First XI
St Helens Town 82 all out (43.1 overs)
A Jagan 4 for 10, P Kelly 3 for 22, H Zubair 3 for 22
Sefton Park 83 for 4 (22.5 overs)
H Khan 60
Sefton Park won by 4 wickets
Third XI
Liverpool Super Kings 179 all out (45 overs)
Sarhad Rustum 5 for 50, Faisal Milikazai 4 for 40
Sefton Park 112 for 6 (33 overs)
Sarhad Rustum 34 not out, Rajiv Bhardwaj 35 not out
Match Drawn
Following a sad week at Sefton Park with the passing of club legend Wilf Johnstone, the season got underway with the First XI travelling to Ruskin Drive to play St Helens Town.
Sefton won the toss and asked the home side to field.
They put on 21 for the first wicket and then 29 for the second to take them to 50 for 2 but then with the introduction of Peter Kelly and Abhishek Jagan to the attack, wickets fell quickly. Peter, on his return to Sefton, finished with 3 for 22 and Abhishek 4 for 10 as the home side were dismissed for 82 in 43.1 overs. Huzaifa Zubair took 3 for 22.
In reply Sefton lost James Stirling for 0 with the score on 12 and then Kaash Patel went for 1 a run later but Paul Horton and debutant Haroon Khan came together in the middle and took the score to 78 when Harron was dismissed for 60 in 58 balls, including two sixes and eight fours. Paul was 15 not out as they passed the St Helens total with four wickets down.
The First XI side who defeated St Helens Town
The Third XI travelled to the Wirral to play the modestly named Liverpool Super Kings.
The Super Kings batted first and were dismissed for 179 in 45 with 5 for 50 for Sarhad Rustum and 4 for 40 for Faisal Malikzai.
On a cold day, Sefton gained a draw, reaching 114 for 6 in 33 overs with Sarhad finishing on 34 not out and Rajiv Bhardwaj 35 not out.
We remember Wilf Johnstone with this picture taken as he celebrated his 90th birthday. RIP Wilf.