Greenmount Under 13s face Great Harwood at the Mount this Thursday (11th May) starting at 6pm.
The lads have made an impressive start to the season winning all four matches convincingly .
Great Harwood will pose the next challenge so if you fancy an evening of cricket please come down and support the boys in this quarter final cup clash.
Harrison’s will be serving food so why not make an evening of it with a couple of cheeky pre weekend drinks as well!
As the Coronation and its promise of another extended weekend approached, there was more speculation about the prospect of two successive games for the first weekend of a very damp early May.
For anyone unfortunate enough to have been at Norden on Thursday night for the under-15 cup fixture, the conditions swung from Baltic to Arctic with high winds and freezing rain – only eased mildly by a fine entertaining unbeaten 50 by 11-year-old Rupert Hallows and some lusty hitting from Ed Dickinson.
But surprisingly both first and second team Worsley cup fixtures with Church started on time.
The first team lost the toss and Church chose to bat. Jacques Snyman made his long-awaited home debut and Jack Thomond also made his first home appearance while there was also a home debut for 15-year-old county age group player Max Birtwistle.
In an innings which ebbed and flowed as both sides battled for momentum, it was Church who emerged in the ascendancy thanks in main to an excellent innings of 135 not out from Kelan Florentine who plundered eight sixes and eleven fours.
Skipper Josh Scully compiled a good 40 before being caught and bowled by Evan Williams who finished with 3-49 while Jack Thomond took 2-53 on debut.
Greenmount needed a good start however Florentine put paid to that with the early wickets of Williams, Tom Heaton and Andy Kerr to have the Mount against the ropes on 18-3.
The stage was set for professional Snyman to repeat the pyrotechnics from Crompton in partnership with Travis Townsend but just as the South African duo looked set to consolidate they were both removed by sub pro Gohar.
This brought Dan Stevens and Ryan Senior together for a rearguard stand of 87 which most unfortunately was halted by bad weather just as they had arrested momentum from Church and were looking likely to turn things round.
Stevens launched three sixes in an over and despatched Gohar for a fourth to reach his 50 as the rain came – once the players resumed the match fizzled out to another unsatisfactory DLS fuelled end with Ryan Senior unbeaten on 35 and Stevens bizarrely given out from the last ball for a fine 60.
Turning attention to league duty on Sunday it was critical to actually complete a match as the team travelled to Middleton with the previous three all washed out.
Travis won the toss and chose to bowl first and this time the Mount bowlers hit their stride very quickly with Callum Hunter firing out three early victims including the dangerous James Price who scored a fine century against us last season.
Middleton continued to lose wickets at regular intervals as Jacques Snyman bagged 4-44 and Travis Townsend 2-15. Hunter finished with 3-12 and Sammy Greenhalgh took a hat trick of catches as the opposition fell for 97 from 30 overs.
The Greenmount reply started very positively and at 35-0 it seemed like a routine stroll before a mix up saw Tom Heaton run out for four, with Evan Williams then bowled for eleven to make it 35-2.
Wickets continued to fall with Townsend the victim of another strange decision but leaving the innings finely balanced at 66-4.
Andy Kerr and Dan Stevens then steadied the ship somewhat with a partnership of 24 before both fell to Dale Highton for 24 and 16 respectively, leaving just four runs to win but still leaving time for another wicket to fall leaving the margin of victory less than would have originally been expected.
We were also grateful for the penalty runs conceded by Middleton but in truth should not have needed them – however how many times have we seen low scoring games play out in this way, one of the vagaries of the game, the key point is we have registered the first win and 12 points takes us up to fourth place with a LOT of cricket to play.
The second team cup match with Church on Saturday saw a very youthful side lose at Church but only after a positive bowling performance which included a great start to senior cricket for Ben Clarke who bowled 10 overs for just 23 runs.
There were wickets for older brother Adam, Ollie Dixon, Ed Dickinson and Rupert Hallows. Unfortunately the Greenmount batting response was a collective horror show resulting in being bowled out for just 53 – only Mark Crowther with 17 and Rupert Hallows (15) registered double figures.
On Sunday the seconds hosted Middleton with a more experienced line up including Andy Bowker Nigel Hallows and Danny Hornby.
Middleton compiled 236-8 which unfortunately was bolstered by 40 extras, Rupert Hallows bagging 3-44 and Danny Hornby 2-52.
