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All three senior Greenmount teams enjoyed another positive weekend with two wins and an exciting tie with Rishton writes John Stevens.

The first team remain top of the table after a win away at Rishton. After the persistent rain earlier in the week it was no surprise that skipper Travis Townsend chose to put Rishton in after winning the toss.

Runs  were hard to come by against the miserly spin twin attack of Jacques Snyman and Amal Dalugoda (pictured) supported by the nagging accuracy of skipper Townsend.

The only surprise is that somehow we didn’t manage to bowl Rishton out in 50 overs as they limped to 120 for 9 with only Kieran Grimshaw with 46 not out offering any resistance.

Amal bagged another four wickets with two apiece for Travis and Jacques.

The Greenmount reply was fairly routine and accomplished in just 25 overs, led once again by Jacques with an unbeaten 65 peppered with four sixes.

Jacques was well supported by Andy Kerr who complied a patient 35 in a partnership of 93 for the second wicket.

The win keeps the Mount top of the tree with a resurgent Walsden now biting at their heels. As expected competition is fierce and with 16 games to play it’s set to be an intriguing plot!

There was great excitement at our home encounter with Rishton seconds as the match finished in a tie!

Batting first Greenmount failed to build on a positive start from father and son opening duo Nigel and Rupert Hallows.

Once Nigel was dismissed for a fine 30 with the score on 82, there was a bit of a procession as Greenmount slumped to 119 all out with six overs not used.

Only Ed Dickinson toughed it out for a battling 21 and Chris Sherrington finished 12 not out. The Rishton reply looked to be reasonably straightforward although wickets fell at regular intervals as the Mount refused to give up.

With the score on 108, Paul Manley snared the big seventh wicket of Lunat for 56 off the bowling of Ed Wackrill. This sparked a spectacular panic in the Rishton ranks as Wackrill and Noah Birtwistle polished off the tail with the scores level!

Gareth Williams showed all his experience with a miserly spell of 4 for 21 from ten overs, Noah bagged two wickets and Ed Wackrill took 3 for 32.

A fine battling performance from Oli Dixon’s team which continues to feature a number of young players, they occupy a respectable mid table place after six games.

Saturdays third team encounter with Rishton resulted in a resounding win for Mark Crowther’s young guns.

Noah Birtwistle was unlucky to miss a maiden senior 50 ending unbeaten on 46 and there were fine contributions from Wes Young (32) and Max Birtwistle (29).

Rishton were blown away by the Birty Boys Max and Noah, with Max destroying the top order with 4 for 9 and Noah taking three wickets for just one run.

Dexter Crowther bowled a nice spell and took 1 for 4, Rupert Hallows picked up a wicket and there was a debut success for Luke Hall with 1 for 3.

Mark Crowther also bowled – we aren’t sure why Wes Young didn’t – and the video replay of his somewhat desperate appeal confirms it wouldn’t have hit another set!!

The teams meet again this Saturday at the Mount.  Mark and his team would like to thank Rishton for their hospitality and sportsmanship , everyone really enjoyed the day!

This week the T20 action  continues on Friday with an away trip to local rivals Ramsbottom.
The tirds home on Saturday and the firsts entertain East Lancs on Sunday.

This week’s fixtures are: Friday, June 7th, T20 v Ramsbottom, away. Saturday, June 8th: Third team at home to Rishton; SundayJune 9th: First team at home against East Lancashire and the second team are away at East Lancashire on the same day.

This week’s bar opening hours

Monday: 3pm to 11pm

Tuesday: 4pm to 11pm

Wednesday and Thursday: 3pm to 11pm

Friday: 2pm to 11pm

Saturday: 12 noon to 11pm

Sunday: 12 noon to 10.30pm

Harrison’s at Greenmount

Chris will be serving food at the following times, but also please follow him on Facebook for specials and any changes.

