Saturday saw the final game of the season for Norden professional, Mitch Owen, before he heads off to play T10 cricket in the Cayman Islands and then back home for pre-season in Tasmania. He saved his highest league score of the season for his farewell game and his magnificent 118 from 85 balls helped Norden to a comfortable 85-run win against Middleton at Towncroft. Owen had to wait until the score had reached 74 before he came to the wicket, as Lee Crabtree and Josh Tolley put on a good opening stand after Norden had been invited to bat first by home skipper Andy Gregoriou. The introduction of the slow-left-arm of Dale Highton had an immediate effect for Middleton after the opening pair of James Tierney and Tom Rutter had been unable to stem the flow of runs. When Crabtree found the safe hands of Rehan Udwadia, Owen entered the fray and looked like he meant business from ball one. Tolley passed 500 league runs for the season during his knock, but he was given out LBW when on 39. Jack Taylor and Greg Butterworth, however, both proved more than adequate foils for Owen as he showed no mercy to any of the 6 bowlers tried by Gregoriou. After Taylor had fallen for 30 and Butterworth for 21, wickets started to tumble but Owen could not be stopped. He struck 12 fours and 4 sixes as he brought up his century, before finally being dismissed when he picked out Rutter off the returning Tierney. It was a memorable innings, and Norden’s 277 was a total that not many in the ground felt Middleton would be able to chase down.

Much would depend on Owen’s Middleton counterpart, James Price, and he came in at first-drop rather than his usual number 4 spot after Scott Butterworth had clean bowled Tierney, himself promoted to the top of the order. Price was more circumspect early on than Owen had been, in the face of some testing new-ball bowling from Butterworth in particular. He looked to be getting himself set on 15, though, but Butterworth did the trick for Norden as Owen took the catch to send Price back to the pavilion, and surely any Middleton hopes with him. Owen added 2 wickets for himself to cap of an excellent day, and Greg Butterworth did what he has done so often this year, and made his way through the middle order, taking 4 for 38. Keelan Shipley played nicely for his 64, and Middleton’s lower order were stubborn enough in good batting conditions to survive only 8 wickets down. The vagaries of the points system meaning that, despite this being as comfortable a victory as you could hope for, Norden were rewarded with only 10 points.

The final word should go to Owen, who finishes with 891 runs and 23 wickets in all competitions in his first season as a league professional. A fantastically talented player, who will undoubtedly go on to great things as his career progresses. Everyone at Stag Park would like to thank him for his efforts throughout the year.
1^st XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6107890

The 2nds chalked up a 2^nd consecutive victory in their battle to stay up, as they comfortably defeated recent Junior Cup winners, Great Harwood. As last week at Clitheroe, the main man with the ball for Norden was Modessar Hussain. At one stage he had the remarkable figures of 5 for 0 as he tore through the Great Harwood batting lineup. Hussain’s pace and movement off the pitch was too much for the visitors to handle and he ended up with 6 for 22 as Great Harwood were dismissed for 123. There were also good spells from Oli Yates, Ste Wild  and Jamie Taylor to back up Hussain in an excellent display with the ball. Norden were equally good with the bat as Danny Devine and Yates both made half-centuries in their opening stand of 112. Yates fell just before the target was reached, but a 9-wicket win and 12 points was just rewards for the best performance of the season.
2^nd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110355
2^nd XI Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dKpvhaz03s&feature=youtu.be

A perfect weekend for the club was completed on Sunday when the 3rds put in an excellent performance of their own to beat Church by 10 wickets. Abu Farooq was the star of the show, taking 3 for 20 and scoring an unbeaten 62 as Church’s 152 all-out was chased down with minimal fuss. Oli Kirkby, playing his first game back after a knee injury, was also quickly back into his batting rhythm, and he found the boundary 12 times in his 73*.
3^rd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110017
3^rd XI Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH_H3vN2urM

Norden put themselves into a great position to pick up a 3^rd consecutive Lancashire League win on Sunday. An excellent bowling performance had put visitors, Clitheroe, in huge trouble at 17 for 4 and then 83 for 7, but some poor fielding was followed by some even worse batting to allow the Chatburn Road club to claim the spoils.

As they did last week at Church, Scott Butterworth and Dom Humphreys bowled beautifully with the new ball. Both threatened the stumps and found movement off the pitch to trouble all of Clitheroe’s batters. They got their rewards with 2 wickets each in the first 6 overs of the game. Butterworth had Tom Lord LBW in the first over of the game, and clean-bowled Eli Smith with one that nipped away. Humphreys rattled the stumps of Clitheroe’s main man, Ali Ross, and followed that up by trapping Coby Campbell in front. Clitheroe sub-pro Ruhan Pretorius, and Charlie Dewhurst briefly threatened a partnership of some substance, but Pretorius played a loose shot on 17 and Butterworth had his 3^rd. A slip catch from Humphreys then helped him to a 4^th as Joe Bolton fell for 11. When Dewhurst was the next man out, edging Greg Butterworth behind into the safe gloves of Lee Crabtree, it looked like Clitheroe might be dismissed for a double-figure score. Skipper Peter Dibb is a much better player than the number 9 position he was occupying, however, and he dropped and ran effectively alongside the obdurate Duncan Bennett. Dibb fell looking to up the rate, the first of 3 wickets for Dean Lord, and Bennett edged a cut shot behind soon afterwards, leaving Clitheroe on 122 for 9. Things should then have been wrapped up on a couple of occasions when Kyle O’Connor offered chances to long-on, but the catches went down allowing an extra 21 runs to be added for the final wicket. Butterworth finished with the excellent figures of 4 for 37 and Lord, the bowler to suffer from the drops, took 3 for 32.

