Snow follows a Nawab arm ball and nicks it to Neal. 124/5. Huge applause for what has almost certainly been a title-clinching knock.

Johnny Browne the new batter. Cole on strike to Thompson now - will he try to finish it quickly?

Oh my… Cole pushes forward, taken on the pad… and after an AGE, the finger goes up. Gone for 25, 124/6. Ben Sloan next in.

Thompson tweaks his field. And bowls a rank half-tracker. Nawab’s turn again.

S&B have won.

Two big shouts from Nawab against Browne, then a single to leg. 125/6. 13 needed.

Three byes off Thompson bring a big cheer. 128/6.

No runs off Nawab’s over.

Sloan sweeps Thompson for four. Six needed…

But then he’s LBW to the next! 132/7. Scott Snaylam next out.

Nawab to Browne now

Four through mid off

And that’s it! Four more over mid-wicket and Northern are Love Lane Liverpool Competition champions!

More relief than anything else on Cole’s face as the celebrations start… but that’s only because of the melodrama of the last half hour. In truth, they’ve dominated this season from start to finish.