Rainhill 1st vs Wallasey 1st.

Rainhill entertained league leaders Wallasey who confidently elected to bat after a delayed start due to rain. This could have backfired after Williams removed both openers cheaply. His line and length being perfect for the damp conditions as he got the ball to seam in both directions.

Dropped catches allowed a 3rd wicket partnership of 100 between Currey (77) and Crilley (43) but Williams continued his accuracy and removed the next 4 batsmen. His 6 for 52 coming from 14 overs. The aggressive Beaver (45) kept up with the run rate which allowed Wallasey to declare at 220 for 9 in 55 overs.

After a decent start by Edmundson (22) and Lydon (15), Rainhill collapsed. Tight bowling by Bourne (3 for 30 from 15) and Hughes (3 for 50 from 12) aided by 4 LBW’s left Rainhill on 91 for 8. Dooling (19) Atkinson (15) and Williams (32no) batting at 11 put up some resistance but couldn’t stop the Wallasey attack. Rainhill finishing on 141 all out and in the relegation dogfight.

Rainhill 2nt team travelled to bottom team Prestatyn and batted on the white wicket. Tilley (50 no), Yate (42), McKeown (39) and Higham (38) all got starts but failed to get a big score. William (3 for 56 from 15) had success but the depth of Rainhill batting was too strong. Rainhill declared on 216 for 7 in 45 overs. A thunderstorm at tea flooded the wicket and the game was abandonded.

Rainhill 3rd team entertained Rainford 3rd team and inserted the visitors. Mistry’s classy knock punishing anything wayward. His unbeaten 132 was the backbone of the Rainford innings. He was ably supported by Fairweather (45no), Tebern (33) and Scott (26) which allowed Rainford to declare on a massive 255 for 2 in 50 overs. Rainhill’s reply never got going. No Rainhill batsman got into double figures and all Rainford bowlers had success. Cline (4 for 9 from 11) and Murgatroyd (2 for 7 from 8) being the best and Rainhill finished on 49 all out in 44 overs. Rainford should use this as a springboard for league success.