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Members of the North Lancashire & Cumbria Cricket league
KCC is registered with Play-Cricket, the ECB cricket network
Main Club Sponsor for 2007- The Red Fort Indian Restaurant, St John's St, Keswick.
Last updated 30/05/07
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Higson and Junior Cup Winners 2006
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'The
'Likely Lad' takes three
Young off spin bowler and newly created opening batsman Dan Gaskell had good
reason to grasp the opportunity of taking the match ball home with him after
Bank Holiday Monday's Keswick CC 2nd X1 game at the Ernest Valentine Ground,
Workington. 'The Likely Lad' had just completed a hatrick in the penultimate
over of the match and this on a fairly bleak afternoon with the ball damp, cold
and difficult to grip, let alone spin. So Dan's three wickets from successive
deliveries provided real cause for celebration. But more on that later, first
things first . . .
There was plenty of reason also for the 1st X1, lead by their captain on a
mission, Imran Khan, to feel satisfied after two positive results from the
weekend games put his team within striking distance of the leading contenders in
the North Lancashire League's Premier Division. Another couple of
points-yielding, back to back results will propel Keswick into contention at a
relatively early stage of the season.
But it could have been oh so much better for Imran and his men had not the
weather intervened when the 1st X1 was poised to take maximum points from
Cockermouth. Keswick were 160/7 in reply to Cockermouth's 170/8 when the rain
had the final say with Keswick just 11 runs short of a winning total and with a
belligerent Imran still at the wicket on 78. Surely, Keswick and Imran would
have gone on to win the game had not the rain cut drastically short their share
of the overs.
Still the 11 points gained from this result (a rain affected draw but a moral
victory over second placed Cockermouth) and the maximum 18 points from
Saturday's comprehensive win at newly-promoted Duddon, has put Keswick into a
much healthier position in the league and one, as I say, from which they can
launch a pre-emptive strike at the loftier positions in the Premier Division.
Against Cockermouth, Keswick were in the field first and restricted the visitors
to a modest 170/8. The Pakistani professional Rifat Ullah was the Sandair side's
top scorer with 42 before he was caught by Stuart Dowson off the bowling of
Keswick's Sri Lankan professional Dinuka Hettiarachchi who returned the best
Keswick figures of 3/40 from 15 overs. I am sure that Dinuka would not have gone
for as many runs had not the ball been wet from the soaking the outfield
received during the course of the innings.
Former Keswick batsman Andy Bryson was in the Cockermouth team, batting at No 4,
and he must have found it a rather strange experience * like Barrow's Chris
D'Leny before him - to be playing at Keswick against his old team mates.
Still Andy coped well with the scenario and struck a useful 19 before being out,
caught and bowled, by Imran.
Andy's brother John Bryson Jnr was second top scorer for Keswick with 42 while a
lot of other batsmen perished in the run chase induced by the loss of crucial
overs due to the intermittent rain. A look at the table sees Cockermouth in
second place on 95 points and Keswick in eighth on 77, but Monday's game
suggests that while the league table does not lie, it should be readily apparent
that Keswick are, arguably, the stronger team; a conclusion reaffirmed by an
earlier result at Sandair in the county cup. On their day Keswick are capable of
beating anyone in this league and, furthermore, of winning the title. But that
will depend on them being able to field their best team and player availability
being consistent.
On the Saturday, Keswick were at Duddon Sports where the home side was dismissed
for a paltry 76 with Dinuka and Darren Collin each taking three wickets.
Dinuka's return was a remarkable 3/13 from 12 while Stuart Dowson * who took two
wickets * went for only 10 from his eight. The Borrowdale lad should clearly be
playing for Sri Lanka! Imran Khan, never far from the action, took 2/5 from
four. Every captain will have his trials and tribulations over the course of a
season * it goes with the territory * but Keswick should not underestimate the
value of Imran to this team as a player. He has put together some remarkable
displays already this season.
Duddon have a Sri Lankan professional in Gunarthna but he perished for a duck,
caught Steve Hindmarch, bowled Dowson, although he did claim all three wickets
as Keswick made a match winning 77/3 in reply.
For this Saturday's potentially difficult game at Dalton, Keswick will be
without batsmen John Bryson Jnr and Michael Moore while bowler Simon Grisdale is
also absent. Fortunately, Joe Gibson and Stephen Hindmarch return to action
after missing Monday's game against Cockermouth.
2nd X1 make a point * 21 in fact
Keswick 2nd X1's recent results give rise for greater optimism and although they
have still to claim their first victory (they are the only team in both
divisions without an outright win to their name) two drawn games over the Bank
Holiday weekend and a combined haul of 21 points saw them move away from the
bottom of the league to ninth position.
The new look team, a mixture of raw youth finding their feet at this level and
well seasoned experience (leader 'Kipper' is liberally saturated with a
cricketing preservative) produced two fighting performances over the weekend. It
wasn't pretty against a highly verbal Lanercost team at Fitz Park on the
Saturday but Keswick were at least prepared to enter into what amounted to a war
of attrition against a team (Border Reivers from the Debatable Land?) which
would put Australia into the shade when it comes to sledging.
The chatter, appeals and noisy celebrations were unremitting, were not confined
to when a wicket fell or a ball beat the bat) and should in truth have been
reported to the local council under noise abatement regulations. While no
cricket team or spectator objects to verbal encouragement on and off the field
of play this was well beyond the pale and would, in fact, have been entertaining
had it not been so laughable. It was almost as though the players were involved
in a competition as to who could come up with the most banal shouted remark.
There was more than one outright winner.
