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Last updated 18/6/06
Chorley slide Continues and continues
Chorley suffered their 3rd league loss out of 4 to continue at the wrong end of the table. Now 13th out of 14 there seems to be little light at the end of the tunnel. Runs are still an issue with only Stephen John and Mark Richardson averaging over 20. Stephen John has also now been left to shoulder the medium pace bowling load with Billy Smith now languishing in the seconds. Hopefully better things are just over the horizon.
1/6/06
Chorley slide Continues
Chorley continued to slide towards the lower reaches of the Northern League at the weekend following up the losing draw at Kendal with defeat against the old enemy Darwen. Runs are still the issue. John Ratledge is a good signing by skipper Michael Critchley and he will get his fair share but just 1 50 from any 1st team batsman from the 1st 8 games says it all. It has been proven over the years that unless at least 1 player gets a fifty then it is rare for a decent total to be posted.
Hopefully this will be rectified this weekend.
8/5/06
Watch the game and still home for tea!!!
Chorley games are struggling to make half time at the moment. Last weeks game at home to Fleetwood didn't make it to 6:30. This weeks didn't make it to 5:30. Fortunately this weeks game went Chorley's way. Stephen Johnhit his straps with the ball and took 6-35 as part of the demolition of the Leyland Motors batting.
79 all out would probably still have caused some concern in the Chorley batting and this would hardly have been dispelled when the first 2 wickets of the reply fell with just 8 on the board. Mark Richardson and Jack Catterall then dug in for the next 28 overs to see Chorley thru to victory and 12 points. Richardson ended with a well crafted 52 not out with Catterall on 23 not out.
The second XI, having got changed in the garage that now cover for changing rooms at Motors ground must have thought that an easy win was on the cards having bowled Motors out for 129 and progressed to 80 plus for just 3 wickets. A collapse then meant that the last wicket pair came together at just 99. The old head, I meant experienced, of Ross Demming took control hitting several 4s along with one enormous 6 to see Chorley scrape thru for the 12 points.
Ross Demming hits to mid wicket for 4.
Demming is congratulated by the Leyland Motors players.
4/5/06
Batting is going to be the problem.
The weakness of the Chorley CC 1st XI batting lineup was highlighted this weekend when Chorley were bowled out for just 81 in both games.
Saturday saw the visit of Fleetwood and having opted to bat first, Michael Critchley was obviously aiming for a decent score. Not helped by a somewhat bowler helpful umpire (who ever heard of 3 LBWs in 1 4 balls) the total reached fell well short of reasonable. 81 with Stephen John top scoring with 28 didn't provide the bowling with any sort of chance and Fleetwood reached their total for the loss of just 23 wickets.
Sundays 1st round of the National K.O. at Horwich was rained off and will be replayed next Tuesday as a 20/20 game.
Mondays game at Netherfield was hardly the game to follow Saturdays debacle, particularly with Billy Smith away on exam duty at University. Netherfield opted to bat and were held together by Tommy Primes 100not out and helped by the grounding of several catches by the Chorley fielders. 222-5 was never likely to be a total that Chorley would be able to chase and this was emphasised as the Netherfield professional reduced Chorley to 6-3.
Stephen John ducks another bouncer
And then guides one to slip
This became worse when Jack Catteral ducked into a ball from the Netherfield pro to be hit on the head. He retired hurt and subsequently took a visit to the local casualty. Fortunately the checks proved clear but at the same time further wickets were falling to leave Chorley 81 all out, just like Saturday. There is hope that Nigel Heaton may be back in the fold soon to bolster the middle order. If not this may be a long season!!!
23/4/06
1st weekend results
The 1st team recorded a losing draw at Carnforth whilst the 2nds won at Windsor Park. Scores, Tables and Averages are available for viewing.
18/4/06
Mice & Men??
The best laid plans and all that. Tom Smith made his debut today for Lancashire and took 3-29. It would seem unlikely that he will therefore be made available for Chorley for the first game of the season and if he keeps that kind of form up for the county, will he be available at all for Chorley??
Apart from that, congratulations must go out to Tom as he starts on his professional career as a cricketer with Lancashire. This must just be the start of his blossoming into the star he must surely become.
11/3/06
We're Back!!!!
After the winter shut down, the web is back. Chorley have confirmed that the professional for 2006 is Stephen John. Who are we to say that the club, by signing Stephen again, have admitted it was a mistake to not re-sign him last season but ....
