Defeats at Ormskirk and Nantclwyd

Signs of progress despite results

The hardball team's most recent matches were away at Ormskirk Occasionals and Nantclwyd. The encounter with Ormskirk was a T20 on Tuesday 9th June, while the team visited Llanelidan Ovan on Sunday 21st June.

Both matches resulted in defeats but there were several positive aspects of the team's performances that point to ongoing progress.

T20 v Ormskirk Occasionals (a) Mersey Rose 52-7 (20.0 overs) (Isaac Lockett 22; Mike Cooper 3-6) Ormskirk Occasionals 53-2 (16.1 overs) (Dave Eyres 23*; Dave Leivesley 1-2) Ormskirk Occasionals won by 8 wickets Scorecard Mersey Rose won the toss and opten to field first but, as several players - including most of the top order - were held up in traffic, the visitors were forced to bat first instead.

Lack of T20 experience among the makeshift top order made it difficult for them to lay the foundations and, while Isaac Lockett hit a fluent 22, no-one else was able to stay around for too long. Dave Leivesley, Andrew Foster and Alan Hitchmough added a few runs quickly at the end but they had limited time to make their mark. Mersey Rose finished their 20 overs on 52 for 7. That did not seem a great score but it had been a difficult pitch to bat on, especially as it was quite spongy and the ball kept low. The hosts also found scoring quickly difficult as Mersey Rose bowled accurately and gave little away. In the eighth over Dave Leivesley bowled Kenny Wright for 9 and shortly afterwards Alan Hitchmough took the wicket of fellow opener Brian Nean for 5 in similar fashion. At the halfway stage, the hosts were on 20 for 2.

The arrival of David Eyres at the crease turned the game around and he showed his intentions with an early boundary. Powerful hitting helped him to an unbeaten 23 despite some probing bowling from Heidi Page and Gail Rose and, with the help of Adam Post (8 not out) the Occasionals reached their target with over 3 overs to spare. However, it hadn't been plain sailing for them and Rose's performance in the field gave reasons for optimism.

Action photographs of the game can view viewed here.

Player of the match: Isaac Lockett

v Nantclwyd (a) Nantclwyd 246-9 dec (Jonny Clayton 50*; Andi Page 3-22) Mersey Rose 57 (Andrew Foster 10; Geoff Monk 2-4) Nantclwyd won by 189 runs On Sunday the team travelled to Nantclwyd, which is always a wonderful place to play cricket and especially so on a sunny and warm afternoon. The hosts had an unusually strong side and, while the final score points to an undeniable a gulf in quality between the teams, it doesn't tell the full story.

Mersey Rose fielded first. Despite disciplined bowling from Andrew Foster and Rob Smith, the opening wicket proved elusive. Rose had several chances and had dropped catches to blame as opportunities were squandered. On other occasions they were unlucky that the ball didn't quite carry to fielders.

Dave Trenner eventually made the breakthrough when Andrew Foster held a catch at extra cover. A few balls later, from the same position, Foster created an incredible run-out with a direct throw. However, just when it seemed the momentum may swing toward the visitors, Jonny Clayton put on a show of aggressive strokeplay. Dan Barrowcliffe struck twice and Alex Leivesley took the fifth wicket of the afternoon courtesy of a sensational catch from Foster, but Mersey Rose were struggling to stem the flow of runs and had no answer to Clayton's belligerence. An inspired spell of bowling from Andi Page at the end saw him take three wickets in 13 balls, including an outstanding diving caught and bowled. Page also held an impressive catch at slip off Ramu's bowling. When Clayton reached his half century the hosts declared on 246 for 9, an impressive score that set a challenging target to put it mildly.

The challenge was made more difficult by the quality of Nantclwyd's fielding. While Rose's inexperience contributed to their own problems, it is fair to say that the hosts fielding was quick and sharp. What is pleasing is that players tried to bat positively, and Ian Mosquito, Andrew Foster and Jake Vaughan in particular looked to score runs and play their shots while Anna Page and Dave Trenner provided stubborn resistance.

There remains work to do on our batting but the team is a work in progress and we are taking steps forward with every game.

What is obvious in continuing improvement in bowling and fielding. After a bit of a shaky start in the field things got better - much better - and Rose were only one wicket away from bowling out the opposition. A lot of chances were created, another sign of how far the team has come in a short time. There were probably three candidates for catch of the season and a sensational run out, as well as solid keeping from Jake Vaughan. Photographs from the game can be viewed below.

Our next game is away at Salford Chargers on 5th July.