Please note that this Sundays LCF Cup game against Edgworth with now be a 12 o’clock start, due to the closure of Edenfield Road between 11-1 for the Tour Of Britian Women cycling race.

The interment of Bob Fee’s ashes has ben re-scheduled for Saturday 13th of July. The ceremony will take place at the innings break in the Norden 2nd XI vs Todmorden game. It is anticipated to start between 15:30 – 16:00.

After a chastening defeat in the t20 at Greenmount on Friday night, Norden returned to winning ways in the league with a 6-wicket victory at Hare Hill on Sunday. After Littleborough had batted first and put 217/9 on the board, it was Mitch Owen who came to the fore in the run chase. His unbeaten century, his second for Norden, came from 71 balls and saw his team home with over 8 overs to spare.

The Littleborough innings was built around half-centuries from Zac Perren and Ryan Miskella, after sub-pro Haseeb Hameed had been caught behind for 30 off the bowling of Owen. The Boro pair put on 65 and, with Dom Humphreys having left the field with a side-strain, the Norden bowling attack was under pressure. The Butterworth brothers stepped up and took 7 wickets between them, Greg with 3 and Scott 4 to take his tally in the league to 16. Miskella batted through until the final over for his 62 and Joe Barnes played a nice cameo of 27 from 17 balls.

With Humphreys unlikely to bat, Norden started the chase effectively 1 wicket down and they lost both openers before the score had reached 30. Owen was his usual aggressive self from the outset, and again found good support from Jack Taylor. Taylor is fast becoming a key cog in this Norden team and he again played with intelligence, rotating the strike and allowing the professional to dominate the home bowlers. The partnership had just reached 100 when Miskella got one through Taylor’s defences and Greg Butterworth was caught behind off Hameed soon afterwards. The cool head of Spencer Allen joined Owen and there was to be no futher joy for the Littleborough bowlers. Owen struck 11 fours and 3 sixes in his knock, finishing unbeaten on 108. A fine effort under pressure. Allen was 19*
1^st XI Scorecad: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6107829

Unfortunately, Friday night’s game must be at least mentioned in passing. Defending champions Greenmount made a good, but far from un-gettable, 180/4 and Norden fancied their chances at half-way. Tom Heaton made 76 for the hosts. Josh Tolley was cleaned up by Callum Hunter in the first over and Owen holed out off his counterpart Jacques Snyman in the second, meaning a tough chace now looked almost impossible. The Norden batting line-up continued to be aggressive, but to no avail as Hunter ran through the side, taking an impressive 5 for 7 from his 4 overs. The Stags were bowled out for just 35, meaning they may well have to win all their remaining group games to qualify for the quarter-finals. They have a chance to start that run at home to Walsden on Friday night.
T20 Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6099233

A youthful 2^nd team put on an excellent showing at Stag Park on Sunday. Batting first, Norden lost Oli Kirkby and Haris Hussain in consecutive deliveries with the score on 29, but the experienced pair of Phil Docker and Hashim Malik put on 51 before Docker went for one sweep too many and fell for 32. Malik continued alongside Oli Yates and they too put on over 50. Malik made a 2^nd half-century of the season and was a tad unlucky to fall to a good caught and bowled from Andy Rodgerson. The Norden innings fell away a little, but Yates’ 44 was his highest score at this level and a total of 206/8 was definitely something to bowl at. It was Yates who did the damage with the new ball, taking 3 early wickets before handing over to step-brother Jake Hill on debut. Hill, in tandem with Mo Waheed, bowled impressively and was unlucky not to have picked up a wicket or two before he finally got his just rewards. Jamie Roche and Harrison Chew had threatened to make a game of it, but Hill removed both set batters in the same over, before adding a 3^rd wicket when Littleborough skipper Tim Astley failed to make contact with a pull shot and was bowled. Littleborough fell 63 short of their target, giving Norden all 12 points.
2^nd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110295
2^nd XI Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYpPBApYrXs&feature=youtu.be

