With thanks to Tom Evans @ Merseyside Cricket Online (merseysidecricket.com can be supported @ https://buymeacoffee.com/tomevanscricket). This week, we present the Liverpool & District results & round up along with a review of Liverpool District Cricket events.
Ian Cockbain hits a six on his way to 101* against Northern in June Picture by RAY HIBBS
Formby are preparing for a big trip to Blackpool – but for captain Ian Cockbain it will be anything but a seaside jolly.
Cockbain leads his side into their first ever Lancashire Cup final against Northern on Sunday, in a competition he won four years in a row in the 2000s with Bootle.
Since those silver-studded days playing under his late, great father, Cockbain has gone on to have a successful career with Gloucestershire, along with several T20 outfits around the world.
And with Formby boasting a clutch of young players hoping to make it into the professional game, he reckons part of his job is making sure they all have a ruthless love of winning.
He said: “It was such an amazing team to be part of, and that sort of just instilled that winning habit into me.
“It wasn’t a case of it was a big day out for the club, we were there to win it and if we didn’t win it, it was seen as a failure.
“Not just the Lancashire Cup but also the league and the other cups as well.
“In terms of the local stuff, we pretty much won everything a number of times.
“So for me that’s what I’m trying to instill into the club.
“It’s not just about this game on Sunday, it’s about getting the lads prepared for winning and it being an expectation to win, not just a nice day out.
“If you haven’t got that winning instinct, you’re going to find it quite tough to have a long career.
“So for me, that’s my biggest goal for their development – getting that mindset right for them to carry them forward into the professional game.”
Despite a disappointing ECHO Cup finals day on Monday – Formby lost their semi-final to Widnes, stumbling at the line after bossing the run chase – the mood around the club is positive ahead of Sunday.
“From the club’s point of view it’ll be awesome to get over the line and get that major silverware,” said Cockbain.
“It’s probably the biggest game in the club’s history.
“Everyone’s pretty chilled to be honest, everyone’s really excited but not getting overly worked up, which is quite nice.
“We’re going to have a decent number of people watching, and I’m sure Northern will probably bring quite a few as well, so it should be a really good atmosphere.”
Promising top-order batter Lucas Kennedy will be available on Sunday, and Cockbain is hopeful Ollie Sutton will be able to play some part, possibly just as a batter, as Lancashire manage a shoulder injury.
Cockbain added: “We’re just sort of waiting to see on Ollie.
“We’re hoping that he’ll be able to play at least as a batter, he’s just carrying a little bit of a knock from a couple of weeks ago.”
An all-Comp final – only the second in the Lancashire Cup’s history – is a source of pride for everyone involved in the league, which has dominated the competition over the past three decades.
Cockbain himself has been in outstanding form this year, needing just five runs to reach 2,000 in all competitions.
Three meetings with Northern so far have yielded two centuries, so he’s relishing another high-pressure encounter with one of the best bowling attacks in club cricket.
He said: “The Comp is probably one of the strongest leagues not just in Lancashire, but across the country as well.
“We know what Northern’s strengths and weaknesses are. They know what our strengths and weaknesses are.
“So it’s going to be a bit of a game of cat and mouse. “And I guess whoever plays to their strengths the best on the day will probably come out on top.”
Northern’s star all-rounder Liam Grey faces the future rather than dwelling on happy memories
Liam Grey says he’s not looking for omens as Northern head into Sunday’s Lancashire Cup final – but if he did, they would all be good.
Two of Grey’s three centuries this year have come against their opponents, Formby.
And he hit a matchwinning unbeaten 118 against Longridge the last time Northern reached this stage of the competition, in 2023.
But he insists he will step out at Blackpool CC on Sunday with his eyes firmly on the immediate future, rather than the past.
“I’m just going into it with an open mind and just playing the day that’s in front of me,” he said.
“Rather than thinking back, I’ll play it as a fresh game and try to give us the best opportunity to win the Lancs Cup.
“Formby are obviously a fantastic team with some really dangerous cricketers, and I won’t be thinking, oh yeah, I’ve done well against these previously.
“They beat us in the league, we beat them in the National, and we drew against them the weekend just gone – every game we’ve played, it’s been a very tight game.
“We’ve traded blow for blow, basically. So it’s set to be a very, very good game of cricket.”
As an all-rounder who tends to open with both bat and ball, Grey is usually front and centre of Northern’s achievements.
Monday’s ECHO Cup finals day was no exception – he struck with the first ball in both games as the Crosby side won the T20 trophy for the fourth time.
Grey also went for just 24 runs all day from his eight overs, most of them in the power plays.
He said: “You can’t dream of starting a bowling innings any better.
“In the T20 stuff, I’ve struggled a little bit this year and been quite expensive, so it’s really nice to go on and get a couple of wickets and then also go for three an over for the day.
“So it was nice to sort of get into a bit of rhythm leading into this weekend.”
The forecast for Sunday is not great, raising the possibility of the 45-over final being shortened.
As last year’s national T20 champions, and with the ECHO Cup in their back pocket, Northern will be well prepared.
Grey said: “We’ll go into Sunday expecting to play a full game, and then it’s just a case of adapting as and when we need to.
“We’ve got enough talent within our team to be able to adapt to pretty much every situation, I’d say.”
Northern have a home league game against Wallasey to warm up for Sunday.
Ormskirk are 32 points clear in their quest for a third successive title, but James Cole’s side are not ready to give up just yet, with four games to go.
And with Northern heading to Leigh for the Ray Digman Trophy final a week on Sunday, they could yet end the season with four pieces of silverware.
It all makes for a busy and intense time for the players – but it’s nothing they’re not used to.
“To be fair, I’ve been pretty relaxed,” Grey said.
“We’ve only had Saturday cricket, because we were out of both national cups, so we found ourselves throughout August having a good few Sundays off, which is a little bit different to last year.
“In recent years we’ve found ourselves going pretty deep in a lot of cup competitions.
“So it does get pretty intense. But at the end of the day, this is why we do it.
“We play for Northern because we want to be playing these games later on in the season, because if you’re not, then you’re not having much success.
“There is the potential of four trophies at the end of the season. “We’ve got the ECHO in the bag, there’s Sunday and then the following Sunday and then the league is a bit of a long shot, but there is always the potential, you just never know.”
You can follow all the fixtures & results HERE (ECB National Club Championship)
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With thanks to Tom Evans @ Merseyside Cricket Online (merseysidecricket.com can be supported @ https://buymeacoffee.com/tomevanscricket)
