The draw for the first round of the Lancashire League’s 2022 Worsley Cup competition has thrown up an enticing derby clash for Greenmount as near neighbours Ramsbottom will be the visitors to the Log Cabin on Saturday, 7th May.
The Rams will also be in the Mount’s T20 competition group along with Littleborough, Crompton, Norden and Rawtenstall.
The 2022 league campaign starts on Sunday 17th April for the first and second teams while the thirds begin a week earlier on Sunday 10th April.
The T20 competition begins on Friday 27th May with the league season due to finish on Sunday, 11th September.
Greenmount CC’s senior teams were dealing out the trophies at the Log Cabin on Saturday evening when the club held their annual presentation night.
Eighteen-year-old Callum Hunter took pride of place when he picked up four trophies for his efforts in the first eleven.
Callum took 43 wickets as the Mount won promotion to the Lancashire League top flight at the first time of asking, and was rewarded with the club player of the season award, the first team player of the year award, the first team bowling award and the Mark Stewart award for most wickets.
Tom Heaton won the first team batting award.
In the second team Brad Edge picked up two trophies, the Cyril Butterworth Award for most runs in the season and the Second team batting award.
Meanwhile, Oliver Dixon picked up the second team bowling award and Jake Chadwick was named players’ second team player of the season.
In the thirds young Max Birtwistle was named players’ player of season, Skipper Mark Crowther picked up the batting award and Stuart Leach won the bowling accolade.
Andy Kerr won the Moment of the year award for his part in his first wicket partnership of 320 with professional Chesney Hughes that smashed the Lancashire League record.
Matt Senior was also presented with the Pauline Rigby junior player of the year award and Charlie Exton was awarded a special prize voted for by third team skipper Mark Crowther.
The Clubman of the year award went to chairman Rob Kilvington.
WINNERS ALL… From left: Mark Crowther, Charlie Exton, Tom Heaton, Callum Hunter, Matt Senior, Jake Chadwick, Oliver Dixon and Andy Kerr
List of winners: Player of the season: Callum Hunter First team batting: Tom Heaton First team bowling: Callum Hunter First team player of season: Callum Hunter (players vote)
Second team Batting: Brad Edge Bowling: Oliver Dixon Player of season: Jake Chadwick
Third team Batting: Mark Crowther Bowling: Stuart Leach Player of season: Max Birtwistle
Moment of the year award: Andy Kerr
Mark Stewart bowling award: Callum Hunter
Cyril Butterworth batting award: Brad Edge
Pauline Rigby junior player of the year: Matt Senior
Starting this weekend (Friday 7th October) Danny’s at the Log Cabin will be open for breakfasts from 10am on Friday mornings and stay open for his regular menu plus specials throughout the day to his usual 8.30pm deadline. This is on top of his normal Saturday and Sunday opening times.
To coincide with this change, the club bar will now be open from 12 noon on Fridays.
Keep your eye on greenmountcricketclub.com for some forthcoming changes to Danny’s menu.
The club are delighted to announce that the Junior and Senior Presentation Evenings have been confirmed for Friday 8th and Saturday 9th October respectively at the Log Cabin.
Both evenings will be an opportunity to reflect on what was amazingly a full season of cricket despite the difficulties presented by the pandemic, and one that included our professional, Chesney Hughes and Andy Kerr, breaking the Lancashire League partnership record in what was our first season in the league as well as a plethora of representative honours for our players.
All junior players and their families are invited to the Junior Presentation to be held on Friday 8th October starting at 7pm.
The evening will celebrate performances across the U9s, U11s, U13s, U15s and U18s. Participation awards will also be presented for those who haven’t yet started playing for the U9s.
Food will be available at “Danny’s at the Log Cabin” before the presentation starts. Danny will be looking to do some hot dog / burger specials which will hopefully appeal to some of our younger players. The evening should finish around 9pm to 9.30pm. There will be no charge for the Junior Presentation evening.
All club members are invited to attend the Senior Presentation which will take place on Saturday 9th October starting from 7pm.
The evening will start with food at 7pm, with a choice of plate meat pie or cheese and onion pie and peas to be served by Danny and his team. Our compère for the evening will be Ryan Senior, our first team captain, and he will lead us through the evening, celebrating and reflecting on a wonderful first season in the Lancashire League.
Individual team captains will also look back on their respective seasons and hand out individual prizes for their teams. Once the presentations have finished, our resident DJ will bring the evening to an end with a few of his favourite tunes.
Tickets will be £5 per person to cover costs, please email club chairman Rob Kilvington at rkatrr@gmail.com to get your tickets and please remember to bring your tickets with you as you will need them to get your food at the start of the evening.
The club’s first eleven made it a memorable first season in the Lancashire League when they secured promotion to Division One with a comfortable six-wicket victory at rivals Enfield.
Defeat against Littleborough the previous week may have had the more pessimistic of the club’s followers fearing that they would blow the chance to go up at the final hurdle, especially as a victory for the home side could have seen them promoted.
