After a final day 177 run trouncing of Kirkham last year, BAC were put in to bat first and made best use of the opportunity, Hothersall and Steinson (Dave) made a quick start, getting BAC up to 50 off 7 overs, Hothersall fell for 19 after being strangled down the leg side, but Holmes aka Hightower took over from him and made a 10 ball 17. The scoring rate slowed a little while Steinson and Mansfield steadied the ship but once the score had reached 90 they both departed in quick succession, with Dave making a career high 43 from 58 including six fours.

Lodge and Wilson (Tom) then continued to press on, Lodgie making light work of the Kirkham attack while Wilson took a back seat for most of the partnership. The pair put on almost 100 before Lodge was bowled, but the damage had been done, Chaos had caused plenty of chaos making a quick fire 72 from 60, including 12 fours and 2 lusty sixes. Sailsbury joined Co-captain Wilson at the crease and they put on a further 50 runs, finishing 10 not out and 62 not out respectively.

Chasing 240 to win there was only one man in the Kirkham line up that looked like making any inroads into the 240 set, that man was Brooks, but after a flamboyant 44 he was caught on the boundary off the bowling of Wilson (Jack) who finished a fine opening spell with 2 for 13 off 6 overs. Once Brooks had departed there was regular wickets for the BAC XI, who never really felt threatened once the opener had gone. Hothersall came on to take 3 wickets, Dave Stenison 1, Rick Hammel 2 and Lodgie 2 wickets. 

A comfortable 12 points for BAC who last week also claimed 12 points against Southshore who dropped out late on a Saturday afternoon.

Cup matches next weekend so no game.

Yours in cricket,

Willow

BAC/EE Preston CC - Sunday 1st XI

Bowling

Kirkham & Wesham CC - Sunday 1st XI

Bowling

Due to an administration issue Pilky attended the toss which he lost, the Walton captain elected to bat on a wicket that the day before had 400 runs scored on it (allegedly).

After a quite comical warm up BAC took to the field and Sesh Elf Cameron Yeulett took the new ball looking for some assistance from a slanted, Lords-esque track. The first over was a brilliant line to a left hander unfortunately the batsmen was right handed and he left every ball including the one wide. The second over was to be taken by leg spinner and part time Velcro hands Dave “Steinamite” Steinson. This proved to be a well measured gamble when he got a wicket 4^th ball LBW. Going into the 5^th over Walton were 4 for 1 but the dangerous looking Ahmed crashed Cammy to the boundary then more runs came, Walton moved onto 16 but Cammy struck with 2 wickets in 3 balls including a wonderful catch by Velcro hands Steinson (Dave) to get rid of Ahmed and captain Newton, unfortunately the little’en had to be withdrawn due to a groin injury. Giant HT replaced him and started with a good line and length as he steamed in…. in slow motion.

BAC then took their feet off the gas and let Walton get back into it a little moving onto 37 thanks to some slack fielding similar to Robert Greens gaff in the recent world cup. But just when we needed a wicket Steinamite struck taking 2 in the over, first Morris who skied a sweep which had Thornton circling under it like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a 2 ton Hummer, then Pilko quickly stumped Taylor after just 2 balls at the crease.

A few overs later there was a double change as skipper Wilson and Chadders took the ball. Chadders did as Swanny does and got himself a wicket in his first over leaving Walton on 65 for 6, then Wilson got the prize wicket of the dangerous Nazife (47) with a slower ball.  The Walton tail end then began to wag like an excited dog and they moved onto 87 before the Ting Tings reject Liam Tingle got a run out with a bullet throw into the stumps. Chads got his second wicket the over later getting rid of Barnes for 3. At 92 for 9 we must have thought we’d be chasing less than 100 but the tail continued to wag and slap the ball around with a little luck and some poor fielding until Willow managed to get the last wicket at 112.