Once again the batting reply never quite fired with several batters reaching double figures only to not kick on. It was left to a tail end flurry from the returning Richard Catterall with a typically breezy unbeaten 21 including three fours and a six while young Ed Wackrill – on his second team debut – supported nicely with 13 not out and two fours.
The second team are in a lowly position after the first four weeks however not helped by lack of consistent availability of more established senior players, whilst this situation remains it will mean more opportunity for our young players but will equally offer them a very steep learning curve!
We are extremely proud that the junior section at Greenmount Cricket Club has proved to be as popular as ever with incredible numbers of children being signed up to learn how to play the game.
However, in order to maintain a safe and fun environment we need to halt new sign ups while we assess the number of children we have and ensure we adhere to the correct number of coach to children ratios.
For any questions please contact Junior Chairman Leigh Dickinson via gccupdates@gmail.com
The club will collate a list of potential new members and try its best to accommodate – while requesting patience as we go through the process.
Professional Jacques Snyman lit up a largely dull and damp day at Crompton with a sparkling 96 on his debut, but the Mount endured a frustrating post-tea session as the game was eventually called with the home side somewhat adrift of the adjusted target .
Snyman struck six sixes and seven fours in a 54 ball knock of awesome power which is hopefully the prelude of entertainment to come.
It was the highlight of an all round excellent team performance with the bat. Put in to bat doubtless with a nod to the weather, Tom Heaton and Evan Williams started confidently and quickly.
New dad Tom being especially quick to punish any loose bowling and he celebrated the first half century of the season with two sixes and five fours.
After Tom fell for 53 Andy Kerr and Williams continued to build an imposing score and it was a surprise when Kerr departed for 23 just one short of another 50 partnership.
Celebration for Crompton was short lived as Snyman took centre-stage and quickly asserted a turbo drive to proceedings.
Meanwhile Evan completed an assured stand of 58 before exiting with 60 to bring new skipper Travis Townsend to the wicket. The South African duo added a very entertaining 80 before Townsend was dismissed for a breezy 23.
Snyman departed just one run later for an excellent 96 and it was a real shame such a debut performance fell just four runs short of a wonderful century.
With eight overs to go Greenmount had already compiled 262 for 5 and were far from finished as Dan Stevens and Ryan Senior completed yet another 50 partnership in the last eight overs.
Stevens finished with a busy 24 not out from just 18 balls while Senior hit an unbeaten 28 from 26 balls including one six. An excellent all round team batting effort.
Unfortunately at this point the weather decided to come to Crompton’s mercy and after a two- hour delay the mysteries of the Duckworth Lewis Stern method declared a target of 173 from 20 overs.
The game was eventually abandoned after eleven overs with Callum Hunter and Evan Williams taking a wicket apiece whilst Jacques offered a glimpse of his outstanding fielding ability with an excellent catch and run out.
It was a disappointing damp squib end to a sparkling performance laced with fine highlights, two games, two wins for the weather.
It’s a long season which isn’t decided by the end of April – we go again next Sunday at home to Colne.
Thanks go to the travelling support who braved the cold to get behind the team.
Match abandoned: 5 points. Greenmount 316 for 5 (50 overs ) Crompton 77 for 3 (11 overs )
Meanwhile the seconds lost at home to Crompton in another game affected by weather and DLS.
Greenmount scored 163 for 6 with Jake Chadwick hitting a typically belligerent 33. There was a useful contribution of 26 from Andy Bowker and only a glimpse of entertainment from Kieran Edwards who was rather unfortunately given out when threatening to dominate.
The highlight of the innings was a patient and well compiled debut knock of 55 from 15-year-old George Mills who dug in and worked very hard for his runs.
The Crompton reply was led by the experienced John Punchard who finished unbeaten on 61 against a largely young Greenmount attack for whom Luca Addleton and Ewan Malone took the wickets to fall.
Saturday’s third team home match against Nelson was postponed due to an unfit ground.
I so do hope we won’t be Singing in the Rain… writes junior chairman Leigh Dickinson.
With luck, junior training will commence this Friday (21st April).
The coaching team have been busy planning what we hope will be a fantastic run of Friday training sessions as we enter into the new season with very high hopes and great expectations.
I will continue to emphasise what a great junior set up we have at Greenmount, one that we will always to strive to improve on – so please keep providing feedback.
Winter training has been a huge success. The EPP for the more advanced juniors has been great and the foundation work with the younger players has also seen early pre-season success in the Bury Indoor Cricket Tournaments.
The Under 9s won three out of five games while the U11s won all five of their games and the tournament – an incredible achievement!