Whilst there was a bit in the pitch, it was no minefield, and a chase of 144 should have been a comfortable one. However, Pretorius has had success at Stag Park with the ball before whilst playing for Lowerhouse, and he picked up the first wicket when Josh Tolley was adjudged LBW for 1. Tolley rarely shows any emotion when dismissed, but he looked frustrated by the decision. Mitch Owen took a quick liking to the medium pace of Bolton, but after already taking 10 off his 3^rd over, he decided that wasn’t enough and tried to clear Charlie Dewhurst at long-off. Unfortunately, this one failed to come out the middle of the bat and the Norden paid man was certainly told about his error by the Clitheroe fielders as he made his way back to the dressing room. Bolton and Pretorius then continued to make their way through the Norden top order. Crabtree, Jack Taylor and Spencer Allen all fell cheaply before Greg Butterworth was sharply taken at short-cover by Tom Lord to leave Norden 58 for 6. Alex Willis and Humphreys were not ready to throw the towel in, though, and they rode out the opening spells without any further loss. Perhaps surprisingly, it was Willis who scored the bulk of the runs in a partnership that passed 50. Dibb felt he had no choice but to return to Pretorius and that proved to be an excellent piece of captaincy. Willis was caught on the crease for a well-made 30 and Humphreys was smartly taken by wicket-keeper O’Connor for 18, giving Pretorius his 5^th wicket. In-between, Scott Butterworth was superbly caught by Dewhurst running round to long-on, the 3^rd excellent catch of the innings, in contrast to Norden’s late misses. Pretorius’ 6^th finished the match, as he stuck out a right hand to somehow cling on to a well-struck straight drive from Oli Holt in his follow-through. Norden’s 123 all-out meant 6 bonus points, but they all only have themselves to blame that it wasn’t twice as many.
1^st XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6107884
1^st XI Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y41fMeI4iIY

The 2nds won a topsy-turvy battle at Chatburn Road. A partnership of 71 between Haris Hussain and Hashum Malik looked like it had laid a platform for a strong-looking middle order to push on to a total in excess of 200, but a flurry of wickets left Norden struggling to bat the overs. Hussain made 58 and Malik 35, but some poor shots and some questionable running did not help the cause. 11 balls went unused as Norden were dismissed for a disappointing 171. The game looked like it would be over in double-quick time as Clitheroe flew out of the blocks. Stuart Lemon and Oliver Butterfield led the charge as the hosts reached 71 for 1 in just 8 overs. Malik turned to the experience of Mo Waheed and the Stags’ new-boy Modessar Hussain and what happened next was remarkable. Hussain started things off by bowling Charlie Collinge and this started the mother of all collapses. 8 wickets fell for just 17 runs, with Hussain taking 5 for 12 on second-team debut. Waheed’s support was 3 for 5, and with home captain Mark Bolton unable to bat due to injury, Norden had turned things around to take the 12 points in their bid to stay in the top division.
2^nd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110345

The 3rds had two games at the weekend, bringing mixed results. Friday night’s t20 at Littleborough was rain-affected and Norden held their nerve to secure a 3-run victory. There was a first senior 50 for Abu Farooq, and Adam Bunting was the man (or boy in this case) trusted to defend 12 with the final over, which he did with great skill.

Saturday was a much tougher affair, with an experienced Middleton side racking up a massive score of 259 for 4 from their 40 overs after being asked to bat first. Matt Lee made 122 as Norden’s bowlers and fielders struggled to contain their opponents. The chase was never realistic, but David Bebb found some form with 45. Middleton were comfortable winners by 122 runs.
3^rd XI Friday Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110028
3^rd XI Saturday Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110014

Norden have ben regular visitors to cup semi-finals in recent years. Unfortunately, they can now add Sunday’s LCF knock-out defeat to the 1 t20 and 3 Worsley Cup losses in the last 5 years. The Stags were definitely second favourites going into the game against current Liverpool Competition leaders, Ormskirk, but Norden had made the same trip last season and returned victorious so there was confidence in the camp that the result could be repeated.

Not a lot went right from the moment the coin went in the air and Greg Butterworth called wrongly, allowing the hosts the first use of an excellent looking track. Openers Calum Turner and George Politis started brightly and Norden’s attack was soon under pressure. It took the lesser-seen off-spin of Josh Tolley, the man who had done the damage in last year’s fixture, to get the breakthrough on 86 when he had Turner caught by Dom Humphreys for 31. The wicket brought Sam Holden to the crease and he provided an immediate boost to the run-rate. With the sun out and the pitch flat, the Norden attack was made to toil. 6 bowlers were tried, but there was no joy as the Ormskirk pair put on a partnership of 163 in just 21 overs. Holden was particularly harsh on anything loose, hitting 9 fours and 4 sixes as he reached his century from 69 balls. Politis had also made it to three figures when he also fell to Tolley, but the damage was well and truly done. A couple of wickets fell in the closing overs, but 284 for 4 was the total and an extremely tough task was on the cards.

