Well this is pleasant. I’m at @seftonparkcc where visitors @FBCC1833 have won the toss and chosen to field. I need to get some suncream on NOW. 
This was a Premier Division game last year, of course. Bootle won the toss and bowled then, too - in hindsight, given they won comfortably but couldn’t get more than 20 points because they chose to field, it contributed to their relegation.
Here are the teams - Patel-Ponda leads the visitors in the absence of Danny Davies and Kieron New.
Gavin Moriah starts us off with some left-arm seam.
And Jhangir Liaqat - the only member of Bootle’s 2019 champions playing today - from the other end. Ben Percival away with a punch through the covers. 12/0
8-1 offside field for Moriah, protecting the shorter boundary from Percival’s flighty drives. But there doesn’t look to be much wrong with the pitch, and the outfield is lightning. 22/0 from 5 overs.
Very little happening to be honest. Moriah and Liaqat trying to hide the ball outside off; Bellis and Percival playing and missing a bit but putting away the loose ones. 47/0 and Park the happiest by far.
50 partnership comes up; Percival celebrates by angling Moriah down to the third boundary.
I know it’s not the be all and end all but I’d like to see how many deliveries would have been hitting the stumps so far. Suspect it’s in the single figures. 55/0
Bellis steps out and whips Moriah through mid-wicket, then fine for another four; outfield really is quick. 64/0 from 17 overs. Patel-Ponda replacing Liaqat from the Smithdown Road end.
Skipper gives it some #flight; Percival edges a cut but slip can’t hold on. Finger spin from the other end too, via Josh Andrady.
Spinners are at least asking a few different questions. Percival lofts Patel-Ponda for four over his head, but he didn’t quite time it. Next ball is short and shoots through the covers. 74/0. Percival on 35, Bellis 26.
Andrady beats Bellis’s drive but it misses everything and goes for two byes; even Bootle’s minor successes are coming at a price at the moment. Players are having a well-earned drink.
Percival comes out swinging after drinks, using his feet against Patel-Ponda. Not sure what Bootle’s options are if the spinners start taking some punishment. It’s 87/0.
Misfield on the boundary allows a Percival four to move the score past 100, without loss. Bellis starting to cut loose a bit now, particularly with anything short. 106/0 from 29 overs.
Percival brings up a sparky 50 with a run through third off Patel-Ponda. Creamed his first ball for four and hasn’t looked back. Plenty of scope to push on from here. 112/0 from 30 overs.
Andrady can’t hold on to a sharp return chance from Percival, second time he’s been dropped. Not easy chances, but when things aren’t going your way… 116/0
Bellis moves to 50 with a push behind square off Patel-Ponda. He’s the taller of the two batters by some way, but counterintuitively a lot more of a back-foot player than Percival. Both know they just have to beat the outfield and it’s flying away. 129/0
Long-on gets a hand to one off Percival but it squirms out and over the boundary; two balls later, Andrady drops short and Percival pulls him for four more. He’s on to 70 and the score 138/0
Young Jaden Rose getting a go. Made his 1st XI debut during the Covid summer aged just 13 I think. Runs in fast, as you’d expect from a young ‘un.
Both batters still have their caps on from when it was spin from both ends; Bellis hooks a short one off his nose for four. Ryan Westwell replaces Andrady at the Park end. Medium pace, keeper standing up. 147/0
The plan is clearly full and straight; Bellis reminds him of this by cutting a short wide one for four. The batters have their helmets again. Field set for more short stuff from Rose. 154/0
Of course there’s not a single short ball in the over. Percival clubs two fours and moves on to 84, the score is 164/0 after 38 overs. Park will be eyeing at least 100 more from the next 17 overs I’d say.
Breakthrough for Bootle courtesy of an ugly heave by Bellis off Westwell, which he drags on to his stumps. Gone for 64. 166/1.
George Lee is the new batter; Park won’t want the runs to dry up now the opening stand has been broken.
Rose gets Lee LBW; skipper Paul Horton next out. 177/2. Percival into the 90s.
Percival biffs Westwell over mid-on to bring up his century; cuts his next ball to backward point for 103. Deserved ovation though. 195/3. Pruthvi Krishnamurthy joins Horton in the middle.
Moriah is back to replace Rose, who I think has bowled his permitted seven in a row. Plenty of singles on offer, score moves on to 202/3. Nine overs to go until the cut-off.
