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What a wet weekend – while southern Europe basks in extreme heat we’d be better off playing water polo!

Nevertheless, we didn’t need good weather for a memorable evening with the great Mark Taylor who took time out from his Sky commentary commitments to spend 24 hours with his favourite English club.

It was great to see some famous – or infamous? – faces return to the Mount , notably Mark Stewart, John Ashworth, Gary Chadwick, Darron Foy, Dave Jones, accompanied by our current fourth team captain Dave Mason.

Mark was on for a good 90 minutes and supplied the assembled audience with some great anecdotes and memories of 1988. Many thanks to Dave Mason for arranging an awesome weekend!

Mark stayed to watch the fourths on Saturday but after ten overs – during which I couldn’t possibly give Mr Mason out despite a voracious appeal – the heavens opened and that was that.

On to Sunday and more rain however the second eleven started on time and up at Colne the first team were reduced to a 42 overs match.

The seconds once again found their match abandoned due to heavy rain. The bigger issue is how we get the ground dry for next week!

There was another excellent 59 for Kieran Edwards, a gritty unbeaten 35 from Mark Crowther and a cameo 28 from just 31 balls from Oli Dixon in his new role as all rounder – he followed up with a miserly six overs for nine before the rain.

We are still bottom of the table but only nine points from eighth spot and the signs of a potential good run in are there!

Up at Colne the first team managed to complete a win which keeps us very much in the mix, lying in fourth place, 17 points behind second with Middleton at home next week assuming a real “24 pointer” significance, swiftly followed by Church at home on 6th August.

Travis won the toss and Colne were restricted to 158 from their 42 overs with Jacques Snyman bagging another four wickets supported by Evan Williams with two and one apiece for Callum and Tom.

The Greenmount reply was emphatic and clinical, racing to an adjusted target of 146 from just 22 overs and no loss.

Jacques dominated the innings with another fine unbeaten century – his fifth of the season – peppered with five sixes and 11 fours.

Evan continued to show his growing maturity with a fine supporting unbeaten 43 with seven fours and nobody else was needed this week!

A fine win against poor conditions and the threat of rain, plus a relief to get a game in with such localised heavy showers striking nearby.

We move in to Middleton at home – be there in your numbers and support the lads – however we’d just politely remind spectators to stop the practice of “shouting on” to the field especially towards umpire decisions.

The League take a very dim view of unruly crowd behaviour and this carries the risk of points deduction which would be criminal. So please keep it shut apart from encouraging the team!

Here’s an amazing unique view of Greenmount Cricket Club’s Brandlesholme Road ground thanks to our friends at Charles Louis Homes.

The local estate agents and letting agents have donated this superb drone video of the Log Cabin and ground in all its summer splendour – showing why it is one of the most picturesque cricket venues in the country.

Many thanks to James Birch and all at Charles Louis Homes for their kind gesture.

Estate Agents & Lettings Agents in Ramsbottom – Charles Louis Homes

Littleborough Cricket Club will be the venue for the T20 Finals Day on Bank Holiday Monday (August 28th).

Greenmount have been drawn to face Burnley at 1pm while in the other semi-final Rochdale take on Littleborough at 10am.

The final is due to be held at 4.30pm.

Following the euphoria of Friday night’s stellar performance to reach T20 Finals Day, there was always the risk of an unwanted anti-climax on Sunday.

And so it proved in a top of the table league clash at home to Crompton.

In contrast with Friday’s glorious weather, once again Sunday beckoned with the threat of storms and showers and the inevitable intervention of DLS.

Crompton won the toss and predictably invited Greenmount to bat. An early trademark six from Jacques, riding high on the back of an unbeaten century on Saturday, was quickly followed by his dismissal for just eight.

Andy Kerr and Tom Heaton departed quickly to leave us on 24-3 and Travis followed after a brief rebuild with Evan Williams leaving the score on 70-4.

Evan had continued his fine form from Friday and held the innings together. He was joined by Dan Stevens and the ex-Sedbergh School pair added 93 before Evan fell for another fine 87 with 13 fours and a six.

Dan picked up the mantle and with wickets continuing to fall he blazed four sixes to reach an excellent 52 before we were all out for 209 irritatingly with three overs to spare.

Certainly a below par score on a good surface but after the sticky start at least something to defend.

I could copy and paste reports from previous weeks where it has then rained at around 5pm and the game dynamics have altered.

Although 209 was never a massive target it was reduced to 169 from 30 overs following the break.

A quickfire trademark 57 from professional Jamal from 37 balls with six sixes, supported by an unbeaten steady 57 from fellow opener Fazal saw Crompton home with five overs to spare by seven wickets.

Church are now top with nine games left, the Mount slip to 5th however are 16 points from top and just 20 points separate seven teams.