112 to chase but this score could have been 20 runs less if it wasn’t for some slack fielding. Pilko and Dave opened up and started well with the Sesh Prince pulling like John Terry as he dispatched the openers to the boundary with a couple of powerful strokes. The Prince continued to score the majority of the runs and at 25 Dave was dismissed as he tickled one to the keeper. Tingle was 3 but didn’t last long and was caught for a quacker, HT then also came a went for 1 but Pilky was quietly going about his business moving BAC onto 51 for 3 when Willow joined him in the middle. But like on Saturday when Pilks only lasted one ball with Wilson at the crease he didn’t last long this time either, he departed for a confident 37 leaving BAC 67 for 4 with the away team still in control. But 15 runs later captain Willow (20), Alex (0), Sol (3) and Cammy (0) had departed which meant, it seemed like BAC were up the creek without a paddle. But cometh the hour cometh the men, enter the frame Jack “cool head” Mansfield and Rick “Swanny” Hammel who decided they’d show the rest of the team how to up the tempo and knocked the last 31 runs off in a stylish 7 over massacre of anything coming their way, cuts, pulls and drives were on display by todays 9^th and 10^th batsmen finishing with a smashing cut by Chads. Mansi finished on 14 not out with Chadders one behind on 13 not out.

So one game down one win but the slack fielding could have cost BAC if it wasn’t for the two not out batsmen at the end. 12 points out of a possible 12 so all in all a very good start to the season.

Great bowling by all, 2 for 18 for Cammy, 3 for 12 for Steinamite, a tight 0 for 27 for the giant HT and 2 for 19 for skipper Wilson.

Batting wise Pilko top scored with a impressive 37, Wilson got a scratchy 20 and Mansi hit a well timed 14 not out.

But man of the match today goes to Chadders with 2 wickets for 35 runs and 13 not out which included a cut shot worthy of Sachin himself for the winning runs.

Next week’s game against Whittle I believe has been postponed but I shall confirm this nearer the time.

Yours in cricket,

Willow

Walton-le-Dale CC - Sunday 1st XI

Bowling

BAC/EE Preston CC - Sunday 1st XI

Bowling

Senior Sizing / Ordering Session

All Senior player’s are invited to attend a sizing session on Friday 28th January 7.30pm at the cricket club to try on the new kit and place an order. It’s imperative all player’s who are interested in purchasing the new kit attend on this day to place an order. You need to bring cash on the night in order to place an order.

There will be another sizing session arranged for Juniors – still to be confirmed.

Prices

In order to trigger a discount with Kukri we need to place over 40 orders in bulk. However, before discount the prices look like this:

A quick message to say that the Senior Indoor Net Practice begins on Wednesday 26th January 8.30pm at Hutton Grammar School for 8 weeks. If you are over the age of 16 then you may come down and practice. Therefore our Under 17′s are invited to attend.

As always, it’s important these sessions are attended. The club need to cover the costs and it’s a great opportunity to get fit and get your eye in for the new season.

For directions, click on the link http://tinyurl.com/5u2tkkm

Hope to see you all there.

In a season where Vernons bottled 3 Sunday finals, Penwortham seemly wet the bed once again, our 1^st XI secured their top flight status and the seconds had a up and down season, the thirds/future secured an impressive 7 wins out of 11 games with 1 rained off.

18^th April 2010,

The first game of the season was among us and due to the resignation of Andy “Holiday highlights” Hollinhurst we had new captains, Wilson and Hothersall took over the rains in a coalition style captaincy. Vernons away, one game one win, and a mammoth 107 run victory. Debut captains amassed 203 of our 245 runs with a Hothersall 132 and Wilson 71 not out.

The bowlers then whipped through Vernons, Hothersall “Doug the Jug” taking 3 for 10 and Hollinhurst 2 for 37 as Vernons slumped to 138-5 in reply. A solid start with 10 points on the board.

RESULT: 107 run win

POINTS: 10

25^th April 2010,

Wrea Green away started in a shambles as a football match kicked off when we arrived and with the sturdy veterans not budging the game got underway at 2:15pm. We batted first and set the second 200+ score in consecutive weeks, Dougie Hothersall started well with 33 then Pilks and Wilson took over making 73 and 50 respectively.

With 218 to win the run chase never kicked on as Wrea Green were skittled for 114. Wilson leading the charge with 4 for 13, Chadders 3 for 32 and Hollinhurst 2 for 11. The first 12 points of the season for the future of the club.