Littleborough were also the opponents for the 3rds on Saturday. Charlie Gooding, playing his first game of the season after returning from university, was right back in the swing of things taking 4 for 5 from 5.3 overs. There were also 2 wickets for Seb Howard as Littleborough were all out for 90. Norden’s chase was helped considerably by 32 extras, and a sensible 23* from Will Hindley got Jimmy’s men over the line with plenty of time to spare.
3^rd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6109984

There was a sombre mood at Stag Park on Saturday following the untimely passing of club stewardess, Sheila Worsley. An impeccably observed minute’s silence was held in Sheila’s honour prior to the 2^nd XI cup tie against Accrington and the number of people in attendance only served to underline what a popular figure the club had lost.

The game started poorly for Norden as some ill-discipline with the new ball allowed Accrington to get off to a quick start. Opener Dilshan Fernando looked in good touch and he struck 5 boundaries in an aggressive 37, whilst young partner, Joe Graham was holding firm at the other end. Skipper Tom Booth turned to the Waheeds to try and get some control of proceedings and it was Sami who got the breakthrough as he found Fernando’s off-stump as the batter aimed for another legside boundary. 3 further wickets fell in quick time, another for Sami and 2 for the ever-reliable Mo. Graham continued to play obdurately for the visitors, though, and Shakeel Khan joined him to good effect. A partnership of 64 was proving frustrating for Norden and it took the extra pace off Jamie Taylor to break the stand as he sent Graham’s off peg cartwheeling. Once Khan had chipped a full-toss straight back to Oli Kirkby, Sami returned to mop up the tail and claim a first 5-wicket haul of the season. The Waheeds took 7 for 48 from 19.2 overs between them and Norden had them to thank for keeping the score below 200. Accrington’s 174 all-out included 32 wides bowled by the home side, something that will have to improve as the season progresses.

Zain Hanif quickly showed himself to be the main threat with the ball for Accrington and he took the first two wickets of the run chase, clean bowling Kirkby and Joe Gordon, playing his first match of the season having returned from university. As usual, Spencer Allen was able to provide some stability to the innings and he was the perfect foil for Danny Devine, who was playing fluently. Devine drove straight with impressive regularity and only offered one chance in bringing up his maiden Norden half-century from 70 balls. Both he and Allen perished looking to clear mid-off, perhaps unwisely given how comfortably they were playing in other areas, but Hashum Malik was in no mood to hang around and he blasted an unbeaten 46 in 30 balls, with 5 sixes. Norden go through to the quarter-finals of the Junior Cup, the draw for which takes place on Wednesday evening.
Junior Cup Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6591476
Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-efAM6SXld0&feature=youtu.be

Sunday saw the return of the poor early-season weather, but the 2nds did manage to fit in enough cricket between showers to complete a game. Unfortunately, they came off 2^nd best to Great Harwood, for whom experienced captain, Miles Corish, made 88 as the home side battled well with the bat in difficult conditions. In fact, when rain brought an early end to the home side’s innings after 36.4 overs, Norden had only managed to take one wicket. A slight DLS adjustment to the target meant Norden were second-favourites but certainly weren’t out of the game. That didn’t stay the case for very long, however, as wickets began to fall at regular intervals. No Norden batter got to 20 and there were a number of soft dismissals before the rain returned again and play was abandoned with Norden on 75 for 8, 66 runs short of where they would have needed to be.
2nds Sunday Scorecard: http://www.lancashireleague.com/Scorecards/1313/1313930.html

Just 28.2 overs were possible at Stag Park on Sunday as Norden and Middleton had to settle for 5 points apiece. The Norden fans did get a first sighting of Mitch Owen with ball in hand, and he took 2 early wickets in an opening spell that suggests he will be a huge asset with ball as well as bat for the remainder of the season. Middleton were 109 for 2 thanks to an unbroken partnership of 99 between captain Andy Gregoriou and professional James Price, when the heavens opened and no further play was possible.