Thursday, June 6th: No food due to a function at the club

Friday, Jun 7th: 9.30am to 12.30pm and 4pm to 8pm

Saturday, June 8th: 9.30am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 8pm

Sunday, June 9th: 9.30pm to 12.30pm and 2pm to 6pm

Sport on TV this week

Monday, June 3rd: 7.45pm: England v Bosnia

Tuesday, June 4th: 4pm: England v Scotland (World Cup T20 cricket) 8pm: France Women v England Women.

Friday, June 7th: 7.45pm: England v Iceland

Saturday, June 8th: 6pm: England v Australia (World Cup T20 Cricket).

Sunday, June 9th: 7.45pm: Soccer Aid: England XI v Soccer Aid World XI.

Cask Ales this week

The coming week’s cask ales will be a selection of beers: Marble Draft; Ilkley Mary Jane; Bowland Bumble and Moorhouse’s Straw Dog and White Witch.

Greenmount’s first T20 of the new campaign ended in a resounding victory over Norden last night writes John Stevens.

Winning the toss, skipper Travis Townsend chose to bat and both professional Jacques Snyman and opening partner Tom Heaton continued where they left off on Sunday with a 93 run opening stand.

Jacques was caught in the deep for 54 from 31 balls but Tom powered on in the second half.

Gav Nicholl and Travis Townsend then both fell cheaply but Tom was joined by Dan Stevens in a 40-run partnership to close out the innings, finishing with an excellent 76 including ten fours and a six. Dan finished 13 not out.

However, the last ball of the innings was smashed for six by Kieran Edwards in an effort to gain another special mention after his sensational catch at Crompton (the fees are rising pal ….).
Nobody quite expected Norden to start in the manner they did, losing seven wickets for 12 runs thanks mainly to an inspired spell by Callum Hunter.

Backed by a vocal large home crowd, Callum tore through the Norden line up finishing with five wickets for seven runs from his four over stint.

Jacques Snyman picked up two important victims, however the evening highlight was the debut performance from 14-year-old Noah Birtwistle.

Playing his first senior T20 match, Noah showed exactly why we’ve invested faith in his developing skills as he snared two wickets to cap a wonderful evening for The Mount.

Special thanks to everyone who worked so hard to help stage the event, especially the Greenmount Grill, the ground team and all our wonderful bar staff.

Weather looks okay for the weekend and all three of our teams lock horns with Rishton.

Next T20 is this Friday (June 7^th) away at local rivals Ramsbottom.

Don’t miss any of the action but if you do, you can read about it here.

Have a great weekend!

Great news! Thankfully the seemingly endless spell of rain has finally stopped.

The ground team have been able to get on and do their stuff to tonight’s T20 match against Norden is all systems go!

Once again it is free admission so we are looking forward to a bumper crowd for what should be an exciting contest.

The friendly team at the Greenmount Grill are on hand with the best burgers and sausages in town, there will be music hosted by Rocking Ricky and a raffle with the chance to win an array of the usual sort of stuff that you find in a raffle – maybe with the odd surprise thrown in!

So come on down and join the fun. Action starts at 6.15pm.

Just one small advice point – please keep your eyes on the action at all times and take care of young children and dogs as cricket balls flying at speed are dangerous!

The draw for the quarter finals of the Worsley Cup was made at last night’s league meeting.

Greenmount will be at home to the winners of this Saturday’s rearranged second round fixture between East Lancashire and Rishton.

It’s the first time the club has reached the quarter-final stage of this prestigious competition and represents a solid start to the season campaign.

Travis Townsend has shown a particular liking for the tournament so far with two hugely impactful innings and is keen for the team to maintain momentum.

The Mount currently sit top of Division Two after five matches following the delayed season start.

The quarter-final will take place on Saturday 15th June.

Full draw:

Burnley v Todmorden

Darwen v Haslingden

Greenmount v East Lancs or Rishton

Ramsbottom v Lowerhouse

Meanwhile T20 action is scheduled to start tomorrow (Friday). However persistent heavy rainfall has left the ground extremely wet and there will be a race against time to get the game on. Stay tuned for pre match news tomorrow.