RESULT: 104 run win

POINTS: 12

2^nd May 2010,

The first home game of the season was a dark day for the thirds. Darwen came to the riverside and picked up 12 points with callis disregard for human life. Bowling us out for 77 then picking up a 9 wicket victory. But the less said about that the better.

RESULT: 9 wicket loss

POINTS: 0

23^rd May 2010,

After receiving a drubbing at the hands of Darwen we travelled to Whittingham & Goosnargh, batting first we set 196 with another top innings by Dougie making 77 and Scott the hitman Hammil making 29.

We then proceeded to bowl Wittingham out for 138. Cutting through the middle order after a slight resistance by the openers. Wilson took another 4 for 26, Hollinhurst once again reliable with 2 for 20, Chadders 2 for 35 and Hothersall 2 for 28. Another 12 points and a happy return to winning ways.

RESULT: 58 run win

POINTS: 12

30^th May 2010,

We returned to the riverside with the tough task of taking on Walton-Le-Dale. The Dale batted first and amassed a tricky 150 for 5. Then our run chase stuttered dramatically and needed a couple of calm heads towards the end as the Jacks (Mansfield and Wilson) saw us home after Dougie once again provided a jug with a hugely critical 75.

RESULT: 2 Wicket win

POINTS: 10

The Chorley game was then called off due to rain.

RESULT: Draw

POINTS: 2

27^th July 2010,

We then faced another northern league side, this time St Annes at home and we once again failed to beat our northern opponents being bowled out for Nelson 111 with Steinson top scoring with 35. They then proceeded to knock it off only 3 down.

RESULT: 7 wicket loss

POINTS: 1

1^st August 2010,

After the heavy defeat the week before we went to Withnell Fold and once again folded. After Withnell amassed a creditable 138 (Hollinhurst 3-19 and Chadders 2-22) we slumped to only 104 with Steinson once again top scoring with 55.

RESULT: 35 run loss

POINTS: 4

9^th August 2010,

Two losses in two games and the visit of Greggy lane to the riverside for our 3^rd game in as many weeks. Once again our batting failed with us falling to 92 all out, Wilson top scoring with 18. We then bowled our ears off! And managed to pull an 8 run victory out of the clutches of defeat. Surly a memorable game for all involved as Hollinhurst took 1-3 off 6, Chadders 1 for 18, Hothersall 1 for 17, Cammy 2 for 10 and Wilson 2 for 7 sealed the deal. A super bowling and fielding display all round and a welcome 12 points.

RESULT: 8 run win

POINTS: 12

22^nd August 2010,

The 22^nd saw the trip to Whittle-Le-Woods and another good display, we stuck them in and bowled them out for 105 with Zed taking 3 for 23 and a Gaskell 2 for 20. The batting then stuttered at 20 for 3 before Wilson and Hothersall saw us home with 25 not out and 58 respectively.

RESULT: 6 wicket win

POINTS: 12

5^th September 2010,

The last game of the season saw the most convincing victory of the season with us making a mammoth 286 all out against bottom team Kirkham, Dougie making his second ton of the season with 105, Eddie smashing 59 and Gazza with 40. We then sat back and watched Chadders rip through the Kirkham batting order taking 5 for 31 off 8 bowling them out for 109.

RESULT: 177 run victory

POINTS: 12

Player of the year: The player of the season could have only gone to one man this year, Doug the Jug Hothersall was the main man since ball one of the season hitting 132 in the first game against Vernons then adding 3 fifties (77, 75, 58) and a final ton on the final game (105). Batting wise he finished with 534 runs at 53.4. He also nicked 9 wickets at 16.6 and 5 catches. A great season for the lad.

End of season stats (apologies if you’re not in the tables):

The pitch looked green and quite hard so was there to benefit both bat and ball in hopefully an even contest.  Due to 6 of our players chasing a football around a pitch for 90 minutes in the morning we only had the 5 at Kirkham for the start of the match so inevitably we would be batting.

