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.

In last week’s opening fixture, Norden’s lower middle order played a large part in setting up a winning first innings total. Unfortunately, this week saw the other side of the coin with the Stags suffering an almighty collapse at Haslingden. A poor start had left Norden on 33 for 4, but a fine partnership between Greg Butterworth and Alex Willis looked to have recovered the situation and laid the foundation for a competitive score. The pair added 58 but both were dismissed in quick succession by Gary Sudworth. This was the start of a run of 6 wickets for only 2 runs scored. Dean Lord was the only batter from 7 down who managed to register a run, and that was a solitary single. Lord was last man out, giving home professional Rudi Second his third wicket, to go with Sudworth’s three, and Norden were all out for 93 in the blink of an eye.

Despite a wet outfield, the pitch was playing fairly true, and a target of 100 was unlikely to trouble the hosts. Scott Butterworth again bowled well with the new ball, trapping Joe Sipocz in front for just 5. There was no luck for the Norden quick after that, though, and Matthew Griffin and Second were able to ride out Butterworth’s 10 over opening spell for no further loss. Try as they might, Norden’s other bowlers also failed to provide another breakthrough, and Haslingden were able to cruise home for a 9 wicket win with half of their overs remaining.

Saturday’s Worsley Cup tie against Greenmount was abandoned on Saturday without any play. The match will now be played at Stag Park on the 11^th of May with the winners to travel to Crompton in round 2.
1^st XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6107804

There was a mixed weekend for the 2nds. On Saturday, a patched up side missing a host of players for numerous reasons, made the trip to Greenmount and came away with a fantastic victory. Greenmount batted first and their imposing total of 298 was built around a huge partnership of 186 between Kieran Edwards and Toby Leach. Leach registered a maiden senior century, with Edwards falling just 2 short of his personal landmark. It was great to see Hashum Malik return to bowling duties and he claimed 3 wickets, and special mention should go to Oli Yates, whose spell of 3 for 33 was comfortably the standout bowling performance seen on the day. Some rain meant Norden’s target became 280 from 44 overs and Malik started brightly before falling to an excellent catch. Nick Brierley and Haris Hussain came together for the big partnership that the chase needed, and it looked for a while like the pair might emulate Edwards and Leach. Noah Birtwistle broke the stand on 118 when Brierley looked to sweep on 78 but missed, and Hussain then fell to the same bowler 2 overs later for a fine 58. Norden needed someone to stand up and that man was Ross Collin. Under huge pressure, and with good support from David Bebb, Collin manipulated the field and was able to target the short boundary when required. His match-winning 44* came from just 32 balls as the Stags got home with 8 balls spare. Norden will host Accrington in the next round.
Junior Cup Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6537076

Sunday saw Haslingden bat first at Stag Park. Zeeshan Tariq continued his good start to his Norden career with 2 more wickets and Jamie Taylor bowled with good pace and effort from the Woodhouse Lane end. A poor fielding display, with catches going down and runs being given away, contributed to Haslingden getting up above 200 when they really should not have been allowed to. The batting heroics of the previous day were not able to be repeated, and a good position at 68 for 1 with Yates and Bebb going well quickly disappeared. The experienced Richards bowled tightly from one end and the pressure he built allowed the wrist-spin of Lucas Bargh to do the wicket-taking damage at the other. His 6 for 39 meant Norden never got close, and it was a 99-run win for the visitors.
2^nd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110271
2^nd XI Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF0sXxUCWPI&feature=youtu.be

A tough start to the season for the 3rds continued on Monday with a 7-wicket defeat at Middleton. Jimmy’s team has had to start the season missing a large number of last year’s key performers, but this always presents opportunities and youngsters Seb Howard and Tom Wild both acquitted themselves well with bat and ball. Michael Thorpe also returned to the side and top-scored with 21.
3^rd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6109969

After the first two weeks of the Lancashire League season had been postponed due to unprecedented bad weather, the new season finally got started at the weekend with mixed fortunes for Norden.