A Bank Holiday double header offered an appetising weekend of cricket following the cancellation of most of the T20 first round of matches writes John Stevens.

The First team finished the weekend with a place in the quarter finals and a league leaders position after five matches as we close out May.

After yet another week of monsoon-like weather it was no shock to hear that our defence of the T20 cup would be starting a week late.

And so we moved on to Saturday away at a rather damp and not exactly tropical Crompton for the Worsley Cup second round.

Asked to bat first on a challenging pitch, Greenmount posted a respectable 236 for 8. Professional Jacques Snyman made light of the conditions with 79 from 68 balls to continue his fine form from Nelson, before falling to an excellent catch (it’s okay Kie, not as good as yours!).

Skipper Travis Townsend continued his imperious start to the season with another impressive performance finishing not out 95 but surely once again deserving of a century.  He was well supported by Kieran Edwards with 32.

The Crompton reply started very positively and they soon reached 85 for the loss of just one wicket. Travis was able to deploy a full range of bowlers and it was Jack Thomond who struck to remove the dangerous duo of Fazal and Jamal.

Jack was ably supported by the spin of Tom Heaton and the pair restricted the middle overs scoring whilst picking up wickets regularly. Jack finished with club best figures of 4 for 31 and Tom 2 for 36.

Amal Dalugoda chipped in with 2 for 28 and Jacques Snyman 2 for 30, Callum Hunter grabbing five catches!

Unfortunately we suffered another injury to keeper Jack Hallows who has a recurrence of a dislocated thumb. However this was a very good win by 58 runs against a strong opponent who will be fighting for promotion – and a first ever quarter final tie – draw to be made on Wednesday.

Post script – The scorecard will show that Crompton’s Ali was caught by Kieran Edwards – for readers who were not there please try to imagine a cross between a diving Jonty Rhodes and a swooping eagle to pull off an amazing effort (come on Kie you’ve got to say that’s a good mention, a Guinness should cover it).

On Sunday it was back to normal with rubbish weather and all that goes with it. Messing around with covers, pitch and ground inspections, weather apps and DLS with its customary confusion.

Throw in a bit of thunder and lightning too, not the ideal spectator sport. But Travis won the toss and the team responded by bowling out Great Harwood for 100.

Once again Jack Thomond was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 21, Callum Hunter also weighed in with 2 for 31 and there were two wickets apiece for spin twins Amal and Jacques, with Danny Hornby taking the remaining scalp.

With rain looming all around and rumbling thunder, the Greenmount reply was laced with lightning strikes as Tom Heaton and Jacques Snyman blazed their way to 74 in just five overs.

Clearly warming up for T20 action, Tom blasted 39 and Jacques 22 before a big flash of lightning took the teams off. When play was fit to resume some 45 minutes later, Greenmount had already exceeded the DLS target and after one ball sealed the win and an important 12 points to go top of the league.

The youthful second team were bouncing back nicely at Middleton where the opposition were 100 for 7 before rain ended proceedings. Ed Dickinson bagged four wickets and Ben Clarke picked up two.

This week sees the start of T20 with the Mount entertaining Norden this Friday. Watch out for team updates on Facebook and also for the Worsley Cup quarter-final draw on Wednesday!

The coming week’s cricket fixtures are as follows: Friday, May 31st: First eleven at home to Norden in the T20 competition. On Saturday the third team are away at Rishton and on Sunday the first team are away to Rishton while the seconds face Rishton seconds at home.

This week’s bar opening hours:

Bank Holiday Monday: 3pm to 10.30pm

Tuesday: 4pm to 11pm

Wednesday & Thursday: 3pm to 11pm

Friday: 2pm to 11pm

Saturday: 12 noon to 11pm

Sunday: 12 noon to 10.30pm

Harrison’s at Greenmount

Chris will be serving food this week as per below, but also please follow him on Facebook for specials and any changes.

