Welcome to the
Clifton Cricket Club website
CLUB NEWS from 2006
FOR NEWS FROM 2005 and PREVIOUS YEARS CLICK HERE
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT TIMES LONG GONE, PLEASE REFER TO
THE HISTORY PAGE.
December 7th There were returns for old faces and welcomes for new ones at the Annual
General Meeting held recently.
Chris Haslam returns as Secretary after his excursion into the
world of Rugby League with Swinton, and Dave Wild returns as first XI vice captain. The second XI will
be run by Rob Meredith and Liam Dorsey whilst in the thirds, Tony Potter has handed over the
reins to Phil Royle with Mark Unwin
bringing his unique knowledge of the juniors into his vice captain role.
October 24th - A
FACE FROM THE PAST was revealed this week as the story of an ex-pro was
revealed. A century ago, almost
to the day, Harold Watson, along with his brother, decided to part company with
Clifton, for whom he had been professional since 1902, to try his luck in New
Zealand. Now, a century on, this photograph has winged it’s way five thousand
miles back in the opposite direction, courtesy of the National Cricket Museum
of New Zealand, so that it can join our gallery of photographs of past
professionals. The photograph was taken in 1924 after his Wellington side had
won the Plunket Shield. He died in Auckland NZ in 1958.
October 14th
- The Club Golf Day, organised by Paul Garner on Saturday 14th October 2006
at Boysnope Park Golf Club was Another
resounding success, but our trust in the nation’s police force is placed into
question as Jim Ainscough’s arresting performance gives him the spoils thanks
to his criminal handicap!!
September 30th
- CRICKET FORCE TO CONTINUE The highly successful ECB cricket force weekend
which took place in April will be repeated again in 2007. No dates as yet –
watch this space
September 24th
In the sweltering heat and in front of a more than
decent crowd which belied the calendar which showed September 23rd, the
2006 season fizzled out as the thirds went down to defeat at the hands of
Littleborough. If the cricket had been as hot as the weather and the
celebratory after match curry, then Tony Potter’s last game in charge would
have contributed to a memorable day. However, defeat by sixty runs, with over
fifty of those coming in yet another last wicket stand, this time between
Andrew Lord (31*) and Dave Rogers (25*), did nothing to dispel the positives of
what has been a memorable season for the club. Littleborough were let off the
hook in being allowed to score 177, after being 69-7, but once again the reply
stuttered, losing four wickets for less than twenty. That was a bridge too far
for the middle and late order, though they did hang on to deny the visitors
maximum points.
September 19th - Yes.. cricket is still alive and well at Clifton after the
seconds and firsts wound up the season last week, but after toiling away in
exceptionally humid conditions to restrict title chasers Prestwich to 113 all
out, some poor batting on a perfectly good wicket handed Prestwich an unlikely
win. The opposition’s traditional array of left handers proved difficult for
the bowling attack early on, though they never really took the initiative,
scoring for long periods at around two an over. David Dempster, one of a number
of late call ups as players once again failed to appreciate that the skipper is
not psychic, finally prised out a wicket and Steve Eccles then capitalised on
some suicidal slogging opening the door for Tony Potter to come on and mop up,
as he has done so often in the past, finishing with 5-12. After losing Phil
Royle the early order the capitulated to 14-4 before another mature innings by
Scott Bradley (30) steadied the ship. The late order then showed how easy
batting was, but by then the opposition had their tails up and a couple more
quick wickets left the score at 60-9. A last wicket stand of 29 then really
showed how easy paced the wicket was with Richard Dempster showing what an
enormous all round talent he is with a chanceless 13 until a ‘nip-backer’ just,
and only just, nudged the off bail which wobbled and fell.
The curtain falls next Saturday with a home game
against Littleborough after which players, spectators and curry monsters are
invited to a curry night (venue to be decided).
A late request from the LCB resulted in the club
staging the Lancashire Shield Final on Sunday after the game was called off
last week. The Shield is for clubs in leagues which do not employ professionals
and is their version of the Lancashire Knockout. The clubs involved were Vertex
from Manchester and the exotically named Degham Hibbert from Bolton. Aside from
providing the players with a venue, it should also give the club a few brownie
points down at HQ, which, with some pretty hefty grant applications in the
offing, can do the club’s status nothing but good. Following a last wicket
partnership of sixty one, the Bolton side won by ninety runs, gaining revenge
for their defeat in the final two years ago against the same opposition.
September 12th - Werneth pro Mark Vermeulen
has been banned from English first-class and league cricket for 10 years for
throwing a ball at spectators.The 27-year-old had to be restrained by club officials
in the Central Lancashire League game between Werneth and Ashton. Vermeulen,
who played eight Tests and 32 one-dayers, lost his cool after struggling with
bat and ball. The ball did not hit anyone and he was led back to the pavilion
before his team conceded the match. League chairman Howard Donsfield told the
Oldham Advertiser: "I was at the game and hope I don't ever see anything
like it again - it was a sad sight for cricket. "It's not just about
spectators - there was a 15-year-old boy among Vermeulen's team-mates and it's
not the kind of example he should set." Vermeulen has been in trouble with
cricket authorities before.
In 1996 he was banned from
schools cricket for knocking out his stumps after being given out. In 2003 he
was sent home from Zimbabwe's tour of England for leaving the ground on his own
after twice being dismissed for ducks on the third day of the second Test.
September 10th - OUT with a bang !
The curtain fell on a most
extraordinary season in almost perfect circumstances as the firsts and seconds
amassed sixteen points out of twenty to complete a memorable campaign.
