An unprecedented number of player cry-offs on Sunday played a big part in both Greenmount first and second teams suffering defeats that neither could afford – albeit for differing reasons.

Holidays, injuries and a Cumbrian county call-up for Evan Williams combined to give the cricket committee a tricky job to put two competitive teams together so full credit to the lads who answered an eleventh hour call to play.

Ryan Senior’s first team entertained Haslingden at the Log Cabin knowing that some victories are going to be needed in the final games if they are to pull away from the relegation zone.

But contrary to Greenmount, the visitors  – who were promoted with the Mount last season – have adjusted to the top flight well and are comfortably placed in the top half of the table.

The toss was won by the Mount who chose to put the visitors in to bat and Haslingden’s openers – Matt Griffin (83) and Mini Bhada (60) gave the home side plenty to think about, putting on 151 for the first wicket before Bhada became the first of Ryan Senior’s two victims.

Hassy sub professional Sehan Weerasinghe then went on to score 82 as his side racked up 351 for 5 to give the villagers a mountain to climb.

In the reply, Haslingden bowler Garry Sudworth proved to be in superb form and his 6 for 31 from 10.1 overs was the overwhelming reason the home side fell well short.

Tom Heaton’s 39 and Callum Hunter’s 34 were the best the Mount batsmen could muster as they slumped to 130 all out in 31.1 overs.

Meanwhile, the second team’s hopes of making further progress at the top of their table went awry when they travelled to Church & Oswaldtwistle.

Church won the toss and elected to bat but the omens weren’t good for Greenmount when bowler Rick Catterall had to limp from the field in the third over after suffering a recurrence of an ankle injury.

The home side scored 212 for 6 from their 45 overs with Alex Bullen taking 4 for 45 from 11 while there was a wicket apiece for Adam Clarke and skipper Oli Dixon.

Bullen then top-scored with 46 in the reply as Dixon’s depleted side could only chalk up 152 (Franklin 33) and Church ran out comfortable 60 run victors.

The third team’s home game against Colne on Saturday was postponed due to the inclement weather.

Mount’s Evan Williams hit 20 when opening for Cumbria in their Showcase game against Lancashire at Sedburgh School on Sunday.

However, in a rain-affected clash that was reduced to 22 overs, it was the Red Rose county who emerged victorious.

Lancashire batted first and posted a total of 186 for 6 from their allotted overs. It was a total that proved too much for Cumbria who were restricted to 142 for 5 with former Ramsbottom player JJ Fielding top scoring with 42.

Club professional Chesney Hughes will be holding a cricket summer camp at the Log Cabin for Greenmount CC junior members.

The camp will be held on the following dates: Tuesday and Wednesday 9th and 10th August and Tuesday and Wednesday 16th and 17th August.

Sessions will last from 9.30am to 3.30pm and children will need to bring a packed lunch and drinks with them. Hopefully they will also need sun cream!

The cost of the sessions will be £15 per day.

The sessions are aimed mainly at Under-11 and Under-13 players although Under-9 players who are committed to playing and learning about cricket and have the attention span to cope with a series of cricket sessions and drills are also welcome.

Children who aren’t interested in cricket should not be enrolled on the course.

Please note that the camp will be very weather dependent with limited chance of using the clubhouse due to existing bookings. We will liaise with parents each evening should weather forecasts be against us. We will be using Spond to communicate.

Please email Leigh Dickinson on gccupdates@gmail.com to book on the course.

Payment in cash will need to be made on the first day of attendance.

Once again it’s normal opening hours this week: Monday to Thursday 4pm to 11pm; Friday 2pm to 11pm and Saturday and Sunday 12 noon till 11pm and 10.30pm, respectively. 

Danny will be serving food:

Friday from 10am to 8.30pm

Saturday 10am to 8.30pm 

Sunday 10am to 6pm

Cricket

On Saturday 30th July the third eleven are at home to Colne 

On Sunday 31st July the first team are at home to Haslingden while the seconds are away to Church

All games start at 1pm and any support would be greatly appreciated 

Sport on TV this week:

Tuesday – Football: 8pm –  England Lionesses v Sweden in the semi final of the Euro Championships

Wednesday Cricket T20: 6.30pm England v South Africa

Thursday Cricket T20: 6.30pm England v South Africa

Friday – Football: 8pm – Huddersfield Town v Burnley from the Championship 

Saturday – Footb;all: Charity Shield 5pm  – Liverpool v Man City

Sunday – Cricket T20: 2.30pm England v South Africa 

The coming weeks cask ales will be a selection from Fyne Ales, Bowland, and Brewsmith

Thank you for your continued support

Greenmount’s first eleven suffered a third consecutive defeat when they were comprehensively seen off by Norden at Woodhouse Lane on Saturday.

