Michael Keane is beginning to make his name as one of the best finishers in the Palace Shield with a under pressure 16 from 9 balls to see BAC home against the visiting table toppers, he seems to thrive in the pressure cooker.

Last week he sealed the deal against Norcross with 29 not out, this week he finished what Unsworth (73) and Greenall (30) started and saw off the injured Great Eccleston captain in the last over to make it 6 in 6 for the 1st XI.

Earlier…

Rain delayed proceedings and once it had cleared we had time for a 29 over per side match, which Great Eccleston would bat first in. The inform pairing of Thistlethwaite and Parkinson got Eccy off to a good start after a couple of early scares for Thistlethwaite who was dropped off the bowling of Wilson then had an edge fall short from Hogarth (Jamie). Keane did for Parkinson in his first over, then a mix up with captain Nadeem led to Thistlethwaite being run out. And that’s where the controversy started, Nadeem ran a quick single with Yeomans which lead to the skipper pulling up with a pulled hamstring, on comes the runner but the injury doesn’t stop him from making an undefeated 58 from 49 balls, including some healthy dancing down the track blows off the spin of Keane. Ecc finished on 157 for 3 from their 29 overs. 

BAC got off to a lightning start with both Unsworth and Greenall looking confident at the crease and keeping above the rate. But when Greenall fell for 30, McKeever and Wilcock both departed shortly after leaving BAC in a bit of bother. Captain Jamie Skeoch helped steady the ship but with the score around 120, Unsworth was stumped, he made a majestic 73 and deserved to go on. Hothersall came and went for 6 then the captain fell (15) leaving hero Keane and young Gaskell to knock the remaining 20 runs off.

The pair whittled it down to 7 needed with 4 balls of injured Nadeems 11th over left, when Keane got down on one knee and launched the ball into the square leg car park! Huge hit by the Camel.

A quick dab and run finished it off.

Due to the lack of wickets it was only a 9 point win, but a massive win in the context of how the 1st XI is developing, we are now showing (even without our leading wicket taker) we can cut the mustard. F&B next week, that will be another toughie.

Yours in Cricket,

Willow

Due to computer issues I’ve got some catching up to do on the match reports. So cast your minds back to the 21^st May, Garstang at home. Garstang won the toss and decided to bat but after being run through by Andy Hogarth who recorded 6 for 16 off 9.2 overs, they were left to rue that decision. Chasing only 72 to win the 1^st XI knocked it off in 21 overs, but regular wickets did fall leaving the hero with the ball, Andy Hogarth, to see us home with 32 not out.

 Fast forward a week to Fylde away, where this time we batted first, McKeever (31) and Unsworth (33) got us off to a class start with a 50 run opening stand. Another slight collapse brought young Hothersall to the crease who hit an aggressive 42 from 45 to guide BAC to 158 for 8 from their 45 overs. Wilson got the visitors off to a good start getting the opener caught behind first ball, him and Jamie Hogarth continued to tie down the home side and claimed 2 wickets each. Andy Hogarth and McKeever finished proceedings along with 3 run outs to reduce the home side to 96 all out.

 Now I have caught up I can put a little more depth into the reports, this week we played Vernons at the Riverside, after winning the toss we elected to bat on a nice looking deck. As McKeever was away 2^nd team skipper Chris Greenall opened the innings with Unsworth, who fell early being bowled for 0. But that brought Andy Hogarth to the crease who, along with Chris, got BAC rolling. Chris eventually departed for 42 and Andy made 58 before being dismissed, this lead to a slight collapse with no one else really making a telling contribution. Jamie Hogarth chipped in with 16 and John “the best Steinson” Steinson hit a majestic huge 6 late on to help creep the home side up to 158. A decent batting display in parts but after the start it could have been more.

 Chasing 158 Vernons got off to a bad start with Jamie Hogarth getting a wicket early doors. The visitors then piled on a little pressure getting up to 40 for 1 but a magic spell from Keane and some clever bowling from Andy Hogarth ripped the heart out of the Vernons batting order and delivered wicket after wicket until they were 75 for 9. Unfortunately the 1^st XI couldn’t get that last wicket, but it was a valiant display and another 11 points moving us up to 3^rd. Andy Hogarth claimed 5 for 22 and Keany got 3 for 32.

 3 out of 3 in the league and a second trip of the season to a cold and gloomy Whittingham & Goosnargh was awaiting us on Sunday, we won the toss and elected to bowl on a wet and spongy track. Jamie Hogarth got us off to another good start with an early wicket reminiscent of the one he took on Saturday. Wilson then took two of his own leaving Whittingham 50 for 3. John Steinson and Andy Hogarth then came on a began to create chances, Andy taking three wickets and John was very unlucky not to get a couple himself. A couple of lusty blows helped Whittingham on to 159 all out but this didn’t stop Hothersall grabbing two wickets, Tom Wilcok one and Skeoch claimed a run out at the end.

 Unsworths bad weekend with the bat continued as he was bowled early in BAC’s reply for 4. Jamie Hogarth was given opening duties today and it paid off as he made a steady 54 to help BAC pace their innings. But when he and Skeoch (24) both departed the task looked a little too much and wickets fell very frequently. Once the rate had moved up to more than a run a ball it looked inevitable and Whittingham came away with the victory. The loss left a bit of a downer on the weekend but overall it was a decent performance following on from a very good performance the day before.

 A bit of cricket knowledge to finish, a few of us were discussing the origins of the quote “cow corner” at Whittingham, so here is the answer. Cow corner is so called because few “legitimate” shots are aimed there, so fielders are rarely placed in that corner of the pitch which leads to the concept that cows would happily graze there.

Your in Cricket,

Willow

Whittingham extended their perfect record in the Premier League with a 25 run win over BAC at Whittingham.

The home side claimed a fourth win in as many games after posting a competitive 164 all out, no Whittingham batsmen went on to make a big score but a couple of cameos from Patel 1 (33), Patel 2 (27) and Yusuff (36) helped the score tick along. Whittingham did start in a little bit of trouble at 18 for 3 with Hogarth snatching 2 early wickets and the other opener Wilson grabbing a wicket for himself. But the score then began to tick along although wickets did fall at regular, but not regular enough, intervals as McKeever, coming off a wonderful spell against New Longton, picked up 2 wickets, John Steinson (promoting the clubs “youth? Who needs youth?” policy) turned back the years and claimed 3 wickets while Hogarth (Andy) picked up another 2 wickets to finish with 4 for 49.

Makka continues to torment Whittingham, but in vain

BAC made a slow start to the run chase with the ever reliable Unsworth falling for only 6, Hogarth then made 9 to leave BAC 25-2. Skeoch and McKeever then briefly steadied the ship for BAC until Skeoch fell for 19 and the wickets began to follow as BAC stumbled from 66 for 3 to 139 for 9 from their allotted overs. A brief 16 from 13 cameo from young Gaskell was the only resistance from the lower order as they crumbled once McKeever, who made a patient 50, fell to Master. 5 points to BAC and their next game will be against Garstang at home as they look for their 2nd win of the season.

Finally Jonny H, Jamie S and myself are going to organise another 6 a-side tournament for a Sunday in the near future, so if anyone is interested in playing please let one of us know.

Yours in Cricket, Willow