Friday night’s t20 opener at Ramsbottom was postponed and has been re-scheduled for the 28^th of June.

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the sudden passing of our dear friend and club stewardess, Sheila Worsley overnight. As a mark of respect the clubhouse will be closed this evening (Friday 24 May). Please can you respect the family’s privacy at this most awful of times.

The club will reopen at lunchtime tomorrow and there will be a minutes silence observed before the cricket match commences in Sheila’s honour. Anyone welcome to attend to pay their respects.

Six was the magic number for Norden at the weekend. On Saturday, it was Scott Butterworth’s superb 6 wicket spell that set the Stags on course for a win at Clitheroe and on Sunday, Stag Park saw no fewer than 27 sixes hit in the LCF Knockout game against Vertex.

Saturday’s game saw the type of win Norden have struggled to achieve in recent times; against one of the top sides without major contributions from either Josh Tolley or the pro. Clitheroe got off to bit of a flyer, with Ali Ross and Tom Lord starting well, but the game changed in a blink of an eye when Butterworth bowled an extraordinary over in which he dismissed Lord, Clitheroe pro Tian Koekemoer and Joe Bolton without conceding a run. The scramble of Clitheroe players rushing to put on whites and pads continued as Butterworth then cleaned up the prolific Ross with the first ball of his next over. Dom Humphreys was doing his job by keeping it tight at the other end, and even though Clitheroe were able to recover somewhat through Charlie Dewhurst and skipper Peter Dibb, they were only ever looking to scrap their way to a vaguely defendable total after the damage Butterworth had done. Brother Greg broke the partnership and Dean Lord and Jack Taylor also picked up a wicket apiece. Scott then came back and took two more to finish with the fine figures of 6 for 34 and Clitheroe were all out for 115.

Clitheroe’s seam bowling attack is an experienced and skillful one, and on a pitch that was offering something, they were not out of the game. Tolley was the first man to go for 13, caught in the gully and Mitch Owen got one that nipped back and kept a touch low to be bowled for 14. With the 2 big guns in the shed, Clitheroe fancied their chances, but Taylor, increasing in maturity and confidence by the week, stood firm and his 27 under extreme pressure was vital. Norden lost 2 wickets with the score on 59 and then 2 more, including Taylor, on 79. Following on from last week, though, Nick Brierley and Humphreys came together to calm the nerves and get the job done. Brierley dropped anchor and Humphreys took the bowlers on. This combination did the trick and their unbroken stand of 37 sealed a 4 wicket win and 12 points. Humphreys finished 26*.
Saturday Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6107814

Nobody really knew what to expect from opponents Vertex on Sunday. The winners of last year’s GMACL had been forced to switch the game to Stag Park due to the unavailability of their rented Warrington home and they won the toss and batted first in glorious sunshine. It was clear from the outset that aggression was going to be their method. Greg Butterworth used 7 bowlers and the youngsters, Taylor and Oli Kirkby were the most economical. Taylor’s 2 for 24 from 9 stood out a mile in a high-scoring game and Kirkby acquitted himself very well in hist first 1^st team spell. The real fireworks in the Vertex innings came from number 9, Shirzad Rasul. Coming in at 144 for 7, he looked uncomfortable for a couple of balls and then proceeded to start smashing balls out of Stag Park with regularity. He struck 8 sixes in his 40-ball 73 and this saw Vertex get up to a competitive 237 for 8 from their 45.

