On Sunday Worsley visitedManchester Road in a rearranged league fixture due to the start of the season beingdelayed. Clifton won the toss and followed usual procedure by sticking the oppositionin to bat as usual the plan was coming together with Worsley 56-4 andstruggling Clifton were on top. Unfortunately, a good rear guard action andseveral dropped catches saw Worsley tick over 200 and set a good target for Cliftonto chase.

In reply Clifton were always thereand there abouts but a much depleted batting line up struggled in the lattermiddle overs to keep up with the required rate. Ethan batted nicely for a halfcentury but never really hit 2^nd gear due to some patient line andlength bowling. Higham Dorsey and Barton looked to kick the run rate on butonce all 3 had fell, the Worsley total was just a step too far. Clifton ended30 short whilst giving it a good go but could’ve come away with the 5 points ifthe normal line was fully available.

A Sunday morning downpour exacerbated the well documented ground issues at Roe Green in the re-arranged game from April, and there was a considerable delay before the game could go ahead. Richard Dempster must have wondered if he’s done the right thing by electing to bat, as the early order struggled at snail's pace to come to terms with the conditions, whilst losing crucial wickets in the process and only some spirited late order resistance rescued the total from 47-6, to edge past the three figure mark on 108 with only Zach Flaxman reaching the 20 mark. On a day best consigned to the dustbin of mediocrity, Roe Green cantered to 109-3, leapfrogging into 2nd place in the process. Egerton’s points from a washed-out game moved them to 3rd and Richard’s men must go again next weekend to chip away at Edgworth’s seven-point lead, with a home game against Woodbank, who were dumped to the bottom of the league courtesy of Westhoughton’s win over Denton West. We all know that there’s no such thing as an easy game in this most competitive of divisions, however, and the lads will have to be at their best to take the points.

Saturday saw the 1^st XI visit some familiar facesat Flixton CC in a game that contained 4 sets of brothers and also included 17 playerswho had represented Clifton.

Unfortunately, it looked like the main talking point wasgoing to be the pitch due to it not being covered the day before and all ofFriday night’s torrential rain landing directly on it. Both umpires were not entirelyhappy to start due to the fact you could literally put your finger in thepitch.

Former Clifton skipper and professional Gareth Cross won thetoss and unsurprisingly stuck Clifton in. The pitch played as expected with someballs pitching and rolling and others popping and spitting over the batsman’shead. Unfortunately, Clifton lost Settle and Meyer quickly whilst Sam battled througha tough period along with professional Ayres. Just as Dorsey was looking settleda leg stump half volley popped and sent the ball vertical off the bat and wewere potentially in a bit of trouble. Hamilton joined Ayres and both went onthe counter. Ben made a brisk 34 in 34 balls and put some serious pressure onthe Flixton attack. When Hamilton fell Ayres continued to accumulate runs butonce he got to 50 he went into overdrive. Ryan took 100 balls to get to 50 but then got to 103 in the next 21 ballswith some ferocious hitting including one which nearly landed in Urmston. It was an innings of immense class and the kind of thing we're getting used to seeing from Ryan. Clifton finally posted 222-9 in their 50 overs which in all honestly was worth around400!

In reply Flixton went with a bit of a chalk and cheeseapproach with Luke Perry going on the attack and Harry Singh playing very muchan observing role. Singh’s barrier was eventually broken when our skippertrapped him in front for 21 of 68 balls and out came Gareth Cross. The feelingwas that this was the key partnership to break with Perry in his forties andCross capable of destroying any attack. Cross latched quickly on to a shortball which was hit hard to the boundary and I think the feelings were he’d got “in”very quickly until Richard Dempster decided it would only be short stay for theformer Clifton pro.

Dempster ran his fingers across one with a bit of rip on itand managed to produce a ball which I genuinely think would’ve removed any batsman.The delivery pitched just outside leg stump and clipped the very top of offstump and meant that Gareth had to go.

A low bouncing shorter ball from Ben and a great piece offielding from Jordy saw the back of McCann and Holt and Clifton tails were up.

There was a brief period of hitting from 2 other ex-Cliftonlads in Hurt and Cheetham but never really enough to worry about. In the endFlixton fell 71 short and Clifton took 5 points back to Manchester Road.

The thirds made it a triple whammy of wins on Sunday as they progressed into the next round of the Sunday Premier Cup with a six wicket win in the June, not-so-sweltering, ten degrees of heat at Springhead. The result was by no means as comfortable as the score suggests however, as a single partnership of 106 between Jordy Higham and evergreen Chris Lord was the difference on the day. Dodging the raindrops, the hosts batted first and the Clifton attack struggled with the wet ball resulting in some inaccurate bowling and mistakes in the field which the home batsmen punished. However, the young side managed to stay in the game, although the total of 152 (reduced by Duckworth/Lewis to 141) in 31 overs was nevertheless daunting. Jordy Higham struggled manfully against both the batting and a side strain which cannot have been helped by the freezing conditions, finishing with 2-25 and Lucas Haslam weighed in with 2-6 at the end when their remaining batters were throwing everything at the ball. It was then Springhead’s turn to manage the wet ball, and sadly for them, lack of ‘cricket nowse’ saw them unbelievably rolling the ball back to the bowler along the sopping grass, rather than trying to keep it dry. Jordy (52) and Chris (60no) took full advantage and from 9 for 2, put on 106 at well over a run a ball. The final target was achieved in 28 overs and well received by the Clifton faithful that numbered almost as many as the team. Highlights of the day were a superb catch in the deep with a sopping ball by young Owen Hogben and a not so ‘gainly’ attempt at catching a ball over the boundary, that was going for six, by a certain Mr. Worthington, who ended up flat on his posterior. Special thanks to Springhead, not only for ‘getting the game on’, but for their sporting and friendly welcome and, remarkably for Sunday cricket, the provision of teas. We wish them luck for the rest of the season.