In the absence of few Wilson and Steinson took to the middle having rushed to apply their pads and other pieces of padded equipment and first ball there was a bit of a shock as the ball kept low off a length and Steinson inside edged it past his stumps, a sign of something to come? The pair began to knuckle down and steal as many singles as possible until Wilson got his middle peg knocked back from a nipped inner through the gate. This sent the now arrived Doug the jug to the crease and he was soon into his stride following his fine hat-trick earlier. The pair really accelerated the rate and got us to 100 after 15 overs.

With 300 very much on the cards Edmile Heskey passed 50 (jug please) then fell soon afterwards for a well played 58. That took Alex “Dave” Thornton to the crease and he steadily supported Dougie while he pounded the Kirkham attack to all parts including one six that nearly went through my back window much to the disappointment of Scott Hammil who relished the opportunity of refitting the rear window. As the wedding party rolled in Dougie continued past 50, 60, 70, 80. “Dave” departed for 20 playing a huge cross batted shot which took Chadders to the crease. Dougie then went onto a ton with a back foot cover drive, a rapturous applause. A second ton of the season to take the lad to the highest run scorer in the league. After one more boundary Dougie was out. But it was another brilliant innings by the run machine greeted by a huge applause by all. Scott was next in and managed to plug his eyes back into his face after staring aimlessly at the long legged phillies at the wedding reception, infact he managed to do it in time to smack two straight fours soon after going to the middle. Chadders then fell for 3 and a strategic change of the batting order occurred as Gaskell was promoted from 11 to keep the dream of three double oh alive with some lusty blows. Lusty blows they were but Gaskell was riding his luck getting dropped twice before he reached 10.

Scott then departed and so did Mansfield first ball thanks to a catch at slip, yes a catch! They caught one! Field was in for the hat-trick ball so why not launch it over the top for four? Jack Wilson obliged with a big swing and a boundary. After a couple more swings, dings and a drop or two Jack was bowled. This brought “shot of the day” Cameron to the crease and he lived up to his nickname playing a couple back then unleashing the most aesthetically pleasing cover drive, dropping down to one knee and standing firm as the ball whistled away to the boundary, shot young man. At the other end Gaskell continued to take Willows orders and smash it to all parts, he moved onto a quick fire 40 until he was caught and bowled by Stevens.

So the dream of the three double oh was just a bridge too far for BAC’s future talent but they did set a season high of 286 all out.

After setting 286 against bottom of the table Kirkham we were feeling quietly confident. James “Mitchell Johnson” Gaskell and Cam “shot of the day” Yeulett were to open for BAC bowling to Lund and the classy Brooks. With an attacking field Mitch was cranking up some serious pace and did for Lund in the first over toppling his off peg. The two youngsters bowled with complete control but couldn’t break through Brooks or Whalley. Cam was replaced by Chadders and Gaskell by Willow, the former struck first, luring Whalley into a big hit and getting him caught in the out field by Dougie. New man Woods was soon run out following a misfiled by Alex “Dave” Thornton but the direct hit made up for that mistake. Chadders then took his second and third in quick succession bowling Moore and Jack Wilson catching Stevens.

The wickets were falling as Brooks at the other end was moving towards his 50 in style. Willow then took his first and only wicket of the game yorking Baer for 1. Chadders then took his forth Hodgeson caught in the outfield once again by Doug. Then came number five! Yes number FIVE! Chadders sealed his fivefor getting the talented Brooks stumped for 50 dead. Well bowled Chadders.

Scott then replaced Willow and with spin at both ends the game didn’t last much longer as number ten and eleven soon departed thanks to a run out and a Scott quicker ball respectively.

109 all out and a comprehensive 178 run victory for BAC.

An impressive display by all but todays moment(s) of the game were Dougies second ton of the season smeared in grace and penash and Chadders first ever fivefor, it had flight, guile and a little luck but a joy to behold.  

Overall a superb day for everyone and a great way to end the season, Gaskell’s 40 was lusty and a little lucky being dropped around 126 times, Eddies meaty 58, Jonnys ton, Chadders fivefor, Camerons opening spell, Gaskells opening spell aswell then finally Jack behing the stumps showing more and more improvements.

So season over, stay tuned for a end of season review.