Scott Butterworth opened up with Tolley and it was soon clear that Vertex were not as strong with ball as they had been with bat. Butterworth raced to 46 in just 20 balls before being bowled by the slow left arm of Yasin. This brought Owen to the crease, and in now seemingly typical Mitch style, he was not for hanging about. The Vertex bowling and fielding simply wasn’t up to the task and Tolley accumulated as Owen went bezerk. His 50 came up from 22 balls and there was going to be no stopping him as he hit 13 sixes in reaching his first Norden hundred in 46 balls. Finishing on 121*, with Tolley also unbeaten on 55, Norden cantered home by 9 wickets with 23.2 overs not required. The Stags will face GMCL side Edgworth at home in the next round.
LCF Knockout Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6131886
LCF Knockout Highlights: https://youtu.be/jzl52Or-GhU

The 2nds managed to get their first league win of the season at home to Clitheroe on Saturday. Oli Kirkby was a real handful for the Clitheroe top-order early on and he picked up the first 2 wickets. Norden’s lack of bowling options became a bit of a problem for skipper Tom Booth, but the returning Waheed father and son duo performed well. Mo was his usual economical self and Sami took 4 wickets in his second spell, playing a big part in restricting Clitheroe to 165 all out, when 200+ had looked on the cards. A bit of a wobble saw Norden lose 3 quick wickets, but Danny Devine and Hashum Malik put on 117 for the 4^th wicket. It was great to see Malik return to form and his biggest fan, Graham Fletcher, was in the crowd to see him make a match-winning 91. Devine’s 28 may not have been as eye-catching, but it was just as important, and it was a shame that both fell as the winning line was in sight. There were no more concerns, though, and a 5-wicket win was just what the boys needed. With players due back from school, exams and university soon, this will hopefully be the springboard to kick on with big league and cup games coming up next week.
2^nd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110283
2^nd XI Highlights: https://youtu.be/iv6nS5cIiKY

Norden CC under 13s got their league campaign underway last Friday with a short trip to face Rochdale.

The starting XI showed several changes to the side that lost in the cup in midweek with Harry Spencer, Archie Crabtree and Mohid Shah all included.

Captain James Frankish won the toss and decided to have a bat on a lovely evening which allowed for 20 overs to be played.  The visitors game plan was to ensure they batted for 20 overs but openers Daniel Wild and Adam Bunting still showed intent and put away the bad ball when necessary keeping scorer David Almond on his toes. 

Some tight bowling from Sami Ajaz and Soban Khan meant the hosts were comfortable with how the game was progressing but Wild and Bunting began to up the pace and had reached 54 in the 10^th over before Wild was bowled by Zaid Qamar for 25.  This allowed the incoming batsman to go on the attack but the side were wary that Lancashire spinner Moosa Kashmiri had not yet entered the fray as his excellent variety of bowling can trouble any batsman in this league.

Bunting and captain James Frankish instead decided to target the other bowlers and pick off Kashmiri when a bad ball permitted them to do so.  Bunting went after Gohar Aftab and hit two boundaries off him on his way to retiring 30 not out before Aftab got some revenge by taking a return catch and dismissing Frankish for 11.

With 6 overs now left, it was all systems go for the Norden batsman but the big hitting Archie Greenwood fell for just 6 and the visitors racked up 25 runs in these overs with Zayaan Nadeem (10) and Ralph Bennet 9 not out taking the score up to 111.

Rochdale opened with Kashmiri and Mohammed Junaid whilst James Greenoff took the new ball for Norden.  It was a cagey affair with Norden content to allow Kashmiri to score at a run a ball but by the end of the 5^th over Rochdale were sat on 30/0 and a tight game looked in-store.  This brought Harry Spencer to the crease which enabled Norden to take the pace off the ball and it worked a treat as he bowled uninterrupted from the scoreboard end for 4 overs, conceding just 13 runs in the process and also taking the wicket of Junaid.

This pushed up the required run-rate but Moosa Kashmiri was still at the crease but in the 12^th over he retired on 31 and then it was downhill for Rochdale.  With 63 runs required from 8 overs, it meant some big hitting was needed but the middle order was dismissed in quick succession as Daniel Wild bowled Khan and Hussain and then Zac Brown followed that up the following over courtesy of an excellent catch by Archie Crabtree to dismiss Ajaz for 12.  In the 16^th over Lord was run out for 2 and then Brown took a further wicket the following ball to all but end the game. Gohar Aftab had some fun at the end and hit a couple of boundaries on his way to 15 not out whilst Norden took the opportunity to give everybody who hadn’t batted a bowl.  It enabled Rochdale to finish on 91/6 with Zac Brown the pick of the bowlers taking 2/3 off his two overs.