And for professional
Chinthaka Jayasinghe, his plane journey back to Columbo will be all the sweeter
after he tore apart the Crompton attack to score 144 not out. Added to the
skipper’s 88, it meant that the side came excruciatingly close to the magic 300
for a second time this season as they rattled up 294-2. The professional was
also amongst the wickets as Crompton were then dismissed for 150 with Aaron
Vincec taking his maiden English wicket ! On Saturday, they had to settle for a
point as Rochdale’s 208 proved a bridge too far as the early order got a little
bogged down and they finished thirty runs short. Difficult to know how the
table works out at the moment, especially as Werneth appear to have conceded
their game with Ashton with the game in the balance – more on that to come no
doubt, but a 
final position just
outside the top half is some achievement after the start of the season.
The seconds
have under achieved over the season, but they certainly didn’t over the weekend
as first Rochdale’s runner-upambitions took a severe dent and then Crompton
were annihilated on Sunday. Rochdale won the toss on Saturday
and elected to bat; a decision they were left to rue as they were bowled out
for 148 with Stephen Thorpe getting 7-47. The reply started well but after
losing Geoff Griffiths and Paul Dempster it was stuttering on 50 for 3 before
Liam Dorsey 38 steadied the innings. However, there was time to very nearly
throw it away again but they eventually managed to scrape through for a
thrilling one wicket win.
On Sunday it
was another telling bowling performance which started the rout as Crompton were
bowled out for 148 with skipper Rob Meredith getting 6-27. In reply they
finished the season with the maximum in terms of cricket victories, winning by
ten wickets with Geoff Griffiths 64 not out and Paul Dempster 63 not out.
For the thirds, as is
usual in these situations when six teams have to be found for the weekend, it
was a case of battle 
away and see what happens. Unfortunately, the
three stalwarts, Ian Davidson, Tony Potter and Phil Royle had a disappointing
time by their own standards, against two very strong sides. However, this
allowed the blossoming youth to come to the fore and produce some very
promising performances as Richard and Michael Dempster, Andrew Lord, Scott
Bradley, Liam Holt and Danny Hill produced batting, bowling and fielding
performances of some promise which should have those who weren’t able to turn
out at the weekend, looking over their shoulders. Michael Dempster and Scott
Bradley deserve special mention as their afternoon plans were rudely
interrupted at a very late stage by late drop-outs. Andrew Lord also deserves
credit for four wickets against a very strong Swinton Moorside on an unhelpful
wicket. For the record, both games were lost, but in neither case were the side
disgraced.
August 29th - SEVEN wins out of NINE and a second and then a third
league double of the season and It’s still hard to believe that the firsts
couldn’t win a game in the first two months of the season.
A
systematic dismantling of Unsworth on Saturday proved the point that the side
have real potential to be a force in the CLL next season if the balance of the
side can be maintained over winter. After Nick Kennedy reduced the hosts from
100+ for one wicket to 175-9 with 6-44, the ease with which Gary Garner (83no)
and Andy Griffiths (85no) knocked off the required runs with no alarms whatsoever,
proved the point. It also meant that Unsworth became the victims of a two game
batting blitz by the CCC line-up which realised 472 runs for the loss of just
two wickets ! On Sunday, the treatment
was meted out to Milnrow as Gary and David Garner (109 and 66no) piled up 274-3
before Chris Tye took 5-55 in reducing the visitors to 159 all out.
It’s
a long way to April 2007, but if the current momentum can be maintained…..who
knows?
Meanwhile, the seconds were far from convincing as
they held on for a point after recovering from 18-3 chasing 239. The credit
goes to Paul Dempster who’s 96no was the backbone of a terrific stand with
Oliver Dunn (29no) which rescued the side from 68-6 to finish with a point on
210-6. Another defeat on Sunday meant a miserable weekend, but Rob Meredith was
full of praise for his young side and the way they battled against a much
stronger outfit.
The
thirds made it seven rained off games out of fifteen on Bank Holiday Monday –
spare a thought for opponents Thornham though – that was their ELEVENTH two
pointer !
August 22nd - Working on the premise that a handshake is as good as a written contract
when dealing with Sri Lankan cricketers, then the club will welcome it's second
Sri Lankan into the fold next season. Hirantha Wijesinghe is a right-hand bat
and right-arm offbreak bowler who is currently playing at Ashton, but who has
agreed to become the club's overseas amateur for 2007. The twenty seven year
old plays for Galle CC in Sri Lanka and visited the club on Tuesday to speak to
officials including Team Manager Geoff Garner who is excited at the prospect of
having three spinners in the side next year. Ideally, he said, we needed an
opening 'quickie', but being able to field Wijesinghe alongside Nick Kennedy
and the rising talent of David Dempster as a three pronged spin attack will
make the side something a little different. With other new players in the
offing as well, plans are well underway for the club's tilt at CLL honours in
2007.
August 6th Professional
Chinthaka Jayasinghe will be returning to Clifton next season to continue the
excellent service he has given the club over the last two years. The first XI
responded magnificently to the news, with a 7 wicket win over
Werneth. Chris Tye took the fight to the opposition immediately and soon had
the visitors reeling. He followed up his 5 wicket haul last week with a better
return of 6 wickets this week and Nick Kennedy also chipped in with 3 wickets
for only 1 run. Werneth were easily were dismissed for only 100 runs. On
the batting front, Skipper Gary Garner went early on, but Chinthaka and Andrew
Griffiths took the score on entertainingly before Chinta was unluckily out for
26,
c&b when an "exocet rocket" hurtled its way towards the bowlers
forehead. Young Griff was out soon after for 30+ runs and then Aaron Vincec and David Garner
steered the side home to victory with plenty of overs to spare.
