Welcome to Clifton Cricket Club

A mere four days of sunshine and drying winds changed the face of the ground in time for Friday’s final T20 group game against the Renegades from Roe Green. Looking for revenge for a defeat in the Premier Division earlier in the month, the visitors took advantage of the batsman friendly conditions piling up a total of 183-5 at more than nine an over. Mo Ahmed took two wickets but at a cost of more than 14 per over, mainly as a result of his final six balls that cost him twenty five runs with the last three all going for maximums.

The ten sixes that sent spectators diving for cover during the Renegades’ innings, was only the start of the disappearance of the bright pink balls to all parts of M27 as the Kingfishers added a further thirteen maximums with six apiece for Gareth Cross (83 off 55) and Joe McCann (72no off 46) as the home side, already assured of a quarter final place, ensured that a home tie would be earned by virtue of a thrilling win with a ball to spare. The two added 114 runs in twelve overs to set up nail-biting finish that saw Joe Mac hit successive fours off the third and fourth balls of the final over, only for a wide to then be called that provided a bit of an anti-climactic end to a pulsating contest that earned Crossy’s men a home tie against Greenfield next Friday.

Kingfishers Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/756458/1st_innings

There were a different set of emotions on show on SATURDAY however, as the firsts slipped into the dreaded bottom four after an all-round poor performance against Woodbank. Games against two of the bottom three in the next two weeks, suddenly become pivotal as the skipper’s injury list continues to grow. With Liam Hurt and Will Davidson already on the long term sick list, the addition of Steve Cheetham was bad news and with Liam and Sam Dorsey  unavailable, Saturday’s game against Woodbank was already an uphill task, but a succession of ill-advised shots made the job almost impossibly challenging as they could only manage a total of 116 with Ryan Barker’s 25 being the best individual score. Despite a couple of hiccups by the opposition and a promising spell from Rob Lord, the inevitable defeat came by six wickets to once again put the dreaded fear of relegation on to the agenda.

1st XI Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/756693/1st_innings

It was a different story at Walshaw, where the seconds increased their grip at the top of Division 3 with a comprehensive seven wicket win. Chasing 116, it was young Kesh Fonseka once again on centre stage with a majestic 86 not out which won the game despite two of the team’s three dismissals being ducks. Kesh hit eleven fours and two sixes in an innings, which further underlined his remarkable potential and left many thinking that his first XI debut is not far away. Earlier, Rob Meredith and Rob Reade again successfully blew away the early order, allowing Dave Dempster to mop up with four cheap wickets. The seconds are now three points clear at the top of the table and are unbeaten in cup and league games. The transformation from last year’s difficulties is nothing short of miraculous and as the holiday season approaches, long may it continue.

2nd XI Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/756798/1st_innings

The thirds progressed to the quarter finals of the cup with a reasonably easy victory over Greenfield on Sunday. Five bowlers shared the spoils with Jack Barton’s 3-12 catching the eye as the visitors were bundled out for 101. With the exception of one rather embarrassing drop, the fielding was also excellent on the day, which helped to heap the pressure on the batting side. Despite losing both openers and Harry Southern with only 18 on the board, Rob Lord (49) and Andy Tocher (32no), then saw the team safely over the finishing line.

3rd XI Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/757406/1st_innings

Once again, the weather was the main player at the weekend, with no play possible in either the T20 at Gin Pit or the second XI game at Manchester Road.

The firsts took part in the only game to be played to a conclusion in the Premier League, as a mixture of hard work and determination to get with  the game on by the Denton St Lawrence players and officials and the fact that the worst of the heavy stuff seemed to skirt past Tameside, ensured a result in the end. Duckworth and Lewis made a bit of a farce of things during the concluding overs with the hosts being asked to score 76 in 20 overs, but the damage had been done before the first rain break with five Clif’ners back in the pavvy with only 63 on the board. The tail tried valiantly to provide some sort of total after the restart, but the uphill struggle became a sheer cliff face as further rain breaks made things particularly simple for the table toppers who have deservedly opened up a thirteen point gap at the top of the table.