Extremely tough became impossible inside 2 overs as Norden’s 2 big guns, Tolley and Mitch Owen were dismissed for 1 run between them. Scott Butterworth followed the next over and it was a case of trying to avoid embarrassment at that point. Lee Crabtree and Greg Butterworth battled up to 44, but 2 more quick wickets fell on that score as Crabtree was followed back to the dressing room by Alex Willis, both out to Jamie Barnes. There was a promising innings from Oli Yates, who made 18, and Butterworth stayed resolute to be unbeaten on 43 when Norden were bowled out for 118. Barnes finished 5 for 35. Whilst the defeat was a heavy one, there was no shame in losing to this Ormskirk side, who will take some beating in the final.
LCFKO Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6623836

The league fixture against Church had been moved to Saturday to accommodate the semi-final and Norden turned in a solid performance to take the maximum 12 points. On a pitch that was keeping low from the outset, batting was tough and Lee Crabtree and Greg Butterworth’s innings were invaluable. Both made scores in the 30’s at strike-rates under 50, but with conditions as they were this was exactly what was required. The spinners were the main threat with professional Zain Abbas and Mo Bhada taking 3 wickets each, and wen Butterworth was bowled by Bhada the match ws in the balance with Norden on 136 for 7. The fact Norden could go into the break with all the momentum was down to an excellent 8^th wicket partnership of 39 between Stan Kearns and Dean Lord. Kearns’ knock of 36 from just 33 balls was by far the most fluent of the day and defied his inexperience at this level. 177 for 9 on this pitch felt like a huge score.

In reply, Church started relatively well and moved to 36 for 1, but Dom Humphreys and Scott Butterworth then started to cause havoc. 4 wickets fell for 2 runs, as Abbas watched on from the other end. Owen came into the attack, and his extra height highlighted the unpredictable bounce in the pitch and he took 4 wickets for the second week in a row as Church slumped to 86 all out. Abbas finished unbeaten on 46, with all 10 wickets falling to seam, in contrast to the 1^st innings.
1^st XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6107874

The 2nds fell to a heavy defeat at home to Colne on Sunday. After losing the toss and being asked to field first in the heat, the Norden bowlers struggled to contain the powerful Colne batting line-up. The visitors struck 23 fours and 9 sixes in their innings of 244 for 8. Norden were well in it when Colne were 136 for 6, but Danny Kegg, with plenty of lower-order support, took the game away. Jake Hill was the standout Norden bowler, with figures of 3 for 40. The Norden reply was a strange one, with extras by far the top-scorer with 32. No batter made it past 13 and Colne opening bowler, Martin Windle, had the remarkable figures of 8 for 75 from 12 overs.
2^nd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110343
2^nd XI Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fMNhvaq-Jo&feature=youtu.be

The 3rds also lost their top-of-the-table clash at home to Nelson on Saturday. A young Norden team could only manage 111 all-out in 28.4 overs. Harry Mason top-scored with 37 and there was an excellent innings of 18 on his senior debut by 12-year-old Adam Bunting. Norden threatened to make things interesting with 4 wickets, but Rashid and Asghar’s unbroken stand of 50 saw Nelson over the line.
3^rd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110010
3^rd XI Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3LAPG_xS2o

Haslingden have been somewhat of a bogie side for Norden in recent years, so it came as a relief when a good bowling performance paved the way for a comfortable 12 point win on Sunday. Greg Butterworth was unsure of what to do when the coin landed his way, but he decided to bowl first and his bowling attack backed him up from the start. The pitch looked pretty flat, but Scott Butterworth and Dom Humphreys gave little away with the new ball and the building pressure led to the first wicket when skipper Matthew Griffin clipped Humphreys to midwicket. Fellow opener Simon Newbitt followed in the same over after looking to advance and playing all round a straight one. Sean Hunsley chipped tamely to cover and Leighton Friend left the field feeling very unfortunate as he middled a pull shot off Butterworth, only for Mitch Owen to stick out a right hand and pluck it from the air. Haslingden were struggling on 37 for 4, but they have an excellent professional in South African Rudi Second and he stuck around alongside Alex Coleman to build a partnership of 50 in 14 overs. By now, Owen was into the attack and he broke the stand when Second slightly miscued a pull shot and the ball dropped into the safe hands of Oli Holt on the deep midwicket boundary. He went for 45 and the Haslingden lower order was not able to do enough to push the score up to something competitive. Owen had his best spell in a Norden shirt, taking 4 for 36, and  Humphreys and the Butterworth brothers took 2 apiece as Haslingden were bowled out for 128 in 45 overs.

