Southport & District League Division II
Churchtown drew with Prescot
Churchtown dealt a huge blow to title chasing Prescot and Odyssey on Saturday with a gutsy draw at Ferryside Lane.
Minus Eddie Bancroft, the only skipper in the Southport & District to book a fortnights holiday in the middle of the season, and key batsman John Southworth Town held on for a draw to end a poor run of form.
Highly flying Prescot displayed some confidence verging on arrogance when won the toss and strangely decided to bat first on a flat wicket. The visitor skipper demanded his side post 200 runs in 40 overs, but that never looked likely with four Town bowlers in good form. Opening bowlers Ryan Buck and Carl Foster kept runs to a minimum in the early exchanges with some clever deliveries, and for once their effort was backed up in the field.
Change bowlers Craig Budworth and James Buck took some vital wickets as Town made regular inroads into the visitors with a string of fine catches with keeper Gordon Pennington and veteran Phil Carder taking the pick of five fine catches. The St Helens based side managed to put together a few nice late partnerships and posted 156 for 8 before declaring with four overs remaining.
Craig Budworth opened the innings with a few expansive strokes, whilst Pennington remained steady at the other end. When the pair were both out caught Carl Jackson and Carl Foster were called upon to tough out a difficult period. The much maligned Jackson was excellent in defence and Foster calmly knocked the ball around the field despite some fine bowling.
With no big hitters waiting on the sidelines Foster told his side to use the opportunity to enjoy some time at the crease and make the visitors work for their wickets. His tactics were rewarded and Town will be better off for the opportunity in coming weeks, the decision by Foster who went against the recent captaincy style of Bancroft.
Previous Bancroft had worked on a ‘hit out or get out’ policy with Town only using their allocated overs once in the season so far.
As the run rate grew Town refused to be flustered on the consistant chirping from the visitors who were desparate for victory. Despite the rearguard Churchtown were rocked by three quick wickets before Ryan Buck came in to strike his first boundary for Town before Foster frustrated the visitors with some clever strokeplay to dominate the strike.
Buck’s debut boundary came in bizarre fashion as Prescot showed some unusual and slightly unsporting tactics. When the youngsters forced the ball away the chasing field kicked the ball over the ropes to keep the number ten on strike. The plan, which left a sour taste in the mouth, backfired when young Buck easily saw over the remaining five deliveries from the gargantuan bulk of bowler A Wooley.
Town finished on 110 for 8, picking up some key bonus points and served a reminder to the new sides that the stalwarts of the District League will not be bullied into submission.
Carl Foster must take credit for bringing out Town’s battling spirit throughout the afternoon, a quality missing in recent week under the lacklustre Bancroft, and all 11 players can be proud of their efforts.