This summer we will be providing coaching for: All Stars 5-8 yr olds 6pm – 6.45pm (starting 5th May) U9s and U11s 6pm – 6.45pm; U13s & U15s 6.45pm – 7.30pm (these times will stretch a little as we get longer and warmer nights).
It is essential that the U9s and U11s be both signed in and out by parents/carers and we ask that as a group they leave the field promptly as the older children start their training. Cricket balls are hard and it can be dangerous.
There will be a few Fridays when training will not be possible due to T20 fixtures, which we hope will be great evenings that give our juniors inspiration to play senior cricket.
If you are in a position that enables you to help – please do get in touch at gccupdates@gmail.com
See you all soon!
Unfortunately – but not surprisingly – tomorrow’s (Sunday’s) first team Lancashire League match against Rishton at the Log Cabin has fallen foul of the persistent poor weather and has been cancelled.
UPDATE: Both today’s third team match at Accrington and the second eleven’s scheduled game at Rishton tomorrow have also been postponed.
As the 2023 season approaches with eager anticipation there’s also trepidation about the weather and prospects of play for the first weekend!
First team captain Travis Townsend has been speaking with Nigel Stockley from the Lancashire league website .
“We will be aiming for promotion and would like a better run at the cups. It’s a long old season so we will just be taking it one game at a time.
“Crompton and Middleton are the ones I expect to see challenging for promotion with ourselves but many of the teams have recruited and strengthened so it should make for a competitive season.
“For T20 I think Clitheroe, Lowerhouse and Crompton have very dangerous T20 teams but we want to put our best foot forward in the competition too this year.”
Meanwhile for the first weekend of the season we are seeing a number of club first team debuts.
We welcome professional Jacques Snyman to the club and into competitive action for the first time and we also have three young players from our emerging player programme taking their first bow – Max Birtwistle, who is a member of the county age group under 15s; George Mills who is new to the club and Adam Clarke who is the eldest of three brothers to play senior matches this weekend. Good luck to all three.
We also welcome home all-rounder Evan Williams after six months in Tasmania, although he will probably be feeling the cold this week!
Please come along and get behind this young group as they set out on the new season!
The club’s talented young all-rounder Evan Williams has returned home after a six months stint playing in Tasmania. John Stevens caught up with him to chat about his time there and what he is looking forward to for the new campaign.
JS: Welcome back Ev, tell us about what you’ve been doing in Australia for the last six months?
EW: Hi John, I’ve been living in Tasmania for the last six months working and playing cricket for Lindisfarne Cricket Club.
JS: What are your impressions of club cricket in Australia and how does it compare with your experience in the UK?
EW: The club cricket system in Tas is a good standard with a very professional nature to it. I think this is one of the main differences between the two as well as the fact that you get the opportunity to play with professionals. In my instance I had the likes of Ben McDermott and Nathan Ellis along with other top end cricketers.
JS: Were there any stand out players who you admired and learned from, who were they and why ?
EW: As I mentioned previously I had the opportunity to play with some top quality players. One person who stood out to me in particular was Matthew Wilkie who was our coach and had an outstanding work ethic which shows why he’s been such a consistent performer over the years.
JS: What have you learned about your own game that you are looking forward to bringing back to Greenmount?
EW: I think I’ve worked hard on my game and will be able to bring a lot to the table this year at Greenmount but want to bring a positivity to the way we play our cricket to make it an enjoyable environment whilst winning.
JS: What is the junior system like in Australia? Any names we should look for?
EW: There’s some very promising juniors coming through in Tasmania and played with a couple boys who were coming through the under-19s. Tom McGann is a wicketkeeper batsmen who I think is one to watch in my opinion.
JS: What do you see happening in the Ashes this summer?
EW: I think it’s ours to lose with the brand of cricket that’s being played at the minute. For the Aussies to have a chance I think the likes of Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head will have to score a majority of their runs.
JS: Test cricket, 50 overs, T20 ? What do you prefer?
EW: I think I have a lot of time for test cricket although many prefer the shorter forms. It’s the purest form of the game.
JS: How do you see the new season for Greenmount ? You’ve been away six months , how does it feel coming back to the club?
EW: I think we have a great balance of younger lads and those with experience in the side which will inevitably give us a great solution for success this year if we play anywhere near our ability. I think the addition of a new professional and Travis returning to the club will make a big difference and I think If we are not challenging to be number one this year and get promoted we’re seriously underachieving.