The 2nd XI were narrowly defeated at
Werneth. Chasing a score of 186, they were bowled out for 164. Werneth batted
first and were on
the rack struggling
at 54 for 4 until a partnership of almost 100 got
them to a score of 186 for 8. The pick of the bowlers was Rob Meredith with 4 for 52
from 18 overs and Steve Thorpe with 3 for 64 from 13 overs. Clifton's innings
saw what seemed like a different wicket emerge over the tea interval and
the 2nds ended
up with 164 all out. Geoff Griffiths was the pick of the batsmen with
a well grafted 59. Anthony Walsh gave solid support but he was run out for 20
along with
two other middle order batsmen, and this
effectively lost the momentum of the innings.
The 3rd XI recorded their first ever victory over Rochdale CC when
they bowled the home side out for only 77 runs with Taylor Marshall picking up 3
for 18 and Scott Davis mopping up the tail with 4 for 14. Rochdale set an
aggressive field from the onset and Clifton lost early wickets against a
rampant attack. Ronnie Gambles (19) held the middle order together and Taylor
Marshall steered Clifton home to victory with 23 not out in a total of 81 for 8
August 5th The first
team took on CLL Table toppers Heywood on Saturday and almost pulled off a surprise victory.
Batting first, the team accumulated 224 with Aaron Vincec and Andrew
Griffiths both hitting half centuries and Pro Chinthaka Jayasinghe hitting 68.
Unfortunately though, the team
once again fell
30 to 40 runs short of the anticipated score after dominating the
Heywood bowling.
West Indian Test opening batsman Sherwin Campbell again hit an assured half century
and the home side's
total was passed with wickets and overs to spare.
The 2nd XI were also defeated at
Heywood. Chasing a score of 237 for 7, they were bowled out for 148. Top
scorers were Grant Cordin with another half century and Geoff Griffiths with 39.
Chris Higgs
made
a return to Clifton after
about a decade's absence and took 2 
for
68 from 17 overs
Sunday say the 1st XI chalk up a thrilling victory
away to Radcliffe who were restricted to 209 for 9 in their allotted 50 overs.
Chris Tye picked up a well deserved five wicket haul and Professional
Chinthaka Jayasinghe picked up four. 
On
the batting front, skipper Gary Garner opened the batting and hit an assured
half century. Pro Chinthaka Jayasinghe then made a majestic 96 runs and the
game was almost in the bag. However, overs had slipped by and the last arrived with nine needed. David
Garner and Dave Wild scampered three leaving the skipper's son on strike. Not known for his
big hitting, the two Dave's had a chat and noted that, as the keeper had come
up to the wicket, fine leg had dropped out of the circle and square leg come
up. At the last second, Dave Garner lurched to off and pulled the biggest six
over square leg that has ever left his bat, giving his side a thrilling
victory by 4 wickets !
The Second XI also picked up maximum
points at home to Radcliffe. Batting first, they scored a whopping 267 for 6
with Jamie Royle scoring a magnificent 110. Grant Cordin had another good knock
with 45 and the bowlers soon let Radcliffe know they were in a game with Rob
Meredith picking up 3 for 18 from 9 overs and Scott Davis picking up 4 wickets
for 44 runs. Radcliffe were eventually dismissed for 153.
A severely depleted Third XI also
secured a deserved
victory over Farnworth Social Circle. Farnworth batted first and were soon in
trouble as Ryan Cusick
ripped through the top order taking the first 4 wickets in a devastating spell
and finished with figures of 4 for 28 off 7 overs. Dave Rogers supported well
with 2 for 24 from 14 overs and Mark Unwin chipping in with 2 for 32. Phil
Royle hit an assured 61 and Clifton passed the total of 107 with 12 overs to
spare.
July 25th -What a fantastic weekend it has been for
all senior sides at Clifton CC this weekend with all games ending up with wins
for the club. Saturday saw all three senior sides in action. The first took on
The Seconds secured a close victory at home after
chasing a total of 229. Steve Thorpe with 3 for 56 was the pick of the bowlers
and Geoff Griffiths got the side off to a steady start in reply, with a solid
44. However, the wickets soon tumbled and with the score on 93 for 6, things
did not look good until Steve Thorpe hit 60 not out and was well supported by
Oliver Dunn (26) and Richard Borritt (32 not out) to steer the side home to an
unlikely victory.
A depleted Third XI also secured a fabulous victory
over Rochdale Catholic Club. Batting first,
Another sunny day at
The Second XI also picked up maximum points at Ashton
after holding the opposition to 167 for 9 from the 50 allotted overs. Steve
Thorpe bowled straight through the innings to end up with 2 for 77 but
certainly deserved better figures and Richard Borritt picked up 3 for 25. After
starting their innings, the Second XI slumped to 29 for 3 before an unusually
mature and patient innings of 86 not out by Grant Cordin and a good supporting
innings of 33 from Steve McManus saw Clifton home to victory.
July 17th -Even the bearded wonder of radio 4 cricket commentary
fame would be surprised to hear about three weekend defeats at one 
club, despite two centurions and a half centurion, but
that's how it panned out in three remarkable games of cricket for our three
teams - all ending in defeat.
The firsts had to face bottom side Royton, with only
two regular bowlers and worst fears were realised as Royton plundered 267-6
with the thirteen overs by the 'occasional' bowlers costing ninety three runs.
It was a sterling performance by Chris Tye and Chinthaka Jayasinghe in the
stifling heat, to keep it to that and at tea, knowing the batting strength
outweighed the bowling to some tune, there was a degree of cautious optimism.
However, in a game which twisted and turned it proved a bridge too far despite
an awesome knock by the professional which brought him an undefeated 139 runs
and the side finished an agonising eight runs short of their target.