Norden were never likely to play as cautiously as the visitors had and when Josh Tolley was joined by Owen after Lee Crabtree had fallen LBW to Gary Sudworth, the fireworks started. Owen raced to 20 off just 7 balls and the field was being spread to all parts. The pair added 67 in just 8 overs, but both were dismissed in quick succession. Tolley looked to use is feet to Sudworth but was bowled, and Friend got his revenge on Owen when he took a good catch at deep square leg after the Norden professional had got a very good piece of a sweep shot off Second. With 48 still needed, and a bit of history of middle-order collapses, there were a couple of worried spectators but they needn’t have been concerned. Jack Taylor and Alex Willis continued the positive intent and the match was done before the drinks break. 12 points in the bag and on to a big weekend next weekend. The league fixture against Church has been moved to Saturday to accommodate the Lancashire Cup semi-final at Ormskirk the following day. The 2^nd XI game against Colne remains on Sunday.
1^st XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6107872
1^st XI Highlights: 1st XI vs Haslingden Highlights – YouTube

The 2nds lost a nail-biter at Haslingden. Having been stuck in, Norden got off to a solid start with a 50 partnership between Danny Devine and Phil Docker. When Docker fell caught at slip, skipper Hashum Mallik joined Devine and the pair took the score to 100. Neither managed to kick on to a big score, though, and that precedent continued through the innings. Haris Hussain and Jamie Taylor also made good contributions, but there wasn’t the innings to take the team total from a good one to an excellent one. As it was Norden finished on 201 for 9. Haslingden were allowed a rapid start by some ill-discipline with the new ball, but Norden scrapped hard to get back into the game. Bowling mainly off a short-run, Sami Waheed took 5 wickets and the pressure looked to be telling on the Haslingden batters as a comfortable chase was quickly turned into a tough one. 6 were needed from the final over bowled by Stan Kearns, but Muneeb Ahmed hit the penultimate ball straight down the ground for 4 to seal the win.
2^nd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110336

The 3rds pulled off a fantastic victory at Todmorden on Saturday. Having batted first and scored 149 for 9 in their 40 overs, Norden looked like they were heading for defeat when Todmorden needed just 27 from 7 overs with 7 wickets in hand. Some tight bowling led to some panic in the Todmorden ranks, though, and no fewer than 5 run-outs contributed to an almighty collapse. 7 wickets fell for 15 runs and stand-in skipper Beamer had led his troops to a maximum-point win and 3^rd place in the table. A tough match at home to league-leaders Nelson is next up on Saturday.
3^rd Xi Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110006

League double-headers are rare in the Lancashire League era, and this looked like a tough one for Norden, with away trips to high-flying Todmorden and Burnley. This proved to be the case, with 2 defeats and only 6 points to show for the weekend.

Saturday’s visit to Todmorden produced much the closer of the 2 games. Norden won the toss and chose to field first, but Todmorden openers Noah Priestley and Bilal Abbas got the home team off to a flying start with a partnership of 75 from 16 overs. Mitch Owen finally ended the stand when he clean bowled Priestley for 35 and from then on, skipper Greg Butterworth took over. On a pitch definitely offering something for the spinners, Butterworth ripped through the home batting line-up, taking the next 5 wickets to fall with the total only moving on to 98. Dean Lord then removed Todmorden professional, Ed Moore, caught by Butterworth and when Lord grabbed his second as Dan Joseph edged behind, Todmorden still hadn’t reached 3 figures. The experienced Andrew Sutcliffe, batting down the order, dug in and batted 10 overs alongside Joe Hanson to enable Tod to reach 129 before Scott Butterworth wrapped things up with 2 quick wickets. Greg finished with figures of 5 for 31 from 14 overs.

129 was definitely in the ‘something to bowl at’ category and Norden were unable to get off to the same sort of start Tod had managed. Priestley had Lee Crabtree caught behind and then picked up the key wicket of Owen for just 9. In similar vein to the first innings, it was then spin that did the majority of the damage. Hamza Ali emulated fellow slow-left-armer Butterworth’s feat of taking 5 consecutive wickets and only the Butterworth brothers and Dom Humphreys had put up much resistance. Sutcliffe then joined the party with his off-spin and Norden were in deep trouble at 87 for 8. The two Oli’s, Holt and Yates, battled hard before Yates fell to Sutcliffe with 27 still needed. Last man Dean Lord had been at the crease when Norden got over the line the week before, but on this occasion he was left stranded as Holt was caught by Moore off Sutcliffe to give Todmorden the win by just 12 runs.
1^st XI vs Todmorden Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6107867

Sunday’s defeat at Burnley was a much more comprehensive affair. Overnight and early morning rain meant the game was reduced to 39 overs per side and Norden elected to bat first. What followed was a really poor performance in all three disciplines and one that will have to be quickly forgotten. Fergus Bailey was tormentor-in-chief for the defending champions, taking 4 for 28 in his opening spell of 10 overs. Lee Crabtree worked hard for his 29 but he found very little support as Norden slumped to 70 for 7. Real credit to Stan Kearns, playing just his 2^nd game at this level, who batted with maturity beyond his years for his 16*, but the left-arm spin of Bharat Tripathi took the final 4 wickets to fall and Norden were dismissed for just 90 inside 30 overs. The day only got worse as Burnley openers, Liam Bedford and Qasim Shah got stuck into the Norden bowling. Bedford in particular was particularly harsh on anything loose and a lot that wasn’t. He finished 57* from only 29 balls faced, and Shah was also unbeaten on 35 when Burnley reached their modest target in the 11^th over. The bounce-back opportunity comes at home to Haslingden next Sunday.
1^st XI vs Burnley Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6107784

An equally tough looking weekend for the 2nds yielded a better return when, despite a heavy defeat on Saturday, they were able to pick themselves up and record an outstanding win against league leaders Burnley on Sunday.

