• i-. 70 Clitheroe Advertiser &Titnes, Thursday, April 28th, 200S Clitheroe ““
make hay while the sun shines
CLITHEROE Tennis Club A bounced back on Satur day with an absorbing after-
. noon’s tennis against local pals Whalley B in sunny but windy conditions. In the top match Derek
Parrott and Phil Mileham discovered some of their old form and moved ahead of the Whalley pair 5-1 early on. However their opponents upped their own game and looked danger ous as they levelled the set 5-5, but the home pair kept their composure and held out tor a 7-5 6-3 victory. On the other court,
Clitheroe’s second pair, Paul Ainger and .Daniel Bush overcome their own physical demons and injuries to overpower Whalley’s second pair with an agressive 6-0 6-3 display. The return matches
were no less intriguing with Parrott and Mileham cruising through their first set 6-1. but then coming oft the rails to lose the second set and fall behind at the start of the third. To lose the set could have cost the whole match so they even tually rallied to close out a bizarre 6-10-6 6-2 contest. Ainger and Bush as a
relatively new partnership were always likely to struggle against the Whal ley top pair but they dug deep and ran them close in an entertaining battle. Their 6-3 6-4 loss meant that Clitheroe took the match 3-1, and took a cru cial four points to get their season off the ground. B The opening match for Whalley A in the First Divi sion of the East Lancashire Open Tennis League saw a fine win over Parkwood A. The number one pairing
of Andrew Moore and Richard Lambert contin-
• ued their fine from last year to win both their matches in straight sets. And at number two,
Danny Roff and Mathew Cuynes showed great char acter, having lost the open ing set in both their rub bers to storm back to win the remaining two sets. Whalley B side faced
local rivals Clitheroe A. Whalley’s first pairing of
OEy*"
Gordon Pimperton and Nick Thomas performed well but lost a close match against the Clitheroe first pairing going down 7-5,6-3. They did have more suc
cess against the Clitheroe second pairing coming out on top 6-4,6-3 in an enter taining match. , The second pairing how
ever of David Walters and . Gary, Breeze were a little rusty as they lost 6-0,6-3. And the final game saw.
(« > ■
a much improved perform ance with Whalley losing in three sets, 6-2 in the deciding one, which was disappointing after having won the second to love.
www.clitheroetoday.co.uk. Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 42 2 3 3 1 JC Ia s s j^
Blues get off the wrong foot!
North Ferriby .........3
Clilheroe ............... .... .1 CLITHEROE were on the wrong foot from the start in this game. In fact they were in the
wrong socks, the wrong shorts and the wrong shirts too as a mix up in kits at the laundrette saw the side forced to play at North Ferriby in Grindleton FC’s strip - the last thing they needed when facing the UniBond First Division leaders. -But despite their unac
customed yellow and blue shirts, Clitheroe gave as good as they got tor the first 30 minutes as where North Ferriby’s Chris Gowen had a fierce shot acrobatically saved by Kris Richens, Clitheroe’s Paul Crompton hit the post twice in what turned into a goal mouth scram ble. The left winger’s initial
shot came back to him off the up right and from the rebound his header was cleared oft the line via the
by thrived upon, proved to be their undoing wheii ex- Blackburn Rovers and Hull City centre-back Rob Dewhurst rose above the Blues defence to bury Michael Price’s corner. All was not lost though
as the Blues levelled six minutes later when Neil Reynolds granted all of manager Paul Byron’s wishes at once with a spec tacular 35-yard screamer that has goal of the season written all over it. The central midfielder
received the ball in plenty of space and it sat up per fectly for him to launch an inch perfect shot into the top corner, proving to Byron’s delight that Clitheroe can score inspi rational goals. But the boost this stun
Neil Reynolds
inside of the post when it could quite easily have squeezed into the net. However the Blues’
inability to deal with set pieces, which North Ferri-
Tom battles on to be king of the castle!