It’s a disappointing loss but this promotion race has many twists and turns so expect the unexpected! We’ve had many fantastic days and performances, the team has to regroup and respond next game – and so does everyone!

One loss does not define the season outcome at this stage so please continue to get behind the team for nine big matches, it will be a rollercoaster ride for sure.

Meanwhile, the second team were at Crompton but were washed away by a big storm after tea which finished the match very quickly.

Batting first we were washed away for 93 and only Nigel Hallows with an excellent 40 demonstrating any resilience with the bat. Crompton were 48-3 when the rain arrived.

On Saturday Mark Crowther’s “high flying thirds” (see what I did there?) overcame Accrington in an exciting rain affected match at the Mount.

Batting first in a 29 over match we piled on 173-6 with Ed Dickinson(48), Crowther in cavalier mode (43) and Rupert Hallows (22).

There was also a cameo 17 from Wesley (that’s his name) Young who now tops the charts as the division’s top run scorer.

The Accrington response to an adjusted target of 140 from 20 overs was spirited and fell just ten runs short.

Max Birtwistle clinched the win with three tight overs and Ed Wackrill bowled with pace and accuracy picking up a wicket and showing real hostility.

A good win as the weather burst the clouds just moments after victory was completed!

Aussie legend Mark Taylor will be our guest next Saturday as the Mount 4th team makes a rare appearance versus Roe Green. No thirds match next week.

Up the Mount !

Greenmount Cricket Club is delighted to announce the retention of South African professional Jacques Snyman for season 2024.

Jacques is an explosive batter and excellent all rounder who has delivered numerous entertaining performances already this season.

Members at the Mount have already witnessed some stunning hitting including an all-time Lancashire League record score of 269 not out and an unforgettable run chase in the T20 at Norden against all odds.

Jacques has really integrated into the club along with his family and has shown an incredible commitment to junior player development.

He’s already achieved 1000 runs for the season and with ten league games to go will continue to spearhead our promotion challenge.

It goes without saying we are all absolutely delighted that you are staying Jacques, definitely a part of the Mount family!

Greenmount bludgeoned their way into the Finals Day of the JW Lees T20 KO on Friday night with a stunning batting display at the Mount.

Batting first on a lovely track, professional Jacques Snyman set the tone following the early loss of Tom Heaton for a brisk 10.

In just 24 balls Jacques hammered 70 with five sixes while Evan Williams supported with sensible strike rotation.

But Evan then decided that he could adopt the aggressive role and he exploded into a sublime knock which yielded 83 from just 40 balls with an amazing eight sixes.

Indeed, such was the nature of his innings it was like having another professional on show!

As if that was not enough, skipper Travis Townsend continued a recent rich vein of form hammering 67 not out from 32 balls with another five sixes.

There was still time for a little cameo from Andy Kerr who hit two sixes in a score of 31 from just 14 balls before being bowled with four balls remaining.

Dan Stevens entered the arena for those last 4 balls and smashed an unbeaten nine to raise the score past 280 and set a daunting target of 284 to win.

Enfield gave the chase a spirited charge but in truth were never going to sustain a rate of over 16 per over and once Cal Hunter and Evan set the tone with tight bowling it was more about fun in the sun as the innings played out 118 runs short.

Wickets were shared around the attack with two for Tom Heaton and one apiece for Evan, Max Birtwistle, Jack Thomond, Travis  and Jacques.

The evening was topped with the announcement that Jacques has re-signed for 2024.

And so to Finals Day for the very first time and another chapter in what’s becoming a memorable season with some blistering entertainment.

Reserve the date in your calendar, Monday 28th August, venue to be announced between Rochdale, Burnley, Littleborough and Greenmount.

Thanks to everyone who supported and especially to those who helped on an incredibly busy night.

The Greenmount Grill with Master Chef Birty and Matt Clarke ably helped by Wes Young, Nigel Franklin and Josh Birtwistle (with thanks to Juan!) and the Bottle Bar with Dave and Jo plus the raffle with Leigh and his assistants.

Well done and thanks to all our staff and Chris for keeping it all together through the night and of course to DJ Skins for music and comedy!

Finally – Sammy Greenhalgh happy birthday that’s a party to remember!  See you all on August 28th!

Continuing our Ashes Summer theme after the visit of Merv Hughes, we now welcome Mark Taylor home to Greenmount CC.

Mark remains our most successful professional from his famous stay in 1988 which saw us win the Bolton League while he racked up over 1300 runs at an average of 70.

Mark went on to score 17,415 first class runs, achieved a test match best score of 334 not out, 104 test caps for Australia with 19 test centuries and 40 fifties.

He’s widely acknowledged as one of the top test captains and is now a broadcaster for Sky where he often references “his” Greenmount.