In the second XI game, despite a rapid fire half
century by Grant Cordin, the home side registered an unlikely 95 run victory,
with the game still having 22 overs left to run. Chasing, amazingly, the
identical score as the firsts, they were 172 all out in just 28 overs.
After setting a score of 216, thanks to a cultured 115
from stand in skipper Phil Royle, and then reducing the opposition to 133-8,
with Rochdale Catholic Club's eleventh man in hospital, it seemed inconceivable
that the thirds could lose their game on Saturday. A last wicket stand of 84
put paid to that notion as the visitors capitalised on the benign playing
surface and some lacklustre bowling and fielding to grab an unlikely win.
July 10th - The firsts used their 'get out of jail'
card at Norden, as a change of luck led to the weather doing us a favour at
last. Chasing an unlikely 301 for victory, the side, already hampered by
holiday calls, lost Dave Wild and Chris Tye to late illness. However, at 91-5,
the persistent drizzle became a little too persistent and the umpires called it
a day. Evergreen Geoff Griffiths got a late call up and made sure there wasn't
going to be any embarrassing collapses by carrying his bat through the innings.
The seconds, also with a severely depleted side, at
last broke the losing run with a good win in the corresponding fixture. A good
tight bowling performance, including 4-18 from one of last week's absentees,
Richard Borritt, was instrumental in removing Norden for 114; a total which
never seriously troubled the batting line up, giving the side max points when
others could well have had to settle for two as the rains came to the region
shortly after the conclusion.
The thirds lost their fourth game out of eight to the
weather at home to Thornham. It was disappointing that the opposition didn't
make a game of it by choosing to bat on until 6-15 leaving a target of 182 in
around twenty five overs. Tony Potter mopped up the tail in spectacular fashion
taking six for ten.
***************
The under 11s picked up the first silverware of the
season on Sunday when they retained the Radcliffe Trophy - see juniors page.
July 3rd - LONG STANDING CLUB RECORD BROKEN AT LAST.
After a century and five years, the club's record first eleven score has
finally been surpassed ! You have to go back to 1901 to find the
Clifton first eleven's record score of 295-8 against Alderley Edge - until
Saturday that is, when the history books were re-written as the firsts picked
up winning points whilst rattling up 298-2 against Unsworth. How fitting it was
that the club professional Chinthaka Jayasinghe, who himself broke the club
individual scoring record with his 173 last season, should smash sixteen off
the last over to clinch the record and celebrate in his own inimitable way, the
birth of his first child with an unbeaten century. The only sadness was that
the magical 300 could not be passed for the first time and, on the day, that
the last pair could not be separated to force maximum points from the day's
efforts. Half Centuries from both David and Gary Garner plus Andy Griffiths
falling marginally short of the same achievement, completed the landmark score.
A weakened side, plus defeat to the same side in Tuesday's 20/twenty game made
the achievement all the sweeter.
However,
it was the seconds who really suffered for the loss of around eighteen players
on the day as, with seven juniors; six of them under fifteen, they went down by
eight wickets in the corresponding fixture. It was not all doom and gloom
though, as the young players aquitted theselves well and contributed greatly to
a game which was by no means one sided. Geoff Griffiths (pic) held the innings
together (82) , but others chipped in and the final total of 191 was a credit
to the whole side. However, when Neil Barlow was unable to complete the first
over effectively due to a back strain, the writing was on the wall and the
tinies, plus Steve Eccles, Stephen Birch and an extremely weary Geoff
Griffiths, could not muster enough fire power to seriously trouble the
opposition.
Speaking
of fire power, the thirds were stranded in the dressing room for an hour
witnessing the mother and father of all thunderstorms on Sunday. Earlier they
had scored 190-9 (Phil Royle 66) but that was as far as it went.
June 27th - Halwathurage Devmi Sapna
Jayasinghe came into the world at 3.20 on Monday afternoon,
weighing 6lb 12 oz and
mother and baby are doing just fine !! It was a far
better delivery than anything that the father has ever managed. He fainted in
the theatre but luckily it was at the start of proceedings so he was round in
time to watch the birth - what a tart !!
Thankfully for us English folk, the little girl will
be known as Sapna which means Angel. Aaaaaaaahhhhhh !! Picture 1
Picture
2
*******************************************
A
third June win has put the firsts within striking distance of moving away from the
lower reaches of the division following 
Sunday's more than comfortable win against Milnrow. A
win against Unsworth next week will lift the side above their Bury rivals and
off the bottom for the first time this season. Milnrow, who's rattled up 303-1
last week, were reduced to 110 all out; a score which would have been better
still had the Milnrow professional been given out when he was just two. Despite
a slight hiccup when in-form David Garner and unfortunate Aaron Vincec were
out, the runs were knocked off with ease as father-to-be Chinthaka Jayasinghe
played an unusually composed innings to see his side to victory after Andy
Griffiths had laid the foundations with an aggressive fifty which included
twenty in one over. Earlier, Nick Kennedy had mopped up the tail with 4-19, but
even he would acknowledge that Chris Tye's return to his early season form in
removing three early wickets was the key to the win. With the Milnrow batsmen
seemingly keen to get back to the pavilion to watch football, their skipper
would have been mortified to see his late order charging down the wicket with
almost twenty overs left. Needless to say, Wooly and Nick Kennedy were having
none of that. LADIES HAVE THEIR DAY TOO - click
for pic page.
Norden pro Asif Mujtaba's provided a masterclass as
both wickets and a chanceless 89 not out gave his Norden side the win on
Saturday after the firsts lost their last nine wickets for fifty four runs.
