By Peter Stafford (March 2008) Back
The most difficult part of writing a review of the 2007 Bolton League season is to avoid it becoming something of a rewrite of that of 20061
Yet again Walkden and Greenmount stole most of the headlines whilst Tonge, Hamer Cup winners of 2006, had, after 22 league games, manoeuvred themselves into a position from which they might have pipped Greenmount for second place. Sadly for them, however, three consecutive defeats meant that they had to settle alongside Egerton in joint third place.
Walkden confirmed their fourth League championship in seven years when, with two matches remaining, they overcame Westhoughton at the Tyldesleys by 31 runs. Jon Fearick was wicketless in that game, but he more than compensated the following day when he became the first‑ever Walkden bowler to take all ten wickets in a Bolton League match, 10 for 62 against Farnworth Social Circle.
The side's batting was rarely to be found wanting, with their four leading players, professional Gyan Pandey, Mike Bennison, Dave Smith and Liam Jackson hitting 3,020 runs at a joint average of 42‑plus. Jason Swift, who only managed around half of Walkden's matches due to his Old Trafford commitments, also batted well when available, whilst Steve Higson hit a critical half century in the first day of the season win over Egerton.
Pandey, who proved to be an outstanding signing, also took most wickets for the club, and he and Dave Smith combined to take 103. Fearick, John Smith and Jackson weighed in with a joint 82, and Andy Kay's excellent season behind the wicket resulted in him stretching his own dub record from 42 to 46 victims.
Greenmount, likewise, owed much to their top three batsmen, skipper John Ashworth, pro Ashar Zaidi, and the League's Player‑of‑the‑Year Andy Kerr, who between them contributed an astonishing 3,226 runs to the club's cause. They received good back‑up from Simon Woolford, Andy Bowker and Zed Mohammed, whilst with the ball, Mark Stewart, Zaidi and Naz Mohammed combined to take 176 wickets whilst bowling in excess of 90 per rent of the team's overs. Andy Kerr, who hit almost 500 runs more than any other of the League's amateur batsmen, has deservedly moved up into the professional ranks in the Ribblesdale League.
The top two clubs' season climaxed during the first weekend in August, when they met at Walkden on the Saturday, and again the following day in the epic Hamer Cup Final described in more detail later in the article. Thanks to half centuries from Dave Smith and Pandey, who then went on to take 7 for 64 between them, Walkden came out on top by 67 runs, after which six straight League victories saw them home and dry at the top of the table.
Egerton, who finished joint third with Tonge, owed much to their pro, Sanjith Fernando, who provided 970 runs and 66 reasonably cheap wickets, and their cause was done no harm by the re‑acquisition of Keith and Stuart Hornby to complete their 'raid' on the Settle dub, for whom Fernando was the paid player in 2006. Stuart's season ended with 718 runs, 50 wickets and the League Bowling Prize, whilst Keith's 211 runs came about largely as the result of some good opening stands with his young lad!
But the League's individual player of 2007 was, without any doubt, once again Adil Nisar. During Tonge's final game of the season, in which Walkden were beaten, he became only the third cricketer in the League's history to achieve the 1,000‑min/ 1,000‑wicket double when he bowled Dave Smith.
In his seven year stay at Castle Hill, Adil has hit 9,060 runs, including a League record 29 centuries, and has taken 444 wickets. His runs have come at an overall average of 61.21 and he has now moved into the Central Lancashire League. Lucky old Clifton!
Another player who, sadly, will be missing from first‑team cricket in 2008 is Walkden's John Smith, who, after 26 years, has decided to call it a day at first team level, as has another club stalwart, Tony Keays. This extract from the Bolton News of September 22nd says it all. "John Smith made his first‑team debut in 1981 and, put quite simply, it's difficult to imagine a future Walkden side without him! In his 26 seasons he has taken over a thousand wickets and has laid his hands on 20 major Bolton League and Lancashire cups and championships. He skippered the side for six seasons, including that of 1989 when the double was achieved, before giving way in 1994 to Tony Keays. But, above all else, John Smith has been, and hopefully will be at 2nd team level, the absolute epitome of all that is best about Bolton League cricket in terms of dedication to his one club, sportsmanship, and in his general attitude towards life in general and cricket in particular." I couldn't have put it better myself!