1st XI Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/754569/1st_innings

The resurgent seconds moved into the quarter finals of the Cup on Sunday with another dominant performance. What was on paper the stiffest test yet, against a Denton West side a division higher, proved difficult only in the batting line-up’s insistence on running each other out in pursuit of the visitor’s modest 132-9 in a match reduced to 35 overs. With Rob Lord sidelined, Jim Ainscough relied on Paul Greenhalgh and son Dan to fill the bowling breech and both performed their tasks well after Rob Meredith (2-12 off his 7 overs) and Rob Reade (3-24) had made early inroads with ‘tall Paul’ going for less than three an over until an unfortunate final delivery that crashed three parts up the ball stop fence. All five bowlers shared the final wicket haul, which is more than can be said for the visitors bowlers who didn’t manage one between them. Not that they needed to, as the early batting order fashioned no fewer than four successive comical run-outs, that left the chase alarmingly poised at 63-4. The revised total of 121 after a shower, was achieved in the end thanks to an unbroken stand of 58 between Ethan Harding (26no) and Dave Dempster (27no) that secured a place in the last eight.

2nd XI Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/755226/1st_innings

The Kingfishers won a pulsating T20 clash against bogey side Flixton on Friday evening, with a consummate team performance in which every player can claim a contribution in a game that swung back and forth for the entire 39 overs on offer. As you would expect, Gareth Cross had an early say in proceedings as he removed the dangerous Usman with the last ball of the fourth over with the score on 23. Flixton recovered well however and at 90-3 with almost six overs remaining, they would have expected to be pushing for close to 150. However, some tight bowling and excellent catching and ground fielding, restricted the previously unbeaten hosts to 131-7 at the break. Much is made of destructive batting and tight bowling in T20 cricket, but the Kingfishers are possibly the best fielding side in the entire competition, a propensity which cannot be understated. Crossy started in his usual belligerent fashion, slapping Usman for two fours and a six in the first three overs, but when he conspired to plant a full toss into mid wicket’s hands and then saw Sam Dorsey and Adam Holt follow with 22 on the board, there was a collective groan from the Clifton faithful. However, this side is beginning to show that it is made of sterner stuff and the middle order of Ryan Barker (41no in 44 balls), superbly supported by Joe McCann (38 in 30) and Dan Ainscough (21 in 16), paced the run chase perfectly, so that by the time Steve Cheetham came to the party to smash his first delivery for four, the game was done and dusted. That’s three wins from three now and with the top two in the group of seven going through, dare we say that a quarter final place is in the bag? Well, perhaps not given the up and down form so far, but this performance will give the side enormous confidence for the remaining fixtures.   

Kingfishers Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/750665/1st_innings

The excitement of Friday was a mere precursor to a clean sweep as the firsts added to the T20 win with another nailbiter at Roe Green and the seconds went top of the league and went through to the second round of the cup. The picturesque setting of Roe Green saw the hosts off to a decent start before Gareth Cross and Ryan Barker found a rhythm to devastating effect, turning 31-0 into 46-6 in quickfire time, with former “Clif’ners” Ben Chapman and Joe Gatenby-Brown amongst the list of departures. With fellow export Andy Hough sunning himself in foreign parts, he couldn’t be around to help to arrest the decline, but the impetus was lost anyway, as the resilient lower order managed from somewhere, to find a 100+ partnership that threatened a score in excess of 200. As often happens though, both century partners were removed in successive deliveries; how often does that happen? The tail nicked a few more before the innings closed on 181-8 with the skipper the pick of the bowlers with 4-46. It wasn’t the end of his day however, as the batting had a major off-day and Crossy had to steel himself to bat around the ones willing to hang around for a few overs, in order to win the game. Batsmen came and went as the score plummeted to 82-5 before Jim Ainscough (16) and Steve Cheetham, were able to rotate the strike sufficiently to give the skipper the opportunity to accumulate a match winning score. When Cheets went with the score 141-7, Crossy went into overdrive and passed the hundred mark with a string of boundaries in an unbeaten 42 partnership in which Mo Ahmed scored just one run. His majestic 112 not out included twelve 4s and two 6s and took his side into the top half of the table for the first time this season.

1st XI Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/750928/1st_innings

The seconds had a more routine time of it against the bottom side Bamford Fieldhouse. The former Premier Division heavyweights are a shadow of their former selves these days, but they did do enough to cause one or two collywobbles in Rob Reade’s ranks. Batting first, thirteen year old Keshan Fonseka belied his tender years with a composed 55 after Chris Lord, who contributed a most untypical 23 ball duck, had gone. The early order stepped up to take the score to 104-2, but the later order stuttered to some extent in reaching 161-8 at the close. All the first six Bamford batsmen achieved double figures in the run chase, but fortunately none were able to provide the anchor role and Robs Reade and Meredith (three apiece) and a late 4-23 from David Dempster saw the seconds go top by virtue of a 27 run win.

