When the news came through of the passing of Brian ‘The Pres’ Butterworth I was overcome with a feeling of immense sadness. For many of us we have never known a Norden Cricket Club without the Pres. A ubiquitous presence whether it be in committee meetings, cricket games, fundraisers or at the bar. He was a truly special man.

After a few days I realised sadness was not the appropriate reaction. The Pres would not have wanted it. At 95, it was one hell of an innings… probably the best ever seen at Stag Park. 

From speaking to some life members, like Bob Fee, you start to grasp the important role which Brian played in helping the club become what it is today. In fact, a few people have said to me that without Brian’s enormous contributions, especially during the 60’s and 70’s, that there may not even still be a Norden Cricket Club.

I know some of Brian’s happiest memories were spent watching the cricket. An ever present at games, with one of his favourite periods being the trophy laden seasons of 2014 and 2015. An image I will never forget is that of Brian wiping his moustache dry after drinking from the CLL League champions trophy in 2014.

Brian, my friend, we will miss you dearly. On behalf of every Stag, past and present, we thank you for your outstanding contribution. Yor will forever be ingrained in the very fabric of the club. A true inspiration, one of a kind… a legend of Norden Cricket Club forever.

RIP my President

Greg Tattersall

The club would like to invite all Brian’s family and friends to attend our 1^st XI game on Saturday the 12^th of August vs Clitheroe. Brian’s brother Ray, and his nephew Martyn will be attendence. The game will be played in memory of Brian and the club will provide a a buffet.
At the mid innings interval (usualy between 15:30-16:30) Brian’s ashes will be scattered on his beloved Stag Park turf.

A disappointing weekend saw Norden stumble in their climb up the Lancashire League table and bow out of the LCF Knockout at the quarter-final stage. The league action was on Saturday this week, and Norden welcomed Enfield to a very wet Stag Park. The game was delayed by just over 2 hours to allow conditions to dry out and the 32 overs-a-side contest started well for the visitors. Opener Lewis Wright and professional Pramod Maduwantha made light of testing batting conditions to put on 99 for the 2^nd wicket and leave Enfield well positioned for a late onslaught at 125 for 2 with 7 overs left. It was hard to know what a par score was on a pitch offering assistance for all bowlers, but the 180 plus that looked on the cards would certainly have been well above. Norden fought back superbly with the ball, though, and managed to restrict Enfield to just 16 runs fromb those final 7 overs. Wickets fell regularly, with 5 of them going to Ashar Zaidi, and 140 for 7 was well short of what had been threatened. Wright made 66 and Maduwantha 57, but no other Enfield player managed double figures.

Unfortunately, the end of the first innings proved to be much more of a true reflection of how difficult it was to bat on this pitch than the start of it. Norden lost Josh Tolley early, edging to slip off Zaheer Abbas but Greg Butterworth and Alex Willis were able to dig in and add 60 to put Norden in an excellent position. Willis then gave his wicket away cheaply to the innocuous leg-spin of Yasir Ali and that triggered an almighty collapse. Butterworth drove loosely and was bowled, and Zaidi got a ball from Maduwantha that turned and bounced sharply to take his outside edge. Seemingly in the blink of an eye, 66 for 1 became 85 for 8, with Maduwantha now proving extremely difficult to play. Haris Hussain found the boundary on 3 occasions in a last-ditch attempt to get Norden close but he became another of Maduwantha’s 5 wickets as Norden were dismissed for 101 to take just 2 points from a match that they were expecting to win. With other results in the division going in their favour, Norden will see this as a real opportunity missed.
1^st XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5592501
1^st XI Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jbs39qPBR8&feature=youtu.be

Sunday saw another long trip in the LCF Knockout, this time to Wigan. Norden were invited to bat first by the team from the Liverpool Competition and Tolley fell early for the 2^nd time in the weekend. Opening partner Willis didn’t last much longer and Greg Butterworth and Zaidi were given the job of rebuilding. A stand of 103 meant that Norden were in a position to look beyond 200, but both set batters fell in quick succession and in similar vein to the leg-spin of Raheem Kasser. The Wigan spinners were then able to squeeze the Norden middle-order and boundaries became hard to come by. In fact, Norden only found the fence twice in the last 15 overs of their innings and they were only able to limp up to 182 for 9 from their 45 overs. With a sub-par score on the board, you have to make up for it in the field and Norden failed to do so. Home dangerman, John Richardson was dropped twice off the unfortunate Lukas Debnam before he had made 10 and he made Norden pay, alongside opener Charles Taylor. The pair were not troubled again in their partnership of 125, until a brief rain break seemed to add a little life to the pitch, and to Norden. Zaidi had Richardson caught behind and 3 more quick wickets fell to cause a few nerves in the home dressing room. Taylor held firm, though, and his unbeaten 84 took Wigan through to the semi-finals.
LCF Knockout Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6012981

