Silverdale’s hopes of a title push took a set-back on Saturday as mid-table side Heysham held out for 2 points in a run fest at Carr Lane.
Silverdale’s captain fantastic Brendan Rich, won the toss and elected to bat before opening the batting and scoring a well played 39. The opening partnership between himself and Vice-captain Williams (52) of 84 put Silverdale in a commanding position. When Williams was adjudged to be caught behind of Boak (1-38), Dodds and Kieren Moffat came to the crease to hammer home the advantage in the final stages of the innings. Dodds (67) hit four sixes and seven fours in an aggressive knock, with Moffat (67no) starting more controlled and putting his foot firmly down towards the end of the innings. Silverdale declared with 2 overs remaining with the score 242-3.
In reply Heysham started well as Ideson (41) played the pinch hitter role. However, any chance of the win was well and truly stumped by the impressive Liam Moffat (5-44). The in-form pace man ripped through the Heysham top order in difficult bowling conditions and left Heysham on the rack at 93-5. The experience of Paul Antcliffe (18) and Richard Townsend (13) stopped the rot as Heysham parked the bus for 2 points. Lee Calverly (24no) kept out whatever Moffat and Williams threw at him during the latter stages and was joined by Danny Wilkinson (10no) as the innings came to an end at 194-8.
Silverdale A 100 Coniston A 61
With Division 5 leaders Bare not having a game, a win was of paramount importance to Silverdale, playing at home to Coniston.
Batting first, they were away to an inauspicious start, with Simon Waterhouse bowled round his legs by the left hander J Coldwell in his second over. Kenny Letcher was LBW to a low one whilst James Taylor lost patience with D Shaw. A Fletcher was looking solid until undone by W Maher with a prodigious off break. Meanwhile Mike Moon continued with a patient 20 until out caught at gully flashing at a wide one. The only other batsman to reach double figures was Ben Letcher with an enterprising 30. So Silverdale struggled to 100, giving Coniston an extra 4 overs.
J Coldwell, who did the early damage (18-3) and W Maher (24-4) were the pick of the bowlers.
The Coniston batsmen tried to blast their way to victory, but had no answer to the pace of James Taylor (25-2) and the accuracy of Sam Letcher (8-1). However at 52 for 3 from 14 overs, the match was finely balanced.
The first change bowlers did the trick, especially with catches at last going to hand and sticking, with Ben Letcher (14-4) and John McNulty (6-3) the last seven wickets only adding 9 runs as Coniston were dismissed for 61. A Warne (14) was the only batsman to make double figures. So Silverdale now lead Bare by one precious point, with two matches to go.
Silverdale 104-7 Bare 102ao
Silverdale narrowed the gap to the top of the Westmorland Division 1 to 19 points on Saturday with a 12 point victory over Morecambe side Bare.
With the weather forecast set to be below par, Silverdale captain Rich had no hesitation fielding first after winning the toss.
The travelling bowlers bowled good lines throughout the innings, preventing Bare from many scoring opportunities. Only Dave Kendal (25) and Cheetham (18) troubled the fielding side as the innings subsided to 102ao after 42nd overs. Paul Moffat was the pick of the attack, returning figures of 3-18. Chris Williams, Liam Moffat and Jon Mason all picking up 2 wickets a piece in good bowling conditions.
With Silverdale only missing their number 3 Kieren Moffat due to camping commitments with the scouts, the small target should never have been an issue. Williams (21) started the innings aggressively for Silverdale hitting the first ball of the reply out of the ground for 6. The first wicket fell in the 4th over with the score on 28. David McManus (16) held an end up well but could not prevent his side slumping to 63-5 which was down to some tight bowling from Bransby (4-49) and Cheetham (3-37). Graham Dodds (47not out) was the stand out batsmen for the Dale, showing aggressive intent with due care and attention, taking his side to a 3 wicket victory in the 27th over. Bare picking up a point for the 7th wicket.
Silverdale A 188-5 dec Kirby in Furness 119-9
Silverdale opted to bat and set up a reasonable total of 188. There was an early interruption for rain, but by declaring in time, the home side preserved the balance of the match and gained ten points for the winning draw.
Main contributions came from Simon Waterhouse (46) Ken Letcher (32) James Taylor (67 no) and Tom Cvijanovic (12 no) T Smith took 3-44.
In reply the young Kirby batsmen never really got going in the face of some tight bowling from the home team. S Marshal (25) proved particularly difficult to remove and was well supported by B Marshall (13) T Marshall (20) and T Harrison (21 no). The tail enders survived a few torrid overs with the 9th wicket falling on the last ball. Chaz Gaw took 3-8 and James Taylor 28-4 over two spells.
