Written by Gary Hayes
A CHAMPION WEEKEND FOR ORRELL
It was an exceptional weekend for Orrell’s senior teams culminating in Sam Heeley’s T20 team emerging victorious in the Wigan T20 finals day.
On Saturday, Heeley’s first team made the trip to Sefton Park. Having won the toss and elected to bat, Orrell overcame the loss of an early wicket as Andy Baybutt and Richard Everett got the scoreboard moving along through a combination of excellent shot selection and quick running between the wickets. Unfortunately, Everett was out for a well-made 22 when he was the victim of a very sharp caught and bowled from Sefton Park opening bowler Huzaifa Zubair. Baybutt was then joined at the crease by Matthew Hayes and the scoreboard continued to move along at a pace. Baybutt was being particularly savage to any bowling too short or too full as he brought up a half-century which was very easy on the eye. Baybutt looked to be progressing inevitably to a century when disaster struck when he was on 66- the victim of another very sharp caught and bowled chance this time by Kemar Smith. Hayes looked to be relatively untroubled as he moved into the twenties until a prodigiously spinning leg break from Raheem Kassar took his outside edge and he was caught at first slip for 24.
This left Orrell 129-4 and, from looking like posting a large total, a period of consolidation would be necessary in order to ensure maximum batting points within the 55 permitted hours. Things didn’t work out quite like that however as the innings was potentially in trouble at 151-6 and a much lower than expected total could have been posted. However, Heeley once again came to the fore as he expertly marshalled the lower order batting effort whilst also unleashing a number of eye-catching shots himself including a sweep shot for 6. Maximum batting points were brought up in the 54th over via Cameron Sharp. Sharp was eventually last man out for 10 as the Orrell innings came to a conclusion at 222 all out in 54.1 overs. Heeley once again remaining unbeaten on 46- another captain’s knock.
After a positive start from the hosts in reply, Duvindu Tillakaratne struck twice in an over to leave the score 14-2- the second wicket saw a brilliant one-handed diving catch to his left from Tom Jones at slip. A key moment in the match happened next when the home team’s big hitting Barbadian player Smith strode to the crease. A plan was set to entice him to clip the ball off his pads and this plan worked perfectly as he clipped his first ball in the air to Matthew Hayes at deep mid-wicket off the bowling of Tom Jones. Tillakaratne and Jones bowled beautifully in tandem as a constant threat was posed from both ends. Despite some resistance from Scott Aitchison (broken only by an outstanding short leg catch from Chris Riley off the bowling of Cameron Sharp) Sefton Park were eventually bowled out for 73 in 36.4 overs. The mesmeric Tillakaratne finishing with figures of 5-16 from 18.4 overs. Jones produced an excellent exhibition of left-arm pace bowling to finish with figures of 4-43 from 16 overs including a blink of an eye caught and bowled. Sharp took 1-4 from two overs. A professional performance from Heeley’s men (apart from the middle order batting wobble) as they made it three wins on the bounce in the league and they are hopefully now full of confidence for the challenges ahead.
On Sunday, Heeley took his T20 team to Norley Hall Cricket Club to play in the Wigan T20 finals day. In their semi-final, they played Wigan. Wigan won the toss and elected to bat first. This seemed to be a good decision when Orrell were 25-3. However, a 4th wicket partnership of 142 between Richard Everett and Heeley saw Orrell recover impressively. When Heeley was out for 44, all eyes were on Everett and whether he could bring up a well-deserved century. On the penultimate ball of the innings, Everett unfortunately perished when on 99 looking to maximise his teams total rather than seeking personal glory- a testament to what a fine club man he is. The Orrell innings finishing on 183-5. The Wigan innings never really recovered from being 7-2 including a calamitous run out. Wigan eventually finishing on 144-8 from their 20 overs featuring an excellent innings from the captain Charles Taylor (62) and some unorthodox yet effective big hitting from relative newcomer to the game Sony Antony (34). Duvindu Tillakaratne showed that he is a brilliant T20 bowler to go alongside his red ball exploits to finish with figures of 3-19, Heeley with figures of 2-30 and Alfie Clarke with 2-34.
In the final, Orrell played against Leigh in a repeat of their group fixture. Leigh won the toss and elected to bat first safe in the knowledge that their key batter Sam Dorsey had posted a scintillating unbeaten century in their semi-final victory over Golborne. Dorsey took this form into the final as he dispatched the Orrell bowling to all parts of the ground- two lofted drives for four over extra cover being amongst the best shots you will see at this level of cricket. It really did look as if Orrell was staring down the barrel of chasing an improbable score. However, great credit must go to Heeley and his bowling attack as they held their nerve and adjusted their bowling strategies as the scoring rate slowed down significantly- albeit, the Orrell fielding faltered under pressure as a number of difficult chances was put down. Leigh eventually finished on 178-5 from their 20 overs with Dorsey carrying his bat for an unbeaten 113- a combined total of 235 runs for him on the day without losing his wicket. A phenomenal effort and one all who were present will be talking about for years to come. Duvindu Tillakaratne taking 2-21, Heeley 1-42 and Tom Jones 1-34. A special mention must go to Alfie Clarke who finished with figures of 1-37 and held his nerve brilliantly in the face of the Dorsey onslaught.