But that was never going to be the case at Dill Hall Lane when skipper Ryan Senior won the toss and elected to put Enfield into bat.
After a steady start, the home side lost South African professional Stuart Els for seven with the score on 52. Jack Cook (6) then became Kieran Edwards’ second victim of the day at 62 before good knocks from Adam Bracewell (46), Lewis Wright (45) and Tiernan Hamill (27) moved things along.
However, some tight and economical bowling from the Mount lads prevented Enfield from getting too challenging a score and given the depth of the batting in the side, a total of 204 was one they were confident of surpassing.
With the real possibility that elevation to the top tier could come down to bonus points, the two wickets Callum Hunter took in the final over were a welcome sight as they earned Mount two precious points for bowling the opposition out at the same time preventing Enfield from getting a maximum 12.
Hunter took 3 for 61 ably assisted by Andy McGuiness (2 for 22), Evan Williams (2 for 28), Kieran Edwards (2 for 34) and Chesney Hughes (1 for 36).
The Mount’s reply didn’t get off the best of starts when Jack Harrison (7) was bowled by Nihaal Bhasharat in only the second over.
But on the plus side, that brought to the crease Andy Kerr and, once again, his superb partnership of 155 with paid man Hughes knocked the stuffing out of Enfield.
Greenmount’s promoted first team with runners-up trophy following victory at Enfield
Hughes finished unbeaten on 81 in a sensible batting masterclass, and as the light began to fade and both Tom Heaton (0) and Evan Williams (10) were given dubious lbw decisions in the gloom, up stepped Lewis Dove to smash a match-winning four and ensure the Mount take their place among the Lancashire League ‘big guns’ in the summer of 2022.
The pro’s innings (six fours and a six) saw him pass the 1,000 mark for league runs this season while Kerr’s 64 (nine fours) resulted in him passing 500.
Meanwhile, at the Log Cabin, the second eleven put paid to Enfield’s chances of winning the second team championship with a 46-run triumph.
Skipper Alex Bullen won the toss, elected to bat, but fell lbw for a duck after three balls. Man-of-the-moment Brad Edge, thankfully, was again in good batting form hitting 62 as the seconds ran up a score of 218 for 9 from their 45 overs.
There were also useful contributions from Chris Sherrington (24), Patrick Kilvington (22), Ryan Edge (22), Nigel Franklin (20) and Matthew Senior (18).
The Enfield reply fell short of what was required due in no small measure to Kilvington who took 4 for 41. The other wickets fell to Tom Nuttall (2 for 11), Oliver Dixon (2 for 43) and Bullen (1 for 30).
Greenmount’s second eleven following their final game of the season against Enfield
On Saturday the third team played their final game of the campaign at near neighbours Ramsbottom.
The Rams won the toss, elected to bat, but were restricted to 145 for 5 from their 40 overs with Max Birtwistle, Matthew Gilmore, Luca Addleton, Adam Clarke and Charlie Exton all taking a wicket apiece.
Skipper Mark Crowther was again the mainstay of the Greenmount reply as he hit 65 while David Mason (29) also got the innings off to a steady start after the early dismissal of father and son combination Leigh (3) and Henry (4) Dickinson.
Rammy’s total was overhauled in the 36th over for the loss of six wickets, thanks to a fine six from Steven Addleton.
To compound a day of real cricketing disappointments, unfortunately tonight’s final junior practice of the season has had to be cancelled due to the rain-soaked outfield at the club.
Nevertheless, the bar (complete with newly-installed Kingstone Press cider) will be open from 4pm while Danny’s At The Log Cabin will be in full swing to provide some culinary delights.
As well as his usual menu HERE Danny has a couple of curry specials on tonight with Lamb Balti or Chicken Madras served up with rice or fries and a naan bread.
The 2021 JW Lees Lancashire League campaign comes to a conclusion this weekend with all three of the club’s senior sides in action.
Firstly though, the final junior practice will be held tonight (Friday) at the Log Cabin from 6pm (weather permitting)!
On Saturday, Mark Crowther’s third eleven make the short trip to Acre Bottom to take on Ramsbottom thirds. WP 12.30pm.
And with all due respect to the second team who are at home to Enfield seconds on Sunday (WP 12.30pm), the main focus of interest at the club will be the first team’s encounter at Enfield (WP 12.30pm).
The Greenmount lads are currently in second place in the Division Two table and need to win to join Haslingden in Division One next summer.
Standing in the way are an Enfield team that have forced themselves into the heart of the promotion chase in the last few weeks.
They will be buoyed by knowing that victory will see them leapfrog the Mount into runners-up spot and with home advantage, plus the knowledge that they defeated Ryan Senior’s men at the Log Cabin in June, they are sure to be a tough nut to crack.
The club is hoping as many supporters as possible can get behind the lads and make the trip to Dill Hall Lane, Accrington for the fixture. The postcode for satnav is BB5 4DQ and the ground location can be found HERE.
