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LCF Inter-League 2023

NPCL/PS  U18

V  

North West Cricket League 

Monday 29^th May 2023  at  Brinscall CC

Match Report

Pretty little 50s rarely win matches, nice big hundreds generally do. A classy and chanceless century from Chorley’s Zayn Wadiwala was the proof of this adage. It was the basis of what, in the end, was a comfortable 7-wicket victory against the North West Cricket League.

When skies are blue and the sunshine unfiltered; when the outfield is fast with a relatively short boundary on the downhill side, the first task of a captain is to win the toss. James Dunn called correctly but the unruly coin had a mind of its own. So, it was a case of slap on a hat, slosh on the suncream and all go out together. 

Penwortham’s Ryan Roberts took the new ball and bowled with good pace and control. He troubled both openers, finding the outside edge on several occasions only to see the ball somehow evade the slips and scurry off to the unprotected third man boundary. A little bit of luck and some quality batting helped the NWCL get off to a flying start.  At the end of the first powerplay the field went back and this helped to stem the flow of runs… to a degree. Nevertheless, the NWCL reached 200 for the loss of only two wickets and plenty of overs remaining. At the second drinks break the scoreboard did not make comfortable reading. Best not to look at it. Instead, focus on ways of going on the attack and winning the last 16 overs.

In his second spell, Ryan Roberts made an important breakthrough and picked up a much deserved second wicket. The old cricket sage says, ‘one brings two’.  A brilliant pick-up and direct hit from Zayn Wadiwala produced a run out and a sense of momentum-shift. With two new batsmen at the crease, there was an opportunity to put on the ‘squeeze’ and apply pressure. 

Leaving overs up his sleeve for the ‘death’, Ryan was replaced by Garstang’s Adam Ball. Simple plans are often the best. Adam bowled exactly how a bowler should when the keeper is up to the stumps - full and straight. Our lads showed that they could catch after all and wickets tumbled. What had looked like a potential score of 320+ was suddenly 268 all out. In the last 16 overs we had taken 8 wickets and conceded only 53 runs. Believing a par score to be 300 there was good reason to be upbeat and confident. So, it was over to the batsmen. What we needed was to get off to a good start.

Taking strike, Zayn Wadiwala cut the first two balls of our reply to the boundary. A pull shot through mid-wicket three balls later meant we had 12 runs on the board after the first over.  This set the tone and tempo. Miller Childs played judiciously against the seamers and particularly well against the spinners. Using the depth of his crease and playing off the back foot, he skilfully picked gaps on the off-side. Meanwhile Zayn accepted the senior role. With impeccable judgement of length and apparently effortless, unflustered strokeplay, he scored fluently in a wide arc. A superb six back over the sight screen - a shot we probably wouldn’t have seen from Zayn 12 months ago - took him into the nervous nineties. Not nervous for Zayn you understand but prolonged torture for his dad. 

An opening stand of 165 put us in control of the game. At the fall of the first wicket, Adam Ball arrived at the crease and following his 4 for 19, continued the good work.  Very little missed the middle of his bat and on the one occasion it did the ball somehow flew over fine leg for six. Skipper James Dunn came in at the fall of the third wicket and played like he had an urgent appointment. With a flurry of boundaries, he put an expensive dent in a parked car and finished the game in style. The victory target was reached with 6 overs to spare. 

Zayn’s knock (fifteen 4s and two 6s), was his first ton of the season but the third of his inter-league career. When he reaches a half-century, he merely re-takes his guard and starts again. Talent is important; technique is important but the essential attribute of a proper batsman is an insatiable hunger for runs. For Zayn 50 is never going to be enough but in this game, it’s a moot point whether his hundred was enough to bag the man-of-the-match award. Adam Ball staked his own claim with an undefeated half-century, four wickets and on a batsman-friendly day, the best bowling analysis of a by a thousand cricketing miles.

Scores:             NWCL  268 all out (50 overs) – Phillipson 82, Ball 4 for 19

                        NLPS    269 – 3   (44 overs)    -  Wadiwala 101, Childs 52, Ball 56 not out

U18 Inter-League Squad 2023

The squad is deliberately large (27) because we know how A-level and GCSE exams impacts in this age group, but it also reflects the depth of talent we have available.

In this age group we have two who are in the Lancashire Academy - Harry Birkman (St. Annes CC) and Alfie Dobson (Chorley CC) - and therefore ineligible for inter-league. Similarly, Charlie Parkinson (Torrisholme CC) is in Lancashire’s Emerging Players Programme and as such also ineligible for inter-league.

Competition for Places
This is representative cricket which sits in the county pathway immediately beneath county age group cricket. Competition for places is essential. In this age group we are guided by past performance along with the current form players are showing and the progress they are making with their clubs. Scorecards on play-cricket.com are scrutinised every week. We are also aware that some are required to play school cricket and in consequence, miss club games.