By Edward Lee
CLITHEROE Golf Club’s already testing track proved to be an even more difficult course at the weekend. But as they saying goes, ’
when the going gets tough, the tough get going! Tom Poole returned a
battling nett 69 to take the Lombard qualifier and Castle Cup qualifier on a day when standard scratch was raised to 73. Daniel Preedy and jun
ior captain Andrew Hee- som were locked on nett 71s in second spot, Preedy taking the honours by virtue of a better back nine while Paul Hamer and Gary Thompson had to settle for the minor prizes. Division Two saw the
in-form Geoff Roberts suc ceed with a nett 7 1 - one shot ahead of the trio of Mike Ainsworth, Dave Kitson and Ia:n Walsh. Denis Greenup took the gross prize with a 75 after card play-offs with Miles Wade and David Heesom. Don Partington played.
half a round with no put ter on Sunday having left it with the pork pies in the
halfway house. But this mishap did not
prevent him and playing partner John Hartley win ning a trip to the LUGC Handicap Foursomes final in June. They had a remarkable
nett 68 to win by three shots from Norman Entwistle and Eddie McGarry. Mytton Fold members
contested the Post Office Cup on Saturday, with a bogey format being played. Steve Cunliffe posted a
very respectable winning score of +2 in testing con ditions, narrowly defeating David Halsall and Howard Taylor who both finished with a score of +1, with Halsall coming sec ond overall after a card play-off. Chris Chadwick shot a
score of level to win Divi sion One, by one hole from Ted Bamborough who returned at -1. There was some consola
tion for Taylor, however, as his score of +1 was good enough to win Division Two from John Backhouse who's level par round clinched second in the divi-
Sion. In Division Three
STONYHURST College Golf Club captain, Charlie Cuddy (18) from Hurst Green, opens the Stonyhurst College golf season by teeing off from the first tee Behind are a number of the Stonyhurst College golf team, (s)
David Colley also scored a level par round to win, beating Gary Edmundson into second place. The only two of the day
was scored by Jean Van Bdeckel on the 12th hole, this also being an eagle, however proof that it was two lucky shots are found from his overall score of -8 nearly the worst score of the day! The Fourball Trophy at
Whalley Golf Club was won convincingly by veter an pair Peter Benson and Bob Caladine with a bet- terball nett score of 63, leaving the youthful com bination of Bob Hilton and Andrew Wray to take second place ivith a nett 68 on a card play-off from for mer club captains Eric Lord and Stuart Dawson Barbara Thornton and
Tracey Bentley won Divi sion One of the ladies four somes stableford at Clitheroe with 34 points.
They finished a point
ahead of Sue Cartledge and Sharon Turner with Mary Thompson and Helen Cooke (31) in third place. Maureen Micklewright
and Vicky Edmondson (30) topped Division Two ahead of Eileen Lambert and Pat Murray (26) and Anne Panter and Libby McEwan (25). . In the club medal, Eliza
beth Narayana returned 91-19-72 to win the silver
division ahead of Kath William Tyrell won the Bolton (94-19-75) and Sue junior medal at Clitheroe Cartledge (93-18-75). And . with a 84-16-68 return
Vicky Edmondson (106- 28-78) took the bronze division honours from Bar bara Crowther (110-29-81) and Gill Farthing (109-28- 81).
Maggie Harvey (104-35-
68) won the LGU Medal at Whalley GC while Joan Whittaker (98-26-72) won the Lancashire Ladies’ County Golf Association qualifier.
■ CHATBURN won their first game of the Craven and District Cricket League season with a 30-run victory over Skipton Cl. The Second Division outfit comfortably
won this after all of their early order added runs, with captain Stuart Draycott and Richard Shovelton especially impress ing at the crease. The former pieced together a half-century while the latter notched up 68 runs before the pair were both bowled out by J. Stuttard. Stephen Booth also contributed with a 40
not out to see the locals finish with 202-4. In reply Skipton managed 172 after Russell Braithwaite and Andy Booth
leaving Stefano Coppolla, three shots back and with' the improving Jack Roth- well in third place. The previous week’s jun
ior medal saw Declan Walsh have his handicap reduced by 10 shots after posting a nett 60!