A youthful Norden U18s lost for the first time this season after going down to a 9-wicket defeat at Middleton on Thursday evening.  Due to impending exams the following day, only four genuine U18 players took to the field with the rest of the side made up from lads stepping up from the 15s and 13s.

The game got underway late due to heavy rainfall and Norden batted first with captain Joe Donnelly and Harry Mason walking out to face the first of the fifteen overs.  It proved a slow start for the visitors and after 5 overs, a third of the innings, the score stood on just 11 with James Sanders completing his 3 overs for the cost of just 5 runs.

As Norden attempted to up the run-rate, Donnelly fell to Sonny Abraham for 10 but this brought Callum Hill to the wicket.  His arrival saw more aggressive shots being played at the crease as the visitors attacked new spin bowler Haider Abbas.  Hill would go on to score 34 not out from 27 balls as Norden chalked up 81/3 with Mason contributing 24.

Middleton looked a more physically imposing side than their opponents and this was evident in openers Sem Smith and Sam Ganner.  Smith, heavily favouring the legside, was able to keep the scoreboard ticking over and by the end of the 7^th over they had reached 33/0 courtesy of two boundaries in the last of those overs.  It looked a forlorn hope for the youthful visitors but they stuck to their task and Theo Andrew took a smart catch in the deep off the bowling of Hill to see Ganner dismissed for 17.

This brought Joshua Davidson to the crease but with the game back in the melting pot somewhat, a costly 11^th over from spinner Tom Wild swung things back in favour of the hosts.  Davidson then punished further bad balls in the next two overs, including a huge 6 off a full toss from Mohsin Umar and the game was all but over.

All the Norden bowlers struggled with their length throughout the game but credit to Middleton for putting the bad balls away and going on to win by 9 wickets.

The family would like to invite all Bob’s friends down to Norden Cricket Club on Sunday the 26^th of May where Bob’s ashes will be interned on his beloved Stag Park. The short ceremony will take place at 12:45 at the Scoreboard end of the ground.   

A home double-header for Norden produced one win and one defeat, with The Stags knocked out of the Worsley Cup in the first round but bouncing back to record a second league win of the season.

After last week’s washout, the cup tie with Greenmount was played in the glorious sunshine on Saturday and Norden opted to have first use of a flat looking surface. Scott Butterworth, promoted to open in the absence of Josh Tolley, looked to take advantage of the powerplay and he struck 5 boundaries in a quick-fire 27. Mitch Owen and Jack Taylor put on 81 for the 3^rd wicket and with those 2 at the crease it looked like Norden would cruise to a score up around 280. Owen reached his second half-century of the season, but Taylor fell just short for 41 when he chipped visiting skipper Travis Townsend to long-off. Townsend was also involved in the next 2 wickets to fall, taking a fine catch at slip to dismiss Greg Butterworth and then picking up the crucial wicket of Owen, caught at point. 140 for 2 with plenty of overs remaining and 2 set batters looking untroubled, had soon become a scramble to bat the overs and post something around a par score. A good 9^th wicket partnership between Haris Hussain and Spencer Allen was ended when Allen was run-out by a direct hit and Norden were bowled out for 238, crucially with 22 balls unused.