Saturday was hard going for Tom Booth’s young side. In truth, not helped by the questionable decision to bat first on a wet, green one, they were outclassed by a good Todmorden side. Thomas Barker took 5 wickets with his left-arm seam and only 2 Norden batters reached double figures as they collapsed to 59 all out. Callum Hill was the only player to come out of the game with much credit as he also took a wicket to go with his hard-fought 15 with the bat.

The 8-wicket defeat could have really dented the confidence going into Sunday but, helped by a couple of returning players, the performance could not have been more contrasting. Again batting first, although this time not through choice, Norden openers Danny Devine and Phil Docker rode out a tough opening period and Devine then began to find his attacking strokes. Unfortunately, both fell in quick succession and when a further 3 quick wickets fell it looked like it might be a case of history repeating itself. Jamie Taylor and Mo Waheed were determined that this wouldn’t be the case and the pair added 65 for the 6^th wicket. Taylor, in particular, looked in fine form. He drove the ball beautifully through the covers and his maiden 2^nd team half-century was thoroughly deserved. He finished on 53* with Waheed adding 26 and Callum Hill again chipping in down the order.

156 for 9 represented a pretty decent total on a pitch that was offering plenty for the bowlers, but Burnley’s openers managed to do exactly what Norden’s had earlier on. It was the introduction of Taylor that changed the game. His extra pace was used to good effect, bowling short with the leg-side field set out. 3 Burnley batters perished to the short ball as youngsters Jake Hill, Abu Farooq and Theo Andrew all clung on to excellent catches. Waheed then removed the experienced Joe Marshall and Norden were all of a sudden big favourites. The remaining Burnley batters had no answer to the wily Waheed and he helped himself to a 5-wicket haul as the visitors fell 51 runs short. A fantastic performance from a side containing 6 under 18’s, who should all take great confidence from the win.
2^nd XI Saturday Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110332
2^nd XI Saturday Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1eACgeRp_4&feature=youtu.be
2^nd XI Sunday Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110253
2^nd XI Sunday Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_USzY5WhKGs

The family would like to invite all Bob’s friends down to Norden Cricket Club on Saturday the 13^th of July where Bob’s ashes will be interned on his beloved Stag Park. The short ceremony will take place at mid-innings break in the cricket game (circa 15:30 – 16:00) at the Scoreboard end of the ground.

There wouldn’t have been much debate over the winner of the man of the match award had one been given out after Norden’s victory at Redbrook on Sunday. Scott Butterworth’s magnificent all-round performance led his team to a win that seemed on several occasions to be out of reach. It was with the ball that he shone first, reducing the home side to 45 for 6 with a 5-wicket burst that included the key wicket of Rochdale professional, Morne Venter for a duck. It was a familiar-looking scorecard after the low-scoring encounter between these two sides on the same ground last year, but this time around Rochdale dug deep and Michael Harling and Jacob Pauline came together to frustrate Norden. Butterworth needed a breather and Chis Humphreys did not get far into his spell before his hamstring went, and the Rochdale pair found life easier against the change bowlers. Pauline was the aggressor, hitting 4 fours and 2 sixes in his 38 and Harling used all his experience to run the ball around. Pauline was forced to retire hurt when his back gave way attempting another big hit, and this gave Norden an unexpected route to the lower-order. Butterworth returned to take his 6^th wicket, but the Rochdale batters continued to battle and Harry Butterworth and Dylan Poscha made useful contributions as the score passed 150. Harling brought up his half-century and he was the 9^th wicket to fall for an excellent 62, before Pauline returned to the crease but was cleaned up by Dean Lord to close the innings on 169 all-out in the 44^th over.

Thigs couldn’t have started too much worse for Norden in reply, with Lee Crabtree, Mitch Owen and Jack Taylor all back in the shed with the score on just 10. Alex Willis then became Venter’s 3^rd wicket and at 26 for 4, it looked a long way to go. Like in Rochdale’s innings, however, things became a touch easier when the main threat came out of the attack and Dom Humphreys and Josh Tolley were able to score more freely, against Poscha in particular. There was a brief spell off the field for rain, which reduced the target to 162 from 40 overs, but the run-rate was never going to be a problem. Wickets, though, were another matter and Tolley was caught behind off Poscha for 43, followed swiftly by Greg Butterworth and Norden were back in deep trouble. 65 were still needed and it was down to the lower order. Humphreys played beautifully for his 46, but he fell to the returning Venter and Oli Holt went the same way to give the Rochdale paid man a well-deserved 5-wicket haul. It was 29 needed with 2 wickets left, but with one remaining batter unable to walk. Butterworth was joined by Dean Lord, and the pair played sensibly to start ticking off the remaining runs. Solid defence from Lord and good running between the wickets got Norden closer, and the pressure began to tell on the Rochdale fielders as two catches went down off Butterworth which would surely have given them the victory. Slowly but surely, the Norden pair edged closer and when Butterworth struck a boundary off Harling in the 35^th over, the win was within touching distance. It came from the first ball of the next over and it was fitting that it was Butterworth who hit the winning run. His 6 for 52 and 34* a match-winning performance in the truest sense.
1^st XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6107861