Thursday, May 30th: 5pm to 8pm

Friday, May 31st: 9.30am to 12.30pm and 4pm to 8pm

Saturday, June 1st: 9.30am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 8pm

Sunday, June 2nd: 9.30am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 6pm

Sport on TV this week

Tuesday, May 28th: T20 cricket: England v Pakistan, 6.30pm

Wednesday, May 29th: Europa Conference Final: Olympiakos v Fiorentina, 8.30pm

Saturday, June 1st: Champions League Final: Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid, 8pm

Cask ales this week

The coming week’s cask ales will be a selection of beers: Marble (Pint & Draft); Bowland (Bumble) and Moorhouses (Straw Dog, White Witch & Pride of Pendle).

Professional Jacques Snyman’s first hundred of the season gave the first team a massive 219-run victory at Nelson to continue their fine start to the campaign. However, there was to be no luck in the reverse fixture for the seconds, slumping to a convincing nine wicket defeat in a mixed weekend for the senior setup writes SAM CHADWICK

It was something of a field day for the first as, batting first on a glorious Sunday afternoon, they racked up a score of 315 for 5 in their 50 overs.

There were scores galore, with Snyman scoring 116 off 97, backed up by 58 from 71 from his opening partner Dan Stevens. By the time the first wicket fell, the two had collated a 173-run partnership. Captain Travis Townsend then added to his hundred last week with an innings of 90 from 60 balls, one that included six sixes.

Not content with one landmark, Jacques took 5 for 44 in the second innings as Nelson were bowled out for just 96. Only three bowlers were needed to wrap up proceedings: Callum Hunter ended with 3 for 25 and Amal Dalugoda took 2 for 25 to continue his fruitful start to the season.

The performance was a statement of intent, seeing them into second place in the league and showing early signs of a promotion push as the season progresses.

In contrast, a young second team slumped to a disappointing loss in the reverse. Having won the toss, captain Oliver Dixon chose to bat on a dry wicket. But things soon unravelled as they were bowled out for 102 in 26.2 overs.

The in-swing of opening bowler Haroon Manaf proved too hot to handle for their top order, removing four of the top six on his way to figures of 5 for 29. His efforts were ably backed up by his opening partner Elliot Bradley, who took 2 for 34. A battling 27 (57) from Leigh Dickinson (and 30 extras) pulled the home side over the hundred-mark, but the damage had already been done.

There was to be no fight-back in the second innings, with some assured Nelson batting regularly eating away at a modest target. Jack Bradley carried his bat, scoring 57 from 71, and Harry Waddington ended on 29 not out from just 20 to finish things off in the 21st over. Dixon took the only wicket for Greenmount, collecting respectable figures of 1 for 21 from his eight overs.

It is games like this that will be a learning curve for a young side and, with so much talent on offer, there is sure to be an upturn in form as the year moves on. For now, they sit in sixth in the early proceedings.

There was no game for the third team this weekend. They return with a trip to Nelson on Bank Holiday Monday.

NELSON v GREENMOUNT SCORECARD

GREENMOUNT II v NELSON II SCORECARD

An excellent chase from the 1st team, helped by a welcome return to form from captain Travis Townsend, saw Greenmount past Norden in their rearranged Worsley Cup fixture writes SAM CHADWICK.

But a first league defeat of the season made sure of a mixed weekend for all senior teams.

The cup fixture was their second go at a trip to Norden, after rain put pay to any play at Stag Park last weekend.

Greenmount were asked to bowl at the toss, as Norden made their way to a competitive 238 all out from 46.2 overs.

Mitchell Owen top-scored for the home side with 65 from 56, while Townsend and Amal Dalugoda both took identical figures of 3 for 33.

This brought Townsend to the crease, racking up 22 fours in his 115 from just 91 balls, ably backed up by Andy Kerr (37) and Danny Hornby (28).