It was Dean Lord who got the first wicket in the reply, cleaning up opener Dan Stevens, and then Greg Butterworth struck what many believed would be the decisive blow, when he had the explosive Greenmount pro, Jacques Snyman, neatly stumped by Crabtree for 25. The experienced pair of Townsend and Andy Kerr came together and Townsend took it upon himself to be the aggressor. Recognising that Norden might be a bowler short with Owen still unable to bowl under instruction from his state side in Australia, Townsend attacked the off-spin of Taylor and reverse-swept and paddled to such good effect that Butterworth was forced to go straight back to his frontline bowlers. Kerr fell for 37, quickly followed by Gavin Nicholl and Callum Hunter, but Townsnd was playing a gem of a knock at the other end. Danny Hornby was able to give him good support and the former Heywood and Littleborough pro brought up his century from just 80 balls. Butterworth felt he had no choice but to bowl his 4 main bowlers out in the hope of picking up enough wickets to get the job done, and Lord and Scott took another each. When those 40 overs had been bowled, though, Greenmount needed just 12 more to win. Oli Holt came back into the attack and showed good character after a tough opening spell, and he opened the game up again by forcing Townsend to mistime a cut shot into the hands of Dom Humphreys. Norden sensed one final opportunity, with 8 wickets down and uncertainty about whether Greenmount’s last man, Tom Heaton, would be able to bat after sustaining a hand injury whilst bowling. Another experienced head in the Greenmount side, Amal Dalugoda, was able to stay calm and he struck 3 boundaries in the penultimate over to seal the win in an excellent game of league cricket.
Worsley Cup Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6081855

Newly-promoted Church were the visitors on Sunday and again, GB won the toss and elected to bat. With Josh Tolley restored at the top of the order, the Stags got off to a flyer and raced to 60 without loss in just 8 overs. The arrival of Owen to the crease was never going to slow the run-rate and he and Tolley took the score to 121 before Owen was superbly caught in the covers by Church sub-pro, Michael Copeland. Tolley had already reached his 50 by that point and there was another 50 partnership between him and Greg Butterworth as Norden looked to correct the mistakes of Saturday and turn a good start into a big total. Butterworth made 34 and it seemed inevitable that Tolley would reach his century, but it was not to be as Josh Dentith trapped him LBW for an excellent 98. Nick Brierley, back in the 1^st team after runs in the 2s last week, and Dom Humphreys came together at 201 for 7 and with Norden wobbling a little bit. Brierley’s calmness and Humphreys’ aggression proved to be the perfect combination, though, and the pair combined for a partnership of 82 in just 9 overs. Humphreys’ unbeaten 46 contained 5 sixes and most felt at tea that 288 for 8 would be enough for the victory.

This seemed to be a fair assessment as the Butterworth brothers took the first 3 wickets and the required run-rate began to climb. Copeland, though, came to the crease and chose violence. A couple of huge blows and some more classical drives started to make things interesting. With the weather closing in, the paid man looked like he might have a sniff of doing something remarkable as he raced to 99* with 8 fours and 6 sixes. At that point, with Church needing a further 100 from 15 overs, the light became too dark, and the umpires took the players off. Norden were ahead by just 7 runs on DLS. Very soon after, the storms came in force and no more play was possible. Another over or two of Copeland, and the outcome may have been different, but Norden took 10 points from the game and ended the weekend on a high note.
1^st XI Sunday Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6107812

In 2nd team news Colne won the toss and elected to bat first on Sunday. The Stags got off to a dream start in the first over with some sharp fielding from skipper Booth running out Tilotson for 1. In the next over Oli Yates clean bowled Braithwaite for 0 and Colne were reduced to 2-2. Yates was struggling with his footing on the Colne slope and was replaced by Zeeshan, who clean bowled Wiaczek for 11. Kirkby bowled well, without picking up any wickets, and after his spell of six overs was replaced by Yates who had an immediate impact picking up Windle (14) with a regulation caught behind for Devine.
This brought the enigmatic skipper Matin Kegg to the crease. He went on the attack from ball one. Zeeshan continued to bowl well, without any luck. He had White dropped by Devine behind the stumps, followed by Kegg dropped at first slip by Collin. White (33) and Kegg (45) put on 53 before Booth got the breakthrough enticing an edge through to Devine. Yates then got the dangerous Kegg, again caught by Devine. At 127-6 the Stags fancied their chances of wrapping things up early. However Mathew Clarke (71) and Daniel keg (40) had other ideas, putting on 106 for the 7^th wicket and taking the hosts to 233-6 at the end of the 45 overs. Kirkby was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 0-32 from his 10 overs.

