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 nations police force is placed into question as
Jim Ainscoughs 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 Potters
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 oppositions 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 clubs 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 skippers 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-up ambitions 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 whos 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 it’s
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.