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

That task proved a bridge too far as Ethan and Dan piled on 81 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 sickly Elliot), watched Owen continue where Ethan left off, collecting 74 in a partnership of 137 that pushed the score on to 260-3.

The only slight disappointment on the day was that, with such a commanding total on the board, there wasn’t the opportunity to rotate in some of the younger squad members, who instead had to settle for a long day in the field. Seven bowlers were used with Oscar taking the plaudits with 3-17 and only Ollie and Sam failing to register a victim.

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

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

Stretford won the toss and fancied a chase, so out strolled Ethan Kite and make-shift opener Oscar Thorpe, stepping up to open after Luke Jones pulled his back in the warmup. The opening pair got off to a rock-solid start 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 was soon followed back into the shed by Dan (1) and Jordy (2) after both played poor shots early in their innings and wasted the platform that had been set for them.

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 and 79/4 meant another rebuild required.

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

However, at 57/0 in the chase, Clifton were staring down the barrel 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 and gifting far too many extras to build any pressure.

Dan’s second over from the top end saw two regulation catches go down, and the frustration was evident as the breakthrough just wouldn’t come. It took a run out with a direct hit from Jordy to break the seal and lift the home side, before Dan snicked off the opener to give 12yr old Fred Breidenbach his first senior catch behind the stumps, and the celebrations from the field told you everything. 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 first 3 overs were littered with wides and frustration, before finally getting one right and through the gate to crash into middle stump. From there his radar improved and with Jordy bowling tight lines from the top end, pressure began to build on the visitors, which boiled over when their captain was inexplicably run out for a duck after a sharp throw in from Dan Jones was cleanly taken by Fred to leave the overseas well short of his ground.

The celebrations exploded again as Fred was nearly knocked to the ground by the lads charging into high five him - I don’t think the u13s high five and hug that hard….

4 balls later came what I find hard to believe will not be catch of the season, with Tom Worthington diving full stretch high to his right to take a one-handed catch at cover, only to see it spill and somehow catch it again after juggling when lying on the ground. Magnificent! At 92/5 the visitors had it all to do, and despite a late flurry from their number 9 with 28 off 18, the rest of them were taken care of with Jordy (3-16 from 7) being the pick of the bowlers. 

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

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

With Sam's side at almost full strength, and the hosts suffering a slump of Leicester City proportions, hopes were high as Clifton batted first on a hot and sticky afternoon. The steady start saw just thirteen runs off the first nine overs before Stevie Mac nicked off to slip. Gareth and Caleb upped the tempo to some extent, but it still looked like hard work from the 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 that seemed to keep low. Sam and Caleb were playing with increasing fluency however but at drinks, two overs later, there were just 77 runs on the board.

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

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

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

South African Professional Kyle Jacobs was proving a difficult rock to dislodge, but the two stuck to the task and wickets tumbled at the other end. When Crossy (3-34) and Ollie (2-33) had completed a sterling 22 overs, the scoreboard showed 58-5 leaving the spin twins, Ben and Parikh to finish the job. Finish it they did as, after P removed the dangerous Parmar with his first ball, he removed Robinson with the very next ball. He finished with 3-6 and Ben with 2-15 as the innings dwindled away to 93 all out and a remarkable 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 relegation spots, but winning is a habit and a victory against Royton, one place and three points 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.