The home side won the toss and put the Mount in to bat but once again an inability to put enough runs on the board – courtesy of six ducks in the innings – came back to bite them in the derriere.

Openers Evan Williams and pro Chesney Hughes made a steady start before Williams (14) was bowled with the score on 32.

Incoming batsman Andy Kerr didn’t last long with Hughes as he was dismissed without scoring four runs later.

Hughes (28) was the next departure on 68 followed by Matt Donnelly a run later before an encouraging 62-run partnership between Tom Heaton (41) and Dan Stevens (33) gave the villagers a modicum of hope of reaching a total that would give them a fighting chance.

Depressingly, that light at the end of the tunnel proved to be an oncoming train as 131 for 5 became 136 all out with five wickets falling in 14 balls with former Mount professional Ashar Zaidi taking 4 for 31.

The Greenmount bowlers looked to have an unenviable task defending that total against the strong Norden side and so it proved.

Due to rain stoppages, the home side were given a revised target of 140 from 36 overs.

There was an early success for Callum Hunter when he had Hashum Malik caught behind with the score on 19 but Malik’s impressive fellow opener Josh Tolley took matters into his own hands and was unbeaten on 82 when Norden eased home in the 22nd over for the loss of only two wickets.

This latest reverse – a third without picking up any bonus points – leaves the Mount clearly mired in a relegation battle and with seven league games to go it’s imperative they get back to winning ways quickly or face a speedy return to Division Two.

Meanwhile, Oli Dixon’s second eleven kept up their recent good form with victory over Great Harwood twos at the Log Cabin.

After winning the toss and electing to bat the Mount posted a total of 251 for 8 from a rain-affected 35 overs.

Leading the way with the bat was Kieran Edwards who scored a dazzling 80 which included six fours and four sixes. The evergreen Andy Bowker hit eleven fours in his innings of 54 while opener Henry Dickinson scored a useful 33.

The visitors never looked likely to reach that total despite a good third wicket partnership of 90 between Andrew Brown (44) and Freddie Timmins (49) and they fell well short on 177 for 7 at the death.

Skipper Dixon took 3 for 44, Ryan Edge 2 for 46 and there was a wicket apiece for Adam Clarke and Alex Bullen.

On Sunday it was a missed opportunity for the seconds to make further headway towards the top of the table when their home clash against Nelson seconds fell foul to the weather.

Opener Jake Chadwick was going well on 56 not out before the heavens opened with the Mount score on 111 for 2 from 17 overs.

The abandonment was all the more frustrating as on the Sunday the fixture was supposed to be played a few weeks ago, the weather was glorious but unfortunately the visitors were unable to field a team.

It was a similar story for the third team at Norden when the home side were 34 for 0 when the match was abandoned due to rain.

It’s normal opening hours this week: Monday to Thursday 4pm to 11pm; Friday 2pm to 11pm and Saturday and Sunday 12 noon till 11pm and 10.30pm, respectively. 

Danny will be serving food:

Friday from 10am to 8.30pm

Saturday 10am to 8.30pm 

Sunday 10am to 6pm

Cricket

On Saturday 23rd July the first team are away to Norden in a Lancashire League game while the seconds are at home to Great Harwood.

On Sunday 24th July the seconds are at home again, this time to Nelson in a rearranged league game. The third team make the trip to Norden.

All games start at 1pm and any support would be greatly appreciated 

Sport on TV this week:

Tuesday – Cricket – England v South Africa One Day International (ODI)

Wednesday – 8pm Football- England Ladies v Spain Ladies in the Quarter Final of the Women’s European Championship

Friday – Cricket – England v South Africa ODI

Sunday – Cricket – England v South Africa ODI 

The coming week’s cask ales will be a selection from Ilkley, Fyne Ales, Bowland, and Brewsmith

Thank you for your continued support

Greenmount firsts suffered another defeat on Saturday when they went down to a crushing nine-wicket loss to Walsden at the Log Cabin.

Stand-in skipper Andy Kerr won the toss and elected to bat and the villagers ran up 171 all out from 48.3 overs. Predictably, it was a total that was to prove insufficient against the strong visiting side.

Professional Chesney Hughes scored 39 before he got a highly contentious lbw decision against him while Dan Stevens (32), Andy McGuinness and Sam Greenhalgh (30) gave useful accounts of themselves but were the only batsmen to reach double figures.

Henry Dickinson was the not out batsman making his first team debut in the Lancashire League.

Walsden’s reply was a relative cakewalk for them as they passed the required total for one wicket with 19 overs remaining.