Greenmount’s first eleven are hoping to take plenty of travelling support for their crucial final game of the season at Enfield on Sunday (WP 12.30pm).
Victory will see them promoted to the Lancashire League Division One for the 2022 campaign and cricket chairman Andy Skinner would like as many of the club’s supporters as possible to make the trip and get behind the lads.
“Ideally, we would have won at home on Sunday against Littleborough but that game has gone now and we must be totally focused on Enfield,” he said.
“Whatever happens we have enjoyed a good first season in the Lancashire League but it would put the icing on the cake to get promotion at the first time of asking.
“At this point in time, we’d like to really thank all our spectators, home and away, for their support throughout the summer. It really does make a difference and I know the lads on the field think the same.”
Enfield’s ground is just north of Accrington town centre on Dill Hall Lane. The postcode for satnav users is BB5 4DQ and the location of the ground can also be found on THIS link.
Greenmount’s first eleven slumped to their first defeat in ten games on Sunday and, in doing so, missed out on securing promotion to Lancashire League Division One – if only for a week!
Taking on a good Littleborough side at a packed Log Cabin, skipper Ryan Senior won the toss and in blazing late summer sunshine, sensibly elected to bat.
It looked the correct decision as the Mount found professional Chesney Hughes in superb form as he hit sixteen fours and three sixes in a superb innings of 133.
As they made steady progress – with Jack Harrison hitting 33 and Tom Heaton 34 – it looked a strong possibility that they would reach a total of more than 300, and even though they fell short at 283 for 9 it was still going to take an exceptional reply to surpass that total.
Frustratingly, that’s just what they received from the Hare Hill side with Aussie Clinton Perren – who had played 84 first class games for Queensland – in terrific form blasting an unbeaten 124 (ten fours and three sixes) and who put on a superb second-wicket partnership of 160 with his son Zac who scored 79.
Not even the early dismissal of pro and former Greenmount paid man Travis Townsend for a duck was allowed to stem the visitors march to victory.
Useful contributions from Ryan Miskella (34) and Matt Hernon (27 not out) complemented Perren’s match-winning knock and in a superbly-paced innings they passed the villagers’ total in the final over to secure a six-wicket victory and a complete a double over the Mount.
Hughes added three wickets to his ton and there was a wicket apiece for Evan Williams and Callum Hunter.
So, for Greenmount, the final outcome of the promotion chase will be concluded at Enfield next Sunday (September 12), when, once again, a victory will see them over the line. However, their opponents have an outside chance of promotion themselves and will provide another stern challenge.
While the firsts were going down to a six-wicket defeat the second eleven won by the same margin against their Littleborough counterparts.
Chosing to bat first, the home side ran up a total of 168 for 8 from their 45 overs with Matt Senior (3 for 36) taking the bowling plaudits while there was a wicket apiece for Tom Nuttall, Sam Woolley, Ryan Edge and Henry Dickinson.
Greenmount’s winning reply owed a lot to Edge who continued his late summer runfest and last weekend’s ton by hitting 71. There were also good contributions from Jake Chadwick (29) and an unbeaten 25 from Chris Sherrington as Boro’s total was reached inside the 43rd over for the loss of four wickets.
On Saturday it was the turn of the third team to hold centre stage at the Log Cabin when they enjoyed a 156-run triumph over Norden thirds.
The Mount scored 247 for 7 from their 40 overs thanks to a fine knock of 64 (retired not out) from the evergreen Dave Mason with other notable contributions from Leigh Dickinson (46), Sam Woolley (35), Dave Senior (29 not out) and Richard Birtwistle (23).
Despite batting into the 39th over, Norden were never seriously going to threaten the home total and they eventually succumbed to 91 all out.
Matt Senior led the way with the ball taking 4 for 13 while there were two wickets apiece for Edward Dickinson and Sam Woolley and one each for Leigh Dickinson and Matthew Gilmore.
What will hopefully be a big weekend for Greenmount begins with Junior Practice at the Log Cabin on Friday evening (3rd September).
On Saturday the third team provide the entrée for home supporters when they take on Norden’s third eleven. WP 12.30pm.
Twenty-four hours later all eyes will be on the first team as they go in search of a home victory that could secure them promotion to Lancashire League Division One at their first attempt.
Ryan Senior’s side have only two games remaining with a trip to Enfield on Sunday week closing the fixtures for the season.
However, standing in their way this weekend will be a good Littleborough side that put them to the sword at Hare Hill earlier in the campaign.
Former Mount paid man Travis Townsend is the visitors’ professional and the South African, who was at the Log Cabin in 2015 and 2016, will be endeavouring to end a nine-game winning run that has catapulted the villagers to the top of the table. WP 12.30pm.
The club’s second string make the reverse trip to Littleborough on Sunday. WP 12.30pm.
Food from Danny’s at the Log Cabin will be available from 5pm to 8.30pm on Friday; from 10am to 8.30pm on Saturday and from 10am to 6pm on Sunday.
