Welcome

The thirds started their defence of the Sunday Premier Cupwith an away day at the Gin Pit against their thirds who play two divisionsbelow Elliot's Emergent Entities.

It was difficult to tell which was the Premier Division teamas the Pitmen roared out of the traps, sending back Anuj, Ollie and Ethan withonly 16 on the board. For the second day in a row, Sam rode to the rescue withanother composed half century and, supported by Lewis (26), Dan (35) and Owen(20) they took the score to 182-8. It needs to be recorded at this point, thatin an all too rare moment of sportsmanship these days, A&T stalwart PaulHiggins recalled Owen to the wicket after he'd been given out to a deliverythat wouldn't have hit ten sets of stumps, for which he received a warm anddeserved round of applause from the sidelines.

At this point, the game turned into a jaw droppingspectacle, starting with Oscar's strike with the very first ball of theinnings. Looking through the history books, Clifton's lowest recorded score wasseven all out, a feat registered some 83 years ago in 1943, and as the homeside's batsman crumbled, it looked like that score could be challenged as thescore advanced from 0-1, to 1-2, 1-3, 1-4 and then 3-5.

The remaining batsmen ground out the odd run to move to10-9, before Ethan kindly obliged with eight wides before having Mr Higginscaught by the skipper with the scoreboard showing just 19. Ollie finished withthe remarkable figures of 5-5, with Oscar weighing in with 3-5 and Ethan 2-8,with none of those runs coming off the bat as the 3rds progressed to round 2 bythe margin of 163 runs.

The total of seven all out can therefore return to therecord books intact, apart from noting that the team that battered theunfortunate Cliftoners that day in 1943, were none other than Astley &Tyldesley.

East Lancs Paper Mill’s first team were welcomed atManchester Road by overcast conditions, and a weather forecast looking about asappealing as a weekend in Rhyl.

The visitors won the toss and chose to bat, with Sas beinggiven the new ball for the first time from the scoreboard end. After a steadyenough start of 25/0 from the first half dozen overs, it was a sharp piece offielding from Dan Jones that delivered the breakthrough; sliding at cover topick up one handed and into Owen’s gloves to take the bails with the openershort of his ground.

The visitors rebuilt nicely and were 79/1 after 18 overs,when the introduction of Dan Jones to replace Sas delivered the breakthroughfrom his 3rd ball, caught by his little brother at mid on. The overseas thencame to the crease on the back of his 150 odd a few games ago, but was put downon 2 off Keogh’s bowling, in a rare lapse from stand-in keeper Owen Hogben whoappears to catch better without gloves on.

It was then another sharp run out from Elliot Hogben toremove the other opener Caulfield (71), with the visitors eventually posting187 from their reduced 37 overs, with the highlights being a couple of specialshots from the overseas; flicking Jordy into the houses before driving him for6 over mid off. Dan Jones was the pick of the bowlers (2-33 from 9 overs), withSas Pushpajarah also bowling better than his (0-34 from 10) figures suggested.

With Duckworth Lewis then adjusting the total required to195 from 33 overs, Clifton’s wounded animals from last week’s defeat at Egertonwould have a job on their hands, and were very quickly staring down the barrelof another heavy defeat when the revised top 3 of Jordy (5), Dan (0) and Sas(0) were all back in the shed inside 3 overs with the scoreboard at 10/3.

A superb partnership of 67 from Lewis Keogh and SamWinstanley gave Clifton a kiss of life, before Owen Hogben (30) joined Sam atthe cease and picked up where Lewis (33) left off, putting together a 73 runpartnership to leave Clifton needing 45 to win from the last 9 overs and inwith a real chance to pull this one out of the fire. Young Luke Jones then cameto the crease and made his intentions clear, putting his 4th ball over thefence and into the houses, clearly trying to emulate Sam Winstanley’s flurry ofmaximums as the chase neared its finale.

The chase was complete with back to back boundaries and asingle from Luke (23*), with each of those shots being met with great cheersfrom both the clubhouse end and the lads gathered outside the changing rooms.The relief and fight of pulling this one out of the bag there for all to see.

The clear highlight was the exceptional innings of 87* fromSam Winstanley. An innings of clean ball striking and taking the game deep withtwo big partnerships.

For this side to chase down 195 in 29 overs (4 overs stillto spare), in those conditions, with so many players missing, and the top 3with the bat all failing, once again highlights the strength in depth availablefor this second team who really want to be pushing for promotion again thisseason.

It's fair to say that the days of Sir Garfield Sobersstroking the ball magnificently around the vast green sward of RadcliffeCricket Club are a distant memory, but the events of Saturday put thingssharply into perspective.

Sobers graced the arena for five seasons between 1958 and1962 and led them to the CLL cup and league double in 1961, but the club hasfallen on hard times since then and club officials are working hard to retrievethe situation. Edgworth, on the other hand, are a club on the up, and eyewateringly expensive ground improvements meant that their ground was unfit, andRadcliffe's Racecourse ground was available to stage the game.

The Racecourse (yes, it was once a prominent horse-racingvenue established in the 1840s on the private estate of the Earl of Wilton) hasseen better days but still shows the potential to become a gem of a cricketground. Sadly, the square has suffered from years of lack of love, and itbecame obvious from the first over, bowled by Ollie Sleight, that it was goingto be a difficult day for batsmen of both sides. So, it proved as the balldeviated in all directions as Edgworth struggled to 46-4 when Gareth Cross sawthe umpteenth delivery rear up off a length and whistle past the batsman's ear.

The very next over, Ollie repeated the trick and the ballcrashed right through the Edgworth professional's helmet grid and into his eye.At this point the Umpires decided to call it a day and with both captainseventually in agreement, the match was abandoned to the whim of the GMCL boardto decide the outcome. For the record, Ollie took 3-30 and Gareth 1-15.

🔨 Rear Lounge Refurbishment COMPLETE !!

We are pleased to let members know that refurbishment of our rear lounge is complete, an exciting step forward in improving our club facilities for everyone.

The improvements include:
• A new feature wall
• A new trophy cabinet to properly showcase our history and achievements
• New seating to create a more comfortable, welcoming space

This is part of an ongoing project to continually enhance our club for members, players, families and visitors. As a volunteer-led club with strong community roots, every improvement is about creating a space we can all be proud of.

If you’re not yet part of our club, new members are always welcome. Please come and be part of something progressive, inclusive and growing.