Other players worthy of mention in 2007 were Brenton Parchment, Rick Northrop, Mike O'Rourke and Little Lever's professional, Naumanuall. Parchment in his three seasons at Bridgeman Park, has now hit 3,974 runs at 66.23, and taken 203 wickets, figures almost 'Nisaresque' in their significance. Northrop ended the season with 689 runs, and a shedful of victims which ensured him of the League Wicketkeeping Prize, whilst O'Rourke passed 5,000 runs in his five years at Eagley and Naumanual had the outstanding all‑round figures of 698 runs and 77 wickets.
The first round of the Hamer Cup produced three centuries, one from Bradshaw's pro Abhishek Nayar which didn't win the game for his side, and the other, two, inevitably, from Nisar and Parchment, which did.
Bradshaw, faced with a Walkden total of 221, bolstered by fifties from openers Bennison and Dave Smith, fell 13 runs short.
At Little Lever, Famworth posted a daunting 342, thanks largely to Parchment's 182, and won by 196 runs, whilst their neighbours, Social Circle, went down at Egerton, where a fine all‑round showing from Fernando was instrumental in an otherwise fairly routine 8‑wicket win. Heaton's 246 at Eagley proved far too many for the home side, who were bowled out for 81. The day's individual performances at Dunscar were provided by Rick Parry (73) and Balachandra Akhil (57) for the visitors, and by Steve Foster (5 for 86 from his 25 overs) for Eagley.
James Reynard, Junior Player‑of‑the‑Year in 2006, hit 61 for Horwich at Tonge, but his side succumbed to the all‑round talents of Nisar, who took 6 for 52, and then hit an unbeaten 108 as the target of 151 was reached for the loss of only two wickets. The remaining tie was at Kearsley, who were knocked out by Astley Bridge. Liyanage and Dalugoda's joint 6 for 49 kept the home side down to an all‑out 111, a total passed by 5 wickets thanks largely to Liyanage's undefeated 50, and in spite of Weththasinghe's 4 for 29.
The trend of professional domination carried on with a vengeance in Round Two. In the four ties, the seven pro's (Westhoughton's didn't bat) totalled 496 runs between them at an average of 82 apiece! Walkden had Pandey (98 not out and 5 for 41) to thank for their 7‑wicket win over Tonge, for whom Nisar hit 54 and took 3 for 51.
Astiey Bridge's journey into the semi finals was very much a team effort, with runs and wickets being shared around their players as Egerton were beaten by four wickets. Fernando's 76 out of 161 for 9 was the only major individual performance of the match. Farnworth's all‑out total of 168, at home to Heaton, was, similarly, a team effort, with no‑one reaching 30, and Heaton seemed to be in the box seat when they reached 130 for 4. But then Akhil (49) and Carney (34) were dismissed, and the remaining batsmen fell in something of a heap as Neil Hyde finished things off with a hat‑trick.
In the other game, Hamer Cup records were rewritten at Greenmount, where the home side thrashed Westhoughton by a mind‑boggling 322 runs. In what was one of the two ties hit by the weather, Greenmount resumed after having reached 180 for 0 on the Sunday. Westhoughton, hampered by two players missing, one of them deputy pro Nagamootoo, were hammered to the tune of 428 for 2. Kerr (178) and Zaidi (157) added 291 runs for the first wicket, and those two batsmen, along with John Ashworth (65), hit precisely 400 runs between them! Obviously, with two batsmen missing, the visitors were never going to be in the hunt, and four wickets apiece from Mark Stewart and Naz Mohammed clinched the eventual winners place in the semi‑final.
Torrential rain delayed the semi‑finals to such an extent that the Farnworth/Greenmount tie was transferred from an under‑water Bridgeman Park to Brandlesholme Road simply to get the match underway. Greenmount batted first, and folded to an all‑out 131 as Brenton Parchment took 8 for 63 from his 20 overs. In reply Farnworth seemed to be in control as Parchment and Tonge hit 68 between them, but then collapsed to 95 all out as Stewart and Mohammed repeated their joint eight‑wicket performance of the previous round.