Despite Andy Griffiths, Gary Garner and Chinthaka Jayasinghe setting up the
innings at 120-1, a total collapse to the Norden spinners ensued and 174 on
that track was never going to be enough. All three perished in the thirties and
forties before the rest of the batting crumbled to tight bowling and rash shots;
several of them being caught in the deep by strategically placed fielders.
Despite another first over scalp by Chris Tye, Mujtaba took control and the
side's second defeat of the month was inevitable. Abiding memory of the day
? Watching the unfortunate Grant Cordin playing off the back foot
to Mujtaba's undiagnosed quicker ball. Sorry Grant !
**********************
An unprecedented sixth straight defeat for the seconds
resulted from two more disappointing performances over the weekend. Despite a maiden
CLL half century from Scott Davis on Saturday, it was again a case of 'not
enough runs' on both occasions. It was a good game against Norden on Saturday,
batting first and getting off to a good start with Scott Davis and Paul
Dempster putting on eighty for the first wicket. However another collapse
ensued in the middle order leaving the side on 100 for 4. Steve Thorpe
and Scott Davis then revived the momentum but when Steve Thorpe was out for 23
there was another collapse before Scotty was the last man out on 90 with the
score on 172......... not enough. The bowling and fielding gave them a chance
at 100 for 5 but defeat was confirmed in the last over. On Sunday again
the toss was won and Rob Meredith chose to bat again on a short boundary. Another
good start by Geoff Griffiths (35), Paul Dempster (24), Jamie Royle (49) and
Dave Dempster (29) was again wasted, however, as the rest of the lower order
only scored 18 runs which left the side on 185 for 6. As expected, not enough
runs again. The bowling was poor at the beginning and Steve Thorpe conceded 16
of one over which didn't help. Milnrow got the runs comfortably in the end.
"Get tougher" was the skipper's message at the end. "The key to
success is building targets big enough to defend and our batting is not good
enough at this level. 185 may have been good enough in the past, but at this
level 210-230 is simply par for the course".
********************
June 20th Dave Wild and Dave Garner at last
showed some of the late order resistance which has been missing from the firsts
this season. It quickly became apparent from April, that removing the first
four or five batsmen did not expose a tail in this league, so it was nice to
see the side recover from 90-6 to go on and win their second league game of the
season. Both Daves scored maiden CLL half centuries as the score rose to 216
and with Lee Wolstenholme weighing in with five wickets, Royton fell twenty
runs short, though they did hang on with nine down to deny us maximum points.
Dave Garner, along with Dad, made it a double celebration with victory in
Friday night's twenty20 game, but it was a close thing until Garner and Son got
going in the last three overs of the second innings, it was probably one of the
dullest twenty20 games ever witnessed, but the win against a lacklustre and
seemingly disinterested Monton & Weaste, keeps the side in the
competition. It was the bowling and fielding that made the difference
with the visitors restricted to 103 and, although they made hard work of it by
losing three cheap wickets, the Garner's eventually saw it off.
The
seconds suffered at the hands of Royton and the currently outstanding
Manchester Road playing surface as they were made to chase 250 plus. Again,
they were unable to find the batsman to go on to make the match winning
innings, though Geoff Griffiths passed the half century mark again as they
responded with another 200+ score, but fell well short of the required
total.
It
was a day off for the firsts and seconds on Saturday as the thirds got a rare
Saturday outing at Manchester Road looking for revenge for the cup tie ‘bowl
out’ defeat earlier in the season at Glodwick. It was not to be however, as
they suffered one of those 'off' days that only they can do, Bowled out for
just 75 (including a last wicket stand of 26) on a perfect batting track, they
were well and truly stuffed by seven wickets. On Sunday, they handed a second
club their first win of the season when Greenmount got off the mark with a five
wicket win in the drizzle to end a truly forgettable weekend for the side.
********************
June 15th Planning permission has been
granted by Salford Council, to raise the height of the existing ball-stop
fences and erect another along the Manchester Road side of the ground.
********************
June 11th A third successive score in the eighties for
Chinthaka Jayasinghe does not disguise the fact that the teams are simply not
scoring enough runs at the moment, as both sides went down on excellent batting
tracks. The firsts looked, at last, to be putting the game beyond the
opposition when Middleton were staring down the barrel at a score of 135-1 with
half the overs left. The final total of 228 was a desperate disappointment for
all concerned and Middleton eventually stuttered their way to a two wicket win
with an over and a half to spare. Similarly, the seconds failed to chase a
score just over two hundred despite almost half the side getting well into
double figures and then failing to go on to make the match winning score. Both
sides were in the game and in winning positions for much of the time, but the
instinct to kill off the match was beyond them.
Not
so the thirds who used seven bowlers to restrict Greenmount to 153 on a perfect
playing surface. As expected, it was never going to be enough and, thanks to 74
not out from Phil Royle, the runs were amassed with over 21 overs still
remaining. Credit to Dave Rogers and Taylor Marshall for prising out four
wickets apiece on an unhelpful track.
June 4th MAX LEAGUE POINTS AT LAST !......but Wood Cup
/ Burton Cup progress is halted at round 1
The glorious sunny weather brought runs galore (almost
950 in the first team matches alone) and a long awaited win for the firsts at
Werneth. Scores in the late eighties from both Chithaka Jayasinghe and Gary
Garner meant that the middle order and tail could make hay to take the score to
243-9 before another decent four wicket haul by Nick Kennedy left the home side
15 runs short and the whole of Clifton breathing a collective sigh of relief.
