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.
Reports, reaction & round-up: 17th & 18th May
Game of the weekend
Power Rankin puts Sefton to the sword as Liverpool lay down a marker
Liverpool on their way to wrapping up a big win at Sefton Park (Pic: Tom Evans)
The text, written by a Toffees-loving Liverpool member, claimed the city’s leading football club and its leading cricket club were sharing a sponsor.
One of those claims has to go down as dubious; the other, for the time being, is settled.
Displays of top-flight quality from Rob Rankin and Finn Hulbert blew Sefton Park away and claimed local bragging rights, showing the sort of class that ensures Liverpool will themselves be taken seriously as promotion contenders in Division One.
Former Ormskirk man Rankin flayed a brutal unbeaten 153 from 86 balls featuring 18 fours and eight sixes – 120 in boundaries.
It was his first hundred since joining the club last year and his first for anyone since July 2021.
He did it in the sunshine, in front of a healthy crowd at Croxteth Drive, and he did it to make it four wins from four games for Liverpool.
Skipper Jared Clein said: “I don’t think it could have gone any better. Rob’s innings was the best I’ve seen at the club, by a mile.
“It was actually doing a bit early on, though Rob made it look like it wasn’t.
“We’ve spoken a lot about building a platform and setting things up for the likes of him to come in and score quickly, and we did that well today.”
After Clein won the toss, the first hour was slow going but once Sefton’s opening pair of Huzaifa Zubair and Jimmy Dixon had been seen off for the loss of two wickets, Rankin hit the gas.
Dropped at backward point in the 30th over as the score passed 100, he decided to teach Sefton a lesson.
Naimat Karyab disappeared over long-on for a six that was still rising as it smacked into a tree, then four successive fours off Mark Chappell and two sixes off Abishek Jagan took him into the 90s.
If there were nerves, they didn’t show – Jagan disappeared through mid-off to bring up three figures, which Rankin celebrated with another huge six.
Alex Harper had batted with growing freedom and assurance in Rankin’s slipstream, bringing up his 50 with a clip through mid-wicket off Jagan, but ran past Chappell on 60 with the stand at 139.
But if Sefton thought they were over the worst, Hulbert had other ideas – Chappell in particular came in for some stick as the former Leigh all-rounder raced to 36 off just 10 balls. Clein said Hulbert had asked to go in, promising a swift 50 – nine balls later, he had delivered.
By now, Zubair had returned, but the sixes continued to rain – one over mid-wicket brought up Rankin’s 150 just before Clein put a stop to the fun on 295/3.
The pitch was behaving, the outfield rock-hard and one of the boundaries short.
But as soon as Hulbert located his radar with the ball, the outcome was beyond doubt.
Haroon Khan perished to a slog, trying to repeat an earlier six, before Hulbert found line, length and a little extra bounce to bruise the outside edges of Ben Percival, James Stirling and Matt Young.
Skipper Paul Horton held the last of the hosts’ dwindling hopes; when he became a second LBW victim for Reece Kelly, it was 59/6 and the gig was up.
Sefton’s best bowlers were also their best batters – Zubair, tall and left-handed, managed to see off Hulbert, before Dixon punched a few fours to earn a batting bonus point.
But Aussie wicketkeeper Josh Sawel pulled off two stumpings – one a lightning leg-side effort – to round off a perfect display in the field.
Clein said he hoped the performance and result were a sign of things to come.
He added: “The bowling was excellent, and we took every chance in the field.
“We’ve started the season really well. It’s only early days but the signs are good.”
ECB Premier Division
Mattie McKiernan fired his Leigh side to the top of the league with an unbeaten 132, which set up an 85-run win over Wigan.
From 137/5, McKiernan and Adam Shallcross put on an unbroken stand of 147, Shallcross finishing on 53. Shallcross then claimed 6/62 to make sure Wigan finished well short.
Firwood Bootle’s impressive start to the season continued as they became the first side to avoid defeat against champions Ormskirk. In a see-saw game, Sagar Trivedi took 5/51 to reduce the visitors from 70/0 to 119/7; Tom Brown’s 51 enabled them to post 223/9.
In reply, Bootle’s top six all passed 20 but none topped Ivan Kriek’s 47; from 177/5, they slid to 183/9, before the last pair of Jhangir Liaqat and Joe Adderley helped them to close just 17 runs short.
Chris Laker’s unbeaten 115 set up a convincing win for Northern at Colwyn Bay. Helped by Stephen Lucas’s 73, Laker was able to declare on 240/5 before Tom Sephton’s 5/75 – his third five-for in four league games this season – sealed a 62-run win. It would have been more comprehensive but for Charlie Collins’ 58 from number 10.
Wallasey’s Evan Withe made his first century for the club to help set up their 158-run win at Rainford. Backed up by Connor Windell’s maiden 1st XI half-century, Withe’s 116 led the visitors to 257; in the second half, Matty Keogh took 5/24 as the hosts crumbled.