Silverdale 134 -9 Bare 135 -3
On Sunday in the Woodbridge and Mounsey 5th division cup semi final, Silverdale lost yet again to Bare, who have been their bete noire all season.
On a damp wicket the home side were put into bat and struggled to 134-9 from their 30 overs. Andy Fletcher top scored with 20 with 17 apiece from Ken and Ben Letcher. Top score went to extras (43)! Best of the bowling was P Sinclair (2-19) and J O'Donnell, only 1-14 of his six overs.
To win Silverdale needed early wickets, and a patient John Leamon (41 no) well supported by P Bronsbee (18) were denied this luxury. With M John (29) and D Whittaker (17) Bare reached the target with four overs to spare. This concluded a lack lustre weekend for the Silverdale A team
Silverdale 153 Burneside 91ao
Silverdale finally beat Burneside last weekend for the first time in three attempts this season. Home captain Brendan Rich won the toss and elected to bat first on a good looking surface in what seemed perfect batting conditions.
Captain and Vice opened the batting for Silverdale, however the partnership was broken in only 5 balls as Williams nicked behind for 8. Rich dropped the anchor on the new ball as Kieren Moffat (22) and Graham Dodds (36 from 39 balls) brought the momentum to the innings as Silverdale reached 95-5 after 30 overs. Jacob McManus (31) once again played the aggressor as he marshalled the tail well to post a competitive target of 153 as the innings closed in the 42nd over. Both Burneside spinners were the most profitable in the humid conditions as Wilson wrapped up the tail well to return figures of 6-45. Airey (3-51) also bowled a testing line, accounting for the wickets of Dodds and Kieren Moffat.
The Burneside reply never got started as the new ball brought 7 wickets in the first 16 overs of the innings. Liam Moffat (5-30) blew away the top order of the leagues joint leaders in a masterclass of pace bowling. Supported well by Williams (4-17), the two saw the back of 9 of the Burneside batsmen, with Paul Moffat (1-17) picking up 8th wicket. Only Stewart and Chris Dixon reached double figures for Burneside to reach 91 all out, but it wasn’t enough to pick up a point as Silverdale eventually clinched their 15 point victory in 33rd over.
Silverdale A 186-8 Galgate A 140ao
With 8 runs from the first over, Silverdale set off as intended.
However Mike Moon was removed first ball, a predetermined and
injudicious stroke, which brought Kenny Letcher (33) to join Jack
Hargreaves (79), an innings which included a plethora of boundaries.
The partnership produced 110 runs. With Ben Letcher (18) E Kane (10)
and T Cvijanovic (11 no) the only other batsmen to make double figures,
the score petered out at 186, a little short of the target of 200 from
40 overs.
In reply Galgate were away to a disastrous start with the score
soon 2 for two. G Shaw was particularly unfortunate, playing on to a
wide one. From there they struggled to 30 - 4 until R Goodman (41) and
T Morgan (53) came together and featured in a partnership of 70 runs.
In the glorious evening sunshine, the pitch was now not offering so
much assistance to the bowlers and Silverdale struggled to winkle out
the remaining batsmen. M Blundell and A Maymen managed to reach double
figures, but were not able to consolidate further. S. Townley went to
an outstanding caught and bowled by James Taylor who returned figures
of 5 for 34. B Letcher 3 -27 and S Wales 24-2 were the other wicket
takers. With eight balls to go B Letcher produced a good un which
finally did for T Morgan, thus giving Silverdale another 15 points.
Silverdale 197-9 Kirby Lonsdale 138
Silverdale continued their good run of form on Saturday with a 59 run win over a below strength Kirby Lonsdale.
Home captain Rich won the toss and confidently decided to bat first on a damp track. However, it was the travelling side that took the early advantage with both Dave McManus and Kieren Moffat back in the pavilion, both taken by the swing bowling of S Williams (2-38). This brought Chris Williams (71) and Jon Mason (39) together and the pair put on a partnership of 72 to repair the early damage caused. The Kirby change bowlers, Jim Kettlewell (4-41) and Philip Pease (1-17) put the squeeze on the Silverdale batsmen, Pease taking the wicket of Williams and Kettlewell having Mason caught at long on to a good catch by Barton. Jacob McManus (46 from 35 balls) then took the attack to the bowlers in the final overs with a good attacking performance. The final over of the innings went for 17 to help Silverdale to a good first innings total of 197-9.