It was tempered on Sunday however, when, after rattling up 237-7 with Chinthaka
scoring 87 to emulate his 88 on Saturday, the Wood Cup dream was ended in the
last over against Norden. Earlier, Nick Kennedy had blitzed his way to 52 not
out in the last few overs to set what seemed a respectable total, but despite
removing chief threat Asif Mujtaba, Norden were able to score at around nine an
over for the last eight overs to clinch a last over victory.
Thorpe factor five not enough
A superb maiden century from Chris Thorpe (pic) aided
and abetted by five wickets from big brother Steve were not enough to prevent
the seconds from slipping to an unlikely defeat in the corresponding fixture.
Chasing 225, they fell 13 runs short in Saturday's league match and then
tumbled out of the cup on Sunday to an eighty run thrashing at Norden who elected to bat on a good
batting strip. Despite bowling well for the first twenty five overs restricting
Norden to 61 for 3 they batted very well to reach 233. Even then, the skipper
thought this was a par score on a good wicket and a fast outfield. The reply
started well, but the team needed one of the top four to get a big score
and it was disappointing when Geoff Griffiths, Paul Dempster, Jim Ainscough,
Chris Thorpe and Grant Cordin all got starts but did not go on to make
the match winning innings. Some questionable umpiring decisions towards to
latter end of the innings effectively ended resistance and they finished a
disappointing 168 all out with seven overs left.
************************************
Farcical summer weather continues as Glodwick, who
beat our thirds in a cup-tie bowl out when looking beaten before the rain came,
have progressed to the semi-finals - courtesy of a toss of the coin against
Thornham !!
May 29th - A triple Nelson of defeats on a wet, cold
and windy weekend tells but half of the true story of a forgettable Bank
Holiday weekend for the first team. They slipped to another defeat against
Monton & Weaste on Saturday, but at least the side showed some grit and
were in the game right up to the end and they grabbed a deserved point in
defeat against Radcliffe on Sunday, but an exciting game against Nelson was
marred by off the field antics which deserve no more than a passing mention.
POSITIVES were a grafted fifty for Andy Griffiths at
Monton & Weaste and a great six wicket haul for Nick Kennedy against
Radcliffe on Sunday. Monday's four wicket defeat against Nelson was a decent
all round performance by the side, though Chintha will be disappointed not to
have made more impression, especially as the Nelson pro, aided by a good sixth
wicket stand, won them the game almost single handedly. It was a rain affected
game which saw the lads claw their way to 139 after 37 overs. This was reduced
to 128 after yet more rain, but when Nelson were reduced to 11-2 and then 64-6,
things looked good. However, the sixth wicket pair worked the ball superbly
well and the game was lost with an over to spare. All good experience though
and you can't help but feel that the first win isn't far off.
The seconds continued their win one / lose one streak
with defeat at Monton and a smashing all round win at Radcliffe where the whole
team contributed. Saturday's spectacular middle and tail collapse to 101 all
out was a disappointment though, but with the batting talent in the side, it's
not likely to happen that often.
May 22nd - It was a little hard to bear on Saturday
when, having beaten the weather when so many other clubs couldn't, the firsts
went down to Littleborough. Thanks to the sheer hard work put in by players and
officials, the covers AND sheets were put on, then taken off on countless
occasions, but after all that, the match was decided by yet another highly
debatable not out decision given against an opposing professional. It was a
real pity that the match ended in such acrimony especially as, (hit me over the
head with a blunt object if you don't agree) in the reverse situation, we would
have done the same thing. It's beginning to sound like sour grapes, but once
again the rub of the green went inexorably against the club. The seconds also
went down to defeat up at Littleborough in what was possibly the only first and
second XI double fixture completed for many a mile. Professional Chinthaka
Jayasinghe scored his first half century of the season and stand in skipper
Stephen Birch took four wickets for the seconds.
Sunday's cup-ties against Norden didn't even reach the
point of removing the covers, so it's weekday evenings for both teams until the
ties are decided. As for the forecast - we may catch a glimpse of the sun,
sometime Thursday we're told !!
May 15th - Two '55s' is normally an order at the
club bar, but the desperate truth is that, for the second week in succession,
the firsts could only manage fifty five runs in their innings.
OK, there were excuses again, but they are starting to
wear a bit thin when players and spectators alike are talking about lack of
application and unwillingness to graft. Those same people are also quite
certain that things will come good in the end and that talent and technique are
two pre-requisites that are not in short supply in the squad. However, the
longer we have to wait for that first league win and the greater the build up
of tension. At the moment team spirit is good and it's especially important
that it stays that way. The lack of application even filtered down to the
seconds who came off worst in an exciting finish at Manchester Road. Paul Dempster again held the innings together with yet another
half-century, but, despite a brave knock from Steve Thorpe, it's fair to say that the 
skipper was less than satisfied with some of the shots
he saw played chasing Ashton's 177 in which Stephen Birch took 4-49.
Lowerhouse will not remember their first ever trip to Clifton fondly as, with a
little help from the weather (for a change), the firsts picked up their first
win of the season on Saturday to move into the second round of the Inter League
Club Knockout (Bank Holiday Monday May 29th). Between the showers, Lowerhouse were
restricted to 75-9 leaving a victory total of 76 in 25 or so overs. Chinthaka Jayasinghe and evergreen Tony Potter both picked up four wickets in the nine wicket win.
Meanwhile, at a freezing cold Littleborough, the thirds beat the home team by
eight wickets with Geoff Griffiths again hitting form with 66 and Ian Davidson taking five wickets.