2nd XI Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/751028/1st_innings

On Sunday, neighbours Swinton Moorside wandered up from down the road and made an early impression in the damp conditions. Credit must go to the umpires for continuing to get the game on, with only two overs per side being lost to the persistent drizzle. At 52-3 the game was in the balance, but the middle order rallied to take the score to 133-5, before Ethan Harding and Jim Ainscough, fresh from his 1st XI adventure the previous day, both scored half centuries in an unbroken 100 partnership that took the game away from the visitors. Rob Lord then bowled with some control and pace and ripped out the early order, taking 3-13 as the visitors struggled to 19-3. Rob Reade (4-14) then polished off his former club and with one of their batting line up unable to shake off an earlier injury, the innings folded to 59-9 ending a fantastic weekend for the club.

2nd XI Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/751448/1st_innings

The Kingfishers retained their 100% record in Fridayevening’s T20 clash against Stand (aka Whitefield Eagles) as the visitorsfeathers were well and truly plucked by the rampant Kingfishers, who excelledwith ball, bat and in the field. After restricting the visitors to 108-8 intheir 20 overs, Crossy made hay in the evening sunshine with 86 off 33 balls,including twelve fours and five sixes to record a second successive verycomfortable T20 win.

Kingfishers Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/749121/1st_innings

On Saturday, with the weather reverting to Bank Holidaymisery mode, it was some achievement to end the day with two lots of winningpoints in the bag. It was difficult for even the most fertile of imaginationsto believe that the side that produced the most abject of dismal performancesat Monton last week, could be the same side that ruthlessly dismantled the bestbatting line up in the league a mere week later, before dismissively knockingoff the required total at over seven runs an over, with only a fleetingcontribution from the skipper. The concern about how much the side relies onGareth was dispelled to some extent as Ryan Barker (7-58) ripped out theimpressive line up of Prestwich batting before Sam Dorsey (53) in his new roleas opener and Adam Holt (53no) took the hosts to within six runs of a ten wicketwin before Sam allowed one to slip by and bowl him.

1st XI Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/749336/1st_innings

With Prestwich only using 26 overs and Sam and Adam only 16,the game was over before Duckworth and Lewis could be troubled and allowed aquick shunt up the A6 to Hindley to watch the unbeaten 2nds defend 216 againstHindley St Peters’ first XI. The transformation from the second XI of lastseason has been miraculous and with 216 being amassed without one batsmandominating, it shows the depth that the side now has as eight of the ninebatsmen reached double figures. Seniors Jim Ainscough (46) and David Dempster(43) top scored but there were also telling contributions from juniors EthanHarding (33) and Rohan Fernando (27no). The bowling and fielding performancewith what was now a wet ball and cold fingers, was also impressive, with ChrisLord, Zach Flaxman and Danny Hill all taking impressive catches in thecircumstances. All five bowlers were in the wickets with three apiece for thetwo Robs in a 117 run victory over a previously unbeaten Hindley side.

2nd XI Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/749401/1st_innings

The thirds upset the clean sweep for the weekend, with adismal performance at Werneth against Oldham West. With the exception of JoeParker (5-49) and Andy Tocher (71no) in a 98 run partnership with Zach Flaxman(35no), this was a very below-par all round performance as the hosts ran out 75runs to the good.

3rd XI Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/749834/1st_innings

Friday night saw the return of the GMCL20 competition as our Kingfishers travelled to Prestwich to take on Prestwich Heat.

The opposition were off to a flyer in the competitionthis season as last week saw them destroy Roe Green. Batting first Prestwichwould have wanted to get on with it as soon as possible but they couldn’t havegot off to a worse start. Joe McCann opened and the first three balls landednicely but all behaved so differently off a very dry, tired pitch. McCann thenfired in a quicker ball at the base of the stumps removing danger manStanbury in the process. Joe continued to bowl beautifully getting the ball toturn big and cause lots of problems for the incoming batsmen. Clifton neverreally let Prestwich get going and with good bowling changes and regularwickets Prestwich finished on 128/6.

Starting the chase was the usual partnership of Holt andCross and the latter started as he meant to go on. Positive running and sending balls to the boundary meant that Prestwich’s total should be reached with ease.Unfortunately, our innings slowed down a touch when we lost Gareth for 42 from30, seven overs in but Joe McCann came in and stepped things up. Joe played anexcellent knock of 40 off 29 to see us home and get us off to a positive startin the T20 comp.