There was another nail-biter at Stag Park, as the 2nds fell agonisingly short in their run-chase against league-leaders, Ramsbottom. Rammy opted to bat first, and Oli Yates picked up the first two wickets for Norden, one aided by a spectacular slip catch from Mo Waheed. Waheed bowled well in tandem with Jake Hill, and Norden had a good control of the game, which had been reduced to 39 overs per-side before the start. However, Seb Schofield had played himself in nicely, and this allowed him to open his shoulders as the overs ticked down. The short boundary proved hard to defend and Schofield took 26 runs of the 38^th over to help his team up to 193 for 5, finishing on 86* from 72 balls. In a reduced-overs game, Waheed’s figures of 10 overs for just 14 runs were extraordinary. In truth, the two rain interruptions that were to follow, helped Norden’s cause, and the eventual target of 122 from 20 overs looked very gettable indeed. Unfortunately, wickets fell with regularity and no Norden batter was able to really break the shackles in the way that Schofield had. The youngsters, Yates and Stan Kearns, looked like they might get the job done but the impressive Alex Olpin defended the Woodhouse Lane end with great skill and Isaac Turner did his job at the other end with his off-spin to give Rammy the win by just 5 runs. The 5 bonus points secured by Norden could be more than useful in their battle to beat the drop.
2^nd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110325
2^nd XI Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvgQNpoHiJI

There was a rare double-header for the 3rds, with two t20 matches on Friday and Saturday bringing one win and one defeat. Todmorden came to Stag Park on Friday and a first senior 50 from Stan Kearns along with Theo Andrew taking 28 runs from the final over, propelled Norden up to a total of 140. Todmorden never looked like getting close to that score, thanks to some tight Norden bowling. Sebastian Howard was the standout, with 4 for 18 from his 4 overs, helping Norden to a 45-run win.

Rishton proved to be a tougher proposition on Saturday. The game was re-arranged as a t20 to allow the players to be free to watch the football, and the home side found the boundary 15 times in their innings, compared to just 4 (all by Joe Donnelly) by Norden. Rishton’s 141 proved way too many for the Norden batting line-up, with only Donnelly’s 38 worthy of note in a 65-run defeat.
3^rd XI Scorecard Friday: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6109960
3^rd XI Scorecard Saturday: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110001

A fine performance at Stag Park on Sunday gave Norden a well-deserved place in the semi-finals of the LCFKO. Blackpool were the visitors and Greg Butterworth won a good toss and asked the seasiders to bat first. As so often this season, Scott Butterworth provided the early breakthrough, clean bowling Blackpool skipper Ben Howarth for just 6. Visiting professional, Shivam Chaudhary, looked a big threat to the Norden attack as he drove powerfully down the ground and he took the score to 42 alongside opener Rishit Sharma. It was Greg who lured Chaudhary into a mistimed slog-sweep and Alex Willis held on to the skier, just about, at mid-off. Sharma followed soon after, to the exact same combination, and Blackpool were in a bit of trouble. Andrew Needham and Josh Boyne came together to put on 49 for the 4th wicket as Norden mixed up their bowling options. There was the welcome return to the bowling crease of Dom Humphreys after injury, but it was his replacement at the Woodhouse Lane end, Dean Lord, who broke the stand. Boyne played back to a good length ball and chopped-on for 26, much to Lord’s delight. Needham found more willing company in the form of Tom Myerscough, and he had struck 7 boundaries in reaching 43 when Greg returned to take his outside edge into the safe hands of Mitch Owen at slip. Norden sensed an opportunity and Scott came back into the attack to rip through the Blackpool lower-middle order. Oli Holt also joined the party with 2 wickets in 2 balls and Norden will have felt very satisfied with their bowling effort when Blackpool lost their last man in the 42nd over with the score on 165. The Butterworth brothers shared 7 wickets between them, with Greg also taking 3 catches off Scott’s bowling, including an excellent diving grab at mid-off.