Mark will spend an evening with us on Friday 14th July between the Headingley and Old Trafford test matches, admission will be strictly by ticket only and the price is just £10.

This will be a very popular event and demand is already high so to secure your ticket please either reply to the ‘all membership’ email from Helen stating the quantity required or contact John Stevens directly.

Orders will be fulfilled with tickets placed in an envelope behind the members’ bar. Payment is cash only and must be made in advance of the evening.

It would be fantastic to see as many of the 1988 team at this evening to relive some amazing memories during a special season where this generation of the club is creating their own story.

Unfortunately, we need to add a couple of restrictions for this event – we are unable to open to children under the age of 16 and insist that strictly no dogs allowed. Thanks for your understanding on both counts.

Looking forward to another memorable evening at The Mount!

Yesterday’s century at Rishton saw Greenmount’s professional Jacques Snyman reach over 1000 runs in all competitions – just over halfway through the season!

Jacques has been a credit to the club since signing and has provided spectators with numerous special innings, including his most memorable record breaking 269* (139) against Accrington.

Averaging 99.27 from 15 innings, his current 1092 runs includes four 50’s and four 100’s at a whopping strike rate of 168.

Not only contributing on the pitch, but Jacques’ full commitment to the club and also his willingness to develop the youngsters coming through with timeless hours spent coaching has been clear for all to see. 

We look forward to seeing what the rest of the  season has in store but for now, a huge congratulations to Jacques from everyone at the club on reaching 1000 runs.

Friday was a washout as the early season poor weather returned with a vengeance so the highly anticipated T20 quarter final is rearranged for this week!

Be there in your numbers and get behind the team as we look to qualify for the prestigious finals day on 28th August.

On to Sunday and a potential banana skin at a green and soggy Rishton pitch.

As Travis lost the toss it was no surprise that we batted first but the score of 265-7 belied the sticky batting conditions.

The highlight of the innings was another century for professional Jacques Snyman who reached 1000 runs for the season.

What a special season he’s having, 1092 runs at 99.27, four centuries and four fifties, we need him to keep up this rich vein of form for the season run in with just ten league  games remaining.

There was also a very welcome return from Travis who carved out an excellent 61 from just 50 balls to ensure momentum was maintained.

The Rishton reply was sufficiently spirited to ensure we ended up without maximum points but still climbed to fourth place.

Callum Hunter rounded off an excellent all round display adding to his effective unbeaten 24 with his first five wicket haul of the season.

Cal had four bowled and one LBW and included the scalp of professional Dale Phillips first ball, he is now top of the league bowling charts for amateur bowlers – a fantastic performance season to date.

Unfortunately we couldn’t prise out the last two wickets and the game ended with Rishton 43 runs short.

It’s a big weekend to come at the Mount as we host Crompton on Sunday. Our opponents lie in third place just six points ahead and the top two teams Church and Middleton face off the same day.

The fight for promotion is well and truly on and as we enter this last ten game run it’s all to play for and promises to be an exciting few weeks.

Meanwhile, after last week’s victory the second team lost at home to Rishton in a game which mirrored the shape of the first team encounter.

Rishton posted 264, helped by an unbeaten century from opener Adam Hussain and unfortunately an incredible 35 wides from the Greenmount attack.

Wickets came the way of Richard Catterall (2) Luca Addleton (2) Ewan Malone (2) while Matt Senior and Nigel Hallows claimed one apiece.

There wasn’t enough legs in the Mount response and we finished 52 short. A number of batters got themselves in, Jake Chadwick top scored with 46, Nigel Franklin 29, Matt Senior 26, Kieran Edwards 23 and a welcome show of form from Nigel Hallows with a fine 34 but unfortunately nobody played the lead knock to score big and get us over the line.

With ten games to go, we are currently bottom of the league but the goal remains to change fortunes and climb up towards mid-table as the week’s progress. Starting this week away at Crompton.

There was no third team match this week after last week’s excitement and sadly the planned fourth team match with Prestwich was another victim of the poor mid-summer weather. Let’s hope for a return of the warm and sunny stuff sooner than later!

Tonight’s (Friday’s) T20 quarter-final tie against Enfield at the Log Cabin has been postponed due to the heavy rain.

The match will now be played on the reserve date next Friday (July 7th) at 6pm.

Club chairman Andy Skinner said: “The rain has been coming down all day and is forecast to continue right through, so it makes sense to call it off early.

“We contacted opponents Enfield and they are in complete agreement with the decision.”

While the cancellation is a disappointment given the organisation involved, the club hope people will attend next week when – hopefully – the weather is more agreeable.

Despite tonight’s postponement, the club bar will be open until 11pm and Harrison’s will be serving food until 8pm.