Season begins with Frodsham test

Frodsham 219-5 (Trevor Davies 30*, Nick Corless 30*; Andi Page 2-22) Mersey Rose 49 (Dave Leivesley 18, Ryan Murphy 5-4) Frodsham won by 170 runs Scorecard

Mersey Rose’s hardball team kicked off their season last Sunday at Frodsham in the blazing sunshine.

Making their debuts for the team were Dave Leivesley, Alex Leivesley, Gail Rose and Andrew Foster.  Anna Page stood in as captain.

Andrew Foster and Alex Leivesley opened the bowling against Frodsham’s disciplined pair of Nick Corless and Joe Davies. There were few chances, although Anna Page almost pulled off a sensational catch at point. The Frodsham openers retired on reaching 30 to give others the opportunity to bat, which brought Trevor Davies and James Blythe to the crease. Blythe batted positively and sensibly, while Trevor Davies seemed in a rush to get back to the pavilion.

Rose made the breakthrough when an innocuous delivery from Aaron McKenna was edged to give Andi Page an easy catch. Page then bowled five overs of spin in which he created difficulties and took two wickets courtesy of outstanding catches from Andrew Foster. Further wickets fell, with Alex Leivesley getting his first wicket and Foster bowling Samuel Harvey for 7, before Roger London and Mark Clement took the score beyond 200.

Set an unlikely target of 220 for victory, Rose started off positively with Dave Leivesley and Andrew Foster making solid progress against some accurate bowling. Just when it looked like they had weathered the storm, Foster was caught and bowled by James Blythe. Alex Leivesley then offered some stubborn resistance and batted sensibly for a long spell with dad Dave before finally succumbing to a yorker from Joe Davies. Joe Davies also picked up the wicket of Dave Leivesley, lbw for 18, and thereafter Rose were unable to deal with the threat posed by Ryan Murphy, who picked up five wickets in five overs, and finished all out on 49.

Without a full team available it was always going to be a challenge for Rose who performed creditably in the field and bowled well at times. While there were learning points to take about batting, ultimately it was enjoyable day of cricket and the team was happy to play its first game of 2026. Taking first wickets is always a confidence boost for new players.

The next match is against Salford Chargers at Wavertree CC on Sunday 31^st May. Player of the Match:  Alex Leivesley