With Tom Smith staying at the club and being available all season barring Lancashire commitments, the club has the nucleus of a side, plus with Billy Smith also likely to be available the bowling looks quite strong, the only question marks come with the batting. Tom and Stephen will score their share along with Nigel Heaton but it is now time for some of the youngsters to step into the limelight and start making a name for themselves.
The AGM was an interesting evening. The Chorley committee still doesn't have a chairman. Despite president Doug Rossalls pleas no volunteers came forward. This is placing an unfair load on Doug so any volunteers would be gratefully accepted we're sure.
The other point of interest was that made by the auditors that the financial figures produced look reasonably healthy but when you look more deeply the main reason is the pound a week moneys. Without that, along with the phone mast, the club would still be making a loss. So be grateful to John Mawdesley for suggesting the pound a week club at the EGM because without it the club would still be in the mire.
31/10/05
Chorley close in on Pro for 2006
Chorley's professional for 2006 is all bar tied up for 2006 it is believed. With Tom Smith having signed a contract with Lancashire it is thought unlikely that he will be resigned so come on Chorley and spill the beans!!!!
14/09/05
Poor end to a difficult season
The season closed on Saturday with defeat for all three senior teams, and all by a heavy margin.
The first team were left yet again without the services of Professional Tom Smith. Having been 12th man for the Lancs 1st XI at Chelmsford, Lancashire didn't inform Tom or Chorley early enough to stop Chorley from finding a replacement professional. Yet again Lancashire fell down on their promise to help us out so that Tom's Lancashire commitments didn't cause any grief. Worthless promises.
Anyway sub pro Alviro Pieterson opened up with Mark Richardson. The score had reached just 9 when the first wicket fell with Pieterson falling bowled by Twist. 9-0 was the best point of the day. Wickets fell consistently in the face of the champions bowling attack.
Congratulations go to St. Annes pro Shane Harwood who became only the second bowler to break 100 wickets in Northern League History. Not surprisingly he'll be back next season to try to repeat the feat.
With Gaurav Dahr being top score with just 12 it was hardly a surprise that the Chorley total was only 60 when the last wicket fell. Tea was taken at 2:40 and although Billy Smith managed to take a couple of quick wickets when St. Annes batted the game was all over a few minutes after 4 o'clock with St. Annes having won by 8 wickets.
Adrian Darlington drives teh ball straight back to Billy Smith to be c & b.
Everyone watches the ball disappear for 6 to bring the season to a close.
Chorley finished 9th in the league which tells the tale of the season.
It is still to be seen who will be back at Windsor part come next April. Will Tom Smith be resigned, Will Nigel Heaton be playing for another season, Will Billy Smith return every weekend to play. I doubt all three will occur so recruitment is essential before the new season begins.
Anyway, the season close with the customary BBQ and disco where all present had a good time and drowned their sorrows. Thanks in particular to Jenny Yardley for organising the thing.
Role on 2006.
5/09/05
Chorley thrash Leyland
Saturday's game at Leyland showed how the quality of Northern League cricket has fallen in the last few years. Chorley, a team in the lower reaches of he league, bowled out Leyland, a team that would struggle in the Palace Shield, for just 48. Having started at 1pm, the game was all over by 3:05pm.
Sure the Smith brothers bowled well (Tom 5-13, Billy 3-26) and then Tom almost knocked the runs off by himself but ....
The 12 points gained ensured Chorley's position at the end of the season will be 9th with the 2 Leyland clubs, Lancaster and Preston below.
The last game of the season comes next week at home to St. Annes that will be followed by the annual end of season do.
This time of year brings the question of next years professional to the fore. At the time of writing the availability of Tom Smith is unclear. Will Lancs offer Tom a full time contract... probably, will Lancs allow him to be the Chorley professional at the same time... who knows.
Recruitment is also something that needs to be addressed. Nigel Heaton will probably be retiring at the end of the season and Billy Smith will be off to University. If Tom is also not available then there are obvious holes in both batting and bowling line ups that will require filling.
1/09/05
Chorley outplayed by Darwen
With no game on Saturday, Chorley's only chance to score some points came in the bank holiday game at Darwen. Unfortunately they came away with nothing at all with the Darwen team being in control virtually from start to finish.
Things hadn't started well with the late withdrawal of professional Tom Smith, called into Lancs 2nd XI on the Saturday and despite all of the promises allegedly made by Lancashire to the Chorley committee that they would help in this situation, those of us who pointed out that this would not happen were not surprised when Sunday came round that Old Trafford had failed to supply a substitute professional.
Ian Critchley was called up therefore from the Bolton Association to stand in.
With Keith Semple scoring an unbeaten century, a sizable target was assured and the odds of chasing nearly 200 was never a likely task without Tom Smith.
