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The thirds completed the weekend's formalities with aGermany v Curaçao type mismatch against Roe Green. With "TheGreen"'s second XI in Cup action, it was very much a third team thatturned up at Clifton and the strength of our burgeoning, mainly 2nd XIyoungsters, was too much for them as they toiled manfully in the heat to keepthe score down.

That task proved a bridge too far as Ethan and Dan piled on81 in no time before Ethan perished for 38. Dan continued the onslaught,completing a wonderful run a ball century as Ollie (standing in for a sicklyElliot), watched Owen continue where Ethan left off, collecting 74 in apartnership of 137 that pushed the score on to 260-3.

The Clifton bowlers were far too strong for their opponents with seven bowlers used with Oscar taking the plaudits with 3-17 andonly Ollie and Sam failing to register a victim.

The final highlight fell to young Harrison Keogh taking thefinal catch of the match with a display of ball juggling that would have hadworld champion juggler Anthony Gatto gasping in amazement.

Another Saturday and another 6 points on the board for theClifton 2s as they beat Stretford by 42 runs, but it was far from plainsailing; you could tell from the energy in the field that they were up againstit at times during the second innings. Cricket as it is supposed to be -competitive.

Stretford won the toss and fancied a chase, so out strolledEthan Kite and make-shift opener Oscar Thorpe, stepping up to open after LukeJones pulled his back in the warmup. The opening pair got off to a rock-solidstart and at 63/0 after 18 overs a solid platform was set to really kick on.

Ethan (37) was then caught when trying to accelerate and wassoon followed back into the shed by Dan (1) and Jordy (2) after both playedpoor shots early in their innings and wasted the platform that had been set forthem.

Sam Winstanley came to the crease and looked to settle in,but a mix up and poor calling from his partner saw him run out for 4 off 21 and79/4 meant another rebuild required.

Lewis Keogh started to take control and took on theStretford attack, with a 50 partnership alongside Oscar, before yet another runout, where Oscar Thorpe (40) had to make his way back after a solid innings atthe top of the order. It then brought the energetic Elliot Hogben to the creasewhere his 22 off 25 to supplement Keogh’s excellent 42 off 48 pushed Clifton upto 182, which you would fancy them to defend against most sides.

However, at 57/0 in the chase, Clifton were staring down thebarrel after a tight spell from the bottom end by Tom Worthington (0-13 off 7)wasn’t backed up from the top end where Ethan struggled to control his line andgifting far too many extras to build any pressure.

Dan’s second over from the top end saw two regulationcatches go down, and the frustration was evident as the breakthrough justwouldn’t come. It took a run out with a direct hit from Jordy to break the sealand lift the home side, before Dan snicked off the opener to give 12yr old FredBreidenbach his first senior catch behind the stumps, and the celebrations from the field told youeverything. A big moment in the game but all so pleased for young Fred.

At 70/2 it was game on.

Lewis Keogh replaced Tom from the bottom end, but his first3 overs were littered with wides and frustration, before finally getting oneright and through the gate to crash into middle stump. From there his radarimproved and with Jordy bowling tight lines from the top end, pressure began tobuild on the visitors, which boiled over when their captain was inexplicablyrun out for a duck after a sharp throw in from Dan Jones was cleanly taken byFred to leave the overseas well short of his ground.

The celebrations exploded again as Fred was nearly knockedto the ground by the lads charging into high five him - I don’t think the u13shigh five and hug that hard….

4 balls later came what I find hard to believe will not becatch of the season, with Tom Worthington diving full stretch high to his rightto take a one-handed catch at cover, only to see it spill and somehow catch itagain after juggling when lying on the ground. Magnificent! At 92/5 thevisitors had it all to do, and despite a late flurry from their number 9 with28 off 18, the rest of them were taken care of with Jordy (3-16 from 7) beingthe pick of the bowlers. 

The win leaves Clifton in 2nd place and still 1pt behindleaders Horwich, but they can’t afford to be bowling so many leg side wides ingames against the better sides if they have hopes of moving into Div 4 nextseason.

If Carlsberg did cricket weekends, then this would be rightup there, as all three sides produced resounding wins to dispel any melancholythat may have followed three GMCL20 defeats during the week. To equate anyprevious 1st XI results with Shaw would be folly, as that club had signed 54players and released almost as many since our last trip to the Pennine hillsabove Oldham.

With Sam's side at almost full strength, and the hostssuffering a slump of Leicester City proportions, hopes were high as Cliftonbatted first on a hot and sticky afternoon. The steady start saw just thirteenruns off the first nine overs before Stevie Mac nicked off to slip. Gareth andCaleb upped the tempo to some extent, but it still looked like hard work fromthe sidelines with balls seeming to bounce unevenly and grip the surface.Gareth was next to go with the score on 66 when he chopped on a ball thatseemed to keep low. Sam and Caleb were playing with increasing fluency howeverbut at drinks, two overs later, there were just 77 runs on the board.

Fifty runs in the next ten overs provided the platform for amore expansive approach as one of the oldest sayings in cricket, "youcan't beat having wickets in t'tent” started to prove very true. Caleb fell inover 30 just as the momentum was starting to build and two more quick wicketshad the Clifton faithful (all two of us) wondering "here we goagain".

How wrong were though, as after Joe Mac somehow manged topull a half tracker on to his stumps, Zach Flaxman strode to the wicket. Zachhas a tendency to play shots before he's set, but not today as he was contentto pick up his ones and twos until, not only did he kick into gear, but hekicked Sam into top gear as well with the pair registering an incredible 73runs off the last six overs and Zach majestically reverse sweeping the lastball of the innings over the car park (I use the term loosely) to complete a 35ball half century. Sam had been no slouch either, contributing 26 off the 14balls he faced in the partnership and finishing with 75no off 78 balls as anunlikely 241-5 flashed ominously on the scoreboard.

So it proved as the home side started disastrously asWinskill, imported from Kendal CC having scored 850 runs in 2025, departed toCrossy's first delivery. Bowling wicket to wicket as usual, he kept the runsdown whilst at the other end Ollie fizzed the ball around alarmingly. WhenKapur, who'd scored an incredible 1700 runs at an average of 91 for Durham lastseason, edged him to Zach with only 16 on the board, the size of the tasklooked steep, despite Sam only able to see four bowlers to choose from as heperused the field in the searing afternoon heat.

South African Professional Kyle Jacobs was proving adifficult rock to dislodge, but the two stuck to the task and wickets tumbledat the other end. When Crossy (3-34) and Ollie (2-33) had completed a sterling22 overs, the scoreboard showed 58-5 leaving the spin twins, Ben and Parikh tofinish the job. Finish it they did as, after P removed the dangerous Parmarwith his first ball, he removed Robinson with the very next ball. He finishedwith 3-6 and Ben with 2-15 as the innings dwindled away to 93 all out and aremarkable 148 run victory.

Having achieved the dizzy heights of 7th, there is however,still work to do with only 6 points separating the team from the relegationspots, but winning is a habit and a victory against Royton, one place and threepoints below, will provide yet more daylight next week.

🔨 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.