The Squad

Captain
James Dunn Chorley CC

Wicket-keepers/batsmen
Harry McAleer Fleetwood CC
Jack Davies Tarleton CC
Aaron Stephenson Netherfield CC

Batters/Bowlers/All-rounders (alphabetical by surname)
Sam Astley Eccleston CC
Adam Ball Garstang CC
Ryan Birkman St Annes CC
Caleb Bradford Longridge CC
Ashton Charles Garstang CC
Miller Childs Croston CC
Hugo Croft Garstang CC
Dan Golding Rufford CC
Josh Greaves Tarleton CC
Dominic Harvey Walton-le-Dale/Leyland
Ethan Hill Kirkham & Wesham CC
Stan Howarth Blackpool CC
Reece Irving Netherfield CC
Kashif Jamil Vernon Carus CC
Matthew Lawrenson Blackpool CC
Jack McKenna Eccleston CC
Dilan Patel Fulwood & Broughton CC
Joe Pearson Garstang CC
Henry Proctor Longridge CC
Ryan Roberts Penwortham CC
Rayyan Tailor Penwortham CC
Anupam Tripathi Fulwood & Broughton CC
Zayn Wadiwala Chorley CC

Fixture Dates
Please look at the fixture dates below and confirm the fixtures for which you will be available/unavailable for selection by emailing David: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and please copy in Rachel: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mon 29th May v NWCL away 10.45am
Sun 25th June v Wigan JL home 10.45am
Thurs 6th July v Liverpool &DCC away 10.45am
Sun 16th July v GMCL away 10.45am
Fri 11th Aug v Lancs League home 10.45am

Thank you.

Junior Cricket Development ‐ U15 Squad 2023 Season

Hi All
I am pleased to confirm the 2023 Northern League / Palace Shield Interleague U15 squad, as detailed below. This is a step up from club cricket and bridges the gap between club cricket and the County Pathway.

U15 Interleague 2023 Squad List

Caleb Wilson – Netherfield CC
Charlie Bray – Fulwood & Broughton CC
Charlie Evans – Penwortham CC
Charlie McKenna – Eccleston CC
Connor Lyon – Rufford CC
Daniel Gee – Longridge CC
Ed Pearson – Garstang CC
Finlay Tupman – FyldeCC
George Dolan – Fylde CC
Henry Swift – Lancaster CC
Josh Ellis – Leyland CC
Joshua Birch – Longridge CC
Junaid Doctor – Leyland CC (Lancashire)
Oliver Sanday – Sedgewick CC
Ollie Toulmin – Shireshead CC
Rayyan Patel – Lancaster CC
Rory Urquhart – St Annes CC (Lancashire)
Sam Judge – Fulwood & Broughton CC
Siddarth Mourughank – Lancaster CC
Stanley Collinson – Shireshead CC
Theo Smith – Fylde CC (Lancashire)
William Thomas – Fylde CC
Zeke Braithwaite – Leyland CC

For those not selected:
The competition for places was tough, and we would encourage all those not selected to return to their clubs and work hard to get a place next season. Coaches on the interleague programme will keep an eye on play cricket, and should we feel a player has been missed we will invite him to join up with the squad during the season. We are unable to give individual feedback for all players involved as there are simply too many but here is some general guidance:
Bowlers – what do you offer? Fast / Spin / Swing? Is this repeatable and are you starting to include a variation?
Batters – consistent set up with application. Can you put the bad ball to the boundary? Can you defend the good ball? Can you hit 360?
Wicket‐Keepers – consistent stance. Take the ball cleanly? Foot movement? Can you take both off side and leg side deliveries? Can you stand up to the stumps?

Last but certainly not least, I would like to introduce you to our U15 interleague coach for this season.

Jonathan Hall – Excel Coaching – Team Manager
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Junior Cricket Development U14 Squad 2023 Season

Hi All
I am pleased to confirm the 2023 Northern League / Palace Shield Interleague U14 squad, as detailed below. This is a step up from club cricket and bridges the gap between club cricket and the County Pathway.

I am aware that trials were hampered due to the weather at this age group, so a decision has been made to announce some of the squad. This is based upon last season’s interleague, club performances and the winter development programme.
We are looking for a total squad size of 17‐18 players to ensure availability in the holiday season, meaning we still have approximately 6 squad places which will be selected based upon performance. We will be observing other nominations at club games during the season.

U14 Interleague 2023 Squad List

Alfie Williams – St Annes CC
Cian Gorst – Garstang CC
Jonathan Waugh – Chorley CC
Joshua Holt – Longridge CC
Louie Trayers – Longridge CC
Oscar Douglas – Longridge CC
Spencer Evans – Fleetwood CC
Venkishen Duddukuri – Tarleton CC
Xavier Dineley – St Annes CC
Zach Ives – Longridge CC
Zayd Namajee – Fulwood & Broughton CC

For those not selected:
The competition for places was tough, and we would encourage all those not selected to return to their clubs and work hard to get a place next season. Coaches on the interleague programme will keep an eye on play cricket, and should we feel a player has been missed we will invite him to join up with the squad during the season. We are unable to give individual feedback for all players involved as there are simply too many but here is some general guidance:
Bowlers – what do you offer? Fast / Spin / Swing? Is this repeatable and are you starting to include a variation?
Batters – consistent set up with application. Can you put the bad ball to the boundary? Can you defend the good ball? Can you hit 360?
Wicket‐Keepers – consistent stance. Take the ball cleanly? Foot movement? Can you take both off side and leg side deliveries? Can you stand up to the stumps?

Last but certainly not least, I would like to introduce you to our U14 interleague coach for this season.

Paul Douglas – Longridge CC – Team Manager
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.