As it turned out, Ian Critchley did a good job as substitute taking a couple of wickets and top scoring with 35 but when the last Chorley wicket fell, 85 was a paltry score.
Garav Dahr is run out without being in the picture.
Ian Critchley ducks a bouncer.
Kieran McCullough is bowled by Keith Semple.
Nul point as they say in the Eurovision.
1/09/05
2nd Team Day out at Morecambe.
10/08/05
Tom's great day
Tom Smith had a great day at Scarborough today in the second U19 test against Sri Lanka. Batting at 9 he top scored with 78 not out and then followed that up with 4-26 from his 14 overs.
Follow how the game progresses with the following link
http://www.ecb.co.uk/stats/fixtures/england-under-19-v-sri-lanka-under-19-9-8-05,2324,FF.html
8/08/05
Plucky display from an ever more inexperienced Chorley XI
The team skipper Michael Critchley led out on Saturday was full of players most supporters of last years team would struggle to name, never mind the glory years. The holiday season cut even deeper into Critch's meagre resources to such an extent that 3 players made their 1st XI debuts.
To add to that, pro Tom Smith was away with England U19s so Critch had had to spend most of the week trying to get hold of a sub professional. Some will remember that this website fortold of such difficulties when Tom was signed, and that Lancashire CCC would probably be as much use as a chocolate tea pot with the provision of a sub. Well we hate to say we told you so but ....
Fortunately Mitu Dahr had the required contacts to round up an appropriate stand in and Utkarsh Chandra dulu appeared.
Chorley ended up taking first use of the Kendal wicket with the umpteenths opening partnership of the season. This time Paul Greenwood and Gaurav Dahr opened and were soon separated. Jack Catterall managed to get involved in another run out which brought Chandra to the wicket. He batted very calmly as wickets fell at the other end. It wasn't until Javid Hussain came to the wicket at number 9 that he received any substantial support after Dahr had fallen for 20. The score was 119-7 at the time and a low score looked a certainty. The pro continued until he lofted a shot to long off for a well constructed 51. Hussain carried his bat thru to the end for 28 not out, a season high.
167 all out was a good return considering Tom and Billy Smith, Mark Richardson, Nigel Heaton, Ian Mawdesley and Neil Bannister were all missing for various reasons, all of whom would have been in the best XI at the start of the season.
The Kendal innings started at breakneck speed with Mohammed Yasin smashing the ball to all parts. Chandra took 1 quick wicket but all this did was bring Terry Hunte to the wicket.
Chandra takes his second wicket of the day.
After 10 overs Kendal had reached 88 for 1. New recruit Craig Millward from Euxton did manage to take both wickets but the damage had been done.
Chorley celebrate the dismissal of Terry Hunte for 42.
Gaurav Dahr also took a couple including Kendal professional Kahn caught and bowled but the target was reached in just 31 overs.
Kabir Kahn Chips the ball back to Gaurav Dahr to be caught and bowled.
Chorley took 3 points from the game.
3/08/05
Richardson leads chase in vain
Mark Richardson led Chorley in the ultimately vain chase of victory on Saturday. Having bowled Leyland Motors out for just 148 with Chris Roe leading the way with 4-31, the rain intervened and Chorley eventually only ended up with 21 overs to score the 149 required for victory.
Richardson ended with 50 not out but with Tom Smith (23) and new skipper Michael Critchley (47) nearly saw them home, but eventually ended up just 10 short of victory at 139-6. A great effort considering they only had 21 overs to chase the total due to the rain that fell at tea. This rather unfairly saw them pick up only 4 points to Motors 6.
2/08/05
The women make it to the Lancs Final at first attempt!
Chorley women faced Trafford CC in the Lancashire Women’s League cup semi final on home soil. Again the team were missing three key players who unfortunately were on holiday. However the apprehensive women agreed to meet and hour early to get in some net practice, to our surprise so did the Trafford women, who looked very efficient in their warm up.
Chorley won the toss and continued with their run by choosing to bat first. With the opening bat Karen being on holiday Ali Jones agreed reluctantly to take her place with Marina Rawcliffe. The reluctance showed with a second ball LBW shout and an undisputed walk back to the changing room. Jenny Coupe replaced Ali and proceeded as in other matches hitting the ball to ever corner of the field, scoring 93 before being bowled out attempted a back foot shot (coach Mark not impressed). Marina scored a steady 11 with Kirsty Summer gained another 50 not out. Gill Cookson replaced Jenny for the remaining 14 balls and scored 13 not out. The team scoring 222 off 30 overs, a score even the men would be proud of and one you expect not to be caught.