Horton finds a gap in the leg side somehow; score moves past 220. They don’t have enough to declare yet though. Tricky balancing act for the skipper here. 227/3 from 49 overs.
Moriah bowls Krishnamurthy, trying to run him down to third. 228/4, Huzaifa Zubair to the crease.
Bootle keeper Danny Hart has hurt himself diving to stop the ball; players calling for ice as he clutches his hand. Think he’s OK to carry on but looks in some pain. He’s carded to open the batting, which is not ideal. 233/4 from 50, Patel-Ponda back on.
Zubair flourishes three fours behind square on the off side off Moriah. 252/4 from 52 overs.
Horton smears Moriah for remarkably the first six of the innings, over mid-wicket. And he’s had enough - declares on 274/4. Back in half an hour to see what Bootle can do.
And after a hiatus (me, not the game) we’re back. Bootle are 43/3, having just lost Danny Williams to Jimmy Dixon. A lot rests on Josh Andrady’s shoulders now - he’s in the middle, joined by Danny Hart.
Some #SightscreenNonsense before Leo Spilsbury starts a spell from the Park end. The target is a distant 275.
Spilsbury beats Andrady a couple of times, then gets clonked over square leg. 60/3
Drinks at 67/3. Two children are playing catch near the side of the pitch and the ball keeps going on the pitch.
Andrady chips Dixon to mid-on; 67/4. Still 45 minutes until the last hour so Park have a great chance to press for the win here. Gav Moriah to the crease.
The kids’ ball is on the pitch again.
And again. 71/4
UPDATE: I caught the ball and pretended for a while I wasn’t going to give it back. Hasn’t gone on the pitch since. 74/4
Spilsbury has been luckless so far, drawing an edge from Moriah which falls just short of slip. Still 230 runs to go for Bootle, which feels fanciful.
Paul Horton has replaced Dixon. Moriah slices a full toss for four. 88/4
Moriah gets beaten twice by Spilsbury, then launches him for a straight six. Possibility of a Greg Thomas/Viv Richards style exchange, but I don’t think they bothered. 95/4
Raheem Kasser comes on to do some leg-breaks. Moriah thwacks him for six.
Then another, bigger six - then he changes his bat, for some reason. 112/4
Horton gets Hart LBW, staying back to one which didn’t get up. 112/5. Jhangir Liaqat the new man.
Moriah isn’t going down wondering. But after two big shots of Kasser, he tries a third and finds the fielder at long on. 116/6, in the first over of the last hour. Jaden Rose next out.
Rose has yahoo which falls right between three fielders. 125/6
Yahoo aside, Rose has defended solidly. 17 overs to go now. Horton continues.
Rose tries to balance his bat like Joe Root, but it falls over. Liaqat plays out Horton’s over. 16 to go, 129/6.
Kasser is tossing it up to tempt Rose; a few swings and misses, but nothing doing. 15 overs to go. #TomViz says (H-D-A) 45-55-0
I say that because almost all the wickets so far have fallen to aggressive shots. With the win out of reach, Bootle’s lower order have little use for runs. Horton’s over comes to nought. 129/6, 14 left.
Rose pulls Kasser for four to secure a second batting point. 133/6, Horton continues. 13 overs left.
Nothing doing from that over either. Draw massively favourite now. 12 to go, 134/6
Rose defends Kasser’s over. Ayan Madhu hands his cap to the umpire. 11 overs left, 135/6
Three slips, a gully and a leg gully for the tall, pacy Madhu. Liaqat wears one on his body. Then he slices a full one in the air to backward point, who takes a good running catch. The short stuff riled him, no need for that shot. 138/7. Joe Nagle the new man.
10 overs to go. Kasser continues.
Rose spoons one JUST out of Horton’s reach at cover. 142/7, 9 overs to go.
Another near-chance, this time for leg gully as Rose can’t get on top of a short one from Madhu. 8 overs left
Rose belts Kasser for four over his head. But then he’s stumped, smartly, by James Stirling. Marginal call but I’m in line here and he was just late getting his foot back in. 150/8. Charlie Towle the new batter.
7 overs to go, two wickets. Short leg in for Madhu.
Madhu bowls Nagle, taking a big swing. 150/9, 40 balls left. Shaneil Patel-Ponda the last man.
Nothing from the rest of Madhu’s over. 6 to go.
Tough chance goes down at slip off Kasser. Then a GREAT catch at short leg by Percival to wrap up the game. Sefton Park win by 124 runs.
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