ONE FOR THE POOLS COUPON AT UPPERMILL.
Sunday saw the third team make the long journey to Uppermill CC, after losing the toss Clifton were sent in to bat on a very green looking wicket. Captain Steve McManus accompanied Ethan Kite to the middle but the partnership was short lived, Steve was dismissed by a delicious ball in the first over. Experienced batsman Chris Lord took to the crease and got to work with Ethan to get Clifton back on steady ground.
A steady and sensible partnership gave Clifton a good foundation to push on from with big Steve’s side 74-2. Middle order batsmen Higham, Winstanley and Keogh all fell for a combined 9 runs leaving the situation looking a lot more precarious. Owen Hogben looked comfortable with his promotion to 6, attempting to bat through the remaining overs to guide his team to a decent score.
Unfortunately, poor shot selection and wild running between the wickets meant that the remaining batsmen were on the way back to the pavilion in little time, leaving Clifton 115 all out off 31 overs.
The usual partnership of Keogh and Worthington began Clifton’s defence of a low score on ground a lot smaller than most, Lewis and Tom bowled well from either end ,but struggled to get the wickets necessary to gain the upper hand. Captain Steve turned to Owen early in the game for a breakthrough, a superb combination in the field between Owen and Tom led to a run out of Uppermill’s experienced opener. Economical bowling from the two young lads again saw the prospects of defending the low target grow. Tom was replaced by Elliot at the end of his spell and the Hogben brothers began to work their way through the Uppermill middle order. Owen 2-22 and Elliot 3-31 thought they had pulled the game back round with Uppermill requiring 36 runs to win with one wicket remaining. A short spell from Jordan Higham did not get the wicket that Clifton desperately needed together with a superb knock from Uppermill’s last stand meant that loose balls were punished and the game took yet another turn.
In the 29th over, just as the locals piled out of the bar in search of real entertainment after 45 minutes of watching Gareth Southgate’s England Uppermill pulled level much to the delight of the home support. With many thinking the game was a forgone conclusion Tom Worthington had one last throw of the dice and rolled his fingers down the back of a now trademark slower ball, forcing the batsman to divert the ball down onto his own stumps. Both teams had been bowled out for 115, the game was a tie and three points were shared, something that must surely be a first for most of the juvenile Clifton team.
Pick of the bowlers must go to T. Worthington for holding his nerve at a crucial moment to finish with figures of 27-3 from 7.5 overs.
The tie means that two streaks are continued for another week - Steve McManus’ 3rd XI remain unbeaten so far this season, a feat to be proud of as we enter July. As well as this, young Charlie Seddon has still not played in a winning or losing side after turning out 6 times at senior level - 5 games abandoned in play and one tie!