Kingfishers Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/746989/1st_innings

On Saturday our 1^st XI made the short trip toMonton CC to renew old CLL rivalries. On a good pitch Monton startedslowly but steadily built a base for their pro, current Essex player, AsharZaidi, to come in and accelerate their score. Our bowlers worked very hard on apitch that wasn’t offering much. Joe McCann came on and picked upwhere he left off the night before. Joe took 5-23 to stem their flow meaningthey finished 243-9, slightly short of where they would have been looking.

In response Clifton never really got going. Adam Holt playeda solid knock of 51 but nobody else really got going. Our batting woescontinued again and we fell well short being bowled out over 100 runs behindtheir total.

1st XI Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/747233/1st_innings

Our 2nd XI had the return fixture to the 1’s as Monton CC came to Manchester road. Bowling first Clifton removed Monton for a way belowpar 126 all out with the wickets being shared between Meredith (3) Reade (2)Hill (3) and Fonseka (2).

In reply Clifton started well and only lost their 1^stwicket, Lord (26), with over half the target already scored. Young gun Keshana(37) carried on the task and with the rest of the batsmen all chipping in Cliftoncruised to six wicket victory. Another fantastic performance from the clubs in form team!

2nd XI Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/747387/1st_innings

Sunday brought the return of the LKO and a trip to LeighCC. Unfortunately, due to unavailability, we had a weakened Sunday side out yetagain but were determined to give the Liverpool Comp side a tough game. Battingfirst Clifton switched up the order and opened with Adam Holt and Sam Dorsey andthe decision certainly paid off. Early on the Dukes ball, which is used in theLiverpool Comp, was moving all over the place but both batsmen managed tonegotiate it well. Clifton built a 100 run opening stand which provided a greatplatform to build a decent total. Holt was the first to fall for 45 but the inform McCann came in and supported Dorsey nicely. Sam, who was only going to gethimself out, was set for a big hundred until a one handed pick up and directhit with one stump to aim at saw him ran out for 73. McCann and Barker carriedon the innings both getting into the 30’s before being dismissed and after alate hat-trick Clifton ended with a respectable 207-6 off 45 overs.

Leigh started their chase positively but Clifton neverreally let them get a long way ahead of the run rate. Wickets at good intervalsmeant we were always in the game and a little bit more luck on the day would have seen us home. Despite the lads battling hard we came outon the losing end and Leigh made their way into the next round of the LKO.

All the best to Leigh CC for the rest of the competition.

1st XI Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/747938/1st_innings

Saturday saw the arrival of newly promoted Greenfield CC toManchester Road who were no doubt looking to capitalise on our recent poor runof form. Winning the toss Greenfield stuck us in to bat and openers Cross andHolt set about putting a decent total on the board. The boys got us off to asolid start scoring 61 before the first wicket fell, when Adam was bowled for24. 

Gareth set out his stall from this point on looking to bat through theinnings and score a big hundred. Unfortunately he lost his second partner,Charlie Dorsey, quite quickly which meant a slight change in tactic. WithGreenfield bowling tight lines, the score slowed up somewhat and Gareth, nowjoined by Sam Dorsey, decided that boundaries were the way to go. Crossyeventually fell for a great 91 after becoming the 3^rd victim ofBradley Woolley’s quicker ball.  The restof the lads toiled away and with some good late hitting from Cheetham and McCann, Clifton reached 211 all out.

Looking to get the season up and running the Clifton openingpair of Barker and Cross ripped through the opening pair with ease as Greenfield found themselves 26-2. Greenfield’s Pro offered some resistance ashe battled through but loosing partners at regular intervals made his taskalmost impossible. Greenfield were eventually bowled out for 90 with Cross followingup his 91 with 6-49 and Barker chipping in with a vital 3-34.

1st XI Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/745035/1st_innings

Our 2^nd XI visited old rivals Elton in what wassure to be a tight and evenly matched game. Bowling first Clifton wanted tokeep scoring to a minimum and ensure that building pressure would lead towickets. Looking at the stats this definitely worked as no Clifton bowler wentabove 4 an over. Regular wickets were taken and Elton were dismissed for anunder par 113 with skipper Reade being the best of the bunch with 5-39.

In the second innings Clifton’s top 4 all fell cheaply asnone of them managed to break into the 20’s as Elton looked to defend theirtotal. Young Keshana Fonseka came in at number 5 and batted well beyond hisyears. The U13 batsman played a vital knock of 46* taking Clifton through to victorywith 10 overs to spare.