Silverdale started the better after tea with Chris Williams (4-25) and Liam Moffat (2-29) removing the Kirby top order. S Williams (41) and Giles Cooper (29) dug in on a wearing wicket and both batted superbly seeing of the new ball and opening bowlers. Once Williams was caught of the bowling of Paul Moffat (1-24), D Barton came to the crease to hammer 45 from 26 balls. With 77 remaining from 14 overs the match was in the balance but Silverdale held their nerve as the impressive Phil Mason (3-30) bowled Cooper. Barton then held out to Kieren Moffat at mid-wicket leaving the target beyond reach and Silverdale in search of 4 more wickets for victory. 3 balls later, Williams trapped A Johnson LBW and then Phil Mason did the same to Wilman 2 overs later. The final wicket came in the 41st over, ending a good contest in a hard fought game.
Warton 204-6 Silverdale 205-8
One of the most dramatic games of cricket of the year was played out at Wartons Hyning Park on Saturday with the away team Silverdale coming out on top against their arch-rivals.
Silverdale Captain Rich won the toss and elected to field first and in the early stages the bowlers were on top. Liam Moffat (1-62) got the important wicket of Phil Bovis (19) as the opener padded away another straight ball with the score on 55-1. Tony Barrow held up an end for a hard fought 63 and was removed by a good one that nipped back from Paul Moffat (2-38). After being dropped earlier, captain Nelson took the attack to the bowlers with Simon Gould scoring a quick-fire 20. Nelson was eventually run out on 63 as Warton accelerated to a competitive first innings total of 204-6.
Silverdale started miserably in reply with both openers back in pavilion with the score on 5-2. However, Kieren Moffat (99) and Jon Mason (46) took the attack to the Warton bowlers, hitting Crowther (4-54) out of the attack and dealing with the ever-tiring Rafferty (3-63). Wartons change bowlers failed to stop the flurry of runs and the two batsmen took the score onto 152 after 39 overs when Mason was bowled by the returning Crowther. Mark Webster (25 from 16 balls) stamped his authority on Raffertys 2nd spell, with his final 5 overs going for 54. With ten runs required from the final over, Kieren Moffat hit two 2’s and was run out on 99 coming back for the second of the 3rd ball of the over. Silverdale’s hero of the day hit his dominating 99 from 121 balls before his dismissal. For the final delivery, 2 runs were required for a win, with a run leaving both teams with 8 points. Club captain Rich was at the non-strikers end as Paul Thompson hit the ball hard to point, the two came back for the 2nd run as the Warton keeper fumbled the ball and Rich made his ground by inches, securing a most famous victory in a close and hard-fought game.
Silverdale A 173-6 Carnforth 3rds 64-8
The home side were put into bat on a drying wicket, with the ball slow to come onto the bat. After Mike Moon, who looked all out of sorts at the crease, departed, hit wicket, opener Jack Hargreaves (55) completed a couple of partnerships with Steve Watts (13) and James Taylor (38), both being out caught. Watts played with steady composure and Taylor produced his usual quickfire innings. Further contributions from Andy Fletcher (22 no ) surviving a massive appeal towards the end, Ken Letcher (21 no) pushed the score to 173, a respectable but not necessarily safe score. Extras contribution was 15. The bowling honours were very much shared between the six bowlers. The depleted Carnforth team were not able to cope with the accuracy of the opening bowlers, John McNulty (12-6-13-3) and Steve Wales (1-6) , with only 6 runs from his 12 overs. After three early wickets Carnforth were forced to play out for the draw, their task made all the easier with three dropped catches by the home side. Tom O'Brien (17) was the mainstay as James Taylor (14-3) removed the middle order from all around him. When O'Brien was bowled by McNulty during his second spell, it looked all over for Carnforth. However, by playing very correctly in defence, youngsters J Smith (5 no) and J Holmes (6 no) survived the last few overs, completely surround by a ring of close fielders. Silverdale used 7 bowlers in an effort to take the final wickets. Unfortunately the spinners were not able to hit the mark. So Silverdale ended with 9 points, maintaining their second position and sending Carnforth further adrift.
17th July / 18th July
Arnside 194-9 Silverdale 198-7
Pre Pre match warm up football 5 a-side premiership
This 5 a-side match will be remembered not for the scoreline, which the reporter has unfortunately forgotten, but a striking pair of football socks worn by an obvouisly blind member of SCC. It was probably due to the stitches of laughter as to why again the impressive Kieren Moffat was able to scuff the ball home for the challengers. The fractured eyelash Mason syndrome was passed to Jonathon this week as Philip was sharp down the wing but with the former having to play in goals with a bad knee, the challengers were always going to see the game home. Running out easy 5-2? winners.