Certainly the game of cricket was not a winner in this scenario and I would
suggest that the best thing opposing players can do when playing against
Lanercost is to come equipped with a pair of ear plugs or, better still, a
mental toughness that permits them to shut out the endless barrage of futile
verbals.
The verbal diarrhoea apart Lanercost is now a force to be reckoned with after a
couple of seasons finding their way at NLL level. They won the toss and decided
to bat first, always a sign of outward confidence. The middle order produced the
best partnership with Dougie Hope (46) and Ferguson (44) putting on 74 for the
fourth wicket. But the visitors were bowled out for 175 in 41.5 overs with
opening bowler Jamie D'Leny taking an impressive 5/31 from 12.5 and Aaron Davies
1/16 from five. Off spinner Dan Gaskell chipped in with 2/7 from three.
In reply Keswick were restricted to 131/9 with Andy Clark 27 and Andy Rigg 23
and there was a tense final couple of overs when Keswick had to bat out for the
draw with nine wickets down. Fortunately, a solid Ben Ashcroft and Aaron Davies
survived the deliveries and the verbals to secure the draw and nine invaluable
points.
When the going gets tough . . .
On the Bank Holiday at the Ernest Valentine Ground, the 2nd X1 showed its
ability to scrap for a result in the rain when all the odds, at one stage,
seemed stacked against them.
Keswick were put in to bat and got off to a great start with young openers Sam
Gibson and Dan Gaskell providing a solid base. Dan made a swift 29 including 18
from an Ian Batty over from four boundaries and a two. Unfortunately he got
carried away and his technique let him down when he should have driven through
the ball* with his weight on the front foot and head down * rather than
attempting to strike the ball long and hard with his weight and balance on the
back foot and eyes skywards. There was only one direction the ball was headed
and Dan was duly caught at mid on.
Still, it was a great start from Dan and he once again showed that he has the
ability to go on and make a really big score. At the other end, Sam Gibson * who
has found his new role as NLL opener a tad daunting at times * rewarded his
captain's patience and belief with a team top score of 34. Sam's was a stoic
innings that also included some well timed pulls and hooks and showed that he is
growing in confidence. Well done Sam and Dan, you are developing a useful fusion
as an opening partnership.
Keswick went on to make 188 and there were other useful contributions from Andy
Clark (32) a hard hitting Ian Dixon (28) who only just failed to clear the
longest boundary of any ground in the NLL (towards the River Derwent) and his
brother Graham who hit a very promising 17 and was unlucky to be given out run
out.
Jamie D'leny then added a very worthy 20 down the order and Keswick had posted a
score of 188.
At one stage it looked as though Workington might coast to a winning total but
captain Richardson went on the defensive, with only four players in the ring and
the rest deployed around the boundary. Runs came less frequently, dark clouds
moved in from the horizon and as Richardson applied one or two perfectly legal
delaying tactics (painstakingly drying the ball before every delivery * much to
the anger of the home support outside the pavilion) the rain eventually fell for
a second time in the match and made Workington's task increasingly difficult.
In the penultimate over, with youngsters Aaron Davies and Dan Gaskell having
shown great character in difficult circumstances by being asked to bowl at the
death and coming through with flying colours, there was one more remarkable
twist in the tail. Dan took a hatrick with two stumpings for an impressive Steve
Clark and a clean bowled to finish with figures of 4/25 from five.
To add to his 18 runs from an opening bowler's over earlier in the day it earned
him (apart from the match ball) the Keswick 'Man of the Match' chocolates. Not
content with that he had earlier claimed the match ball!
In many ways this was a memorable result not just for Dan and the other
youngsters in the side but for the entire team. However, their resolve will be
further tested in the next two weeks with extremely difficult games coming up
against Whitehaven 1st X1 (at home this Saturday) and then away to Penrith and
their Sri Lankan professional Upul Fernando the following weekend. It's going to
be tough but hey, you can't beat a challenge and this is what NLL cricket is all
about.
The life of Brian
Keswick CC 1st X1 scorer and groundsman Brian Pattinson continues to display a
remarkable sense of humour as he fights illness. The latest stage in his ongoing
recovery involves an operation nest Monday to restore his powers of speech.
There are those in the club who may question the wisdom of carrying out this
surgery, knowing full well that the outcome could be horrendous * not for Brian
but for the people who will be on the receiving end of his voice once it is
restored to full volume. Personally, I preferred the 'turned down' version,
having once thrown Brian's sandwiches out of his shed thinking that they were
beyond their sell by date, and experiencing at first hand the verbal
consequences. It was far worse than Lanercost.
For the record, Brian was once a sharpish bowler and his vociferous and
prolonged appeal could blow the hat off an umpire from 10 paces while
simultaneously shattering the ear drums.
So I hope he gets back to his best sooner rather than later.
His sense of humour shone through in an e-mail he sent me earlier this week.
"I'm going into hospital on Sunday to have my throat cut," he wrote. "So 18
points for the 1st X1 at Dalton on Saturday will put me in the right frame of
mind. With a bit of luck I'll be shouting at all and sundry by Monday night *
I've been dumb since the end of August so I'm looking forward to it."
Brian must be the only man in medical history who is actually looking forward to
having his throat cut. In an e-mail back to him I suggested that he make sure
the surgeon closes the incision after the op. That way Brian won't go wasting
good beer as the cricket season and the summer unfolds. The lad's got a lot of
making up to do . . . and that's just to get level with Geordie Marrs. I still
reckon BP will take the lead come early August.
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JUNIOR TRAINING
U11's Weds 5-7pm
U13's Mon 6-8pm
U15's Thur 4.30-6.30pm
NEXT FIXTURE AT FITZ PARK
KCC 2nd XI v whitehaven
SAT 2nd june 2007
nl&ccl 1st div
2pm start
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