Report from Peter Rogan

New Brighton won the toss and elected to field but the weather conditions meant the start of the game was delayed by half an hour.

The heavy rain had left the outfield very wet but very strong winds helped to dry out the field quickly and play got under way, albeit in wintry conditions.

Andy Baybutt and Michael Jones opened the batting for Ormskirk who soon lost a wicket when Baybutt (1) was bowled playing on to a delivery from New Brighton opening bowler Gabriel Johnson-Aley.



The new pairing of Jones and Josh Bohannon battling against the elements and hostile bowling managed to put on 21 runs before Jones (12) went in an identical manner to Baybutt, playing on to his wickets from the same bowler.

The game had been in progress an hour with new batsman Ian Robinson at the crease with Bohannon when rain came to cause an interruption in play lasting just under an hour. When it resumed Bohannon(17) was bowled by the other opening bowler Upal Fernando. With the score on 56-3, Ormskirk skipper Matt Glayzer joined Robinson but not for very long. Glayzer hit the first ball he received and set out for a quick risky run to get him off the mark. At the other end, Robinson, who couldn’t see a safe run to be taken, stood his ground and sent Glayzer back but to no avail. The result was that Glayzer (0) was hopelessly out of his ground and was run out to the dismay of both batsmen and to the joy of the whole New Brighton team. The score was now 56-4 and as George Lavelle left the pavilion to join Robinson he had to turn round immediately as the heaven opened and play was once again interrupted.

When the rain stopped and conditions were fit for play, the umpires decided to take an early tea even though it would not be ready to be served for another quarter of an hour. The decision was not taken too kindly by the New Brighton skipper, Mark Rowland, as he felt he had his opponents on the rack and was keen to push on while his team was on top.

In the event tea was taken and, nearly four hours after the scheduled start, play was again underway with Ian Robinson and George Lavelle taking up the cause for Ormskirk. They did an excellent job in building up a partnership of 79 runs for the 5th wicket which fell when Robinson (51) was caught in the deep whilst attempting to push the score along.

Lavelle (44) followed shortly afterwards, in a similar way to Robinson, to leave the score on 137-6. The experience of Robinson and the prodigious talent of Lavelle had combined well to rescue the difficult situation that was in place before the prolonged break for rain.

The tailend batsmen took the score to 171 - 8 when the innings was declared. Considering the conditions, to score 171 runs, mainly thanks to Robinson and Lavelle, in 30 overs, was a creditable effort.



When New Brighton started their reply the weather did not look too promising with heavy cloud looming and it was questionable if it would hold out to allow the game to be completed.

Gavin Griffiths and Scott Lees opened the bowling for Ormskirk and success was soon on the cards when Griffiths, bowling at the top of his form quickly dismissed Mark Rowland (0), David While (11) and Alex Watkins (6), while at the other end Simon Kerrigan who had replaced Scott Lees had nipped in to have Andrew Clarke brilliantly caught by Andy Baybutt. New Brighton were reeling at 25-4 and in further trouble when Upal Fernando (14) gave Andy Baybutt his second catch, this time off the bowling of Nicky Caunce.

Khurram Hussain and John While were now required to mirror the saving act the same as Robinson and Lavelle had done for Ormskirk and they rose to the challenge. Together they took their team into the last 20 overs and brought score along the score to 157. Hussain (53) was caught by Scott Lees off the bowling of Simon Kerrigan and While (57) went to a catch behind by George Lavelle. They had both played well but two dropped slip catches to dismiss Wilde would have made such a difference to Ormskirk. Instead of chasing victory they were now looking defeat in the face with new batsmen Ashley Watkins (1*) and Ashraf Nawab (7*) looking for 8 runs off the last over to win the game for New Brighton. With Griffiths bowling that over it was not going to be easy and they never made it leaving them 2 runs short of victory on 170-7.

It was a nail biting finish with Ormskirk earning 6 bonus points and New Brighton 7 points from the drawn game. Considering the conditions, where there were six interruptions for rain and a constant high wind, it was enjoyable for the few spectators who braved the weather.

The highlights of the day were the steady emergence of George Lavelle as a quality Premier League player, the resolute batting of Ian Robinson and the fine bowling of Gavin Griffiths.

Match officials: umpires Hugh Evans and John Farrell, scorers Kevin Wilson and Mike Dixon.