Trafford opened their batting with A. Getting and C. Ingham who attacked the score scoring 91 and 30 respectively. Trafford continued to chase down the score with errors in the field from Chorley giving them too many opportunities to remain at the crease and score runs. Jemma Kennedy calmed the nerves of the Chorley women by taking three fast wickets reducing the Trafford batting side to 189 for 4 off 30 overs.
Chorley will now face one of two teams in the final on September 4th at Chorley. Southport /Burnley have yet to play the other semi final to determine the finalist. I would like to thank those who came to watch and support the women, in particular Jimmy Lee and Kieran McCullough who provided the ladies with drinks and consumed the left over food with great proficiency.
Finally, man of the match goes to Jenny Coupe for another magnificent innings. Jenny has scored 328 runs for the women’s team this season in 7 games and as a result represented the men’s third team on Saturday v Gregson Lane. I suspect it is the first time a women at Chorley has gained a place in the men’s team, and would hope some of the women will became a regular consideration with the selection committee. Boys at Chorley have a natural progression into the men’s teams, however if the standard of women’s cricket is to continue to improve at Chorley there is a need for that progression to be the same for those women who are at a similar standard to the boys, with equal opportunity for all to progress and play at the highest level of cricket in accordance with their capabilities.
Gill Cookson
27/07/05
Another dodgy wicket, another win
The third iffy wicket on the run at Windsor Park saw the Chorley 1st XI pick up their 2nd 15 point hail over that period. This may be good for the league position but doesn't make for particularly good cricket. Much in the same way as the opposite kind of game like the one at Old Trafford where it was almost impossible to take a wicket.
It was very difficult for anyone to score on Saturday. 20 wickets for 211 runs tells it's own story.
Preston won the toss and inserted Chorley. The new skipper is obviously just as bad a tosser as many of his predecessors. Tom Smith and Mark Richardson did manage to put on 32 for the first wicket but that ended up as the highest partnership of the day. Once the first wicket fell, they just kept on going. The fact that Chorley made 135 was almost single handedly down to Gaurav Dahr. His 69 not out along with Tom Smiths 27 were the only notable scores of the Chorley innings. Whilst everyone else was struggling to get to 10, Dahr continued to hold out to end up with a score that would be worth a century on most pitches.
Gaurav Dahr shows a straight bat on the way to 69 not out.
Rob Fairhurst trudges off having been bowled for a duck.
Chris Roe shows good style attempting the pull shot, pity he didn't hit it!
The Preston Innings saw Tom Smith bowling as fast and as hostile as at any time this season and he soon reeled in 3 early wickets. This is where a poor pitch helps Chorley as Tom is more likely to get a number of wickets in his opening spell rather than bowling on the flatter tracks like Blackpool.
Having had the early breakthrough made, the support bowling carried on in good style so that when the final wicket fell Preston had only managed 76. Tom Smith ended up with 3-17 but the star of the bowling was Javid Hussain who finished with 4-21. 15 points to Chorley and further movement away from the basement.
1 out of 1 for Critch. Not a bad start to his captaincy.
Post game note. Ho just wants it pointing out that he's a good looking lad.
20/07/05
U15's season report
Jerry Tolley has put together a very comprehensive report on how the U15's have done this season, for which the webmaster is extremely grateful. So, Jerry having gone to so much effort, it is only right that you the readership should take the time to go to the Juniors section to read how promising the future of Chorley cricket is.
19/07/05
Bannister Resigns
1st XI Skipper Neil Bannister has stepped down from his position as skipper and left the club. The reasons for his departure are still a little clouded at the moment. Whether he felt he had lost the dressing room or just couldn't stand the heat of the position has still to be clarified. There have certainly been some murmurings from sections of the crowd about the self inflicted knee injury that prevented him from playing the weekend before last and how it came about.
Michael Critchley has therefore been named 1st XI captain for the remainder of the season. This can hardly have come at a worse time for the team as they battle to stay above the bottom teams in the league.
This is not the first time Bannister has left the club, the previous occasion being when he was overlooked for the captaincy at the time that James Fazackerley took charge.
18/07/05
Double Loss brings a dose of reality
Chorley 1st XI lost both games over the weekend showing the same problems that have afflicted them all season. Tom Smith invariably has to make a big score and knock over the top order of the opposition early. The first Tom has lived up to more often than not but on good pitches to expect him to take 4 wickets in the 7 overs the laws allow is just too much.