Silverdale and Arnside met at Cove Road on Saturday in the second of the local derbys and with another good looking batting track, a flurry of runs was expected. Therefore, it was no surprise to see Arnside skipper Lee elect to bat first after winning the toss.
However, the opening overs went with the home side as both danger-men Adam Richardson (7) and the captain himself, Lee (0) were removed by a good opening spell by Chris Williams (3-52). Liam Moffat (2-48) also showed great control and pace with the new ball and together with Williams, the two restricted Arnside to 33-4 after 14 overs. Opener M Sheperd (81 from 113 balls) batted superbly after being dropped in the 3rd over and brought his fifty up after 98 balls. He built a good partnership with Bullough (50) who hit the ball well to leg during his 53 ball stay in the middle. Both were removed by the impressive Jonny Mason (4-34) who replaced Moffat at the shore end to clean up the Arnside lower order. Brief cameos from C Barron (20no) and Pete Dickinson (14) towards the end saw Arnside make a competitive 194-9 from their 45 overs, a good score after the early overs.
In reply, Silverdale made a better start than their opponents. Dave McManus (4) was removed by Brocbank (6-70) in the 3rd over but Williams (29) moved the score onto 42 after 10overs. Brocbank removed the top 4 for Silverdale including the important wicket of Dodds. However, all his hard work only brought together Jonny Mason (65) and Mark Webster (30) who built a positive partnership of 103. Mason, who has been below his usual high standards in recent times proved that form is temporary and class is permanent as he punished any width that the Arnside attack would give him to go on and convert his start into a match winning all-round performance. Webster also showed great composure at the wicket and together the two moved the score onto 153-4 after 34 overs to put Silverdale in the box seat. In step Jacob McManus, his 32 from 35 balls brought the win home for the homeside. The youngster looking as troubled as an Ethiopian cobbler, struck the ball to all parts in another good knock. Liam Moffat even had chance for his custom off drive before the end with 2.4 overs remaining.
Silverdale 129 Kirby in Furness 119
On Saturday Silverdale A were away at the picturesque ground of Kirkby in Furness The rain that had been forecast never materialised so the gamble that Silverdale took in batting first eventually paid off. However at 2 for two off two overs, with both Jack Hargreaves and Paul Thompson back in the pavilion, caught from wishy washy shots, it was not an auspicious start. The wicket looked brown and hard, but with the ball biting through the top, gave an unpredictable bounce. James Taylor hit a quickfire 26, all boundaries apart from a 2. All the middle order batsmen achieved double figures, Andy Fletcher (17) and Kenny Letcher (16) with some delightful late cuts,being the main contributors. The innings finished with last man Steve Wales plundering 13 from the young Kirby bowlers. Not a pretrty sight, but very effective. Best bowling figures were achieved by S Linklater (14-4) The young Kirby bowlers applied themselves well and will be a force to reckon with in two or three years time. There were seven catches but extras contributed 33. So with 54 overs available, Kirby would at least not not have to worry about the run rate. After early wickets the Kirby innings proceeded in fits and starts with the mainstay being a gutsy innings of 26 from B Marshall. S Linklater (12) and T Smith (15) were the only other batsmen to reach double figures. It was some relief to Silverdale when Tom Forshaw (6-3) took the last wicket. However the hard work was done by Steve Wales (42-6), ably supported by John McNulty and James Taylor. Thus the valiant Kirby innings petered out in the 33rd over just ten runs short. Six of the wickets were clean bowled, with Tom Forshaw taking three catches.
Ingleton A 119 Silverdale A 120 -1
This was again a day when the expected rain never arrived, however it influenced the decision of Silverdale's captain to put the home side in to bat. The hoped for early wickets never materialised as Ingleton proceeded sedately to 31 -1. John Mcnulty bowled a steady opening spell of 7 overs for only ten runs. James Taylor bowled with pace but did not take a wicket until his better second spell. T Forshaw (16-2) from nine overs was his usual reliable self. Steve Wales (15-4), took his tally to ten for the weekend. Mike Moon bowled his usual mixture of good and bad but did remove the main threat of D McGonnigal (26) Only J Ward (26) J Taylor (14) and J Rishman (10) reached double figures. Chaz Gaw chipped in with 10 for 2. Extras (28) was the highest score.
Facing a young bowling attack, the Silverdale batsmen made short work of reaching their target as Jake Mcmanus (59 no) and Mike Moon (41) made 110 before Moon was eventually caught, having already survived two dropped catches and a close runout. The innings closed after only 22 overs. With Bare achieving the same points over the weekend, the situation at the top of Division 5 remains unchanged.