Andrew Clarke also tonned up for the first time for Birkenhead Park, but his 103 could not prevent defeat at Formby. Ian Cockbain made 75 as the hosts chased 172 with three wickets to spare.
It was slow going at Rainhill, where Newton-le-Willows closed out for a draw at 172/4 in response to 233, neither side close to victory. Ben Walkden took a career-best 7/57 for the visitors while Khalid Usman made 82 for the hosts; Chris Schofield and Chris Chambers made half-centuries in the second half.
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Division One
New Brighton earned their first win since their relegation, and inflicted Southport & Birkdale’s first defeat since theirs.
Off-spinner Sheshan Silva was the star, claiming 6/52 after the hosts compiled a painstaking 167/8 in 60 overs – Sri Lankan pro Damitha Silva the top scorer with 67.
Hightown St Marys are still looking for their first win after earning promotion, after Old Xaverians held their nerve in a low-scoring encounter. Defending 126 after Matt White’s 6/44, Colin Gibson took 5/31 to earn the Woolton side their first win of the season.
Spring View got the better of a tight encounter with Highfield to keep up their good start. Skipper Lewis Matthews took 4/5 as the visitors slumped from 122/5 to 146 all out; view got home with two wickets to spare despite Jamie Darbyshire’s best efforts.
Sam Heeley took 6/72 to earn an 83-run win for Orrell Red Triangle over Sutton. Mark Waddington top-scored with 79 in the hosts’ 240/7.
An eighth-wicket stand of 51 between skipper Ryan Norris and veteran Anthony Mulligan earned Lytham victory over Maghull.
Division Two
Ainsdale skipper Oli Green made 47 to rescue his side from 6/4 as they chased 112 against Parkfield Liscard to keep up their winning start to the season.
Caldy join them on four wins after overhauling Prestatyn’s 140 with seven wickets to spare. Kieron Battersby made 59 for the Wirral side, after Rohan Sanjaya took 6/65; Andy Taylor carried his bat for 60 for the Welshmen.
Jac Kennedy made his second century of the season for Northop Hall as they chased 225 for a seven-wicket win at Fleetwood Hesketh. Andrew Watkin joined the former Northern man in an opening stand of 143, after Nathan Condon’s 89 and Jonny Howard’s unbeaten 79 set the target.
Aussie batter Liam Sherriff made 101 as Southport Trinity chased 201 for an eight-wicket win at Whitefield. Seam Cragg’s 5/53 did the damage in the first half, while home skipper Ben Ashcroft finished unbeaten on 49 from number 11, with Karl Gerrard run out after a last-wicket stand of 77.
Prescot & Odyssey closed nine down and 20 shy of Wavertree’s 237/6. Hedley Molyneux made 63 in the chase, while Prateek Agnihotri took 5/61; earlier, Chris Heath made an unbeaten 78 for the visitors.
Norley Hall and St Helens Town shared the spoils, the Wigan side finishing on 183/7 chasing 220. Callum Martlew took 5/50 for Hall, while Jamie Ellis top-scored with 64 for Town.
Sunday
Lancashire Cup Round 1
Joint holders Ormskirk crashed out to last year’s other finalists Prestwich in a low-scoring encounter.
Former skipper Nicky Caunce, playing his first 1st XI game since 2022, took 4/15 to restrict the Greater Manchester Cricket League side to 110, but a run-out in the first over set the tone as the visitors slipped to 52/6.
The biggest stand of the match – 47, between Ian Robinson and Sam Marsh – took Ormskirk to the brink of victory, but the last four wickets fell for just four runs.
Northern progressed to round 2 with a 44-run win over Darwen, set up by half-centuries for Liam Grey, Tyler McGladdery and Chris Laker, and confirmed by Greg Liebenberg’s 5/49.
After an opening stand of 105 in 22.2 overs, the visitors were in the game chasing 258, but Northern put the squeeze on and kept them behind the rate. Their reward is a trip to Prestwich.
Formby are the Love Lane Liverpool Competition’s other representatives in round 2 after Jack Carney followed up his maiden Lancashire 2nd XI century with a first ton for his new club, against Shireshead & Forton.
Carney’s 120, backed up by 79 from Michael Booth and 50 from Ian Cockbain, set a target of 332 which the visitors never looked like reaching. Cockbain’s side will host Westmorland league side Appleby Eden next.
There was no joy for the other Comp sides. Rainford’s 139/9 wasn’t enough against Blackpool, and Prescot & Odyssey spent the day chasing leather as Longridge piled on 343/7.
Southport league side Cheshire Lines also bowed out, dismissed for 97 against Padiham.
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With thanks to Tom Evans @ Merseyside Cricket Online (merseysidecricket.com can be supported @ https://buymeacoffee.com/tomevanscricket)