Norden lost Scott early in the reply, but Owen and Josh Tolley were intent on taking the attack to the Blackpool medium-pacers. After miscuing and nearly holing out 2^nd ball, Owen attacked the short, straight boundary to good effect whilst Tolley was his usual, unflustered self at the other end. Owen had raced to 43 and the total to 72 in just 9 overs when the Norden pro played round one that nipped back from Matthew Grindley. Jack Taylor played nicely for 17 before failing to pick the googly from Izzy Stankzai and there was a moment of concern for Norden when Tolley appeared to pull up holding his groin. This wasn’t going to stop the Norden opener, though, and he brought up his half-century from 76 balls. Lee Crabtree, who has been in good form of late, got a little bit of luck but then found his sweep shot and between them, he and Tolley knocked off the further 58 runs required. Tolley finished unbeaten on 58 and Crabtree 30. Norden will travel to Ormskirk in the semi-final on the 28^th of July, with the league fixture against Church to be re-arranged.
LCFKO Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6610012
LCFKO Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7TOuJdR-j4

Saturday’s league game with Burnley was looking like it was slightly in Norden’s favour when the weather intervened. Burnley had battled hard and were aided by some sloppiness in the field to recover from 106 for 8 and post 186 for 9 from their 50 overs. Greg Butterworth was Norden’s star man with the ball, taking 5 for 51, and Jack Taylor also found some turn to take 3 for 39. Only 4.3 overs were possible in the Norden reply as the rain came down heavily to start with, and then never eased off enough for a resumption.
1^st XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6107854

The 2nds had an unprecedented 16 players unavailable for their trip to Burnley and were never likely to be competitive against a strong home side. David Bebb and Mohammad Omar put on 35 for the opening wicket after Bebb had elected to bat, but the Burnley spinners proved to be too good for the depleted Norden team. Only Theo Andrew made it into double figures from the remaining batters and Norden were all-out for 69 in the 31^st over. Burnley only needed 10.3 overs to knock off the runs, but there was a debut wicket for Sebastian Howard, who will return to this level better equipped in the years to come.
2^nd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110315

A familiar face returned to Stag Park on Sunday, and proved to be the difference between the sides. Dan Salpietro, Norden professional in 2014 and 2015, is now plying his trade for Lowerhouse and he put in an all-too-familiar all-round performance to lead his new side to victory. Perhaps surprisingly in the warm weather, Norden chose to bowl first and Scott Butterworth had visiting captain Ben Heap caught behind early. The in-form Jonny Whitehead was quickly in to his stride and, alongside the experience Francois Hasbroek, began to find the boundary with regularity. Whitehead had 43 from just 39 balls when the returning Chris Humphreys nipped one back through his defences to end the partnership on 53. Salpietro arrived at the crease and was cautious early on but Norden were bowling too many boundary balls and they were never able to get a period of control. Things weren’t helped by a couple of missed opportunities in the field and Lowerhouse were starting to look at a score up towards 280. The partnership between Hasbroek and Salpietro was 119 in 21 overs when Butterworth returned to have Salpietro trapped LBW for 57, a ball after he had chopped a yorker into his own foot and seemed in obvious discomfort. Hasbroek continued, without ever really opening his shoulders, and Henri Cottam and Charlie Gansler made good contributions. Mitch Owen bowled well at the death, including the wicket of Hasbroek for 87, and Norden did well to keep the score to 269 for 7.

A tough chase for sure, but the pitch was flat and Norden still fancied their chances at the interval. Scott Butterworth, deputising for the missing Lee Crabtree at the top of the order, didn’t last long and the key partnership of Owen and Josh Tolley was quickly out in the middle. With the field set back from the outset, both were able to get off to starts without having to take many chances. Salpietro was introduced into the attack an immediately found turn, but the short legside boundary from the Woodhouse Lane end was proving tricky to defend. Tolley’s 50 came from 75 balls and Owen’s from 47, and their partnership had Norden as marginal favourites half-way into the chase. Salpietro was a constant threat, though, and he got his reward when he struck Tolley on the back leg to dismiss him for 70. Four overs later, Owen followed him back to the Pavilion. Despite runs flowing freely from the other end, the Norden paid man looked to attack his counterpart and was outdone by a quicker ball that hurried his slog-sweep and hit middle stump. Lowerhouse were jubilant and the game had been turned on its head. Unfortunately, the Norden middle-order has not been in great form, and this continued as wickets began to fall regularly. Only Oli Holt of the other 9 batters managed to make double figures and Salpietro finished with 5 for 35 and a match-winning spell. Consecutive defeats for Norden sees them slip to 6^th in the table with a big weekend of a home game against high-flying Burnley and the LCFKO quarter-final against Blackpool ahead.
1^st XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6107848
1^st XI Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CW3hnn23cw

This year’s disappointing t20 campaign continued with a 4^th consecutive defeat away at Todmorden on Friday night. Todmorden racked up an imposing total of 195 for 6 from their 20 overs with professional Ed Moore top-scoring with 53. Oli Holt took 3 for 35 for Norden. In reply, Tolley made a 25-ball half-century, but other Norden batters could not score at anywhere near the same tempo and they closed on 141 for 6. There was, however, a highly-promising performance with bat and ball by 18-year-old Stan Kearns in just his second game at this level.
T20 Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6099238