8th July
Woodbridge and Mounsey 5th Division Cup
This was an important match for Bare in this round robin series, needing a win to stay in the competition. Silverdale however, were already safely through to the semi finals. Batting first against a depleted Bare side,
D McManus (39) and P Thompson (74) took the score to 68. With a quick fire 28 from E Kane and K Letcher (12) Silverdale finished on a useful 183-8 from their 30 overs. J Leamon bowled a steady 3-25 from his six overs.
With D Whitaker (26) P Sinclair (29) Bare kept up with the scoring rate, despite a shaky start, and the steady fall of wickets. The final partnership between L Barton (27 no) and J Marland (20 no) took Bare to within 30 runs with three overs left. However C Gaw and T Forshaw kept their heads and Bare finished on 166-7. J Mcnulty (3-21) bowled his usual steady spell. Apart from a couple of lapses, the Silverdale ground fielding was acceptable and the catching excellent. Once again the ground looked in superb condition.
27th June
Shireshead 202-2dec Silverdale 185-9
Pre Pre match warm up football 5 a-side premiership
The two sides took to the outfield on Saturday at 1pm local time, the locals consisting of Paul & Liam Moffat with both Masons. The royal challengers included the remaining Moffat, both McManus’s, Rich and Williams. The royals ran the show, with Williams taking a good early finish, together with 2 from Mini and a sneaky finish from J.McManus. Without choir boy Dodds, the locals did struggle, both Masons looked over ran with the pace of Rich and D. McManus. After a disappointing showing from the locals, Jon Mason even considered a Pre Pre Pre match warm up football 5a-side warm up. Rich replied with “Are you mad? I’ve got 4 kids.” P. Mason nodded approvingly. The Royal Challengers running out 4-0 winners.
Silverdale hosted Shireshead at Cove Road on Saturday and for the first time in a long while, it was the home side that were above their Lancastrian counterparts in the league.
The visiting captain Yates won the toss and elected to bat first on a good batting wicket. The Shireshead openers didn’t let their captain down by scoring runs at will, all around the wicket. The pair started at a good pace, bringing up the 100 in the 20th over. The runs continued to flow with Colin Twiname (56) driving the ball strongly and flicking well to leg. However, it was Tom Jacques (100no) who stole the show with a brilliantly crafted century from 110 balls. Silverdale finally made the break-through in the 31st over as Paul Moffat (1-48) bowled Twiname. Phil Oliver made a quick-fire 11 before the rain came with the score 200-2. 4 more balls were able to be bowled before more rain followed and Shireshead declared after 38 overs on 201.
After more rain, the 2nd innings began with Silverdale needing 202 to win from 32 overs. Throughout the first 25 overs of the chase Silverdale stayed above the required run rate. Chris Williams (98 from 94 balls) made Silverdale favourites going into the last 7 overs with the score on 161-4. Williams was able to share partnerships of 57 with Phil Mason (21) and 34 with Jacob McManus. McManus’s quick fire 25 from 20 balls put Silverdale in command and the youngster was only stopped in his tracks by a superb catch from Jacques. The next two overs ensured Shireshead would take 6 points home, as Dave Jack (4-55) cleaned bowled captain Rich to add to the wicket of McManus. The next over also saw 2 more wickets fall as Phil Oliver (2-33) trapped McManus together with the prize wicket of Paul Moffat (0). Once Williams held out to long on, 2 short of his century, the chase was over for the home side. Jack Hargreaves and Liam Moffat (12no) played away the final 2 overs to complete the match, and a great game of cricket.
Silverdale A 201-6 Trimpell 3rd 31-1
This was a dour and disappointing match, mainly due to the intervention of the rain. All started well with Silverdale making steady progress, but interrupted by a regular fall of wickets. Andy Hill (29-4) did most of the damage for Trimpell, finding a spot to his liking on an inviting length just outside the line of off stump. Opener Paul Thompson (38) JamesTaylor (28) and Ben Fletcher (21) were the main contributors as all the batsmen except one reached double figures. However the highlight was 51 no from Simon Waterhouse, raising the score from 127 -6 to 201 in partnership with
John Mcnulty (18 no) Despite desperate attempts to brush away the standing water, and with two interventions due to rain the Trimpell innings never got going, so the match ended as a rain affected draw.