Walkden's home defeat of Astley Bridge was altogether more comfortable thanks largely to skipper Bennison s fine unbeaten 123 which, with help from Dave Smith and Jackson, took their side up to 260 for 5. In spite of 61 from Dalugoda, the visitors never really got themselves into anything approaching a winning position, and Pandey's 5 for 77 was largely responsible for their all‑out total of 170.
The Final had everything, especially for Greenmount's players and supporters. In perfect weather conditions a large crowd at Lower Pools saw Walkden on top for the first half of Greenmount's innings, which produced only 59 runs from 25 overs. Andy Kerr and Martin Kay improved things a little, taking the score up to 86 before both getting out, from which point Ashar Zaidi demonstrated exactly what is meant by the expression 'taking the game by the scruff of the neck'! In just 54 balls he blasted an unbeaten 98 which included five 6's, hitting his final 48 runs from the last three overs of the innings.
As Walkden began a 216 run‑chase of which they were perfectly capable, someone pointed out to me that six members of their side had, at one time or another, played their cricket at Heaton, but that counted for little as they plummeted disastrously to 58 for 6! Dave Smith was needlessly run out, and the other five fell to Greenmount's Hamer Cup‑winning bowling combination of Mark Stewart and Naz Mohammed, who between them took 23 of the 28 wickets claimed by their side in the competition. Liam Jackson (51) and Dale Jones (37) revived the innings up to a point with a 7th‑wicket stand of 66, but it proved far too little, far too late as Mark Stewart finished things off with three wickets.
Mark it was who received the Cup in the absence of the regular captain John Ashworth, so bringing to an end a memorable day which had been superbly stage‑managed by the Heaton dub and officials.
The first season during which J.W. Lees sponsored the inter‑league knock‑out trophy saw the Bolton League eliminated in Round One for the second consecutive year. The Lancashire County League were the visitors to Horwich, and a 2nd‑wicket century stand helped their final total up to 225 for 6. Ian Pilkington (31) played well the early part of Bolton's reply, after which wickets fell on a regular basis until a seventh‑wicket partnership of 65 between Rids Northrop and Will Halton looked to be winning the tie for their side. Northrop, whose 75 was the game's highest score, batted
particularly well, but when the stand was broken it proved to be the end of the challenge, and the innings eventually folded on 214 with one delivery left unbowled.
The annual Anthony Axford Trophy match against the Bolton Association brought more joy for the inter‑league side at Atherton, where the trophy was retained thanks to a 39‑run victory. Batting first, the League hit 249 for 8. Ashar Zaidi continued his match‑winning batting exploits of the Hamer Cup Final, recording a superb 87 and sharing a 117‑run partnership with Sanjith Fernando, who contributed 56 to the cause. When the Association replied, Standish's Bazid Khan was always going to provide a threat, and he didn't let himself and the team's supporters down with a fine 71. But when he was brilliantly run out at 122 for 2 by an Andy Kerr direct hit, the game swung in the League's favour, and the innings ended on 210 for 8, with Kearsley's Amila Weththasinghe emphasising the Asian donunation of the game with a fine 4 for 44.
Yet again it was Greenmount who went furthest in the Lancashire K.O. Trophy, all the way to the Final in fact, where they were fated to meet holders Bootle in a repeat of the 2005 Final. In Round One of the competition each of the League's five representatives cruised through to the second phase with some ease. Thanks to a Bennison century Walkden overcame Elton by the huge margin of 187 runs, whilst over at Farnworth, the home side, having bowled Darwen out for 61, eased through by nine wickets. Parchment (4 for 10) and Lee Sutton (3 for 12) were the Northern League side's main destroyers. In a similar game at Rainford the home team were bowled out for 86 by Greenmount, with Naz Mohammed taking 5 for 24, after which the Bolton League side knocked off the runs to end with a sixwicket victory.
In each of the other two ties, the Bolton sides batted first. Tonge scored 245 for 7 (Nisar 93) before bowling Withnell Fold out for 115, whilst at Leigh, Famworth Social Circle amassed 264, of which Matt Parkinson hit 107. Leigh, in reply, could only manage 180 for 9. The winning trend continued in Round Two. Farnworth beat Dukinfield easily, Walkden's 260 for 6, with Bennison and Pandey to the fore, was 127 too many for Staley, whilst Tonge once again had Nisar to thank as he hit an undefeated 131 in their successful run‑chase of 180 for 1 against Denton West.
