Wallasey Cricket Club of the Liverpool Competition, winners of the Quinn
Foden Cheshire Cup in 1998, again reached the final this season. They
cruised to a comfortable victory in the semi-final against Cheadle Hulme of
the Cheshire County League Premier Division.
Having elected to bat on a wet wicket, Wallasey struggled to a total
of 128 for 8 in their allotted 40 overs, helped by a gutsy 57 from skipper Mike
Beaver. This total should have been achievable despite the conditions, but
Cheadle never liked the look of the pitch and failed to apply themselves
against some excellent bowling, mustering only 56 all out. Pick of the
bowlers was Phil Luxon, an occasional medium pacer, who devastated the
opposition with a spell of 6 wickets for only 10 runs in his 8 over spell,
supported throughout by some fine fielding and catching.
Wallasey's opponents for the final, staged at the compact Wallasey Oval
ground, turned out to be neighbours and arch-rivals New Brighton, 1998
Liverpool Competition champions, who had seen off Bramhall fairly easily in
the other semi-final. The pairing ensured a match which was possibly even
more tense and exciting than the final staged at the same venue last season
against Warrington, when Wallasey won dramatically with a six off the
penultimate ball of the game.
This time, played in front of a raucous and partisan crowd of around
500 spectators, New Brighton batted first on what appeared to be a difficult
pitch. Wallasey's opening bowlers gave nothing away, making scoring almost
impossible. Mark Anderson finished his allotted 8 over spell with 1 for 14,
whilst Ian (Eddie) Hemsworth ended up with 2 for 14. New Brighton were
rescued to a great degree by Steve Nealy (47) and Paul Watson (43) who hit
out well and put on a valuable 94 run partnership. Charlie Lamb chipped in
with a quick 24 not out towards the end, to give New Brighton a respectable
total of 187 for 7 at the close of their 40 overs.
Wallasey set about the chase in uneasy fashion early on, Mike Beaver going
cheaply to a hotly disputed catch, which created even greater tension
amongst players and spectators alike. Only when Zac Feather and Mike Hughes
joined each other at the crease did Wallasey increase the tempo. Feather
scored an immaculate 68, whilst Hughes stayed through to the conclusion with
45 not out, the pair putting on 112 runs. However, some tight, penetrative
bowling from Simon Verry (3-16) and John Horrocks (2-25), supported by Neil
Cross (0-16), ensured that Wallasey would have to emulate their previous
season's performance to retain the cup.
Their supporters need not have worried as the promoted 2nd XI
youngster, Chris Bourne, who appeared nerveless as he strode to the wicket, scored 9 runs from 5 balls, hitting a 4 to win the match with 3 balls to spare. Zac Feather was rightly named Man of the Match for his batting, made to look
easy on a less than perfect track.
Full credit to Wallasey, as never before in the history of this
competition has a club managed to retain the cup, but they do make life difficult for themselves with these continual heart-stopping finishes!