2nd XI Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/745153/1st_innings

Greenfield CC returned to Manchester Road on Sunday and broughttheir 3^rd XI to face our 3rd XI.  Greenfield batted first and looked to setClifton a tough total to chase. Greenfield opener, Lees, batted well and carried hisbat right the way through the innings for 61*. The rest of the team neverreally got going and some good quick bowling from another young gun RohanFernando meant that Greenfield were restricted to 157 after their 40 overs. This totalcould have been a lot less if Clifton had not given them 35 (their 2^ndtop score) in extras.

In reply only two Clifton batsmen showed any sort of form withDave Walsh battling for 108 balls for his 73 not out and Rohan Fernando, followingup from his 1^st innings heroics, survived a bout of cramp to finish56 not out. A fantastic victory for Nick and the lads with the only negativebeing 5 of the Clifton wickets being clean bowled with the majority looking towork straight balls through mid-wicket.

3rd XI  Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/745687/1st_innings

Overall a fantastic weekend for the Kingfishers!

The 1^st XI suffered a spot of Déjà vu thisweekend with two equally demoralising defeats on Saturday and Sunday to Flixton C&SC and Moorside CC respectively. Unfortunately, the team is struggling with both batand ball at this moment in time but we’re all sure the boys will get back toperforming to the best of their abilities as we all know they can.

1st XI Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/743362/1st_innings

Sadly,Sundays defeat sees the first XI go out of the Derek Kay Cup at the first hurdle,admittedly the unavailability of five 1^st XI players and theinjury of another half way through the game did not help but these things canhappen. 

On theplus side David Dempster performed very well with the ball on his first XIreturn picking up 4-49 and fellow spinner Joe McCann also bowled nicely for his3-40.

1st XI Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/743870/1st_innings

The 2^nd XIcame up against a strong Radcliffe 1^st XI on Saturday, and in what wasa great game, managed to pull off a fantastic victory. Batting first Radcliffemanaged to get to 192-9 from their 45 overs blasting nearly half their total inboundaries alone. Rob Reade was the best of the bunch for Clifton taking 3-68 offis 14 overs whilst Rob Meredith plucked away at the other end going at just over 2 anover.

The2’s set about the total with a measured approach trying to leave wickets in thetent if necessary. This approach seemed to be working fine until a couple ofwickets fell meaning the run rate needed to be stepped up.  Working theball around nicely and running quick singles David Dempster, Ethan Harding andDan Ainscough upped the run rate and with a few lusty blows from the latterClifton saw the chase through with Dan finishing 46 not out.

2nd XI Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/743471/1st_innings

Our 3^rd XIvisited Glodwick on Sunday with a rather depleted team again due tounavailability throughout the club. Glodwick posted a decent 186/5 from their40 overs but only one Clifton batsman would need to get going to allow them achance at chasing it down. Unfortunately, nobody really kicked on despite a fewmaking starts. Sam Brown, Andy Tocher and Nick Flaxman all crept into the 20’sbefore falling but with the rest of the team only managing 36 between themClifton fell for 108.

3rd XI Scorecard - https://www.crichq.com/matches/743959/1st_innings

Thisweekend see’s all three teams in action again and with availability looking a lotbetter let’s hope for a full house of victories for the Kingfishers.

After thebiblical storm on Saturdaythe 3^rd XIwere the only team to get any play in this weekend as Sunday brought somesunshine and a visit from Whalley Range CC.

Clifton,batting first, looked to post a decent total but unfortunately lost an earlywicket with Joe Parker being adjudged LBW after 9 balls. This brought theChairman to the crease and he got the innings up and running alongside DanAinscough. The pair batted nicely for 35 and 44 respectively before bothfalling in quick succession.  Ethan Harding then joined the fray and played a well-timedknock of 58 off 58 including some lovely looking shots though both the off andleg side. He was aided by Harry Golland who stuck around with Ethan playingsome nice shots of his own. Aided by some extras, the 3rds amassed 175 fromtheir 40 overs which was probably a tad under par but with a good young bowlingline up confidence was still high.

WhalleyRange started their chase but also lost early wickets. There was a bit of ascare for the skipper as two batsmen started to score quick boundaries and theClifton target seemed to be easily reachable. Some steady bowling then pulledit back and regular wickets started to fall. Whalley Range were eventuallydismissed for 118 with Joe Parker being the pick of the bowlers with 4-54.