Written by Gary Hayes
UP AND DOWN WEEKEND FOR ORRELL
It was a weekend of highs and lows for Orrell’s senior teams.
The weekend got underway on Friday evening with the opening match of the Wigan T20 competition at home against neighbours Highfield. In front of a large crowd at a sunkissed, resplendent Winstanley Road, the visitors won the toss and elected to bowl first. Orrell openers Ammer Mirza and Matthew Hayes, got the hosts off to a flying start through a mixture of effective shot selection and quick running between the wickets. When Hayes was stumped for a well-made 20, Mirza kept up his onslaught with support mainly coming from Matthew Wareing (28). Orrell eventually made 166-4 from their 20 overs. Mirza top scoring with 82 runs- an innings which was a pleasure to watch for the appreciative crowd.
In reply, the visitors were soon in trouble as opening bowlers Tom Jones (2-23) and Dominic Hayes (2-13) took two wickets apiece to leave Highfield on 32-4. The Orrell spin twins of Alfie Clarke (4-17) and Duvindu Tillakaratne (2-7) then made light work of the remainder of the Highfield batting line up as they were all out for 63 in 13.5 overs. A pleasing start for Sam Heeley’s team as they look to qualify for the finals day in a few weeks time.
On Saturday, Orrell’s first team welcomed star-studded, table topping Northern Cricket Club to Winstanley Road for their ECB Premier League fixture. Having won the toss, Orrell captain Sam Heeley elected to bat first- this looked to be the correct decision on a sunny afternoon on what looked like an excellent batting wicket. However, disaster struck early when Ammer Mirza was out cheaply chasing after a widish ball that he did not need to play at. When Richard Everett was very unlucky to hit a routine leg glance straight into the hands of square leg, Orrell were in trouble at 17-3 against a very high-quality bowling attack that was giving the batting line up a torrid time with nearly every ball asking serious questions. Andy Baybutt and Matthew Wareing looked to have steadied the ship somewhat but when they were both out with the score on 35, the Orrell recovery was in serious trouble once again. Heeley looked to be in fine form with the bat and hopes of Orrell posting a defendable total were on the rise. However, when he was harshly adjudged leg before wicket for a top scoring 19 to make the score 74-6, then the visitors showed what a high-quality outfit they are as they pounced to wrap up the Orrell innings. When the hosts last recognised batter Chris Riley was also adjudged leg before wicket, the innings came to an end soon after for 87 all out in 28.1 overs. Even accounting for the excellence of the visitors bowling attack and what some might argue was bad luck with some decisions, this was an inadequate effort by the Orrell batters.
With only 87 runs to play with, it was always going to be a tough task for the Orrell bowling attack against a team with a wealth of batting talent. Heeley and Duvindu Tillakaratne toiled admirably and when the visitors were 60-5 there was a small chance of an Orrell victory. However, Northern captain James Cole played an impressive captain’s knock as he slammed the door firmly shut on an Orrell revival. The visitors winning by five wickets with plenty of overs to spare. Heeley finishing with figures of 3-66 and Tillakaratne 2-23. Whilst Heeley’s team can take some credit for giving the visitors a fright, he will know that the batting line up must start to perform in the coming weeks. Another 40-50 runs posted in the first innings could have made all the difference to the outcome of the game.
Also on Saturday, Dave Whiteley’s second team played the reverse fixture away at Northern Cricket Club. The hosts won the toss and elected to bat on what looked to be very good batting wicket. This proved to be the case as they made 186-6 declared from 45 overs. Gareth Houghton (2-45) Dominic Hayes (1-33) and David Cheetham (1-25) were the wicket takers. The Orrell reply got off to the worst possible start when Whiteley was out in the first over of the innings. However, Hayes and the returning Jake Brown then took the game to the home team to such an extent that at one stage it looked like nobody else would be required to bat. However, disaster struck when Hayes was run out when on 32. When Brown was out soon after for a top scoring 66, this may have been an opportunity for the hosts to gain a foothold back in the match. However, Ben Mahoney put paid to any notions of this as he made 53 not out as Orrell won by five wickets with a couple of overs to spare. A very pleasing win for Whiteley’s charges which sees them sit in third place in the Premier League table.
Also on Saturday, Alan Moore’s young third team picked up their first victory of the season as they entertained Liverpool CC at Haydock Cricket Club. Moore won the toss and elected to bat as he saw his team make 153 all out in 40.5 overs. Luke Unsworth top scored with 61 batting at number seven whilst Will Alker continued his fine form of recent weeks to make 39. The skipper (14) and Ian Davies (17) also made contributions. In reply, Liverpool were all out for 111 in 32 overs mainly due to George Mushahwar taking 5-33 with contributions also from Moore (2-4) James Leyland 1-20 and George Berry 2-8.
On Sunday, there was only one game and this saw Matthew Hayes’ fourth team welcome Northern Sunday team to Winstanley Road. When Hayes won the toss on a gorgeous sunny afternoon, it was incumbent on his batting line up to post a challenging total on what looked to be an excellent batting wicket. Unfortunately, this is not proved to be the case as several injudicious shots and a collective lack of application saw the hosts skittled for a meagre 128 in only 30.2 overs. The skipper top scoring with 26.
In reply, the visitors knew that they would have around 60 overs in which to chase the small total set for them. The Northern opening batters showed the Orrell batting line up what was required in terms of application and shot selection as they posted an unbeaten century opening stand. As excellent as that partnership was, it was also help considerably by some loose opening bowling which allowed them to get off to a flying start and some quite ordinary fielding which saw hard-won chances created by the Orrell bowlers not taken, pressure built up by Orrell bowlers squandered by misfields and a run out opportunity missed. The visitors cruised to a nine-wicket victory with around 30 overs to spare of the day’s play. Alix Allcock taking the sole wicket. This was a below par performance even accounting for the young nature of the team and they will look to bounce back in the coming weeks.
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Hi guys, is there anywhere/anyway we could get the photos from the Northern 2s V Orrel 2s sent over please?