The club are delighted to announce that professional Chesney Hughes has put pen to paper on a contract for both the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
The popular West Indian paid man has already hit more than 1,000 runs this campaign and it’s fabulous news for the club that he has committed for two more years.
Greenmount’s first eleven picked up a good three-wicket victory at Great Harwood but it was a closer run thing than it looked like being early in the game.
Captain Ryan Senior won the toss and – given the threat of rain on the day – understandably elected to field.
That decision soon appeared to be the correct one when the home side were reduced to 37 for 4 following a three-wicket spell from Callum Hunter with Evan Williams picking up the other scalp.
However, Great Harwood weren’t about to roll over and 37 for 4 became 167 for 6 and eventually 183 for 7 mainly due to 76 from Caleb Greenhalgh and 40 from wicketkeeper Christian Oddie who were both dismissed by Kieran Edwards.
The Mount reply looked in big trouble when Jack Harrison, pro Chesney Hughes and Tom Heaton were back in the shed with the score on only 25.
But Andy Kerr (45) and Evan Williams (56) steadied the ship though when Williams became the fifth victim of pacey Sri Lankan professional Thikshila De Silva with the score on 139 for 6 the game was back in the balance.
That was the cue for skipper Senior to calm any nerves there may have been in the Greenmount ranks and his unbeaten 29 along with contributions from Andy McGuinness (10) and Mattie Donnelly (9) saw the lads home with five overs remaining.
The victory keeps the Mount in the heart of the Lancashire League Division Two promotion chase with a game in hand.
Meanwhile, at the Log Cabin, it was a day to forget for the second team against their Great Harwood counterparts.
They were dismissed for 118 with only Sam Greenhalgh (32), Oliver Dixon (27) and Stuart Leach (10 reaching double figures.
It was a total that was always going to be difficult to defend against a useful side in the promotion places and so it proved when the visitors reached their target inside 20 overs for the loss of four wickets.
The third team also bit the dust when they entertained a Great Harwood fourth eleven on Sunday.
Greenmount ran up 157 for 5 from their 40 overs with skipper Mark Crowther hitting an unbeaten 49 and Daniel Creer 34, while father and son opening partnership Henry and Leigh Dickinson scored 22 and 15 respectively. It proved insufficient as the visitors knocked that total off in the 38th over with Henry Dickinson (2), Iain Malone and Charlie Exton taking their four wickets.
The weekend’s cricketing activities at the Log Cabin begins tonight (Friday) with Junior Practice from 6pm.
Tomorrow (Saturday) the first eleven continue their promotion push with the trip to Great Harwood.
The club – and the players – have been encouraged by the number of spectators they are beginning to take to away fixtures and it is hoped a good number make the trip to Cliffe Park to support the lads.
Click HERE for the location of Great Harwood CC. WP at 1pm.
If you don’t fancy travelling tomorrow, you can get your cricket fix when the club’s second team take on their counterparts from Great Harwood at the Log Cabin. WP 1pm.
On Sunday it is the turn of the third team to provide the action when they are at home to Great Harwood’s fourth eleven. WP 1pm.
The club will be open from 10am on both Saturday and Sunday for breakfasts and new chef Danny Hornby will have menus dotted about the club for snacks and sandwiches during the games.
The club’s Evan Williams has been selected for Cumbria’s NCCA 3-day Championship match against Buckinghamshire at Furness Cricket Club which starts this Sunday (15th August).
The talented youngster hit 152 for the Cumbria Development Team last month against Scotland Under 19s and qualifies as a local player for the county under the NCCA criteria as he is educated at Sedburgh School.
It will be Evan’s debut for the championship side and all at Greenmount CC wish him well.
Club professional Chesney Hughes is to hold a cricket summer camp at the Log Cabin for Greenmount CC junior members.
The camp will be held on the following weeks:
Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday 16th, 17th & 18th August.
Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday 23th, 24th & 25th August.
The sessions will last from 9.30am to 3.30pm and children will need to bring lunch packs and drinks with them.
The cost of the sessions will by £15 per day, although a Monday to Wednesday package can be booked for £36, while all six days will cost £66.
The summer camp is primarily aimed at U-11 and U-13 players although U-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, 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.
Please email Rob Kilvington on rkatrr@gmail.com to book on the course.
Payment in cash will need to be made on the first day of attendance.
There will be no cricket for the club’s senior teams this weekend as a Covid outbreak in the first eleven has meant all three teams fixtures have had to be cancelled as per league rules.
Hopefully normal service will be resumed next weekend (14th and 15th August).
Also, due to the incessant rain on the pitch (and the promise of more to come) tonight’s (Friday) Junior Practice has had to be postponed.
There is still availability for three more teams when Greenmount Cricket Club hold their Golf Day on Friday, 13th August at Walmersley Golf Club.
Cost of a team of four is just £120 which includes a full 18 hole round; breakfast sandwich and drink pre-round; a number of prizes for winning score, longest drive, closest to the pin etc, with tee-times from 11am to 1pm.
Closing date to sign up and pay is Monday, 9th August and a signing on sheet can be found in the Log Cabin members’ bar.
For further details contact Jack Harrison on 07402 085585.