That was six shots bet
ter than William Kenyon ' with James Taylor third with a 69.
ripped through the order with respective returns of 3-44 and 3-31. The other four
' wickets fell to Stephen and Rob Booth. • Meanwhile, Chatburn seconds had an:
agonising three-run defeat against Rid-; dlesden in their first fixture of the season. Riddlesden were asked to bat first on a difficult wicket and had no answer to Paul Shorrock making his debut for Chatburn with figures of 7-22 as they were all dis missed from 60.
- In replay the locals were coasting to vic
tory at 53-4 but a dramatic collapse saw them all out for 57. David Price with 31 was Chatburn’s major run scorer.
:4 ^
ning equaliser gave the locals quickly dispersed in the second half when a mix up between Richens and Russell Clarke gifted the home side a soft second goal.
There was nothing real
ly on to allow Ferriby to score but a simple misun derstanding allowed Gra ham Botham to get between the two and lob Richens. And, unlike the
..first half, Clitheroe had nothing to retaliate with as apart from Chris Whiti- ingham running to the by line to flash a ball across the box, the locals never looked like clawing it back. This was confirmed 10
minutes from time when Dewhurst put the game beyond the locals \yith his second headed goal of the game, again the result of a poorly defended corner. Overall a mixed per
formance where the half time result would have secured UniBond safety. I t ’s just hoped that a return to Shawbridge this Saturday, wearing more familiar colours, will grant Clitheroe the point they need against winless Rocester and cap off what has certainly been a learn ing-curve season. ADRIAN CAPSTICK
Blues Eye View
FOR the second season running the Blues enter their final game of the season needing only a point to secure their goal tor the season. This time last year we went to Nantwich requir
ing a point to secure the league title, which we duly achieved following a superb victory. This season, though, sees us at the opposite end of
• Just a point is required to ensure our UniBond the scale.
survival. Saturday’s defeat at North Ferriby, coupled with
Rossendale’s surprise draw at home to AFC Telford, means that our near neighbours could still catch us. The two points in our favour are that we have a three-point advantage over them as well as a superi
or goal difference. Should Rossendale put at least tour goals past
Stocksbridge Park Steels then we still only need a point against already doomed Rocester to secure our
survival. ■
Everyone will be under the impression that we are safe already but that would be a foolish way to
think. Rocester go into the game having failed to regis
ter a single victory this season. The fact they could end the season without a win
\vill be motivation enough for them while there will be pressure on the Blues to gain the vital point. Everyone would agree that the season has been
disappointing, but hopefully if everyone can get behind the team on Saturday we can end on a high note and look forward to the next campaign. • We knew it would be difficult in the UniBond
League and realistically we would have to happy \vith just staying up this season. After the game the club will hold its presentation
evening in the clubhouse and everyone is warmly invited to attend for the end of season player of the year awards. Hopefully \vith our UniBond future secured it will
give us some cause for celebration. ' By Andy Alston
Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising). Burnley 422331 (Classified) BARNOLDSWICKv
,iii, mjiiimji
i CLITHEROE J
Harnoldswick
R. Arshad c Coulter b Bibby. . . . . . .4 5 I. Scolhcrn Ibw b Nawaz.................26 Kuhncnotout
74
M. Nutter c Nawaz b Ashraf............68 P. Beech bAshraf..............................3 J. Pickup not o u t ............................. .3 Extras .....................................24 ToUil(for4)........................243 \ Bowling: N. Ashraf 14-4-64-2;
S. Bishop 5-2-16-0; M. Hargreaves 6-0-46-0; N. Bibby 11-0-62-1; Nawaz 9-0-40-1. Clithcruc
Nawaz c Hall b Beech ...................... 3 N. Bolton Ibw bR. Arshad ..............54 M. Bolton c Beech bSteade............20
r S S S
M. Preston not out............................0 . Ex tra s ....................................14 i T o ta i( fo rS ) .......................149 • Bowling: P. Beech 9-4-11-1; S.