20th June
Windermere 128-10 Silverdale 129-5
Winderemere were put into to bat and the Silverdale bowlers soon made early inroads. From 13-4 the visitors made a slight recovery, but it was not until Crawford (31) and West (55) came together that Windermere gained any momentum. All the Silverdale bowlers made a contribution, best figures of 3-19 being obtained by C Williams and J Mason, who mopped up the tail enders. The final total of 128 from just 34 overs was unlikely to be enough, and this proved to be the case.
With everybody reaching double figures, Silverdale proceeded steadily, reaching their target in the 32nd over. Opener D McManus kept one end safe and sound during the early stages. J Mason was top scorer with 26 no, well supported by K Moffatt with 22 and Jack Hargreaves (17 no)
Silverdale A 228 - 2 dec Morecambe 4th 97 -10
On Sunday, this was the only league fixture of the weekend. Silverdale, with matches in hand, needed 15 points to go top of division 5. So after winning the toss batting first was the only option. The Morecambe bowlers were made to toil as D Mcmanus (50) and J Mcmanus (114 no) put on 136. And there was no let up as J. Taylor (10) and P Lowe (28 no) took the score to 228 before Silverdale declared in the 35th over. In reply the Morecambe attack really never got going, but withstood the initial onslaught well, with the second wicket falling at 62, but by now well behind the clock.The change bowlers did the damage, Moon 10-4, J McNulty 18-2 and young S Letcher 16-2. P Lowe behind the stumps showed that he has lost little of his flair since last playing, taking two excellent catches. There were one or two hilarious moments in the field, the match finally finishing with Morecambe 97 all out in the 30th over. The Morecambe youngsters batted well with G Carroll (26) L Walker (19) and K Ahmed (13). They will be a force to be reckoned with in the future.
13th June
Ibis 65 Silverdale 203dec-5
A week of reasonable weather culminating in excellent sunshine produced good hard batting tracks and a plethora of runs for Silverdale, both home and away.
The first team were away at Ibis. Batting first, they lost an early wicket but C Williams (99) again, and K Moffatt (27) made amends. Further partnerships followed with J Mason (25) and M Webster, a quick fire 30. Silverdale declared at 191-5 in the 42nd over. Ibis survived for 33 overs, all out for 65. Only S. Sampson(17) and A Braithwate (14) made double figures. The bowlers shared the honours, C Williams (17-2), J Mason (19-4) and P Moffatt (12-4).
Silverdale A 208-3dec Morecambe 4 143ao
Meanwhile at home there was a similar mismatch of teams where Morecambe 4 were the visitors. Batting first Silverdale A steadily accumulated runs against the young Morecambe bowlers. The first wicket fell with 77 on the board J Mcmanus (34) being brilliantly stumped by K Ahmed off the bowling of J Lewis. The pair repeated the trick two balls later to remove J Taylor, Lewis taking two wickets in his first over. E Kane (22) enjoyed a short partnership with D Mcmanus (120 No) as Silverdale declared at 208 for 3 from 38 overs.
In reply the younger batsmen had no answer to the firepower of J Taylor, who initially only bowled two overs but came back to bowl a good spell later on. Silverdale were forced to use seven bowlers to eventually winkle out Morecambe in the 50th over. J Cassidy Snr (59) held the innings together as Morecambe struggled to 143, with extras contributing 30. A Hill made a brave 18 and last batsman A Lewis was 11 no
T Forshaw (17-3) was the pick of the bowlers, but they all played their part.
Silverdale A 173-1 Ingleton 169-6
On Sunday the visitors were Ingleton A for a 30/30 Woodford and Mounsey cup match. Silverdale supporters turned up in force. Ingleton decided to bat first and thanks to an obdurate innings by opener
D McGonnigal (63 no) accumulated 169 - 6. P Bruce (39) and M Bower (31) were the other main contributors. The Silverdale fielding left a little to be desired, dropping at least 4 catches. In reply Father and son pair D Mcmanus (83) and J Mcmanus (59) took the score to 168 before D Mcmanus holed out at mid on, an injudicious shot under the circumstances, but a superb display of batting making for a personal total of 203 runs for the weekend. J Taylor (4) scored the winning runs at 173 for 1 from just 21 overs. Extras for both sides were in excess of 30 runs. So on the whole this was not a weekend for the bowlers, but the batting was a joy to watch.
30th May
Silverdale 230-4 Bare 161-7
Silverdale and Bare have both had mixed starts to the season and with the sun out on Saturday a good contest was expected.