By the time the captain was removed, just 12 runs were needed for the win. It was then an important 14 not out from Dalugoda that got them over the line.

Elsewhere on Saturday, there was an emphatic win for our third eleven as they continued their impressive form.

Batting first at home to Rawtenstall, they ran up an impressive total of 239 for 7 from 40 overs, going on to bowl their opponents out for just 68.

The stars of the show were captain Mark Crowther, with 71 from 66 balls, and the returning Simon Banks, who made a standout 89 from just 68 in his first innings of the season.

Left-arm spinner Noah Birtwistle took another three wickets in the second innings, carrying on his great start to the season with the ball.

In contrast, Sunday was a disappointing day for both first and second teams, with both falling short in run chases against Colne and Church, respectively.

At home, the first eleven fell 20 runs short of their revised target of 148 in a rain-curtailed game, having limited Colne to 164 all out.

Professional Jacques Snyman picked up 4 for 36 and there was another three wickets for Townsend in what was, at least, a strong bowling effort.

Greenmount finished on 128 for 8 from 31 overs in reply, with wickets being lost at regular intervals to arrest momentum. Opening the batting again, Dan Stevens made 29 with 5 fours and a six with Gav Nicholl also contributing 29 with 5 fours and Travis Townsend 23.

The highlight of the match was perhaps Toby Leach’s debut for the side, stepping in at the eleventh-hour for Heaton after a strong start to his debut season at the club.

The second team’s match at Church was also stopped short by rain, but the result was a bygone conclusion in chase of 230.

After Manazer Mehmood’s 89 from 123 balls for the home side, Greenmount fell to 60 for 5 in reply and never looked like chasing the total.

Adam Clarke stood out with the ball, going for just 13 in his 7 overs and perhaps deserving a wicket, with leg-spinner Rupert Hallows collecting three wickets at the death.

In the second innings, Nigel Hallows top scored with 27 from 59. Sam Chadwick also got some welcome runs, unbeaten on 21 from 36 before the rain came.

Results put the first team into the second round of the cup and third in the league standings. The seconds sit fifth in their division, while the thirds move up to second.

The thirds picked up their first win of the season on Monday, as a rain-affected match saw them beat Littleborough 3rd XI by six wickets writes SAM CHADWICK.

The game was shortened to 25 overs after some heavy rain, with captain, Mark Crowther having been asked to field earlier on in the day.

This decision turned out to be a stroke of luck as, after the delay, the thirds’ trademark young fast-bowling attack got to work.

It was Adam Clarke and George Kenyon who opened the bowling, applying pressure on a young Littleborough outfit. This was emphatically backed up by some clever swing bowling from Matthew Gilmore, which saw him pick up figures of 3 for 6 in his allocated five overs.

The opposition were reduced to 41 for 5, but there was to be a fightback, as number three batter Sam Butterworth made his way to an unbeaten 50 (66), after a rugged partnership with James Devine.

Notable figures of 2 for 18 from Kenyon and 1 for 21 from leg-spinner Toby Leach saw the Rochdale outfit finish on 92 for 6.

The modest target was soon eaten away at by a strong opening partnership of 41 from Leach (13) and Leigh Dickinson (20). However, they fell in quick succession, with the former being bowled by a beauty from Jawaad Hussain to leave the Mount on 42 for 2.

Nerves were settled by a steady partnership from Chris Sherrington (14) and Mark Crowther (12). But both were removed to leave us 73 for 4, with Butterworth adding to a fine display by taking a screamer of a catch off his own bowling to remove Sherrington. The catch also, incidentally, saved umpire John Stevens from a trip to A&E!

It was to be Adam Clarke and Wes Young who calmly got the club over the line with 2.3 overs to spare, dealing Littleborough their first defeat of the season.

The performance bodes well for the rest of the campaign, especially with a sharp bowling attack showing they are more than capable of taking wickets.