Sheraz 8-2-27-0; Kuhn 6-0-29-0; J. Stead 7-0-19-3; R. Arshad 7-0-27- 1; J. Pickup 3-2-1-1; J. Hall 2-0-12- 0; M. Nutter 3-0-12-1.
, READ v GREAT Head
; HARWOOD ;
M. Doughty c and b Newton .45 C. Walton c Deasey b Nurse . . .8 T. Little not o u t ...................... 100 Law b Howarth.......................... 25 M. Whalley not o u t ..................20 ; Extras ....................................30 Total (for 3 ) ........................234 ‘ Bowling; Nurse 15-1-56-1; L.
Dobson 6-1-21-0; C. Ranusker 10-1- 5W); R. Whalley '1-0-21-0; R Newton 8-0-13-1; M. Howarth 2-0-17-1. Grout Harwood
L. Deasey Ibw b L aw ..................4 Nurse c Driver b H o l t ............. 34 R. Whalley b H o l t ....................43 RHoulds\TOrthcEasthambIIolt 10 A. Armer c Rushtpn b H o l t___ 2 M. Howarth b Driver................63 C. Ramsker b L aw ___•..............5 P. Newton b H o l t .........................1 J. Kenyon c Walton b Dr iver . .12 .4. Newton b L aw .........................0 L. Dobson not out ...................... 0 : Extra s ..................................... 13 ; Total
193 Bowling: Law 15-4-25-3; A.
Rushton 8-1-38-0; W. Eastham 4- 0-24-0; C. H olt 12-0-60-5; W. Driver 3-0^5-2.
SETTLE V RIBBLESDALE Selllc
K.
T. Green b Spencer........'.................21 Morris b Smith
S. Hornby c Briggs b Smith.............12 M. Verden b Smith ....... .'.............19 P. Ridgeway !bw b Smith .. i ............. 2 A. Daridson St Peel b Howard ..........4 T.
Daridsonnotout......3
R. Preston not o u t ............................3 Extras ..................................... 14 T o ta l( fo r7 ) ........................128 Bowling: Smith 14-3-44-4; D.
Howard 11-4-21-1; J. Braithwaite 11-4-41-1; B. Spencer 9-5-12-1. Riblilesdule Wanderers
R. Gladwin bS. Hornby ...................2 M. Peel run out.......................... . . . . . I A. Mureh c Morris b Ridgeway........20 Smith b Ridgeway.......................... 10 -M. Briggs b Ridgeway.............. .33 D.
G. McGuirec.A. Daridson b Ridgeway. .0 B.
S. Kerr not o u t ................................14 J. Braithwaite b Ridgeway............... 0 M. Piatt Ibw b Ridgeway................. 0 Extras................. ' ....................0 Total
...................................101 Bowling: P. Ridgeway 20.5-4-
51-7; S. Hornby 9-1-31-1; A. Davidson 11-5-19-1.
WHALLEY v IMMANUEL Whalley
A. Batsman c Fielder b A. Bowler . .29 R. Palmer b A. Metcalf.....................5 M.DariescDuxburybSmithson ..11 Thornton Ibw
bSmitlmon...............IS UKeaisleyc Groom b Smithson___7 J.
S. Gorton c Groom b Mahood......... 27 A. Pratt bG. Metcalf.......................17 B. Dowling Ibw b G. Metcalf............. 0 L. Burgess not o u t ............................9 S. Taylor c Clare b Mahood............... 4 D. O'Neill b Smithson .....................11 Extras ....................................... 3 Total
...................................146 Bowling: A. Metcalf 9-2-30-1;
K. Smithson 11.2-3-284; Mahood 13-2-58-3; G. Metcalf 7-1-27-2. O.swaldiwlsllc Immanuel
O. Clare c Rain b Dowling.................0 R.
Diubuiyb Burgess...0 .