Social Circle travelled to St Armes, where Tim Rees (92) and Parkinson (75) led the way in a total of 210 for 6, which proved 50 too many for the home side, and Greenmount's journey to the Final was helped by a ninewicket win over Settle which owed a lot to Zaidi. He took 4 for 18 as the Ribblesdale League team were bowled out for 149, and followed it with 102 not out as his side raced home.
The good times came to an end in the 3rd Round for Walkden and Farnworth, mainly due to rain, which forced Walkden into a bowl‑off against Heywood which resulted in a 2‑0 defeat. Famworth lost out at Earby by the dreaded Duckworth/Lewis rules when, after the home side had completed their innings and Famworth's reply had reached 62 for 1, the revised target proved too high for the Bridgeman Park side. Nisar continued on his merry way, hitting 83 not out as Tonge chased 146 at Northern, reaching their target for the loss of only three wickets, whilst at Colwyn Bay Greenmount were faced with another Duckworth/ Lewis situation when they were required to score 112 from reduced overs after having bowled out the Welsh side for 174. They achieved their goal, thanks in the main to Martin Kay and John Ashworth, each of whom hit 28 not out.
Farnworth Social Circle joined them in the quarter‑finals after a good win at Lancaster, but unfortunately at that stage the two Bolton League sides were drawn to play each other, with Greenmount progressing narrowly thanks to a two‑wicket win. Zaidi was again the main man, this time with the ball, taking 4 for 21 as Circle folded for 124. He dismissed both leading scorers, Michael Ashworth (31) and Matt Parkinson, whose 30 proved to be the first half of an excellent all‑round performance. He went on to take 3 for 8, and this, coupled with Tim Barrow's 3 for 12, ensured that Greenmount were made to struggle for their semi‑final spot. Bailey's 33 was vital to his teams cause.
Tonge were hampered by rain, but reached their reduced target of 201 for the loss of only four wickets, thanks to a big first‑wicket stand between Nigel Partington (69) and Nisar (98). Walshaw had scored 238 for 6 prior to the rain's intervention.
Yet again our two remaining clubs in the competition were drawn to meet each other in the semi‑final, with Greenmount having ground advantage against Tonge in what turned out to be one of the best and narrowest games of the season. For once, Greenmount's 'big three' failed, and they would have been grateful to Zed Mohammed and Andy Bowker who hit 77 and 62 respectively in a big fourth‑wicket stand. Adam Street took 3 for 32 as the innings ended on 191. Tonge were handed a huge setback when Nisar, who had hit 405 in the four previous rounds, was dismissed by the first ball after tea. Nigel Partington, however, settled in to play an outstanding innings which held together Tonge's reply in various partnerships with his son, Danny, Alex Rodzoch and Matt Fray. Partington and Simon Anderton then added 67 for the fifth‑wicket before Anderton, batting with a runner, was bizarrely run out.
Partington was then dismissed by occasional bowler Andy Kerr, and the final over began with nine runs required. It proved to be two too many, and the match, which had been an absolute treat to watch, ended with Tonge stranded on 189 for 8. Partington's 65 took his Lancs, K.O. total up to 217 in five innings, almost twice as many as the 125 he hit in league and Hamer Cup games in 2007, and a much truer reflection of the ability of a 10,000‑run batsman.
The Final at Bootle was abandoned when incessant rain perhaps let Greenmount off the hook with the home side's score standing on 245 for 4 with five overs remaining. The tie was rescheduled to be played at Brandleshohne Road after a toss for venue. The Bolton League side bowled themselves into an excellent position, dismissing the star‑studded Liverpool team for 173, of which former Lancashire batsman Graham Lloyd hit 68 before falling victim to wicket‑keeper Paul Blinkhom's fourth catch of the innings. Stewart, Zaidi and the two Mohammed's all took wickets along with Martin Kay, whose 3 for 38 were the day's best figures.
