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With the 2nd XI losing in their top of the table clash onSaturday, the 3rd XI made no mistake on Sunday with a convincing win againsttheir closest pursuers, which has now opened up a gap of 17pts between Elliot’smen and the rest of the league.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, it looked ominousfor the visitors when Ethan and Dan dominated the early exchanges, and theylooked a beaten side after 15 overs as Clifton ticked along to 80/0 in cruisecontrol. It took a false shot from Dan (50 off 44) to make the breakthrough,who followed up his Saturday ton with another half century, to now make thattwo centuries and three 50s across the last 3 weekends. His reaction on givinghis wicket away on 50 here told you he thought he’d left a few out there incurrent form.

Ethan continued with positive intent, putting on a 50partnership with Owen Hogben before finally playing one shot too many andfalling for an excellent 63. The clean hitting and intent from Ethan thisseason has been a joy to watch and he fully deserved to convert his recentpromising form into a 50. Owen continued to nudge and run where a 70 runpartnership with Lewis Keogh really took the game away from the visitors. Thispair love batting together on a Sunday and run teams into the ground.

244 was put on the board, with all of the top 4 batsmanscoring half centuries, and all of them still juniors. Dan 50, Ethan 63, Owen56* and Lewis 50. The future of Clifton is bright.

The start of the mammoth chase also looked bright for thevisitors, with a couple of gorgeous lofted cover drives sent soaring to theboundary informing the crowd that the opener could bat. But in the 4th overcame the important breakthrough, with young Oscar Thorpe snicking him off to becaught behind by his dad. Oscar’s excellent opening spell brought furtherreward a few overs later where he had the no.3 caught at mid on by Oli Dunn.Oscar finishing with excellent figures of 2-18 from his 5 over spell. 10 oversof rebuild and counter punching from the visitors got them back into thecontest, but it was a sharp piece of fielding by Oscar to run out the dangerouslooking no.4 to leave them 91/3, with 245 looking a lot further away than itdid a few moments before.

The introduction of Owen Hogben from the top end twisted theknife with 3-43 from his 7 over spell, supported by 2-14 from 4 by his elderbrother, Elliot, bowling from the other end. With the visitors 151/8, it wasgood to see youngster Harrison Keogh then given the opportunity to have achuck. It was even better to see him shin up the no.10 first ball, followed upby cleaning up the hard hitting no.8 a few balls later to walk off with twowickets from his 5 balls bowled. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone walk off acricket field with a smile as big as Harrison’s.

So Elliot’s men march 17 points clear at the top and theywill take some stopping in this form. Next up however is the small matter of aSunday Premier Cup Quarter Final at home to Greenfield, as they look to defendtheir title claimed so convincingly at Glodwick last August.

With over half of the usual 2nd XI missing through injury,unavailability or stepping into the first team, a trip to Darcy Lever for a topof the table clash looked a difficult challenge.

The home side won the toss and put Clifton into bat on awicket that looked like it had been marked on the outfield. It hooped, poppedand seamed plenty in the early exchanges where young Ethan and Luke looked tosurvive the early onslaught. Both were removed early on to good balls, leavingDan Jones and Oscar Thorpe to try and put a partnership together. 58 runs laterOscar was caught after a solid and important 19 off 45.

Sam Winstanley (5) and Lewis Keogh (8) gave their wicketsaway with poor shots to give catching practise to cover, then a short cameofrom Jack Barton (13) kept the small crowd entertained for a while.

The Clifton innings however was all about an exhibition inbatting on a difficult track from Dan Jones, who once again looked like he wasbatting on a different track to everybody else. After a chanceless innings hewas poised on 76 with 3 overs to go - with a second century in two weeks in hissights - and set about to push hard for every run, with selfless running frompartners Elliot and Daanyaal to give him the strike. By the time the last ballof the innings came around, Dan was on strike on 97 with only one thought inhis mind. A good length ball from the returning opening bowler was dismissedover square leg and into the long boundary to complete an exceptional inningsof 101* and post a total of 177 to defend.

Early wickets from Tom and Lewis left the host at 17/2 toput Clifton in a strong position to squeeze, but in an innings littered withfar too many “4 balls” and a total of 40 extras gifted the points to the homeside; along with 3 or 4 dropped catches.

The highlights of the second innings being outstanding onehanded catches late on from Oscar Thorpe and Dan Jones to earn the 2s a bowlingbonus point.

Yet again, it was the lack of control with the ball with 29wides bowled that hurts you at this level, and the control usually provided bythe absent senior bowlers was costly. It’s Horwich at home next weekend inanother top of the table clash, which has now become a “must win” to maintainhopes of promotion this season.

The firsts produced another stunning victory on Saturday,this time against near neighbours Roe Green who had inflicted some heavy damageon us in recent years. With such a young side, there are bound to be someinconsistent performances, but this was on a new level as young and not soyoung combined to send the visitors home with their tails between their legs.

Steve Mac succumbed early, but a batting masterclass byGareth Cross put the 'Green' attack to the sword in stunning fashion. At vitaltimes, he received support from his young team mates, firstly when skipper Samand Caleb were dismissed leaving the score on 61-3 and again when both Jack andBen went for three runs apiece in the middle order. In the first instance, itwas Praharsh (31) that once again stepped up to the mark, his runs and wicketsin recent weeks proving vital. He took the score to 138 in a partnership of 77with an increasingly fluent Gareth who had passed fifty during thatpartnership. There was a stutter in the middle, but Crossy simply changed gearand the ball was treated to a series of classy cricket shots. At 177-6 ZachFlaxman strode to the wicket with just five and a bit overs remaining andGareth approaching a hundred. The two then simply took the bowling attack apartand with 200 on the horizon with two overs remaining, pushed the score to 237-6with 41 runs being scored, the two batters registering six sixes (three each)within the space of seven deliveries. Zach finished with 25 off 18 balls, butit will be Gareth's run a ball 141 not out that will live longest in thememory.

The visitors' response started positively, but with 28 onthe board inside seven overs, Ollie struck for the first time, clean bowlingJoe Ball. Seven runs later Gareth produced his stock wicket-to-wicket deliveryto vitally trap the 'Green' professional lbw, before Ollie took over, bowlingwith aggression and wiping out the middle order. Luke Williams completed hishalf century but could find no support from within the batting ranks until AndyHough, facing firstly Ollie's hat trick ball, joined him. Ollie finally ran outof steam with 6-71 against his name, only to be replaced by Finn, who promptlydismissed Houghy and then followed up four overs later by tempting Batsmannumber 11 into lofting a catch to Steve Mac and securing a resounding 95 runvictory. So, it's a trip to Horwich next week with the prospect of the winscolumn equalling the loss column with a victory, a prospect that looked verydistant after four successive defeats in April.

🔨 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.