A. Dignan c Davies b Burgess........... 1 Mahood c Palmer b Dowling . . . . . .1 9 G. Metcalf cTbylorb Gorton..........24 ' A. Metcalf cDariesb O'Neill..........24 P.
K. Smithson Ibw b Dowbng...............5 M. Roberts b Dowling . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 S.
M. Groom Ibw b Gorton.................1 Extras........................... Total
......................... .105 Bowling: R Dowling 11-5-25-4;
L. Burgess 9-4-14-2; S. Taylor 4-0- 19-0; D. O’Neill 9-4-21-1; S. Gorton 9.3-1-24-3.
' V-.—
www.cl i
theroetoday.co.uk Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, Thursday, April 28th, 2005 71 ....... .................... .......... . Terry s ton launches title bid By Phil Simpson
THE quest for a record fourth straight title is up and running. After their opening day
washout, Read finally got their season underway at home to Great Harwood on Saturday. ^ ^nd they went about making a
S. Coulter not out................... 41 third successive title defence the N. Bibby Ibw Pickup
.........1 only way they know how. M.Jla -rgrSvBbV'iitVer'.1) ^reat Harwood, who were one
of only two victors on the opening weekend of the campaign, were put to the sword with a swash buckling show of batting with Terry Little leading the way. Reminiscent of his 2003 Rams-
bottom Cup final century, he cracked his way to three figures once again against Russell Whal ley’s side. I doubt very much whether Lit
tle will be on the Harwood cap tain’s Christmas card list, as he
once again starred on his way to a Read victory. After taking 78 balls to reach
his half century, it took his just 41 to bring up three figures. His second half century consist
ed of five fours and four maximum hits, making it nine and five in total. And alongside opener Matt
Doughty, who fell five short of a half century after returning a catch to Paul Newton, they set the foundations for a 41-run win. Read did suffer an early blow as
Craig Walton holed out to Liam Deasey for eight off the bowling of professional Martin Nurse, with the score on 14. But a second-wicket partner
ship of 86 between Doughty and Little steadied the ship, before Doughty’s departure. Last season’s professional Danny Law came in next, stand
ing in for successor Thomas Odoyo who is still out in his home land of Kenya. And he picked up immediately
from where he had left off, smash ing three fours and a six in a 20- ball 25 before seeing his stumps shattered by Matthew Howarth. But that was as good as it got
from where Harwood were con cerned, as Michael Whalley came in alongside Little to assist him to his century. He did a superb job holding up
one end, hitting 20 off just 25 balls, as Little just managed to clamber to his century before the innings ended. Chasing 235 for victory was
always going to be difficult, but after victory on the opening day against Settle, Harwood were in confident mood. And despite losing Deasey early on, trapped in front for four off
Clitheroe lose Ribblesdale out by 94 runs
testing tie
CLITHEROE succumbed on Saturday to a superior Barnoldswick batting dis play that witnessed the West Craven side rack up an impressive 94-run victory. The locals won the toss
HornbycandbBraithwaite ....32 18
and elected to put the home side in to bat first on what appeared a decent Victory Park track but Neil Bolton and:his men were not e.xpecting quite such a fierce batting display. The Clitheroe captain
was surprised at quite how hard the returning ex-prb- fessional Raja Arshad and Matt Nutter were able to hit the ball around the park as they struck 45 and 68 respectively. That, teamed with the
HowardcMorrisbRidgeway .. . .0 Spencerb A. Daridson9
outstanding undefeated 74 knock of South African sub-professional Heino Kuhn, proved just too much for the locals to come back from as Barnoldswick finished on 243-4. Very little was done
RainbMahood................... ...34
wrong in the field by Clitheroe but in the opin ion of the Chatburn Road captain the length at which they bowled wasn’t varied enough and the dis missal of Clitheroe profes sional Shahid Nawaz for three left the side with very little to build upon.. Heino saw every shot of
his go in the book as with great running between the sticks culminating in a great reverse sweep for six. His partnership with Nut ter brought six bounceless
■boundary shots between them as they put together a 128-run stand. Arshad opened and