Silverdale captain Brendan Rich won the toss and elected to bat on what was a firm, flat track. The openers got the home side of to a solid start but, it was again the partnership between K Moffat (96) and G Dodds (50) that would be the core of the innings. The pair’s partnership lasted just short of 15 overs and amassed 95 runs. Once Dodds fell, J Mason (29 not out) joined Moffat and the pair saw the innings home until the declaration came with one over to spare. Silverdale finishing with 230-4. In the heat, it was the bowling of J O’Donald (2-26) that caused the Silverdale batsmen the most problems, taking the wickets of both Dodds and Moffat.
Bare started well in the 2nd innings, with Mollar (19) looking a class act. After the top 3 of the Bare side were dismissed it was a parternship between T Sharman (21) and son, 15 year old A Sharman (26) that prevented a possible collapse. The youngster batted bravely for over an hour against the pace of L Moffat (0-23) and the swing of Mason. Only 2 more wickets were lost after the youngster’s dismissal, with Bare finishing on 161-7. C Williams (3-41) was the pick of the Silverdale attack with J Mason (2-22) capping of a fine all round display together with a good catch to dismiss opener Moller.
2nd Team
The sides served up a real cracker of a game played in good spirit with nearly 340 runs scored on an excellent track. Silverdale eventually triumphing by 6 runs.
Being asked to bat first, Silverdale quickly found themselves at 17-2. There then followed a solid partnership between D McManus (47) and A Fletcher (56) putting in place the foundations for a competitive total of 172-5. Bruce in particular bowled two testing spells finishing with impressive figures of 6-3-14-O.
In response Kirkby started slowly putting on 52 for the first wicket with Marshall (20) and Bradley (24) playing carefully against some tight bowling. The innings gathered pace with Bruce (46) and Marshall (29no) almost taking Kirkby to victory. 24 runs off the last over proving just too much. S. Wales for Silverdale putting in a notable spell of 6-3-13-0 and B Fletcher taking 2 wickets.
The game was a great advert for the 30/30 competition, the winning team being 'over the moon' to come out on top.
24th May
Silverdale 111- 8 Heysham 117-5
This was a 30/30 Division 1 Over Sands Travel Cup played in quite glorious conditions at Silverdale. Runs came at the beginning and the end of the Silverdale innings with J Hargreaves (23) and J Taylor (25) which included two big sixes. Despite the weakened line up, 111 was still a poor total.
R Needham did most of the damage with 3-7 with S Calverly taking 2-17. After losing an early wicket Heysham made steady progress with P Antcliff top scoring on 26 no, rounding off the match with a six over the boundary wall and into Cumbria. Once again the fielding left a lot to be desired.
23rd May
Trimpell 3rds 66 -10 Silverdale A 67-0
A somewhat weakened Trimpell team came up against a strong Silverdale side , ending with a predictable easy ten wicket win for the home team. The visitors opted to bat and faced some fine swing bowling from
T Forshaw who managed to pass the outside edge on a number of occasions. Trimpell managed to survive 16 overs before S Wales (15- 3) took the first wicket. Whilst wickets fell at the other end, P Thompson (Snr) batted steadily for his 26, the only other double figures being garnered by D Conroy (19) who was left stranded taking a risky single. Only J McNulty failed to take a wicket, but his five overs were all maidens! B Letcher pitched in with 4 -19. It took just 13 overs for Silverdale to rattle up the 67 runs required, with P Thompson (Jnr) 29 and J Mcmanus 35. One interesting match statistic is that it featured four fathers and sons, albeit one pairing being on opposite sides.
Silverdale 139 Burneside 140-8
In stark contrast the first team under performed on both Saturday and Sunday. The phrase catches win matches springs to mind. However with only two batsmen making double figures on Saturday, other weaknesses were also exposed. Batting first Silverdale were soon in trouble at 4-2, but a fine partnership of 105 between G Dodds (68) and K Moffatt (42) put them in a commanding position which the remaining batsmen then failed to exploit. S Daws, (2-21) who removed the openers, was ably supported by R Stewart (4-24) and S Hook (5-35) In reply Burneside made heavy weather of their eventual win. P Batty (48) was the mainstay, but when he departed at 83-4 they then collapsed to 107-8 before tail enders C Dixon and L Ellwood steered them clear with 16 no apiece, scraping a win in the 43rd over. It was during this period that P Moffatt and D Mason collided going for a catch, both being ruled out of Sunday's match because of injury.