The 2^nd team were unable to snap a run of defeats in the league as they went down to a good Enfield outfit on Saturday. A welcome return to form for Tom Booth saw him top-score with 38 in Norden’s innings, and there was a promising debut for Stan Kearns who made 19. Norden posted 149 for 9 from their reduced 38 overs but Enfield were too strong and got home comfortably with 9 overs left and only 3 wickets down.
2^nd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5593297

Norden registered a comfortable win at defending champions Darwen on Sunday in a game reduced by the rain. Greg Butterworth won the toss and asked Darwen to bat and Norden’s new-ball pairing of Scott Butterworth and Lukas Debnam were able to make good early inroads into the home batting lineup. Debnam picked up the first 2 wickets to fall and then Butterworth took over, taking 4 for 50 including the wicket of substitute professional Shivam Chaudhary. Darwen were in trouble at 75 for 6. The Davies brothers, Reece and Jack were able to put up some resistance and carried the total over 100 before Jack was run out by Haris Hussain. With 20 overs left, the forecast rain came down and the Darwen innings was reduced to 35 overs. The search for quick runs upon the resumption only led to more wickets for Norden and the hosts were bowled out for 123 with 1 ball left.

Norden’s adjusted target was 127 from 35, but the chase got off to a poor start with the run out of Alex Willis and a rare failure for Josh Tolley. Greg Butterworth and Ashar Zaidi came together and restored a bit of calm, but Butterworth was trapped in front by skipper Kamran Anwar and the responsibility was put on to Spencer Allen to keep Zaidi company. Allen was well up to the task and his composure, which has been seen so often at second team level, was to the fore as he fended off a strong Darwen bowling attack to add 66 with Zaidi and take Norden to the brink of victory. A little bit of unnecessary panic ensued when both set batters were dismissed by Anwar, but Oli Holt smashed a straight 6 to take the 12 points and move Norden up to 4^th place in the table.
1^st XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5592494

Friday night saw Norden progress to the t20 quarter-finals with a washout at Walsden. Despite the best attempts of Walsden to persuade the umpires to start in the drizzle, no play was possible and Norden will make the short trip to Redbrook to take on Rochdale in the quarter-final on Friday night.

The 2nds were beaten at home by league leaders Darwen. Mohsin Iqbal took 3 wickets for Norden, but the visiting batting line-up were able to find the boundary regularly and when the rain fell they looked well-set for a large total. The DLS adjusted target was 180 from 27 overs and the home batters looked a little too anxious to get on with it and failing to hit the sweepers that were set from the outset. Zeshan Anwar top-scored with 30 and put on a half-century partnership with Iqbal, but Norden fell 37 runs short, taking 2 batting bonus points but in need of a win in the league to steady the ship.
2^nd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5593295
2^nd XI Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSy8BnTVVis&feature=youtu.be

The 3rds let a winning position slip at home to Middleton on Saturday. A good bowling performance led to the visitors being bowled out for just 120, albeit on a bowler-friendly surface. Oli Kirkby bowled nicely with the new ball to take 3 wickets and Charlie Gooding also picked up 3. Unfortunately, the second half did not go to plan as only Stan Kearns and Saad Malik looked comfortable with the bat. Kearns made a fluent 37 before holing out to the deep midwicket boundary and Malik was unlucky to be given out LBW when on 22. The rest could not provide much help and a very chaseable target proved to be 27 too many. 3^rd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5616284

Brilliant hundreds from Ashar Zaidi and Kabir Ahmed saw both Norden 1^st and 2^nd XI’s advance to the semi-finals of their respective cup competitions on Saturday. Two hard-fought victories both came from seemingly perilous positions in run chases and both also needed excellent contributions from young players down the order to help guide their sides home.

The 1’s were up against second division opposition at Stag Park in the shape of Rawtenstall, but the game was far from straightforward. Rawtenstall won the toss and decided to bat first on a pitch with a boundary as small as you are ever likely to see in 1^st team cricket on one side. As a result, it was always likely to be a high-scoring affair, and so it proved. A solid opening stand of 86 between Matt Kershaw and Cameron Holder was finally broken Greg Butterworth and when the second wicket fell soon after it brought visiting professional, Sean Whitehead to the crease. The former Rochdale paid man set about the Norden attack and upped the run-rate considerably alongside skipper Dean Barlow. His 50 came in just 33 balls and the total went beyond 200 with 8 overs still remaining. It was Lukas Debnam who got the crucial wicket, forcing Whitehead to miscue to Butterworth at long-off and this probably shaved 30 or 40 runs off the chase. That chase was still to be a tough one, though, as Rawtenstall closed on 249 for 7. Norden were soon in trouble as the top 3 were all back in the shed with just 35 on the board. However, Ashar Zaidi loves a run-chase and he took control from that point. His first main accomplice was Oli Holt and this pair put on 67 for the 5th wicket. When Holt fell, it was game on again and neither Scott Butterworth nor Haris Hussain could help Zaidi get within real striking range. The man for the moment turned out to be Jozef Gordon. Zaidi was happy to take singles when offered and the trust showed in Gordon proved to be justified as the pair combined for a crucial partnership of 55 when another wicket would have spelt real trouble. Although Gordon fell for an excellent 25 to a ball that kept very low with just 4 needed, the panic was over and Zaidi finished the job with a boundary to finish on a fine 118* from 96 balls. Norden will travel to current league leaders Lowerhouse in the semi-final on the 8^th of July, looking to end their semi-final hoodoo of recent years.
Worsley Cup Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6008561