Digmnc Dowling b Gorton 19
Sipocznotout........................ ........................0 7
alongside Ian Scothern (26) the pair took the score up to 86 runs before the latter was trapped leg before by Nawaz in the 21st over. Arshad soon fol lowed in the next over caught behind by Simon
Coulter off Neil Bibby but that would prove to be the last wicket Clitheroe would take until the final few overs of the game as Kuhn and Nutter ran away with the score. Nutter was eventually
squeezed out in the 41st caught by Nawaz off Naeem Ashraf but by then the standard had been set as replacements Paul Beech and captain John Pickup made just three runs apiece. In reply Clitheroe got
off to the worst of starts as the great line and length of Paul Beech put paid to any decent stand from Nawaz and Neil Bolton had hoped for as the first wicket fell for just 20 runs. From then on in the vis
itors were up against it as apart from the captain going on to make 54, before Arshad had him leg before, Simon Coulter fin ishing with a worthy unde feated 41 and Mark Bolton with 20, Clitheroe threw four wickets away chasing the score. However they were not
completely dismissed as Coulter and Mark Preston saw Clitheroe finish on 149-8 despite the best efforts of Barnoldswick bowling line up that fea tured eight players in total, of which James Stead was the pick with 3-19. Looking
ahead,
Clitheroe captain Neil Bolton expects double vic tory over Cherry Tree at home on Saturday and at Blackburn Northern on Sunday as, unlike Barnoldswick, he does not rate them as Veka Ribbles dale League title con tenders. If the locals are to chal
lenge for the top this sea son, they need to beat both sides.
RIBBLESDALE Wan derers’ 2005 home cam paign got off to a losing start after a tricky tie against Settle. After again being with
out registered professional Gerard Debruin, they boasted South African quick bowler Martin Smith as sub for the after noon. Electing to bat first.
Settle struggled to make an early impact after some disciplined opening overs from Smith and David Howard, who both found a consistent nagging line and length. After 12 overs, the visi
tors had crawled to 15 without loss, but the occa- sional big hit from the openers boosted Settle’s score.
However, that was fol
lowed by the opening wicket, as Barry Spencer had Green clean-bowled for 21. •More tight bowling from
Ribblesdale followed from both Spencer and John Braithwaite, and after 21 overs, Settle had posted just 57-1. - The hosts were guilty of a generally poor catching display, but Braithwaite claimed his wicket with a stunning reflex catch off his own bowling to remove Keith Hornby for 32. Smith returned to the
attack and bowled well, removing opposite number Robin Morris (18) and the rest of Settle’s middle order with a mixture of fine yorkers and well-dis guised slower balls. Settle
eventually
reached 128-7 off their 45 overs, with each of the four Ribblesdale bowlers returning respectable fig ures. In reply, the home side got off to a poor start los
ing Ryan Gladwin for two,' and then Martin Peel for seven after a catastrophic run out. Alastair March and
Smith repaired the dam age slightly, pushing the hosts up towards the 50- mark, before Paul Ridge way claimed the first of his seven victims, removing March for 20. Three wickets fell with
the score on 55, leaving Ribblesdale six men down and still well short of their target. Spencer hung around for
a while, picking up some much-needed singles and the occasional boundary before falling to Settle skipper Davidson for nine. Backed up by S. Kerr
(14 not out), Martin Brig gs occupied the crease and played a captains innings, giving his side a chance of 'victory. He top-scored with a
well-structured 33 before falling to Ridgeway, but with him went any real hope of a Ribblesdale win. Credit must go to Settle
for defending a low score, and particularly to Ridge way, who bowled accurate
ly. But Ribblesdale must
look into some of the indi vidual shot selections and try to build meaningful partnerships it they are to have a successful cam paign. This weekend sees the
first double header of the season, with Wanderers facing to tough encoun ters. First they travel to (jreat Harwood on Saturday, before a home game with local rivals and defending champions Read on Sun day, wickets are pitched at 1-30 p.m.