Dan Stevens

Josh Gale (57) and Nick Barker (65 not out) put on 90 for the first wicket before Barker and Stevie Barker (40 not out) saw their side home with ease.

On Sunday the second eleven travelled to Accrington and returned home with a cracking victory.

The home side won the toss, chose to bat, and scored 209 for 7 from their 45 overs.

Ryan Edge, Rory Daverage and Henry Dickinson took two wickets apiece with Richard Catterall taking the other one.

The Greenmount lads showed their hosts just why they could be in the shake-up at the top of the table when they surpassed their target for the loss of only two wickets.

Openers Jake Chadwick and Sam Greenhalgh hit 53 (ten fours) and 13 respectively before Dan Stevens and Kieran Edwards put the Accy bowling to the sword with a swashbuckling partnership.

Stevens scored 67 not out including ten fours and two sixes, while Edwards smashed an unbeaten 54 that included four fours and three sixes.

Greenmount CC are delighted to announce that they have been successful in securing a grant award of £46,500 from @ViridorCredits for the extension of our members’ bar area.

The work – due to start in September once the 2022 cricket season has concluded – will include improved access, new men’s and disabled toilets and additional seating space.

It’s normal opening hours once again this week with the weather looking to remain sunny and warm: Monday to Thursday 4pm to 11pm; Friday 2pm to 11pm and Saturday and Sunday 12 noon till 11pm, and 10.30pm, respectively. 

Danny will be serving food:

Friday from 10am to 8.30pm

Saturday 10am to 8.30pm 

Sunday 10am to 6pm

Cricket

On Saturday 16th July the first team are at home to Walsden in a Lancashire League game.

On Sunday 17th July the second team travel to Accrington. 

Both games start at 1pm and any support would be greatly appreciated 

Sport on TV this week:

Monday – 8pm Football- England Ladies v Norway Ladies 

Thursday to Sunday – Golf – The Open

Friday – 8pm Football- England Ladies v Northern Ireland Ladies 

Saturday – Cricket- T20 finals day starts with Lancashire v Yorkshire at 11am

Sunday – Cricket – England v India 50-over game

The coming weeks cask ales will be a selection from Ilkley, Fyne Ales, Bowland, and Brewsmith

Thank you for your continued support

Those Greenmount supporters who took the East Lancs Railway into Ramsbottom for Saturday’s crucial Lancashire League clash at a sun-drenched Acre Bottom could have been forgiven for wishing they’d stayed on to the end of the line.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, there was a calamitous start to the Mount innings with their first three batsmen back in the shed for only 19 runs.

Facing his first delivery at the start of the second over, professional Chesney Hughes was dismissed when he clipped the ball to Daniel Pyke at mid-wicket and there was more to follow as last weekend’s hero, Andy Kerr was involved in a third run mix-up with Evan Williams that resulted in him being run-out.

To make matters worse, shortly afterwards, Williams got a contentious caught behind decision to put the villagers well and truly on the back foot.

There was something of a middle-order recovery thanks to Lewis Dove (29), skipper Ryan Senior (28), Tom Heaton (15) and Matty Donnelly (14) but any hopes of the Mount accruing a total to challenge the home side were soon dashed as Rammy’s  South African professional Senuran Muthusamy demolished the tail end with the last five wickets falling for only six runs.

Muthusamy’s 6 for 12 in 10.1 overs was a league best performance.

Rammy had failed to overhaul Lowerhouse’s total of 109 the previous weekend but they were in no mood to slip up for the second time.

At 30 for 2, Greenmount may have harboured thoughts of another collapse but they reckoned without the classy Tom Parton who hit an unbeaten 52 and, along with Muthusamy’s 32 not out, saw the home side home with relative ease in the 25th over.

The club’s second eleven game home game against Nelson, was postponed due to the visitors being unable to raise a team.

On a baking hot Sunday it was the turn of the third team to entertain at the Log Cabin when they welcomed Rawtenstall third eleven.

The valley side set off like a house on fire and ran up 35 runs in the first three overs, but once Luca Addleton bowled Ben Roscoe with the second ball of the fourth over the run rate radically slowed down.

The visitors were eventually dismissed for 111 with Max Birtwistle and Leigh Dickinson taking three wickets apiece; Sam Woolley took two and there was one apiece for Luca Addleton and Matthew Gilmore.

The Greenmount reply was a walk in the park for youngster Max Birtwistle (50) and the evergreen Nigel Franklin (45) and the opening pair saw their side home for a 10 wicket triumph in 20 overs.

The twelve point victory leaves the third team top of their Lancashire League 3rd Eleven League Group 3 table.