Greenmount’s first eleven leapfrogged Church & Oswaldtwistle into the Lancashire League Division Two promotion places with a fine seven wicket victory at West End on Sunday.
The home side won the toss and elected to bat but a combination of tight bowling, sharp fielding and some superb catching put them under severe pressure from the start.
The pick of the dismissals was a superb one-handed effort on the boundary by Kieran Edwards off the bowling of Andy McGuinness that sent Church’s Indian professional Sagar Trivedi back to the shed.
Trivedi’s knock of 19 proved to be the best the home side could muster as their first six batsmen were dismissed with the score on only 55.
That their later willow wielders went on to double that total could be said to be something of a minor success but it was never going to be enough against a Greenmount side in a rich vein of form.
The Mount reply didn’t get off to the best of starts when Jack Harrison (7) was adjudged to have been caught behind early in the innings, but after Andy Kerr (8) was dismissed with the score on 36, Chesney Hughes took over with a real professional’s knock, smashing three fours and three sixes as his 43 took the reply on to 82.
From then on, a steady innings of 32 from Tom Heaton saw the lads home with Evan Williams (8) the other not out batsman.
Meanwhile, at the Log Cabin, the seconds enjoyed a 26 run victory against their Church counterparts.
Openers Jake Chadwick and Dan Stevens (both 42) put on 88 for the first wicket to get the ball rolling while there were useful knocks for Brad Edge (26), Ben Hornsby (21) and Sam Greenhalgh (21) as the Mount finished 241 all out in 44.1 overs.
The Church replay fell short despite 63 from Barry Shorrock and 68 from opener Nathaniel Young who batted through the innings.
Both Ryan Edge and Oliver Dixon took two wickets with one apiece for Alex Bullen and Matthew Senior.
On Saturday the third eleven were in action at Todmorden but suffered a 46 run defeat.
Todmorden won the toss and chose to bat then set a total of 192 for 6 with Jack Atherton hitting 76 and Evie Priestley finishing unbeaten on 60.
It proved too much for the thirds who were dismissed for 146 with only Harry Fines (37), Stuart Leach (21), Adam Clarke (19) and Nigel Franklin (16) making it to double figures.
In a change to the existing Covid regulations at the Log Cabin we will not be offering the waiting on service from Monday to Thursday while the club is comparatively quiet, however, it will return on Friday, Saturday and Sunday when we are traditionally busier.
All other Covid related protocols remain unchanged but we will continue to monitor the situation
Having had a couple of weeks since we re-opened fully on 19th July we still think that most of the measures we re-opened with are still appropriate.
The only change we will be making from Monday 2nd August is teh change to the waiting on service . All other protocols remain unchanged, ie
· As staff will continue to be the main movers between rooms within the clubhouse and to add a further element of protection for both bar staff and customers when customers are being served at the bar, staff will continue to wear masks when inside the clubhouse.
· While we cannot mandate it, it would be very much appreciated if members and visitors could continue to wear masks when moving around the clubhouse.
· We will continue to supply a waiting on service on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday when the club is traditionally busier than other days as we are not only aware that members and visitors have really liked this service, but some aren’t yet ready to go back to queuing at the bar for drinks when the clubhouse is busy.
· Whilst we will continue to supply a waiting on service, we will allow members and visitors to queue at the bar for drinks. It would be very much appreciated if masks were worn when queuing at the bar. We do request however that having bought drinks at the bar, members and visitors then drink away from the bar. Once again we feel it is a bit too early to go back to the days of people drinking at the bar, either whilst seated or standing.
· The bars will have space set aside for waiting on staff to work from, alongside space for those members / visitors who wish to order from the bar themselves.
· Hand sanitising units will remain on the walls within the clubhouse with dispensers remaining on the tables and we urge our staff, members and visitors to keep on making use of these; I think such units are probably here to stay and welcome their continued use.
· The restrictions that have been in place in relation to toilets will no longer apply but please just be sensible in relation to numbers actually within the toilets.
· Opening hours remain unchanged, ie
o 4pm to 11.30pm (last orders at 11pm) Monday to Friday
o Midday to 11.30pm (last orders at 11pm) Saturday
o Midday to 11.00pm (last orders at 10.30pm) Sunday
· Monday to Thursday we will serve from the Members’ Bar and have the Members’ Bar / Pool Room open. We will only open the Function Room if required as an overflow.
· Friday to Sunday we will have the function room open as well and have both bars open.
If everyone is careful and respectful of our staff, fellow members and visitors to the club then I’m sure that we will all be able to enjoy the rest of the summer and the freedoms that the vaccine roll out have afforded us. We will continue to review the above protocols and procedures that we have in place.
ROB KILVINGTON (GCC chairman)
After the monsoons of the last few days – and with more rain forecast for tomorrow – we have taken the decision to postpone tomorrow’s T20 match celebrating the 10th anniversary of the club’s 2011 treble winners.
We will look to reschedule the game before the end of the season, but the ground unfortunately won’t be fit for a match evening. That means that there will still be no Junior Practice.
We will provide an update on the revised date just as soon as we are able to agree one as we would still very much like to celebrate what was a fantastic season in the club’s history.
ROB KILVINGTON (GCC chairman)