The 1^st XI were the only victorious side with an excellent win at home to Todmorden on Sunday. The Stags included new professional, Mitchell Owen, for his debut and he was at the crease early after Norden had been asked to bat first. Conditions were a credit to everyone who has helped on the ground in recent weeks, with no question at all about the fitness of the ground. Despite this, batting was always going to be tough after the weather we have had. Norden decided that the positive approach was the way to go and Josh Tolley launched the first ball of the season out of Stag Park. After Lee Crabtree had been run out early, Owen also went straight on the attack. A slightly edgy start gave way to some powerful straight hitting and a 33 ball half-century in a partnership of 72 with Tolley. Unfortunately, immediately after reaching the landmark, Owen was caught on the crease by Hamza Ali and there was no doubt about the L.B.W. decision. Tolley struggled to find another partner, but he too made it past 50 despite wickets beginning to fall at the other end. Valuable cameos from Dom Humphreys, Oli Holt and Scott Butterworth were exactly what Norden needed, and they turned what looked like a score of around 170 into 229 for 9 at the close. Tolley’s 88 was the backbone, and it was just a shame he couldn’t quite reach his century and remove his helmet to show how productively he has spent his winter.

Todmorden will have been disappointed with how their seam bowlers performed, and they dropped catches in the outfield to make matters worse. Had Harry Rickard held a straightforward chance off Tolley when he was in the 30’s, things could have been different. As it was, a score of over 200 seemed huge, and so it proved. Scott Butterworth picked up where he left off from last year with a 3-wicket opening spell, and there was also one for Humphreys with the new ball. Only Todmorden deputy-pro, Dumindu, put up any sort of real resistance. He made 55, but there was only one partnership above 20 for the visitors and the spinners, Greg Butterworth and Jack Taylor, finished the job for Norden. Maximum points secured, and a great start heading into the first league and cup double-header next week.
1^st XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6107801
1^st XI Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDgdDyvmrjA

The 2nds made the trip to Todmorden, where they found the ground slightly less ready for play. A delayed start meant a 41-over game on an extremely green pitch. New signing Zeeshan Tariq made a great start to his Norden career with 3 early wickets and Tod were in trouble at 45 for 5. The lower order, and Thomas Barker in particular, dug in and worked hard to squeeze the score up past 100 and the hosts closed on 117 for 7. Norden found scoring really tough and Barker, alongside new-ball partner Ibrar Ali, were not giving anything away. The pressure started to bring wickets and only Oli Kirkby and Danny Devine managed to get to double figures as the Stags fell well short and were bowled out for just 70. Sam Kelly was the pick of the Todmorden bowlers, with 4 for 12.
2^nd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110266

Jimmy’s young 3^rd team kicked off the season on Saturday at Nelson. Mohsin Umar and Sebastian Howard from the under 15’s made their senior debuts and performed well with the ball as Nelson batted first and were bowled out for 146. Mohammad Omar, fresh from his Manchester and London Marathon exploits, picked up 3 wickets and there were 2 each for Oli Yates and Will Hindley with the new ball. Sadly, only Yates could muster up anything of note with the bat. He made 34, but others found it difficult to get off strike and too many dot balls were faced as nobody else made double figures. A 53-run defeat, but hopefully some good lessons learned.
3^rd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6109963

Norden are delighted to announce the signing of exciting Australian all-rounder Mitchell Owen as professional for the 2024 season. 22-year-old Owen plays for Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield and the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash.

An aggressive right-handed batter and a right-arm seam bowler, he has established himself in first-class cricket this season, making two half-centuries and taking regular wickets during Tasmania’s rise to the top of the table. The club would like to thank Robbie Humphries at WSX Cricket for helping to facilitate the deal and everyone is looking forward to welcoming Mitch for the start of the season.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/mitchell-owen-1213979

We recently caught up with Mitch and he said “I can’t wait to get over to the UK and get stuck in with the boys at Norden CC. The Lancs league is spoken very highly of over here in Aus and I’m really excited I get to experience what it has to offer. Stez Wild has told me a lot about the club, so I’m counting down the days til I get over there”

In further good news, Dom Humphreys is returning to Stag Park after a 2-year absence. The club jumped at the chance to re-sign him as soon as it became clear he would be leaving Heywood. Dom’s all-round talent and energy in the field are well-known to all at Norden and he will be a huge asset on and off the field next season.

Leaving the club, though, are Mo Munawar, Usama Malik and Kabir Ahmed:

Munawar has spent nearly a decade at Norden, taking over 250 wickets and helping the club out by captaining an extremely young 2^nd XI as we came out of Covid. His ability to prodigiously swing the new-ball made him a real handful at any level and he was the leading wicket-taker in Junior Division 1 in 2023. Always keen to play and make himself available for any team, even playing for all 3 senior sides in one weekend on one occasion, Munny has been a tremendous servant for the club.