May 8th - Sixty six players splashed about in
the rain on Sunday as players from Clifton, Rochdale and Roe Green got soaking
wet and ended up with exactly what they would have had if they'd gone home at
two o'clock - two points apiece from drawn games. The weather did nothing
to lift the gloom of Saturday's humiliation at the hands of Crompton when the
firsts went down by 175 runs, this despite reducing Rochdale to a promising
100-5 before abandonment. The high spot of the weekend was Chris Tye's
enhancement of 
his growing reputation, capturing eight of the twelve
wickets to fall.
The seconds came nearest to beating both the weather
and Rochdale, but despite Grant Cordin's typically ebullient knock of 38,
they had to acceed to the umpires wishes, still thirty runs short of a second
victory of the weekend. Rob Meredith was particularly proud of his side on
Saturday, facing a bowling attack he described as the best second string he's
faced. He singled out Paul Dempster for particular praise when, after
struggling through a torrid early spell he came out with yet another half
century. The skipper himself saw his five wicket haul on Sunday evaporate into
the rain, but the signs for the second string are good so far.
And so to Saturday's debacle. A temporary blip or a
portent of serious batting problems? What is certain is that the firsts badly
need to get that first win under their belts. The skipper rightly pointed to
adverse batting conditions and some questionable umpiring, but he also
acknowledged that the batting was woeful and that a number of players are yet
to jump on to the steep learning curve required. "Toughen Up" was his
message to his troops, suggesting that some players are still a little overawed
by their new surroundings.
Almost unnoticed was the Bolton Association's all time
highest runs scorer's decision to relinquish a thirty odd year hold on first
team cricket as Geoff Griffiths made his third team debut in the gentler
surroundings of Roe Green. "Nervous as hell" was his summary before
the game, but a cultured unbeaten half century in the rain affected game will
have quelled those feelings for next week's trip to Littleborough. One of his
reasons for the step down was the feeling that he was struggling on the big
grounds. Perhaps they'll rope off two thirds of Littleborough for him !
May 1st - The firsts fell to former West Indies'
star Sherwin Campbell's 93 in Saturday's game at Heywood, but had much the
better of Sunday's encounter against Oldham before rain intervened. Campbell plundered almost two thirds of
his side's runs when chasing 153 after one of those collapses we hoped we'd
left in the B&DCA. On arrival I was told by the gateman that his team were
being 'slapped around' but from being close to a hundred for one, the middle
order disintegrated around Gary Garner. Then, despite promising bowling efforts
from all the bowlers, Campbell showed his class, finding gaps in the large
field with ease and Heywood ran out four wicket victors. It was a different
tale on Sunday however as, with rain threatening, the skipper was able to
declare against Oldham, fresh from an impressive win over Middleton, after
forty overs with 200 on the board. Built around Gary Garner's 83, Chinthaka
chipped in with 41 as did Andy Griffiths with 29. However, although the rain
relented, the light closed in with Oldham on 92-4. The performance will have
given the team confidence though, as well as the first points on the C.L.L.
board.
The seconds had a belting weekend with victory over Heywood giving them
maximum points chasing a total of 183 in which Steve Thorpe took 6-64. Jim
Ainscough got past last week's 49 with 55 and others chipped in, notably Chris
Thorpe with a classy 40no, in a four wicket win. It was a moral victory on
Sunday too, as Paul Dempster rattled up an impressive century inside thirty
overs to allow Rob Meredith to declare on 191-1. However, the rain brought
proceedings to a close with the hosts on 54-4. It looks as though, if they can
keep their heads, the seconds could have a good season.
Farce of the day on Sunday, was at Glodwick as the
thirds cup tie victory was well in hand with a score of 138-3 with a quarter of
the overs remaining. Ian Davidson and Tom Clarke has rattled up fifties when
the umpires decided that a result was unlikely given the lost time during the
innings. A bowl out ensued and, suffice to say that we scored nil, and they
didn't. Another cup run comes to an early end ! Bogey side Rochdale
fielded in the rain but batted in sunshine on Monday and once again came out on
top after a poor batting display. Under the watchful eye of the pro grinning
from ear to ear, the bowlers defended the meagre 91 well, but there was no real
cutting edge and they went down to a four wicket defeat.
April 30th - LEE Wolstenholme was a runaway winner of
the AJ Grant Trophy at Hopwood on Saturday. Playing off 10 he returned a 63 to
give him a four-shot win over 17-handicapper John Hind.
April 23rd - Normally, double defeat for the first and
seconds would signify doom and gloom, but the frenetic build up to Sunday's
games meant that normality would never be the order of the day. O.K. a double
win would have been nice, but the experience of being at Manchester Road alone
was enough to leave most people gagging for more.
Thankfully, the MET office were utterly and completely
wrong about the weather, as testified by the glow of burnt faces in the
clubhouse after the game. This, plus a lot of local interest, some welcome
support from many old friends in the B&DCA and the Bolton League's
mystifying decision to call off all their games, meant that the ground was as
full as it has been for any of the recent representative games.
The cricket was good too, even on a wicket which,
despite the excellent drainage and covers, was as slow as anyone has ever seen.
Credit then to Aaron Vincec for adapting immediately to the conditions with a
knock of 33 which sadly was more a knock of promise rather than a match winning
innings. Gary Garner batted as though he'd been working on the batting order
all night (which apparantly he had) and there was encouraging late order
resilience from Nick Kennedy and Geoff Griffiths. Chintha and Chris Tye both
bowled exceptionally well for their three wickets apiece but the deciding
factor was a third wicket stand in which both batsmen in a Walsden side, which
included two Australians, a Sri Lankan and a South African, scored impressive
half centuries. The only real disappointment was the inability to register our
first point which would have come at 153. Sadly, both Liam Dorsey and
Chris Tye tried to get there in one shot and perished in the process. Gary
Garner was quick to point out that the two practice games which the opposition
had squeezed in had made a lot of difference to their preparation. However, the
external conditions in which the game was played must also have been a deciding
factor, so the double header next week and the chance to perform away from home
will be a relief to the players.