This highlights why Chorley can win a game like last weeks against Barrow where Tom can take several wickets in his first 7 overs on a poor pitch but why Chorley will struggle to win any game on a decent pitch. The back up bowling just isn't good enough at the moment due to either inexperience or ability.
Tom scored 88 on Saturday but needed greater support to post a competitive total, hence a 5 wicket loss and on Sunday he didn't manage to pull Chorley thru and a 9 wicket thrashing resulted.
Chorley committee, now is the time to start a recruitment drive for next season because otherwise things will only get worse!
11/07/05
Team Spirit counts for a lot!!
Chorley 1st XI came back from the dead on Saturday. Having posted just 122, they managed to bowl Barrow out for just 11 to record just their second victory of the season.
With skipper Neil Bannister still absent following a drunken fall last Saturday night that has lead to knee ligament damage, Tom Smith once again lead the team.
Inserted on the hottest day of the year, Chorley's hopes of a big score again fell by the wayside once Tom Smith had fallen. Mark Richardson had in fact been the first to fall at 28 but when Smith fell at 35 the chances of a sizeable total looked remote. Michael Critchley stepped up to the plate to make his highest score of the season (41) but no-one else managed to stay with him and when he fell the score was 89-7 and Chorley weren't favourite to make 100. Fortunately young Josh Tolley and Javed Hussain put together in the context a sizeable partnership of 24 which proved to be vital.
The last wicket fell at 122, which didn't seem likely at half time to be enough but under the rejuvenated team spirit engendered by stand in skipper Smith, the Chorley bowlers set about attempting the unlikely. Both Barrow openers had been ripped out by the time the score had reached 6 and when West Indian Test pro Raul Lewis fell at 14 everyone started to really believe.
Andy Harty chipped in with a wicket and then Gaurav Dahr started to spin his web. As with most leg spinners the occasional long hop appeared but these were interspersed with the unplayable.
The leading edge ....
and the subsequent caught and bowled!
Wickets continued to fall at a regular rate until at 111 Tom Smith took the last wicket to start jubilant celebrations from the mixture of youthful and veteran cricketers alike.
Special praise for the whole game must go to Josh Tolley. At just 14 he showed amazing maturity with the bat to second top score with 15 and then take 4 catches behind the wicket in the Barrow innings. He is a star in the making.
Handshakes all round as all games should be!
The second 15 point hall of the season saw Chorley rise up to 7th in the league table.
Chorley were also grateful to receive from a wonderfully friendly Barrow team a pennant to celebrate their 150th anniversary. The 2 teams professionals posed with it after the match with a well deserved beer.
11/07/05
See the latest Junior report available on the Juniors page.
6/07/05
Chorley take 2 crushing defeats.
Chorley 1st XI showed its lack of depth over the weekend. With Nigel Heaton, Billy Smith and Paul Greenwood missing it was down to the bare bones.
Saturdays cause was made even worse when skipper Neil Bannister took a blow on the same hand that he had been hit on the previous weekend. This meant that he was only fir to bat at 11 in an attempt to pull of a losing draw to Fleetwood.
With Billy Smith on holiday young Sam Sweeney opened the bowling with Tom Smith. This shows the problems that Chorley now have. Desperately short of experience it puts an enormous burden on the few.
Fleetwood totalled 223 for 3 declared. A total that Chorley were never likely to threaten and needed a score from Tom Smith. Unfortunately he fell for just 4 and although veteran Mark Richardson made 38 and Jack Catterall 44, when the final wicket fell Chorley were still 83 short of the target and only had 1 point to show for the day.
Sunday's cup game was even worse. Neil Bannister wasn't fit to play, Michael Critchley and Mark Richardson weren't available which saw Lawrence Ashworth, Javed Hussain and Alan Sweeney come into the team.
Again the opposition batted first and although Tom Smith took 4-31 from his 8 overs, the rest couldn't supply the same level of control. Blackpool therefore totalled 230-9 in their 40 overs. Again a big innings was needed by Tom Smith and unfortunately given his good run from the season start it didn't materialise. Without Gaurav Dahr's 47 and Andy Hartys 19 not out at number 11 the defeat would have been even heavier than the 106 run deficit that finally occurred. Unfortunately this is a sign of things to come.
6/07/05
Womens reports
Chorley
v Burnley
The women
travelled to
Man of the
match goes to Marina Rawcliffe who
managed to bat with the whole team!!!
Chorley
v Mossley Hill
Mossley Hill
travelled to
In comparison
to the game against Burnely on Friday, Mossley Hill and
Man of the
match goes to Paula Dickinson for
an amazing catch taken in the stomach which bounced in the air, then off both
hands but held!