Yours in Cricket,

Willow

The weather was sunny and quite warm but the wicket was a state, the only indication of which strip of grass was the wicket was the run up marks in the outfield. So the wicket looked green and soft with the outfield looking decent.

Wilson walked out to the middle to toss … (should I rephrase that?). And like Paul the octopus he predicted correctly again (4 in 4) and BAC put the home team in.

As we took to the field we noticed 5 batsmen padded for Whitte, maybe a sign of things to come? The usual opening pair of Cam/low tower and Andy/Merve Hughes started off and hit early as Cam snuck one through bat pad to topple Bolton’s middle peg. Andy didn’t hand around either getting the other opener, O’Donnell, caught fantastically by Zeddy Zedster at cover. The Proctors then came to the crease and both looked ok putting the short ball away. Gaskell and Dougie then came on and Gaskell soon took a wicket, getting Proctor number two caught behind for 12. A run out then came two balls later as the seemingly inexperienced Hardman stayed stood out of his crease as Willow kicked the ball onto the stumps, maybe it was a little harsh but Wilsons competitive side shone through. Gaskell then got another wicket within his spanking with the ball, a superb diving caught and bowled did for Denning but after going for 20 in 4 overs Gaskell was replaced by Willow. With 4 quicks having already bowled Zed and Wilson both began to bowl some spin and Zeddy soon got Proctor 1 out caught after a nice 30 including a straight 6 that was called 4 due to the sight screen being inside the boundary. Wilsons spin didn’t last long as he reverted to bowling a mixture of cutters and quicks. Willow had no luck but Zed picked up another 2 wickets getting Flater and Dave caught brilliantly for 26 and 0 respectively. Whittle made a valiant 105 which was pretty competitive on this wicket and BAC may rue some missed run out chances and a couple of tough dropped catches.

Chasing 105 was never going to be easy on a pitch that had been ripped up during the first innings but we had 53 overs to play with and Doug the Jug was due a score.

Doug opened with Gaskell who was on the back of an innings of 50 in the seconds the day before but didn’t last long as he was caught behind for 0. Steinson then came and went for 0 bowled by an inswinging Yorker. This was all going on while Jonny/Dougie was going about his business at the other end blocking a few then hitting the odd four ball. Tingle was number 4 and stuck around for a little while pushing the score towards 20 until he was caught at cover for 9. With the score 20 for 3 we seemed to be up the creek without a paddle. Co-capitan (spelt wrong purposely) Willow joined Doug and was dubbed Trott for the innings as he blocked and blocked grinding the innings out. These two put in the hard work, defending and picking up singles and pushed the scores up to 50 for 3 by the 20^th over then began to accelerate a little with Dougie slapping a couple of pulled fours and hitting a lovely straight six while Trotty trotted down the track to the spinner and put him away for a couple of fours on the leg side. Doug the jug lived up to his name once again and passed 50 and took BAC passed 100 but with only 3 needed he was caught at point al a Martin Hothersall. He was devastated but knew the partnership with Wilson had got BAC the win, a 83 run partnership had carved the victory for BAC. 3 needed and the opener came back on, Trott drove for a single to put Scotty on strike who after saying he was going to block swung like Happy Gilmore at the first 3 balls with no luck, the 4^th was a wide tying the game, Scott then went off for treatment via his chiropractor and came back on to thump a magnificent straight six to win the game and leave BAC Nelson for 4.

Moment of the game would be Scotty’s six, maybe he was a little rash but it was a bit of excitement to end the game.

A few good individual performances Zed once again putting the opposition in a spin with 2 for 23 off 8.2 including a top class catch. Gaskell with two wickets even if he did get a bit of tap but a brilliant caught and bowled was the highlight. Andy and Cam also (once again) opened the innings well getting 1 for 16 and 1 for 15 respectively.  

Batting wise Tingle got a valiant 9 but didn’t go on to get a few more, Scott hit that lusty six but Hothersall’s 55 was the key off 83 balls, a well paced innings with a few beefy shots. Also Wilson’s patient, gritty and determined 25 off 69 was slow but required and to be unbeaten at the end was a right touch, if I do say so myself.  

