High drama at Royton

By Mike Latham

Sometimes a low scoring game can be equally if not more exciting than a high scoring one, as I again found out when venturing into the Greater Manchester Cricket League on Saturday. 

I chose the Championship game between two former Central Lancashire League clubs, Royton and Monton and what a compelling game it was.

The GMCL operates 11 Saturday leagues with a Premier League and Premier League 2 at the top of the pyramid, followed by the Championship and Division One. Then we have two leagues at Division two level, another two at Division Three and finally three at Division Four.

The league has now reached the halfway point with Prestwich and Woodbank joint top of the Premier League. This was after Woodbank’s thrilling victory by one wicket over Prestwich on Saturday. Heaton lead the Premier League 2 despite defeat by five wickets at the hands of Flowery Field, who are second.

The match I chose was therefore a third-tier game with both sides in the top four behind leaders Elton and second placed Woodhouses, who on Saturday lost at home to Stretford, now in fifth place.

A glorious scene at Royton

Royton’s ground, the Paddock, is hugely impressive, dominated by a fine pavilion and with a bowl-like amphitheatre below and trees on the far side, with housing behind either end. The club is at the heart of the community here in this cricketing hotbed between Oldham and Rochdale.

I was looking forward to watching both club’s professionals, Royton’s prolific Indian batter Chirag Khurana and Monton’s Sri Lankan Dushan Vimukthi, while as an added bonus Northants’ Luke Procter was available to play for Royton.

Oldham born Procter has played plenty of games for Royton over the years and currently averages 121.80 in the County Championship this season, including three hundreds. He is a fine all-round cricketer and another forced to leave his native Lancashire, just as the excellent Steve Mullaney has at Notts, to pursue greater opportunities elsewhere.

Monton in the field

Rain cut the game down from 50 overs to 42 per side and instead of the high-scoring encounter I’d anticipated, each run was to be earned.

Batting first, Monton reached 135 in their 42 overs, thanks largely to useful contributions from Jake Sandham and Aamir Riaz who added 62 for the fifth wicket after their side had been 38 for 4.

Procter bowled a fine spell to take 3/11 off eleven overs and do the early damage, including the crucial wicket of Vimukthi, caught behind for a first ball duck.

Later Adil Ali hastened Monton’s collapse from 100 for 4 to 135 all out after breaking the obdurate Sandham-Riaz stand with the first of three lbws. Bowling brisk spin from a short run up he ended with 5/38.

If Royton thought their target would be straightforward they were soon in for a shock. Sandham is an excellent club bowler, who has played for Lancashire Seconds and Cumberland in the past, and he captured the vital wicket of Khurana, caught at slip for 1, as Royton slumped to 13 for 3.

Procter and his captain, Liam Brown, helped repair the early damage with a sensible stand, watched intently by the home crowd.

 

Luke Procter on strike, the Royton club house in the background

Procter showed his vast county experience, carefully picking his shots and showing excellent judgement, while Brown gave him good support.

Royton had reached 62 for 3 when the pendulum turned, first change seamer Will McAvoy claiming both wickets in quick succession, both to fine slip catches by Sandham.

The left-handed Sam Rigby batted sensibly against a keen attack as each run was hard fought, but at 91 for 7 and only nine overs left, Monton now looked the likelier winners of an enthralling contest.

Adil Ali came in at no9 and his first scoring shot was a mighty drive for six. He had scored 22 and only four runs were needed for victory when he was bowled by Vimukthi, with the last ball of the 41^st over.

The dramatic run out to tie the game

Sandham was entrusted with the last over and kept his nerve, conceding one run off the first three balls, taking a wicket with his fourth. The last pair scrambled a bye off the fifth and with two runs needed for victory last man Regan Hadfield was run out desperately trying to make his ground at the bowler’s end going for a second, leaving Rigby undefeated on 35. A tie perhaps a fitting result for a great game.

The GMCL operates the CricHQ programme instead of the standardised PlayCricket. It takes some getting used to, and an app is available to download. The service on a match day is quite superb with live scorecards, ball by ball commentary and video replays of each ball. It makes a superb addition for the spectator and adds so much to the enjoyment. A massive well done to the scorers for their skills and dedication.