Next game is against Furness away on Sunday! All the players/supporters are welcome to join Gill and Mark at their caravan for a BBQ breakfast before travelling the extra distance to Furness.
28/06/05
Chorley pay the price for halting St. Annes Steam roller.
Chorley 1st XI woke up on Monday counting the cost of the 4 points gained at St. Annes. Skipper Neil Bannister needed an x-ray to confirm a broken knuckle. It is currently unclear whether he will be fit to play this weekend against Fleetwood in the league. Ex-skipper Nigel Heaton had even worse news. A broken bone in his hand that may require pinning will mean that he won't be available for several weeks, if at all for the remainder of the season. Keeper, and re-retired, Senior was also nursing a severely bruised big Toe that meant shoes were a no no following a yorker from Ian Austin. Add to that Michael Critchley playing with a pulled hamstring that should really be rested for several weeks and the 1st XI does not look a healthy bunch.
These injuries can only be bad news for the remainder of the season as Chorley's batting was thin already before adding a severe injury list.
Selection this week should be an interesting affair then with Heaton, Senior, Billy Smith and Paul Greenwood all missing for various reasons. Add to that list Neil Bannister may also be missing and the first XI will be a somewhat different one to Saturdays!
26/06/05
Chorley bring the St. Annes steam roller to a halt.
St. Annes must have been expecting another easy win on Saturday. The previous week they had rolled out Netherfield for under 50 and the Chorley batting line up with the best will in the world does not currently stack up against theirs.
Chorley skipper, Neil Bannister, won the toss and inserted the home team to bat on a firm wicket. The home team set off with the confidence of the team at the top of the table and it came as something of a surprise when Adrian Darlington got a leading edge back to Tom Smith for the first wicket. The run rate was already in excess of 4 an over and it didn't drop for the whole innings.
Ian Austin had the main innings for St. Annes but he was helped onm his was by the Chorley fielders who dropped him 3 times and the awful umpires (who gave several terrible decisions in both innings) who gave him not out when caught behind off Tom Smith and palpably LBW to Gaurav Dahr. He was finally out for 98 but his innings allows the other St. Annes batsmen the chance to hit with freedom to attack the Chorley bowling.
It was something of a surprise that no declaration came at at the end of the 52 overs a total of 242-6 had been set for Chorley to chase.
The Chorley innings got off to the worst possible start as Tom Smith was given out LBW off the opposition professional even though he almost middled the ball. Skipper Bannister and ex skipper Heaton set about building the innings (somewhat slowly initially). The opposition professional is undoubtedly the fastest bowler to appear in the league for a while and he had the aggression to go with it which is good to see as some of the challenge has left the league with the lowering of the standard of cricket that has happened over the last 10 years.
Skipper Bannister hits out on his was to a ton.
When Heaton was bowled after a painstaking 25, Paul Greenwood and Michael Critchley came and went. Neil Senior then joined Bannister and kept the St Annes bowling at bay to gain a creditable losing draw. Bannister ended up on 101 not out, a suitable result for a fine defensive batting display which saw him knocked off his feet several times by some very well directed bouncers from Harwood.
St. Annes therefore ended up with 7 points and Chorley 4.
Some thoughts however need to be considered by the Chorley hierarchy though. Players play cricket on Saturday afternoon for the enjoyment of the game. Some play just to bat, some just to bowl, very few play to field however. Some thought therefore is required to ensure that everyone gets something out of a Saturday afternoon because the likes of Rob Fairhurst do not play cricket just to run around on a Saturday in the outfield to pick the ball up and hurl it into the wicket keepers gloves without any likelihood of batting or bowling. Also, the man management of players is a large part of a skippers job and the building up of individuals is one of the main tasks of the captain in an average team, as Chorley are. The skipper needs to lead by example in feat as well as word. Hopefully on his current learning curve as a captain, skipper Bannister will learn quickly not to criticise players in the field for failings that he himself is culpable of and to be more positive about individuals actions rather than putting them down for their failings.
21/06/05
Another weekend of Ups and Downs.
Another weekend of some good performances intersperced with mediocrity saw the Chorley 1st XI pick up a valuable winning draw at home to Leyland in the league and comprehensively beaten by Fleetwood in the cup.
On Saturday Tom Smith continued his run towards a new club batting record with another hundred, his third of the season. The openning stand of ?? with skipper Neil Bannister set the foundations for the 221-6. This really should have been bettered but yet again the Chorley middle order went AWOL with no other batsman making double figures.