Finally Jack Mansfield was very good behind the stumps only conceding a few byes and took a catch aswell.

A great 12 points for the team and it was very well earned.

The last game of the season will be played in 2 weeks time (5^th Sept) against Kirkham & Wesham who are bottom of the league. It’s a big 12 pointer if we want to kindle any hope of promotion so lets hope the weather is good.

Opener Andy Hollinhurst is absent for this one but has had a productive season for the team finishing with 26 runs at 13 and 11 wickets at 11. Well done Andy.

Yours in Cricket,

Willow

As mentioned the weather wasn’t the best, it was overcast, cold and looked asif a little bit of rain could dampen the day. However it was reported the wicket played OK the day before which would have been encouraging for the batting side in bowled friendly conditions.

The captains went out to the middle and Wilson (due to last weeks toss win) was out there again to call. Heads was the call and it was a head. We were there to field and hopefully make some early inroads.

Skin head Cameron and Holiday highlights Hollinhurst were to open the bowling for the visitors and both started ok but bowled too many short balls and they just sat up for the Withnell openers who put them away easily. But early into Hollinhursts spell came a moment of madness, the number 2 batsmen played the ball into the leg side and immediately called for 2, Dougie, who clearly heard the call, strolled towards the ball to lure them into a false sence of security and once they had set off for the second fired a bullet to Jack behind the stumps to whip off the bails with the batsmen out of sight. In came the number 3 who didn’t last long courtesy of a sharp slip catch by Chadders at gulley off Hollinhurst. Number 4 (Chapple) came in and steadied the ship with the dangerous number 1 batsmen and they both looked in complete control. Wilson and Hothersall replaced Hollinhurst and Cameron respectively and after a slow start and some lusty blows Wilson removed Chapple with a slower ball for 20 odd and Hothersall got the dangerous Evans caught Steinson for 30 odd.

With two fresh batsmen at the crease Steinson and Chadders came into the attack. Steinson should have had a wicket first ball as the batsmen top edged it down to fine leg where Chadders misjudged the catch and it fell to the ground. Both Chadders and Steiny bowled well but the batsmen kept it ticking over at a good rate. When Steiny had the number 5 caught at square leg by Cammy. Chadders then got the number 6 caught by Jack Wilson and got another quickly after from a sharp caught and bowled.

Cam then replaced Steiny and took the wicket of Walker caught at gulley by a diving Hothersall. And Holiday highlights took the last two wickets both bowled after a dangerous looking number 11 came in and looked to try and accelerate the rate.

After teas Dougie went out to the middle partnered by Sol to open up for BAC. Jonny went second ball for 1 and Eddie entered the arena. Sol was sticking around blocking and blocking while letting Steinson knock the ball around and accumulate the runs. Steiny started to put the ball to the boundary with ease but after a good fight back we lost Sol (9), also caught behind then Jack Mansfield came and went for 0. Wilson came to the crease and also didn’t last long gifting a leaning edge to mid-off for 4. Tingle, Nathan George and Jack Wilson fell soon after for 1, 1 and 4. While this was happening Steiny had passed his 50 in emphatic style but was struggling with a wrist injury and succumbed to the pain haling out to deep mid-on going for a big shot on 55.

With Cam and Andy at the crease and 60 still needed it seemed a bridge too far but they stuck around playing some shots and trying to amount a comeback, this didn’t last too long as Cam fell for 6 caught behind then Chadders fended a short ball to slip off his glove for 0. Andy the unbeaten man with a well made 14 not out.

So another poor batting performance by BAC, with the top 5 not really contributing apart from Eddie who batted well but threw his wicket away at a crucial moment.

Moment of the game would be Andy “Robin Smith” Hollinhursts four over cover. Magical shot.

All the bowlers did their part with Andy taking 3, Chadders 2 and Wilson, Hothersall, Steiny and Cam all taking one. As far as batting is concerned only Eddie and Andy contributed with 55 and 14 not out respectively.

Next week we have Gregson Lane at home, a must win after 2 poor defeats. Contributions from the top 5 are imperative to setting/chasing a total.

Aufedersein

Willow