The  firsts  made  it  back  to  back  league  wins  and  four  from  four  in  all  competitions,  with  a  comfortable win  in  the  idyllic  surroundings of  Bradshaw  on  Saturday.

With  the  out-of-action second  teamers  swelling the  numbers,  there  was  a  decent  crowd  out  enjoying the  sweltering  heat  as  Richard Dempster  lost  the  toss  and  led  his  troops  out  to  do  battle  with  the  home  side’s  batsmen and  the  unforgiving sun.  One  again, the  bowling  attack were  able  to  take  wickets at  crucial  stages of  the  game.  An  opening stand  of  41  looked  threatening, but  that  was  quickly  reduced to  47-2  with  Dan  Higham striking  twice.  Ben  Hamilton  (pictured) then  stepped  in  with  the  vital  wicket of  Dickinson,  brilliantly caught  by  Dave  Dempster,  and  despite  a  number  of  batsmen  getting into  double  figures, he  ground  out  wickets  at  regular  intervals, finishing  with  impressive figures  of  6-39  off  15  overs  to  add  to  the  4-4  he  captured in  the  midweek under  18  game.  Dan  Higham mopped  up  to  continue  his  early  season form  and  finish with  3-42,  before Sam  Dorsey  and  Joe  Settle started  the  reply  with  a  stand  of  57.  For  the  second week  in  a  row,  Sam  found  himself on  the  receiving end  of  a  stunning  catch, but  Joe  went  on  to  complete  a  composed  half  century  in  a  stand  of  77  with  Max  Meyer,  who’s  also  in  a  bit  of  form  himself,  before falling  for  64.  After  a  slight  stutter in  which  two  further  wickets tumbled,  the  game  was  put  to  bed  with  more  than  20  overs  to  spare.  Remarkably, after  two  games, only  one  other  club  has  a  100%  record  in  this  most competitive  of  leagues, and  that  will become  one  next week  as  we meet  Edgworth,  the other  100%  side, at  Manchester  Road with  a  12.30 start.

The league season got underway  at  last  on  Saturday, with  the  club  being  one  of  very few,  if  any  at  all,  to  get first  and  second  XI  games  in.  The firstsstarted  on  time,  playing  the  full  50 overs, in  a  division  in which  two games  didn’t  even  start. 

The recent  filthy weather  made  it  a  tricky  task  for opening  pair  Sam  Dorsey  and  Joe Settle  who,  after  dispatching  a  couple of  early  gifts,  found  himself  lbw  to the  first  of  Pilling’s  five  victims. Sam,  though,  was  in  ‘they  shall  not pass’  mode,  as  he  dug  in  with Max  Meyer,  to  provide  the  sort  of platform  for  a  late  change  into attack  mode,  much  like  last  week  at Wallasey.  That  partnership  of  101,  with Max  bringing  up  his  first  Clifton  half century,  was  the  impetus  for  an scenario  that  was  very  similar  in nature  to  last  week,  with  Ryan  Ayers (30  off  49)  then    Mason  Turner (21  off  16),  Ben  Hamilton  (12  off 16)  and  Matt  Howarth  (13  off  8) all  bludgeoning  some  very  big  maximums, taking  the  score  to  an  imposing  201, considering  the  conditions  and  the  fact that  the  opposition  bowling  and  fielding was  largely  first  rate.

Shaw  started well,  but  as  always,  wickets  slow  down the  progress  and  after  skipper  Richard Dempster  removed  both  openers  with  22 and  23  on  the  board,  Shaw  were always  going  to  be  up  against  it. Again,  the  bowling  attack  complimented  each other  well,  grinding  out  wickets  and maidens  with  growing  ease,  allowing  Danny Higham  to  return  after  a  tricky  first spell,  to  demolish  the  lower  order with  5-21.  Only  Mason  found  it  difficult to  hit  a  length  and  came  away wicketless  and  it’s  heartening  to  see that,  when  one  bowler  has  an  off day,  the  rest  step  up  to  the plate.  Shaw  finally  succumbed  for  132,  but it  has  to  be  said  that  they will  surprise  a  few  teams  this  season with  their  all  round  quality.  

So,  a good  day  at  the  office  and  onward an  upwards  into  the  cup  tie  and next  week’s  visit  to  the  idyllic pastures  of   Bradshaw,  who’s  promotion party  at  Egerton  proved  a  damp  squib when  they  were  all  out  for  50.