northwichcc

Stockport - 92/9 (20 overs)
Northwich - 96/4 (17 overs)
Result - Northwich win by 6 wickets

Northwich 2nd XI capped another fantastic season by lifting the Mellor Braggins League Twenty20 Cup at finals day on Sunday. It is their second T20 Cup Final victory in 3 seasons and captain Mark O'Neil hailed his team for another dominant performance. Jon Price deservedly claimed the Man-of-the-Match award for his outstanding contribution with both bat and ball but O'Neil was quick to praise every member of his squad. He also thanked the travelling 'army' of supporters that made the short journey across town to finals day hosts, Barnton CC. He stated 'The support we had today was fantastic, every wicket was cheered when we were in the field and every run when we batted. You can't put a price on support like that - but my team responded to it and put on a performance that everyone involved in the club can be proud of!'
Once again O'Neil won the toss and asked Stockport to bat first on a fantastic looking track at Barnton. Credit must be given to Barnton CC & their ground staff for producing such a great wicket given the recent weather conditions. Given the occasion, it was no surprise when the new ball was handed to experienced pair Rich Maddock and Jon Price. They both hit the deck hard from the outset and Stockport struggled in the opening overs as a series of deliveries had them playing and missing. With the pressure building rapidly, Maddock struck to give Northwich their 1st wicket. Stockports' opener being outdone for pace and nicking the ball behind for wicket-keeper Andrew Pickstock to claim a simple catch with the score on just 9. Stockport continued to play in an aggressive manner and a flurry of boundaries pushed the score to 33 before Price removed the other opener thanks to the safe hands of O'Neil at mid-off. Price finished with fantastic figures of 1-8 from his allotted 4 overs!
Ashley Sefton replaced Maddock and he quickly removed the big-hitting no.3 batsmen thanks to a stunning catch from Matt Lightburn at square. The game was now well balanced with Stockport on 52/3 from 9 overs. However, Stockport must have been watching Englands' recent one-day batting displays as they lost their next 6 wickets for just 27 runs! The collapse started with the introduction of O'Neil and Matt Lightburn into attack. O'Neil took a wicket in his 1st over with Mike Whitehead pouncing to take a catch at gulley. Then Lightburn followed that up with a wicket in his 1st over! Lightburn is known for his excellent 'death' bowling and a trademark yorker sent the stumps cart-wheeling to leave Stockport reeling on 65/5. O'Neil then took two wickets in as many balls to make that scorecard read 67/7. The 1st was thanks to a superb diving catch from Craig Douglas and the 2nd clean bowled! Lightburn continued to dominate and another two yorkers claimed another two victims! Stockport had been reduced to 79/9. Douglas came on to complete the overs at the other end and yet again, Stockport were unable to put bat on ball. They eventually ended their innings on 92/9, with Lightburn finishing with outstanding figures on 3-12 from his four overs! In truth it was probably the best bowling/fielding display of their Twenty20 campaign and to restrict their opponents to just 92 from 20 overs was exceptional.

Bowling figures. Maddock 1-19 from 3 overs, Price 1-8 from 4 overs, Sefton 1-21 from 3 overs, O'Neil 3-21 from 4 overs, Lightburn 3-12 from 4 overs & Douglas 0-5 from 2 overs.

Lightburn and Douglas were paired to open the batting but disaster struck after just two deliveries. Lightburn was dismissed for a duck after being caught at mid-on. At 0/1, O'Neil promoted his 'coolest' batsmen up the order as Pete Gibbon was sent out to join Douglas in the middle. The pair scored slowly under some intense pressure and moved the score along to 11 before Douglas (4) also departed the scene after being caught. Northwich were on the rocks as veteran Ant Shaw strolled out to the crease. Northwich needed an urgent re-building job but instead they were thrown into further disarray as Shaw departed for a golden duck. Northwich were now 11/3 from 5 overs!
Stockport were visibly lifted as 'star man' Price entered the arena. He and Gibbon managed to avoid the distraction of the constant sledging and their own batsmen running to get padded up and slowly but surely they began to get the scoreboard ticking over again. Aided by numerous wide balls, Northwich moved onto 23/3 from 8 overs. The pair had also removed the danger of the Stockport opening bowlers as they had used up their allotted four overs. This proved to be a 'key' moment in the game as the change bowlers didn't pose anything like the same threat. Price soon realised this and exploded into life with a series of boundaries. The pick of which was a pull shot for four that bounced just once before crossing the rope. Not satisfied with that - he then smashed the same bowler to the opposite fence to send the Northwich contingent into raptures. Gibbon realised the shift in control and simply ensured that Price was getting the majority of the strike now. With fielders scattered everywhere, Northwich were now able to pick up easy runs by guiding the ball around the park for singles. However, a hasty attempt at another single proved to be their downfall as Price was run-out for 37 from just 31 balls. The pair had moved the score onto 67 and their partnership was worth 56 in just 9 overs.
O'Neil still had 3 men padded up - but decided to send out Sefton to join Gibbon at the crease. Sefton has a reputation for being a 'big-hitter' and he certainly didn't disappoint the crowd with this innings! Northwich now needed 26 to win from 6 overs and Gibbon was to be a spectator for most of this partnership too! Sefton took an over to get his eye in - then smashed boundaries to all parts! He also hit the only 6 of the game by smashing one back over the bowlers head and into the sight-screen at the school end! Northwich had moved to within one scoring shot of victory as the 17th over began. A couple of singles for both batsmen then left the scores tied on 92 and Sefton on strike for the final delivery of the over! He dispatched another delivery over the infield as Northwich grabbed a 6 wicket victory! Sefton had clubbed his way to 20 not out from just 12 balls as Northwich won with 3 overs to spare. Praise must also go to Gibbon for his role in batting through all but two deliveries of the innings. He kept the strike rotating and helped to put considerable pressure on Stockports' fielders with some aggressive running between the wickets. Gibbon eventually finished unbeaten on a patient 17 from 39 deliveries!

A tearful O'Neil said 'Winter must be long for those without warm memories. We've made those memories possible by winning this trophy today! But, being a winner is more than getting a 1st place trophy. The trophy is just a decoration. Winners act like the effort they gave was an honour - just captaining this side today was an honour! Any man can hold a girls' hand, but only the elite can hold her feet.'


Northwich line-up:
M Lightburn, C Douglas, P Gibbon, A Shaw, J Price, A Sefton, A Pickstock (wk), S James, R Maddock, M Whitehead, M O'Neil (c)

One of the best reports ever written.

Only spoilt by the bull**it ''quoted'' by Bo at the end.

Bulls**t - Bo is a master with these quotes - fair play to him I say

Keep them coming the beast

to be fair to funk i have heard Bo say that before

funk, i think that someone needs to do a write up on the celebrations that followed the win?? any takers? i would but i cant remember much

Ive heard beast was all tucked up for 7pm
awwwwww bless

Very true Carts mate!
Though we did warn him about getting into a round with Jimmy!!

Bit generous that Carts, he was long gone at 6 lol

Craig I can clairfy it was about 6.20 when the big lad 'sloped' off as he was feeling "tired"

We have all been there, in a round with Jimmy.
I did at Chester races i lasted till after midnight, but i did go sleep for half an hour in a pub about tea time.......... good times tho