Sefton Park CC

Monday 29th August........Robbie Houghton takes 5 for 1 as 1st XI beat Bootle.

England go into a 2-1 lead in the Ashes series and Sefton beat Bootle in the same weekend, must be dreaming!!. Apparently it is thirteen years since Sefton beat Bootle in a league game. After a damp morning the match started only a few minutes late at Sefton Park and Bootle won the toss and put the home side in. Sefton reached 132 all out, mainly thanks to 50 from Ramesh Powar. In reply Dave Poskitt took 3 early wickets, Stuart Wade only conceded 12 runs in 11 overs but the wickets really began to fall when Ramesh Powar (2 for 23) and Robbie Houghton came on to bowl. Robbie only bowled 4 overs and 5 balls but finished up taking 5 wickets for 1 run. Remarkable figures in a remarkable game.
(Below) Bootle's John Hitchmough is about to be caught by Paul Squires off Ramesh Powar's bowling
The 2ndXI visited Leigh and on a difficult wicket dismissed the home side for 95, with Steve Delve (4 for 34) and Phil Calrow (3 for 15) being the main wicket takers. In reply Sefton lost 8 wickets in reaching the total. Top scores were Iain Squires (22), Sean Hogan (22) and skipper Steve Delve who led the side home with 19.

Saturday 27th August..........Defeat at Wallasey

The Bank Holiday weekend started with a 1 wicket defeat at Wallasey. Sefton won the toss and decided to bat. They were all out for 122 in 50 overs with Bruce Neary (29) and John Jackson (23) making the top scores. In reply Wallasey struggled to 123 for 9 in 28 overs with Bruce Neary taking 6 for 53 and Ramesh Powar 3 for 27.

The 2ndXI faced top of the table Bootle at home and were put in to bat. They reached 183 all out in 50 overs. Phil Heath (47), Ted Williams (37) and John Armstrong (33) were the pick of the batsmen. In reply Bootle passed the Sefton total for the loss of only 1 wicket in 29 overs.
Ted Williams faces a no ball, batting for the 2ndXI against Bootle

Bootle were also the visitors on the Lower Ground, playing the 3rd XI. In this games Sefton batted first and declared on 191 for 2 in 42 overs. Iain Squires (62 not out), Ian Seabury (58 not out) and Adam Norcott (49) scored the runs. In reply, excellent bowling from Chris Saunders and David Baird resulted in Bootle never chasing the total and they finished on 108 for 4 in 47 in overs.

The 4thXI produced the only win of the day. They visited Wallasey who declared on 183 for 6. Skipper Robin Surtees took 3 for 44 and then led the run chase, finishing on 76 not out. Scott Isaac (46) and Kevin Walton (35) made valuable contributions as Sefton won by 6 wickets.