Softball team update

MRRCC softball team in action against Wavertree and Frodsham

Wavertree 158-4 (Net score 338) (Dave Leivesley 2-19, Heidi Page 1-31) Mersey Rose 113-2 (Net score 303) (Martin Snape 18*, Dave Leivesley 16*) Wavertree won by 35 runs On Friday the softball team hosted Wavertree at Court Hey Park in what turned out to be an eventful and high-scoring game. Captain Anna Page won the toss and opted to field first. The Mersey Rose team contained debutants Alex And Dave Leivesley, while Steve Fowle and Clare Payne were playing in just their second games of the season. Wavertree batted positively from the start, but Rose almost made the breakthrough in the second over when Martin Snape couldn't quite hold onto a catch off Heidi Page's bowling. In the fourth over Rose picked up their first wicket when Dave Leivesley took a fine caught and bowled. Rose looked for more wickets to bring down the net score but despite some excellent bowling from Anna Page the hosts were left frustrated until, in the seventh over, Heidi Page finally got the wicket she deserved. So often this season Heidi has missed out on wickets because of dropped catches, but this time Dave Leivesley held a superb low catch at midwicket.

There were further wickets (both bowled) for Dave Leivesley and Martin Snape but Wavertree's final two pairs played some excellent shots on the way to posting a total of 158 for 4 from 16 overs. The net score of 338 was huge and Rose knew they had a mountain to climb. They did attempt to chase it down and the opening pair of Amy Parsons and Heidi Page added 17 for the loss of one wicket, with Amy showing how much her batting has improved with a great drive to the boundary. Anna Page and Steve Fowle were in next and Anna showed her own attacking instincts as she found the boundary and ran quick singles with Steve to give her team a chance of at least getting close to the target. At the half-way stage on the innings, Rose were 42 for 1 with the stronger batters still to come. Father and son pair of Alex and Dave Leivesley's stand was worth 29, although Alex lost a wicket along the way. Dave was fortunate not to be out when he hooked a shot to deep backward square where the fielder took a remarkable catch before her momentum carried her over the boundary to give Dave the six. The final pairing of Martin Snape and Ian Mosquito added another 42 without loss - the best softball partnership this year - with both playing some sublime shots along the way.

It was, however, in a losing cause although the final score of 113-2 was testament to a great effort. Usually a net score above 300 would be enough to win but we didn't quite do enough and it is fair to say Wavertree were a bit quicker in the field. Many thanks to Wavertree for the game and we wish them all the best for the remainder of the season. Player of the Match: Martin Snape Frodsham Sixes Festival

The three sixes teams

On Sunday the softball team took part in a sixes festival at Frodsham. This was a different kind of softball to the usual pairs format - it was more like a small-sized version of the red-ball game that happened to be played with a softer ball. Players were out when wickets fell. Each innings was 6 overs long, with every player bowling an over. There were three teams taking part - Mersey Rose, Frodsham A (Green) and Frodsham B (Yellow) - with each team playing two games. Mersey Rose took on Frodsham A in the first match and didn't get off to a great start as Andi Page was run out for 1 - it was a very close thing! - and no-one else was able to score quickly although they all got runs on the board. Anna Page and Amy Parsons shared a useful partnership and added much needed runs, with Amy being the only person to find the boundary. Mersey Rose didn't have the best of luck with the ball either although Heidi Page impressed with her bowling and fielding. Frodsham A ran out comfortable winners but this was not our strongest softball side and Rose were reasonably happy with how they performed after losing early wickets. The Frodsham teams then faced each other in a dramatic game before Rose faced Frodsham B. This time Rose fielded first. Again they bowled well without making a breakthrough until, in the final over, Andi Page's off-spin knocked over the off stump. Rose then batted more purposefully, with everyone making decent contributions with the bat. Clare Payne batted well for (8 not out) with Andi Page (10 not out). However, Rose couldn't score quickly enough to chase down the target. It was a good day and a useful learning experience for our softball players to play a different format of cricket, which required a different tactical approach to the game. Many thanks to Frodsham for hosting the event and to everyone who played. Player of the Match (game 1): Anna Page Player of the Match (game 2): Clare Payne