Law, skipper and professional set about the chase. Whalley and Nurse blasted
their side to 84 after just 13 overs. But the arrival of Chris Holt
proved an instant success, as he removed both in the same over. First Nurse fell after finding the
safe hands of William Driver for 34, before Whalley was clean- bowled for 43. Holt was to go on to grab a five-
wicket haul, Paul Houldsworth (16), Allan Armer (2) and Paul Newton (1). And despite a run-a-ball knock
of 63 from Howarth, Harwood were eventually skittled for 193. Read will look to carry on this
form as they go into the first dou ble header of the season this week end. And it is a case of double derby action, as they travel to Whalley on Saturday before a trip to Ribblesdale Wanderers.
TW^siM'ard lies; Terrv Lillie
Whalley make a flying start
WHALLEY got their 2005 VEKA Ribblesdale League season off to the best possi ble start on Saturday. After the opening week
end washout, they picked up all seven points against Oswaldtwistle Immanuel at Station Road. And it was a welcome
relief for last season wood en spoonists, who won just four games in 2004. Four wickets from Ben
Dowling were the key to this 11101017, as he pressured the -visitors from the off. But defending 146 from
the first innings, it was Lee Burgess who struck first, clean bowling Ryan Duxbury in the opening over. Immanuel -were struggling
to find runs, and feUow open er Oliver Clare fell for a 17- ball duck when he holed out to John Rsun off Dowling. And despite a brief
revival from sub profes sional Shahid Mahood (19), both he and Anthony Dignan (1) fell in quick succession to leave the vis itors on 23-4. Gerard and Andrew
Metcalf steadied the ship somewhat as they added 47 for the fifth wicket, before the latter was held by Davies off David O’Neill for 24. Gerard fell almost
immediately afterwards when he holed out to Sam Taylor on the same score, with Paul Dignan and Kurt Smithson joining him before the score had reached three figures. Dowling and Simon
Gorton then cleaned up the tail-end between them to skittle Oswaldtwistle for 105, and pick up the two bonus points. Earlier in the day, Whal
ley made a slow start themselves, hanging on at one stage on 41-4. It was Smithson who ripped through the home
side’s top order, claiming three wickets including the prize of Whalley paid man Phil Thornton for just 18. But as Gorton came to
the middle to partner Rain, the pair added 60 in what proved to be a match-ivinning fifth ivick- et stand. Immanuel had probed
and probed in search of the breakthrough, and two came along at once. First professional
Mahood broke through Rain’s defences to bowl him for 34, after he had cracked four fours and a six. And with just one run
added to the total Gorton had followed him, after he edged Mahood behind to wicket keeper Mark Groom for 27. Dowling (0) made a
brief appearance in the middle before he was trapped in front by Gerard Metcalf, and he had his second victim when he bowled Andy Pratt for 17 with the score on 120-8. Oswaldtwistle must
have though at this stage that the end of the innings was in sight, but after Sam Taylor had been caught by Clare off Mahood, O’Neill had other ideas. He and Burgess (9)
added a crucial 21 for the final wicket, as O’Neill hit two fours on his way to 11. O’Neill did finally fall
after he was clean-bowled by Smithson, but by then it seemed the damage had been done. And so it proved, as
Whalley made a winning start to the 2005 season. Martin Davies’ side will
look for more of the same weekend, as they go into the first double header of the campaign. First, they wel come champions Read to Station Road on Saturday, before travelling to Bamoldswick 24 hours later.
m .
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