JS: Well we hope you have a fantastic summer Ev, good luck!
Unfortunately, this Saturday’s curtain-raiser to the new season, away to Bowden, has had to be cancelled.
Unsurprisingly, this is due to an unfit ground and continued wet weather.
Work continues with focus on our own ground as we fight against the elements to prepare for the first league match against Rishton on Sunday, 16th April.
New first team skipper Travis Townsend needs little or no introduction to players and supporters of Greenmount CC. The popular South African was professional at the Log Cabin for two years (2015 and 2016). After leaving the professional ranks, Travis has re-joined the club as first team skipper and Head of Cricket John Stevens took time out to interview him about his views on the new Lancashire League campaign and cricket in general.
JS: Hi Trav, welcome back to Greenmount – feels like you have unfinished business from your previous time with us. Talk us through how you feel about the club and what you are looking to achieve?
TT: Really happy to be back. I certainly didn’t feel like Greenmount got see the best of me during my time at the club previously. I hope to put that right this season, but importantly I’d like to have a big effect on those playing with me. The focus is to use my own performance and leadership to drive standards at the club which will hopefully translate into silverware. To win things though, we will need contributions across the board over the course of the season.
JS: What do you see as the main challenges ahead for this season? Who do you think will be fighting for promotion?
TT: Main challenges will be consistency of performance and the ability to pick up points every game. The second division has gotten stronger each year with more clubs becoming far more competitive than in previous seasons. I think Crompton are a serious threat, but as I stated before a lot of the teams have become far more competitive so the challenge will be to not look too far ahead.
JS: Tell us about your fellow countryman Jacques Snyman – what do you see him bringing to the club?
TT: Jacques is an explosive player who has the ability to affect the game with bat, ball or in the field. I spoke to a number of players who have played with him and he couldn’t have come better recommended. I expect Jacques to not only give his all when playing, but he will play a huge part in driving the cricket culture at the club.
JS: Talk us through the importance of leadership and setting a positive culture – its more than Baz Ball right?
TT: Leadership plays the most important role in driving positive culture. It isn’t a case of just having a strong captain anymore, its empowering those around you. However having leaders who trust, support and more importantly are honest with the players will hopefully unshackle cricketers from self doubt which in turn leads to players showcasing their best more often.
JS: Why do you think England have made such a step change? Where are the lessons?
TT: The players seem to be unweighted by the pressure of performance and the undue stress of having your place in the side scrutinized every time you make an error of judgement. This is leading to more positive options being taken and although its not the foolproof recipe for constant success, I don’t think we’d be seeing the levels that are being reached without that positive culture. From our perspective, we can certainly take away plenty from the current England side. They combine hours of hard work and preparation with the licence to express their abilities. What is most admirable about Baz Ball is the strength in their conviction.
JS: How do you see the Ashes panning out this summer?
TT: I think England will win, but they will be facing the most complete attack they’ve faced thus far. However, I think home conditions will make the England seam attack far more threatening and that’s where the series will be won.
JS: Test cricket – where do you see the future?
TT: I think the format is strong,the only concerns are the finances of the other nations away from England, India, Australia. We need a strong South Africa and West Indies in world Test cricket though. From a player’s perspective, Test cricket is the holy grail, the format the greats are judged by. Financially T20 has changed the landscape, but I’m not a believer that T20 cricket is affecting Test cricket interest. Test cricket has always been the cricket lovers choice. The 50 over game is probably more in danger as it doesn’t quite grab the attention like it used to and its become a bit like an inbetweener in terms of length of time.
JS: Moving on to young emerging players – who do you see as the next generation to dominate the world stage?
TT: England-wise, Harry Brook is really impressive, Shubman Gill of India and Shaeen Shah Afridi are superstars in the making.
JS: What can we expect from the South African cricket team moving forward?
TT: Test cricket-wise. The bowling attack is good enough to compete with anyone, but until the batting unit can put together better first innings totals on the board then we will struggle to compete with the best. Limited overs-wise, we’re a stronger side, but we haven’t quite worked out the top order balance yet.
JS: If you could choose five cricketers for a round table dinner and general night out, who would they be and why?
TT: Shane Warne, Brian Lara, Sir Vivian Richards, Sachin Tendulkar and Herschelle Gibbs. Briiliant cricketers who played the game in a great way and apart from Sachin, potentially, knew how to party.
JS: Thanks Trav, we are looking forward to watching you play for many years to come.