Buoyed by restricting Leigh to 178 when it looked like a score of 250+ was on the cards, Richard Everett and Andy Baybutt set about chasing what was still a very large total with great determination. At the halfway stage, Orrell were up with the required scoring rate and an unbroken century partnership was brought up as Baybutt made his second half-century of the weekend. As so often happens in cricket, what looked to be a serene procession to victory for a batting side was halted when both Baybutt (64) and Everett (46) were out in quick succession to leave the score 122-2. On any other day, Everett’s two magnificent innings on the day would have been the main talking point. Heeley and Jones calmed the situation and going into the final overs, whilst the situation was still very tight, Orrell were clear favourites. However, with only four runs required for victory, Jones (23) and Heeley (24) were out off the last two balls of the penultimate over as it looked like Orrell could snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. From the first ball of the last over, Ammer Mirza got a single to leave Matthew Wareing on strike. A dot ball then followed before Wareing hit a 4 to take Orrell to a four-wicket victory with three balls to spare.
A well-deserved victory for Heeley and his team and testament to the hard work put in by him and his leadership team over many months. A captain with a clear vision and strategy for his team and the commitment to implement it. Great credit must also go to a young Leigh team for their effort to take the game to the last over. In many ways, the final was a fitting reminder of the main purpose of the Wigan T20 competition which was founded to provide development opportunities for younger cricketers to play with and against top-quality senior cricketers. Great credit to both clubs for adhering to this overarching philosophy and to all youngsters involved who will have gained much from the day.
A big thank you must also go to Norley Hall for being such fantastic hosts on the day. A very well run day with a welcoming atmosphere. The ground is looking immaculate and the improvements to the spectator areas recently are an excellent addition.
On Saturday, Dave Whiteley’s second team welcomed Lytham to Winstanley Road and were looking to build on their recent outstanding form. The visitors won the toss and elected to bat but were left to rue this decision as they were bowled out for 155 in 49.1 overs. Gareth Houghton taking 4-40, George Mushahwar 3-15, Ben Mahoney 1-23 and Logan Pallett taking his maiden second team wickets to finish with figures of 2-21. In reply, Whiteley’s team cruised to a seven-wicket victory in only 28.5 overs on the back of a brilliant 89 from Matthew Wareing and an unbeaten 35 from Ben Mahoney. This win consolidates the team place in second place in the table with a number of games still to play.
Alan Moore’s third team made it a perfect Saturday of Premier League wins with victory over New Brighton at the team’s temporary home base of Haydock Cricket Club. Batting first, Orrell made 151 all out in 50 overs with Oliver Lynn top scoring with 27 and Arthur Moore not far behind on 25. New Brighton were bowled out for 116 in 28.1 overs with Oliver Mahoney taking 5-19 from 6 overs, the captain 1-24 and Lynn 2-45 from 11 overs. A much-needed win for Moore’s very young team as they look to stave off relegation back to Division One of the Saturday third team structure.
On Sunday, Mark Crumpton’s fourth team secured an easy victory away at Leigh. The hosts were bowled out for 38 in 21.5 overs. The returning Ileana Pallet starring with exceptional figures of 4-9 from 4.5 overs- a welcome return to the game for such a talented cricketer. James Leyland also excelled with figures of 2-6, Terry Leaford 1-18 and the metronomic Declan O’Shaughnessy with 1-1 from four overs. Despite disappointingly losing four early wickets in their reply, the captain supported by Paul Leaford (15 not out) saw Orrell to a six-wicket victory in only 11.5 overs. This continued the recent much improved form for Crumpton’s team and they will look to build on this for the rest of the season.
Also on Sunday, Matthew Hayes’ fourth team (under the stand in captaincy of Alan Moore due to Matthew having first team T20 commitments) entertained Rainford at Winstanley Road. The visitors won the toss and elected to bat first- a decision they did not regret as they amassed a large total of 223 all out in 40.4 overs. Thomas Wilkinson took 2-7, the skipper 2-34, the returning Joshua Doherty (1-41) Alfie Berry 1-22, Arthur Moore 2-42 and Alix Allcock 1-10.
Despite contributions from the skipper (28) and Charlie Abbott (38) Orrell were never seriously in the hunt to chase the victory total. However, it did look like they could salvage a draw from the match. This was until a dramatic end to the match when young Tom Such was adjudged leg before wicket with the final ball of the days play to give Rainford a deserved victory.
The club would also like to send best wishes to our junior players who have been selected for the Wigan and District Junior Cricket League interleague teams in the following age groups as they begin their matches this week:
Under 11- Archie Howarth, Adam Peacock, Zaac McMullen
Under 13- Thomas Wilkinson, Tom Such, Zach Abbott, Brodie Ainscough
Under 15- Arthur Moore, Oliver Mahoney, Logan Pallett, James Leyland
Go well boys!