When Leyland took their chance on the wicket, which was trhe normal slow thing that doesn't favour either bat or ball, Chorley took a couple of early wickets but then had to chase leather themselves as Jonathon Harvey (stand in pro from Burnley) flayed some pretty ordinary bowling to all corners of Windsor Park and looked like he would win the game on his own until he made his one and only mistake of the day to mistime a hook to be caught brilliantly by John Hotham.
From that point onward Leyland weren't likely winners and the innings fizzled out with Chorley taking 10 points although this may be revised as yet again they were slow in bowling the overs and so may yet be docked another 2 points for slow bowling.
Sunday saw Chorley take on Fleetwood yet again and come out on the wrong en of the result yet again. The bowling was average and fielding worse as Fleetwood pro Doug Watson took advantage of being dropped twice to score another half century. His captain John Wright also took advantage of the Chorley bowling to score a half century before being stumped by the returning Neil Senior.
228-3 was a pretty reasonable indication of the cricket played by Chorley in amongst the thunder storms. Following 3 rain delays, a target of 143 in 25 overs was set. This had to be achieved for the loss of no more than 5 wickets. Chorley's resourced are severely stretched currently and this was shown with the lack of backup to Tom Smith and Neil Bannister to score the runs. The "retired" Senior came in at 4, a position higher than he has batted for some number of years and little in the way of experienced 1st XI batsmen to follw. Not surprisingly Chorley fell well short of the target once Smith and Bannister had gone cheaply and only Paul Greenwood with 32 took any credit from a dismal battin display.
21/06/05
Thirds pick up easy win.
Longridge vs Chorley at Longridge (artificial wicket).
Highlights...
Bob Bridgeford (Chorley) 88*
Adam Peacock (Chorley) 51
Another strong team performance from Chorley saw them stroll past an extremely
outplayed Longridge side.
Chorley batted first on an artificial wicket that looked like it offered nothing
for the bowlers as veteran Bob Bridgeford and young starlet Adam Peacock both
past fifty. Unfortunately Peacock was dismissed the next over caught on the
boundary for 51, though it was another mature innings and his second fifty in as
many games. Danny Harmann joined Bridgeford at the crease and soon got his
eye-in as he sent a short ball sailing over the boundary for six. Bridgeford
continued with his own game and help end the Chorley innings at 174-3 and
he himself ended with a well made 88 not out.
Carl McCarthy and Richard Flood opened the bowling for Chorley, and it did not
take long for the first wicket to fall, good bowling from Flood caused confusion
between the batsmen and skipper Bob Yardley showed that he hasn't lost his touch
and sent the batsman packing with a superb throw. After the first breakthrough
McCarthy grabbed a well deserved wicket after some tight bowling and Flood was
in his usual wicket taking mood with two in quick succession. McCullagh and
Balshaw came into the attack, Balshaw taking a while to find his line and was
unlucky not to pick up any wickets after a good spell of bowling. McCullagh took
three wickets in three overs to finish with 3-8 off five overs and Flood came
back into the attack with immediate success finishing with 3-21 off seven. And,
not to be outdone, Paul Whitaker rapped up the Longridge innings with an
outstanding 2-2 off two overs.
The man of the match would have gone to Bob Bridgeford, though i may be right in
thinking that he has had enough accolades in his career. So, the man of the
match will have to be shared between Adam Peacock after another impressive
knock, and Richard Flood for a very good spell of swing bowling.
13/06/05
Women's team win again and gain maximum points.
On Sunday 12th June the Women’s team had their first home fixture at Parklands against Northern Lights a new young team who joined the Women’s league this year. Unfortunately I was away in Dublin for the weekend so had to spend most of the week organising the ground crew, tea ladies, back up players and warm up crew for the fixture to take place. However, after landing at Blackpool airport a phone call confirmed all was well so I drove straight to the game. Only one minor incident to report, one player down but a replacement was found and butties and cake all done I was looking forward to the game. Could this be a game without major problems?
Not possible, text messages started no cups, no kettle, no spoons and no knife for the cake. Off the players went to Tesco to buy a kettle, resourceful women always have teaspoons in their glove compartments and a knife, cups were borrowed from the club, thank you Busy Bees!
We lost the toss and looked forward again to start our first home tie batting – NOT!
Karen Stephens and Marina Rawcliffe made a good start but Karen was bowled with a ball that kept low. Perhaps she was concentrating on her forthcoming school inspection – GOOD LOOK KAREN! Wonder women Jenny Coupe replaced Karen and preceded from the week before hitting the ball all over the field with her first ever six, scoring a great 92 before being bowled. Kirstie Sumner hit an impressive 32 with Ali Jones replacing Marina after a stand of 13. Chorley scored 188 off thirty overs.