Malik divided his Norden career between the 1^st and 2^nd XI’s. He garnered a reputation for dismissing opposing professionals and his game-winning final over in the Lancashire Knockout against Denton St Lawrence in 2022 was a real highlight.

Ahmed scored 1400 runs in the 2^nd XI in just 2 seasons. His remarkable 2022 season yielded 897 runs and his unbeaten, match-winning century in the cup quarter-final against Littleborough this year won him the club’s batting performance of the year award.

All leave with the best wishes and thanks of all at Norden.

On Wednesday 15^th of November 2023 Bob Fee sadly passed, surrounded by his loved ones.

Bob was born in 1945 and became a member of Norden Cricket Club in the early 1950’s and remained a member for over 70 years. He was born and bred in Norden and lived in the village all his life.

Bob was a keen cricketer and loved playing the game. His brother, Les, describes a photo that Pete Fitton still has of him, Bob and Dave Wild all playing at Norden in 1957. Bob played in the junior sides before moving on to the 2^nd XI.

A few years ago Bob was made a life member of the club due to his enormous contribution over his 70 year membership. Bob served on the committee in the 60’s and was instrumental in the implementation of a licensed bar for the first time in the club’s history in 1967. Along with his good friend, Dave Wild, they used their skills as electrical engineers to get the bar up and running. In the late 70’s, Bob and Dave re-wired the club as an extension and new bar were built.

Bob left school at 15 and got a job with Whipp & Bourne, a well known electrical engineers in Rochdale. Bob worked for Whipps his entire working life and was an extremely popular figure. For much of this time Bob was in Quality Control alongside his great mate, Joe Rush.
Rushy recalls how the company went in to liquidation in 1976 and they all lost their jobs … for one day, as they were soon taken back on as the company started trading again under a new name. Joe said “Bob was a wonderful man. We worked very closely for such a long time. Never once did we have a crossed word. Bob didn’t like the limelight, he’d always be at the back on photos and things of that nature. We travelled a lot and Bob was an integral part of work social scene at Whipps”.
Andrew Pownall : “What a great guy Bob was, always there to help and guide, whilst having a laugh. Worked with him and saw him occasionally at the cricket when Norden played Walsden. Have some great memories of him and sad to learn this news.”
Ste Holt : “Well appreciated at Whipps; a steady, genuine good guy. Remember him giving me a bollocking for goading Jack Crandon, he was right I needed it. That was Bob, bless that memory.

When Whipps eventually closed down in 2011, Bob took early retirement to look after his late wife Pat.

Cricket wasn’t Bob’s only love; he was a season ticket holder at Manchester United for a while and loved a trip to the races. This article is being written on one of Bob’s favourite days of the year, the Betfair Chase at Haydock which signals the start of the Jump season. He was a regular attendee.

When Bob’s cricket playing days finished, he was an avid supporter of the 1^st XI. For over fiftty years he watched home and away, very rarely missing a game. He was a regular fixture at Stag Park, sitting with his crew under the scoreboard. Whilst some members are not very shy of telling you what they thought of your performance that day, Bob was not like this. Regardless of the result, Bob would collect the discs away, lock up the shed and head over to the bar for a drink. He’d never criticise, never raise a voice, never tell you what you should have done. He would love to discuss the game with you. Bob has seen many generations of players come through the club and was so well liked by all of them.

In later life he went on to meet Linda. They married in 2020 and spent many happy times together. Bob was still active at the club, and once he’d retired he got even more work done. He was regularly at the club during the day, whether it be painting the changing rooms, emptying the bins, strimming the grass… anything he could do to help.

Every Saturday and Sunday morning on game day Bob would be at the ground early, putting out the fielding discs and sorting the boundary rope. At the mid-innings break, Bob and his brother Les would roll and re-mark the wicket. They did this for over 30 years and in recent times he was nicknamed Bob the Brush by 6 year old Joe Shotton.

A kind, clever, generous man. Any room Bob walked in to, he made it better. Norden Cricket Club has lost its number one supporter.

Bob was just a bloody lovely bloke who will be so sadly missed by all the cricket club

RIP Bob

The funeral will take place at Rochdale crematorium on Tuesday the 5^th of December at 15:20, followed afterwards with a reception at Norden Cricket Club. The funeral procession will drive on to the car park at Norden CC at 14:50 and pause for a short while. Anyone who knew Bob is welcome to attend.