Greenmount’s junior cup run came to an end in defeat for the Under-15s last night (Thursday) against an excellent, well-organised Clitheroe team.
In a low-scoring tense match befitting a final, we competed evenly throughout the contest but were just short in a few key duels which tipped the balance to the very worthy opponents.
Batting first, the Mount lads lost the recently prolific Ed Dickinson but an absorbing partnership between Max Birtwistle and Rupert Hallows steadied the ship and changed momentum.
It was a shame when Rupert was caught for a fine 33 and not long afterwards Max retired for an excellent 50 with two fine sixes and four fours.
Unfortunately the last four overs of the innings stuttered and just never regathered any impetus, leaving a feeling that we may have been 10-15 runs short.
Indeed the Clitheroe fielding was excellent throughout and saved many additional runs with a combination of good placement and athletic saves.
The Greenmount bowling in the first ten overs had the scores tracking almost spot on like-for-like but gradually the Clitheroe batting – led by the excellent Coby Campbell – asserted its authority and pressure.
We didn’t field with the same consistent disciplines as our opponents and therefore crucial runs were leaked which of course is fatal in low scoring situations.
And so Clitheroe were worthy winners and we wish them every fortune and success for the broader knock out tournament – they brought a great support and played in an excellent spirit, credit to their club.
For Greenmount, it’s a few years now since there’s been a junior game night with such passion and competitiveness, and it’s a welcome return to those days!
With such a young team we’d expect to see more of these over the coming years but the key next step is to take on the learnings and move forward with positivity and fight to top the league rankings in the Under-13s and Under-15s.
Thanks to all the supporters who turned out tonight especially the senior players, and of course to all the coaches and managers who work with these lads daily and weekly – let’s keep up the positive momentum.
T20 next at the Log Cabin when Todmorden are the visitors tonight (Friday).