The seconds also went down, but Rob Meredith seemed
upbeat in his match report. Having lost the toss, which was important, Walsden
had without doubt the best of the wicket. However he was quick to point out
that his side did not apply themselves at all with only 
Jimmy Ainscough (49) showing any sort of form. After
tea, the wicket had dried out but the bowlers did not perform well at all which
resulted in Walsden knocking off the runs with only 2 wickets down and just
short of 30 overs left. No doubt they will be looking forward to playing at
home next Sunday.
All of which left the thirds as the only wiinners of
the weekend. On a wicket on which every run was worth three, it was a day for
older heads to master the conditions better and Ian Davidon's greying mullet
was decisive as his 5-14 helped the side to a comfortable four wicket win.
April 14th - The Management Committee of the club would like to say
a huge THANK YOU to all players (both senior and junior), members and
parents of junior members who all contributed to making the event a huge
success. A great deal of credit should go to Tony Potter for organising
the event and huge thanks should got to the Cooper Buildbase (Swinton)
and Mark Unwin who were able to provide several tons of gravel for the
work on the car park at the rear of the Club House.
There
were many sterling contributors to the event - Steve Dicks did a
sterling job on cutting the hedges alongside the boundary edge and produced a
finish that looks like a sprit level had been used. Great job Steve ! Trevor
Hay and Steve Lord must have gone home smelling like a pig farmer
with the amount of manure they wheel barrowed into the skip. A thankless task
and one in which we are all eternally grateful. Tom Morris
marshalled the troops with his usual efficiency and June Robins
did a great job in cutting back all the overgrown shrubs etc. Big thanks also
go to Billy and Liam Dorsey who led the painting crew of Paul
Garner, Steve Birch, Grant Cordin, Michael Hay, Andrew Lord and
Dave Wild. Several Juniors (Adam Rogers, Michael, David and Richard
Dempster, Jack Unwin, Christopher Royle, Michael Ferry and Jake) also
chipped in with valuable contributions with the sweeping brushes and paint
brushes.
Norman Selvester did an excellent job of staining all
the benches and Jake's mother gave valuable input into paining the
edging stones on the Boundary and Neville used his welding skills in the
garage. Geoff Griffiths and Dave Rogers cleared the
path around the ground and Phil Royle marshalled the troops with
the work on the car park at the rear of the Club. A big thanks also goes to Siobhan
for providing the troops with essential refreshments.
March 28th - A welcome face at the penultimate net of the close
season heralds a return 'home' for Jimmy Ainscough after his
exile at Roe Green. Meanwhile, catching a different bus are Dave &
Greg Jennings who return to Leigh. Dave Hamilton has also left for pastures new
after some memorable performances over the last few seasons before the
disappointment, by his own high standards, of 2005 - we wish him well.
March 27th - Chintha's domestic season has come to an end and it's been a
disappointing winter for the big chap; perhaps he has other things on his mind,
like the ever growing swelling around Jeeva's midriff !!
The
sorry tale reads thus:
Premier
League Batting 15 1 288
67 20.57
Premier
League Bowling 41 9
100 1
Limited
Over Batting
7 2 62 12.40
Limited
Over Bowling
57 11 168 9
20/20
batting
3 1 29 14.50
20/20
bowling
5 0 35 5
March 17th - The club are delighted to announce that Aaron
Vincec of The University of Western Australia will be joining
the club next month. After performing well in third grade cricket, including a
century against Greg Dimery's Mount Lawley club, Aaron moved into grade two
cricket where he has more than held his own.
March 7th - There are 929 clubs registered to take part in
NatWest CricketForce 2006 and Clifton is to be one of them. NatWest
CricketForce encourages cricket supporters, their friends and families to give
something back to their local community cricket club by volunteering to
undertake major renovations to clubhouses and grounds. Plus it's a great fun
day and a chance to meet players and officials of the club. Why not grab a
paintbrush and turn up on one of the cricketforce days on the
weekend of April 8/9 ?
February 27th - Club Secretary Jim Riley has announced that he
intends to step down after the March meeting. Jim the pipe sucker has been in
office for fifteen months and joins a list of modern day Secretaries who have
found the love of a good woman whilst in office !!
January 28th - Clever Jeeva Jayasinghe has outgunned her
all-rounder hubby by producing their best performance of the season by far by
announcing the imminent arrival of baby Chintha in the summer! It's a
move that, had the ladies of Clifton gone to the bookies last Summer,
would have won them a fortune as it was the most widely predicted event of
2006. Warmest Clifton congratulations to a smashing couple.
January 27th - NEW SIGNING ANNOUNCED - Nick Kennedy
Previous club: Haslingden
Batting style: Right handed lower order
Bowling style: Left arm spin
Fielding position: Slip
Nick Kennedy is a left arm orthodox bowler and right hand batsman; he also has
a reputation for being an outstanding slip fielder. He has played his cricket
at Radcliffe and represented the CLL team.
January 20th - The Bolton Evening News has reported that Radcliffe
Cricket Club's recent turmoil has had a disappointing result for Clifton in
that Vice Captain Steve Holt is to return there as captain for the 2006
season. Their club was split at the recent AGM when a large number of players
threatened to leave following the democratic election of a new Chairman. A
subsequent meeting ratified the changes so chaos prevails, but they did clearly
state that Steve is back with the new regime for 2006. If this comes to
fruition, I'm sure all at Clifton wish him good luck.