1st July......Last Ball defeat at Northern

The 1st XI visited Northern where the home side gained revenge for Sefton winning off the last ball last year. This time it was left to Dave Kelly to hit a winning boundary with Sefton three runs short of the Northern total and the last men in. Unfortunately, he was stumped, one of seven stumpings in the match.

Northern had batted first and scored 259 for 7 in 52 overs with Robbie Houghton taking 5 for 87 and in reply Sefton faced the same number of overs for their total of 256. Brendan Taylor became the second batsman of the day to make 99. Paul Horton (59) Robbie Houghton (46) and Matty Phythian (20) made valuable contributions in an exciting run chase.

The 2ndXI lost at home to New Brighton. They batted first and declared on 206 for 6 with Ian Kelly scoring 50 not out. Dave Hort (35) and Phil Calrow (33) were the other main contributors. In reply David Baird took 3 for 56 but New Brighton went on to win in the last over with 7 wickets down.

The 3rdXI entertained Southport thirds on the Lower Ground. They won the toss and batted, going on to score 251 for 3 declared with Matt Childs (80 not out), Neil Disley (39), Stuart Marshall-Clarke (30) and Mohammad Nawab (20) scoring the runs. On top of these scores there was a remarkable 66 extras!!. In reply two wickets apiece from Mohammad Nawab, Brian Viner and Matt Childs were not sufficient to gain a victory as the visitors reached 235 for 7 to gain a draw.

The 4thXI went to Ormskirk only to find that their opposition had travelled to Sefton Park!!. After a late start Ormskirk reached 203 for 6 with Vince Able (2 for 26), Steve Briggs (2 for 32) and Tom Baird (2 for 37) taking wickets. In reply Steve Briggs made 61, Terry Cordner 32 and Robin Surtees 21 but it was left to the two young Bairds, Tom and James, to bat out the last 7 overs and save the game as they scored 20 runs enabling Sefton to finish on 191 for 9..

Sunday 2nd July........2ndXI Knocked out of Chester Cup

The 2ndXI were knocked out of the Chester Cup following a defeat at Maghull . Sefton batted first and scored 196 for 9 in their 45 overs with Max Hill scored 92 not out. Ian Seabury (30) and Ian Kelly (26) also contributed but this was not enough as Maghull reached the required total with 1 over left and 6 wickets down. Phil Calrow took 3 for 22.

Saturday 8th July........Rain Stops Chance of a Win

New Brighton were the visitors to Sefton Park and were put in to bat. They scored 209 for 9 declared in 58 overs . In reply only 19 overs were possible and Sefton reached 64 for 1 with before rain intervened. It was a good day for skipper Ben Moore who took 3 for 28 with the ball and scored 45 in Sefton's reply but it was disappointing that the game was cut short with Sefton in a strong position.

It was not a good day for the 2ndXI who visited Bootle and were dismissed for 100 with John Davies making 37. In reply, the home side lost just 1 wicket in reaching the total.

The 3rd XI played New Brighton PD on the Lower Ground. They lost the toss and were put in to bat but felt that they were in a strong position after reaching 238 for 3 with Matt Childs (82) and Stuart Marshall-Clarke (51 not out) top scoring. However, a stoppage for rain and then carrying on in difficult conditions, did not prevent New Brighton passing the Sefton total with 5 wickets down.

The good news came from the 4thXI who achieved their second win of the season. They travelled to play the New Brighton JW XI, won the toss and put the home side in to bat and saw them score 238 for 2. Sefton's reply was led by skipper Robin Surtees who scored 77, new boy Pete Lancaster scored 64, Terry Cordner 33 and James Baird 21 as Sefton won by 4 wickets.