The 2nds hosted Littleborough on Saturday in their Junior Cup quarter-final held over from last week. Batting first, Littleborough reached 57 without loss before Phil Sutcliffe misjudged a single and was run out by the combination of Devine and Booth. Oli Kirkby picked up another wicket soon after and there was a chance for a 3^rd when Gary Nash skied to mid-on on 2. Unfortunately, the chance went down and Nash made Norden pay. His 62 included 5 fours and 2 sixes, and another half-century from Ben Williamson helped the visitors up to a score of 252 for 7. Kirkby took 3 wickets for Norden, but the standout bowler was undoubtedly Mo Waheed, who bowled his 10 overs for just 27 runs. Norden made a really good fist of a difficult chase, getting off to an excellent start with an opening partnership of 79 between Devine and Phil Docker. After Waheed’s spell for Norden, it was Littleborough’s experienced duo who Norden found the toughest to face. Phil Deakin and Chris Dearden, both part of the England over 60’s squad, took 3 for 66 between them from their 20 overs and Norden were just unable to pick up enough from the other bowlers to get over the line. Devine played superbly for his 86 and deserves credit for continuing to push for the target rather than cruise to a first Norden century, which will surely come if he continues in this vein. An 18-run defeat means it is LIttleborough who will have the chance to reach the final when they host Enfield in the semis.
Junior Cup Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6603671
Junior Cup Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66E8abZzgyo

The disappointment of Saturday was, at least in part, eased by an excellent win away at Lowerhouse on Sunday. That man Mo Waheed was at it again with the ball, taking 3 for 26, and there were 2 wickets each for Sami Waheed, Oli Kirkby and Oli Yates as Lowerhouse put 174 for 9 on the board. This represented quite the recovery, having been 11 for 8 at one stage. Despite losing David Bebb early, Norden were never in trouble in their reply. Spencer Allen, first alongside Kirkby, and then Stan Kearns, anchored the innings and he was finally dismissed for 67 with only a further 5 runs required. Kearns made 32 and unfortunately Kirkby was forced to retire hurt with a nasty looking knee injury. Obviously, we hope it is not too serious and we can see Oli back on the field in the not-too-distant future. The 6-wicket win lifts Norden out of the relegation zone and into 8^th place.
2^nd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110313

The standout performance of the weekend came from the 3rds when they visited Greenmount on Saturday. A superb bowling performance saw Greenmount reduced to 29 for 9, before scrambling up to 43 all-out. Will Hindley and Charlie Gooding took 3 wickets each, but all the bowlers performed brilliantly against a strong Greenmount batting line-up. There was no trouble in knocking off the runs, just one wicket down for the most impressive of 12-point wins.
3^rd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6109994

Norden’s Lancashire League title challenge took a hit on Sunday with a heavy defeat to fellow title hopefuls, Darwen. The seemingly never-ending rain meant conditions were damp, but play started on time and the home side won what felt like an important toss and predictably asked Norden to bat first. Lee Crabtree could not continue his good form from last week, and he was the first wicket to fall, trapped LBW by Reece Davies without scoring. Mitchell Owen was not going to let conditions alter his ultra-aggressive style and he had 19 of the 21 runs on the board when he fell the same way as Crabtree. Jack Taylor and Josh Tolley dug in to try and establish a foothold in the game, but another member of the Davies family, Jack, was introduced into the attack to good effect and he dismissed both Norden batters before the total had reached 50. In conditions like these, one of the last bowlers in the Lancashire League you want to be up against is Dave Bowden, and he got in on the act by clean bowling Greg Butterworth and then having Nick Brierley adjudged LBW the very next ball. Norden were now reeling on 48 for 6, but there was some lower-order resistance. Alex Willis rarely gives his wicket away easily and, alongside first Oli Holt and then Scott Butterworth, he helped get Norden up over 100. A last wicket stand of 22 between Oli Kirkby and Dean Lord ended when Kirkby became Jack Davies’ fourth victim and Darwen were to be chasing 128 to win.

Norden could not have got off to a better start with the ball as Scott Butterworth knocked over home captain, Scott Friend, with the first ball of the reply. Unfortunately for Norden, no other bowler could find the same consistency. Darwen professional, Punit Bisht, was in no mood to hang around and wait for a ball with his name on it and with only 6 overs gone both Owen and Greg Butterworth had been hit out of the attack. The partnership between Bisht and Reece Davies continued to blossom and Bisht got to his half-century in 58 balls. Taylor, introduced into the attack late for Norden, was able to break the partnership by bowling Davies for 41, but it was much too late and a very comfortable win for the home side was wrapped up with just 2 wickets down and 24 overs remaining. Norden remain in 3^rd in the table, with Darwen leap-frogging Burnley to go top of the pile.
1^st XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6107839

Norden’s poor run of form in the t20 competition continued on Friday with a 3^rd straight defeat, this time at the hands of Crompton. Dennis Louis and Mohammed Jamal got Crompton off to a flying start and they raced to 79 from 6 overs before Jamal was caught in the deep off Sami Waheed. Norden were able to capitalise and picked up 6 wickets quickly, but Hassan Fazal and Mohammed Hamzah hit 5 sixes between them to boost the Crompton innings at the end. They finished on 174 for 8 from their 20 overs, with Waheed picking up 3 for 33 for Norden. The Stags were never able to get up with the rate in their reply, and despite only losing 5 wickets, they fell 27 runs short of their target to remain bottom of the group.
T20 Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6099232

Unfortunately, Friday saw the only cricket to be played at Stag Park over the weekend, with both 2^nd team games called off without a ball bowled. The Junior Cup quarter-final against Littleborough will now be played on Saturday the 22^nd of June, with the 3^rd team fixture on that day being played away at Greenmount.