The Stags got off to a poor start in reply with Malik (5) and Bebb (5) going cheaply. This left opener Kirkby and Allen at the crease with a rebuilding job to do. Kirkby was the more aggressive of the two, but both batted sensible and added 72 for the third wicket. Kirkby (41) edged behind to the impressive Braithwaite, who finished with 12 overs 1-20. Allen (23) then chipped one straight to cover and the Stags had two new men in Yates and Collin at the crease. Yates looked to be a positive and a bullet straight drive was half stopped by Aslam, who managed to ricochet the ball on to the stumps, leaving the forlorn Collin short of his ground, run out for 0. Yates (4) then chipped one to deep cover and any realistic chance of chasing the large total was gone. Devine (16) knocked one out of the ground and on to the road before being stumped. The tail hen wagged, with Booth (22), Omar (25) and Tattersall (22*) which at least saw the Stags get to 184-9 and claim a batting bonus point.
2nd XI Scorecard : https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110273

The 3rds managed to record their first win of the season at Church on Saturday. A very young side (and Beamer) performed fantastically with the ball to bowl Church out for 67. Under 15’s Mohsin Umar and Seb Howard took 5 of the wickets to fall and there was a wicket on debut for 13 year-old James Frankish. Beamer got the job done with the bat, making 44 as Norden needed only half their overs to chase the runs.
3^rd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6109974

On Friday night the U11’s played Accrington in the first round of the cup.

A superb team performance saw Norden record a convincing win and progress to the next round of the cup. All the batting pairs played their part in amassing our total with a steady start being followed by some good ball striking in the middle overs and some excellent running between the wickets towards the end. 

Norden bowled superbly throughout picking wickets up at regular intervals and delivering only 3 wides and 1 no ball in the entire innings. The fielding was top notch in particular the backing up and overall awareness. 

Coach Andrew Chadwick said “I’m not singling out any one performance as this was a superb team display. A great way to start the season, well done everyone! Finally, many thanks to every parent who came to watch and to James’s dad, Dave, for scoring.”

Norden U11’s : 262 Accrington U11’s : 194

Norden CC Under 13s bowed out of the Lancashire Cricket League Cup this week following a narrow defeat away at Lowerhouse.

On a flat wicket with a lightning fast outfield, things started well for the visitors with Daniel Wild taking a wicket with his first ball.  After that, however, the two Lowerhouse batters set about scoring runs quickly averaging 8 an over courtesy of some lovely shots and the odd fortunate edge that carried to the boundary.

Norden failed to stem the flow of runs throughout the 18 overs with Lowerhouse eventually finishing on 132.  There was much to ponder for all concerned, including the coaches regarding fielding positions for future matches.

Norden started the reply confidently with Adam Bunting hitting some crunching shots and they reached 40/0 in good time.  This prompted Lowerhouse to introduce some pace into the attack and it paid dividends as Logan removed DJ for 18, caught behind, and then bowled Adam Bunting for 22.  This was a setback for the visitors but it brought Uzair Zaidi and James Frankish to the wicket and Norden remained on the attack as the latter hit his first ball to the boundary for four.

Despite the best efforts of both, the run rate was starting to creep up and it soon reached 10 an over with 7 overs remaining.  Frankish remained on the attack and took the game to Lowerhouse, eventually retiring on 35 not out with a solid pull shot to the boundary.  Zaidi and new batsman Archie Greenwood now had a tough task on their hands and despite hitting 14 off one over, Zaidi fell soon afterwards and despite the best efforts of Greenwood (retired 31 not out) and new batsman Mohammed Usman, Norden reached 116 and fell 16 runs short.   

A good effort by all concerned in a game played in good spirits.