The very young team of Northern Lights found batting very difficult against the accurate bowling of Ali Jones, Christina Cookson, Barbara Manley and Katie Rigby and were bowled out for 69 runs of 25 overs. Chorley for the second week running gained the maximum 30 points. Jenny Coupe took 6 wickets for 11 runs of 6 overs; however I must acknowledge one of our young players bowling for the second time, Katie Rigby (Little Katie) who took 2 wickets for 11 runs of 3.4 overs.
Jenny Coupe has to be the Man of the Match with probably her best all round performance in any game she has every played in, well done Jenny. Watch out you men she may replace one of you very soon!!!
Special thanks to Libby our fantastic helper, Bob Yardley for his little bag of tricks and the relentless nagging of our coach Mark Cookson about shirts being tucked in and the use of lipstick between the overs! However he does get his rewards watching 22 women on a cricket pitch – to him its heaven!
12/06/05
3rd XI pick up comprehensive win against Penwortham.
The following report is from our special 3rd XI correspondent.
Chorley 3rd XII vs. Penwortham 3rdXII at Windsor Park.
Saturday 11th June 2005.
Highlights…
C.Tyrer (Penwortham) 75
A.Peacock (Chorley) 56 not out
K.McCullagh (Chorley) 4 for 26
As neither the first nor second eleven had a fixture, Chorley's third eleven had
a rare chance to play on Windsor Park for their fixture with Penwortham third
eleven. I must stress the point that Chorley thirds have one of the most, if not
the most, talented squads in their league, and this point is proven by the fact
that quality young players such as Alex Ogilvie, Pugsley (a.k.a Paul Whitaker)
and Christopher Harty are unable to keep their spot in the side. However, this
is not due to poor performances, but the competition for places, which grows
ever stronger with young all-rounder Steven Snape who will be returning shortly
from a long lay-off due to injury.
Match Report.
Chorley, skippered as usual by the 'old dog' Bob Yardley, batted first on what
appeared to be a slow and batting friendly surface.
Chorley's innings was opened by Bob Bridgeford and young Nathan Cookson who is
always an exciting batsman to watch. Unfortunately the top order batsmen did not
catch the eye of the spectators, however all was not lost as Mark Cookson,
batting 6, scored a well made 38 and 14 year old Adam Peacock, batting 7, scored
a superb 56 not out to take Chorley's innings to 211-7 after the allotted 45
overs. Peacock's innings was a delight to watch, he gave no chances and was
excellent off his legs.
Penwortham's reply started great… for Chorley. After a good first over from
Carl McCarthy, 15 year old Richard Flood, with the first ball of his spell,
bowled what can only be described as a 'should-be-punished loosener' that
cannoned into the batsmen's middle stump. Who cares really? It says 1-1 in the
scorebook . McCarthy toiled away with no success from the practice nets end,
whereas from the other end Richard Flood was bowling a fine spell taking another
wicket from his 5 overs. Young Jonny Balshaw was introduced into the attack with
no luck, ending with 0-16 from 5 overs. Left-arm seamer Kieran McCullagh was
brought into the attack taking a wicket with the second ball of his spell and at
one stage was on a hat-trick ball, unfortunately it was dropped by keeper Mark
Cookson and McCullagh finished with 4-26 from his 6 overs. The Penwortham
innings was collapsing, though their was some resistance from Chris Tyrer who
made 75 in what seemed no time at all, but he eventually fell caught in the deep
by Bob Yardley off the bowling of Adam Peacock who picked up two wickets,
Penwortham falling nearly 70 runs short of their target 212.
An excellent team effort.
Man of the match must be awarded to Adam Peacock who has finally found his form
and we all hope that he can maintain it for as long as possible.
12/06/05
U17's first fixture Report.
A report from James Lee has been received on the first U17s fixture of the season has been published on the Junior section page. Read all about the future stars of ChorleyCC.
Chorley Cricket Club needs your help.
Although the club accounts are healthier than for some time, the club still needs your support. Any financial help will still be gratefully received.
Members are reminded that due to the present financial circumstances of the club, could you please pay your subscriptions as soon as possible so we will be able to provide cricket for your enjoyment in the future.
Why not join the 100 club. At only £1 per month this is an affordable way of supporting the club and having a flutter at the same time.
The club room is also available for hire for all of those family occasions (Birthdays, Engagements, Christenings etc.).
Why not sponsor a match ball or have a hording placed on the ground for you business?