In reply, Greenmount appeared to be coasting at 80 for 2, with Kerr and Zaidi in control, but when they were both dismissed within the spare of six deliveries, the momentum deserted the remainder of the batsmen, and the end came with 30 runs still required. And so Bootle's domination of the competition continues, but it has to be said that once again, Greenmount, together with the Leagues four other representatives, had brought nothing but credit to the Bolton cricketing area.
Greenmount's 2nd XI emulated their first team by finishing the 20071eague season as runners‑up, having now ended each of the last six seasons in the top two places in the table. But it was Kearsley who came out on top, having won 19 and lost only one of their 26 games. They proved that at second team level there is no substitute for experience which, in their case, was offered by skipper Steve Pellowe, Greg Tonge, Simon Mort, the evergreen Chris Lomax and wicket‑keeper Paul Gregory. At the other end of the age‑scale they would have been grateful for the talents of Jack Morris and Naz Ahmed. Greenmount also finished runners‑up in the Birtwistle Cup competition, losing in the Final to Bradshaw at the Rigbys. Greenmount were restricted by a good all‑round bowling performance to 140 for 9, a total that Bradshaw passed with some ease, thanks largely to Ryan Tierney, whose 53 assured him of the Man‑of‑theMatch award, and Mark Gwilt, who ended the game on 31 not out.
The Anthony Axford Indoor Trophy was won by Kearsley for the second time in three years, when they overcame Horwich in as dose a finish in the Final as it is possible to imagine. Batting first, Horwich ended their 12 overs on 82 for 5, and when the game's final delivery arrived, Kearsley needed two runs to claim the trophy. Dave Mather was the batsman with it all to do, and he didn't let his team‑mates down, hitting a three to see his side home. Horwich's Andy Taylor was named Man‑of‑the‑Match for a good all‑round performance.
In their semi‑final against the other favourites, Walkden, skipper Pete Morris and Ricky Hamblett were mainly responsible for a successful Kearsley run chase which led to victory with five balls to spare. In the earlier semi‑final Horwich saw off Eagley, chasing 116 and getting home with three balls remaining.
The League's Presentation Evening in November was transformed into 'Bums Night' for a short space of time, when the Horwich President Ken Burns was presented with the Hubert Pendlebury Memorial Trophy for his outstanding services to the Bolton League in general and the Horwich dub in particular. Ken has been a hard‑working stalwart of that dub for longer than he would probably care to remember. In recent years he has made himself responsible for the ground and the square, which he has turned into one of the best in the League, a far cry from the days of Sutcliffe and Holding, when the more thinking Bolton League batsmen of the time would study the fixture list and then plan their holidays to coincide with 'Horwich away'!
Ken was made a League Vice‑President last year, an appointment that, like the Pendlebury Award, was a welcome one and has, over the years, been thoroughly well‑merited. Another honour to fall Horwich's way was that of Young Player‑of‑the‑Year, which was awarded to Phil Cavill, a prominent member of the club's well organised and successful youth set‑up. Like the other names in the list of previous winners (three of whom became county player; and seven others played as dub professionals) Phil's future in the game, whilst still in his own hands, would seem to be assured.
Lastly, our grateful thanks to all who, year in and year out, contribute so much towards the League's success, be it financially or simply by dedicating so much time and enthusiasm to the cause. First and foremost, of course, to Tony and Martin Axford, to whose company cricket owes so much at Bolton League level and beyond.
In my fust'Looking Bade article, written 34 years ago, I wrote the following: "The seven year‑old son of a cridceting friend of mine once defined the umpire as 'the man in the white coat who makes mistakes'." Make mistakes? Of course they do. But here's something for players to think about.
Watch an average 70‑over league matdi, and count the players' mistakes. Misfields, overthrows, full tosses, long hops, misplaced shots, dropped catches, no balls, wides. The list is almost endless. Let us be charitable and reckon on one mistake per over by one player or another. Seventy mistakes a match. And whose single mistake is the talking point in the bar when the inquest starts?"
Thirty four years on, all of that still applies, and we thank our umpires for their reliability and their efforts on our behalf, one mistake per match and all!! Thanks, too, to all dub officials, ladies and, especially, groundsmen, who have worked so diligently to raise and maintain the very high standards that have been reached in recent seasons.
An enjoyable and successful season to everyone in 2008.