16th May
Silverdale A 84 Bare A 85-7
Silverdale travelled to Cross Hill Park with high hopes of their third successive win. but it turned out to be one of those games where nothing seemed to go quite right. Silverdale will claim that the elements and the gods conspired against them. After losing the toss yet again, the visitors were asked to bat. The rain intervened three times during the early part of the innings. This was a classical sticky wicket, which in fact played quite well under the circumstances. The opening partnership managed 15 before
D McManus was run out with a sharp throw from M John hitting the wickets. J. Taylor followed suit with another run out a few balls later. Only A Fletcher (24) offered much resistance as Silverdale, masters of their own demise, struggled from 28-3 to 40-8. When Fletcher departed at 64-9, two juniors were left at the wicket. They lifted the score to 84 with a splendid 20 no by B Fletcher. P Sinclair returned 3-10, R Berry 3-16 and J O'Donnell 2-9
Early wickets were to be important and J Leamon soon departed thanks to a low diving catch by M Moon at square leg, the first of three wickets for J Taylor (3-13) But the middle order did the damage, M John (18) J Bargh (14) and J O'Donnell (19) The Silverdale fielding and catching was on form , champagne moment going to K Letcher, who though immobilised by injury, hung onto a high catch at fly slip to dismiss Bargh. But the luck ran with Bare, so many shots either falling short or looping over the fielders. There was a minor hiccup towards the end when B Fletcher came on to bowl, promptly taking two wickets in his one over, thus garnering a point for Silverdale. So Bare ran out worthy winners, gaining 12 points in the process
9th May.
Kirkby Lonsdale A 89 Silverdale A 91-3
At 2 0 clock the rain was sweeping in from Morecambe Bay and prospects for play looked dim. However, it stopped in time to allow a 64 over match and the game proceeded in sunshine for most of the time.
The visitors opted to bat first and Kirby made steady progress with
K Bateson (25) and D Gibson (28). Bateson in particular chanced his arm but his luck ran out taking one run too many. After that it was a steady fall of wickets with S Wales (4-32) and J McManus (4-17) All his wickets came in his last (eighth) over and included a hatrick. The Silverdale fielding varied from poor to brilliant, with a number of catches being dropped. There was one champagne moment, a superb one handed catch by T Forshaw and of course the two run outs.
The scoreline indicates that Silverdale cruised to the win, but in fact at one stage were 6 for three. M Moon, who should have known better, and two juniors, all failing to score. Opener J Mcmanus (24 no) played the anchor role, whilst J Taylor (64 no) showed how it should be done. (51 minutes 42 balls 7 4s and 3 6s) Silverdale finished the innings in less than 19 overs, now having secured maximum points from their first two games.
25th April
Arnside 223 Silverdale 225 for 4
Arnside opted to bat and soon lost Hogg to Johnny Mason. They then accrued runs at an alarming rate, as Adam Richardson blasted 101 from 80 balls. However, when Phil Mason came on to bowl, (54-5) including the wickets of Richardson and A. Lee (72) the rate was slowed. J Mason returned to help mop up the tail, Arnside eventually making 223. The last five wickets fell for 35 runs in 13 overs. In reply Silverdale also set off at a cracking pace with C. Williams and J. Hargreaves (43) laying the foundation of the innings with an opening partnership of 104. I. Bullough (68-2) bowled a tight spell to slow the scoring rate in the middle of the innings but it was to prove not enough. Once Williams was out for a masterful 94 from 110 balls, Graham Dodds made short shrift of the finish with 52 from 32 balls, containing 5 sixes including a massive one over the top of the pavilion, Silverdale finishing the match with an over to spare.
A cracking match, played in good spirit with some excellent batting on display from both sides
Galgate A 141 Silverdale A 147-8
The second team, made up of an interesting mix of to bees and has beens, were asked to field. After a second wicket partnership of 50 between Leon Rodgers (31) and Tom Wilkinson, Galgate proceeded in fits and starts. Jamie Walton added 41 as the Silverdale captain juggled his young bowlers, who managed to keep Galgate to 141 from 38 overs. In reply M Moon (29) and Jake McManus made a steady start reaching 41 for the opening partnership. A major collapse then ensued courtesy of a fine display of bowling and fielding by Galgate. At 68-7 after 33 overs Silverdale should have been dead and buried. But Andy Fletcher (66 ) was still there, ably supported by Charlie Gaw, who, whilst scoring few runs, very effectively sealed off one end despite a ring of predatory fielders. Fletcher holed out with 11 runs to go and Silverdale one batsman short. Tom Forshaw played a little vignette at the end finishing the match with a six, Silverdale reaching their target in 47 overs. J. Gardner was the pick of the Galgate bowlers with figures of 12-4-26-5. This was an excellent game of cricket to start the season, played in a great spirit by both sides. It is perhaps unfortunate that one side had to lose.