The 2’s will also be in semi-final action at home to Burnley that day after they too pulled off an excellent run-chase to secure a memorable victory against Littleborough. A Hare Hill pitch offering a bit of something for everyone, produced a game with plenty of runs and plenty of excitement. Littleborough got off to a bit of a flyer, with former Stag Tariq Maqsood taking advantage of the powerplay. Usama Malik produced a good one to get through Maqsood’s defences and Mo Munawar came back well after getting a bit of tap early on to get Norden back in the game, but a host of dropped catches and a heap of extras contributed to Littleborough’s 227 for 8. Oli Kirkby and David Bebb fell early, but skipper Hashum Malik was looking o play in a more restrained manner than usual and he was looking good alongside Kabir Ahmed before the former was sent packing by an interesting umpiring decision with 150 still needed. 3 more wickets fell quickly and it looked like Ahmed was going to end up frustrated as his teammates looked for boundaries rather than singles to get the set batter back on strike. The run-rate was never an issue for Norden, but the wickets down were, and it took an experienced head in Mohsin Iqbal to help steady the ship. He and Ahmed added 67 for the 7^th wicket and Norden fancied their chances again. When Iqbal edged behind for 34, it brought 17-year-old Joe Donnelly, on 2^nd team debut, to the crease and the home players and supporters thought the game was theirs. Donnelly had different ideas, though, and he played with courage and intelligence to help Ahmed face as many balls as possible and play the occasional attacking stroke himself, including a huge swept 6 over midwicket. Ahmed remained composed and he won the game with a boundary which also brought up his hundred from 116 balls. A fine win with with several players missing.
Junior Cup Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6008568

Sunday was less successful, as the 1^st team were frustrated by the rain after bowling Walsden out for 173 at Stag Park and the 2^nd team were beaten at Colne, despite a century partnership between Ahmed and Sami Waheed and 4 wickets for Munawar.
Sunday Scorecards: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5592490
2nd XI Scorecard : https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5593286

With all 3 teams playing on Saturday, a totally genuine 3^rd XI travelled to Ramsbottom to face opposition that wasn’t exactly in the same boat. A century and 4 wickets for Nathaniel Young proved to be too good for stand-in skipper Greg Tattersall’s young side and they fell well short in their chase of 257. Stan Kearns, Saad Malik, Will Hindley and Tattersall himself all made decent contributions with the bat.
3^rd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5616282

Norden finally registered an away victory in the league as they comfortably beat bottom club Ramsbotton at Acre Bottom on Saturday. The star of the show was once again Josh Tolley, who quite remarkably hit another century as Norden piled up 271 for 6 from their 50 overs. Tolley got good support from the rest of the top order, with Lee Crabtree and Greg Butterworth helping the score up to 117 for 2 before Ashar Zaidi joined Tolley. Zaidi smashed 59 from just 39 balls, including 7 fours and a six as he added impetus to the innings. Tolley also began to accelerate and Ramsbottom could not stop the flow of runs. Tolley finished on 122* from 141 balls with 7 fours and 4 sixes. The Norden opener now has 895 runs this season in all competitions, with 6 centuries. The record books look like they may well be completely re-written come mid-September.

Ramsbottom, without a win in the league all season, were going to have to produce something extraordinary if they were to chase down their target and, not for the first time this season, Scott Butterworth made the task even harder with an early wicket, trapping Brad Fielding in front without scoring. All of Ramsbottom’s other batters got starts but none could kick on in the way Tolley had and the required rate continued to climb. The Butterworth brothers shared 6 wickets and there were 2 for Zaidi as the hosts were bowled out for 213 in the 47^th over. The 12 points keeps Norden within striking distance of leaders Lowerhouse, despite the league position of 7^th. With the top 10 teams all seemingly capable of beating each other, it promises to be an extremely exciting season as we reach the half-way point next weekend.
1^st XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5592483

On Sunday, Norden headed to the seaside to face Morecambe in the 2^nd round of the LCF Knockout. The Palace Shield side proved to be no match for The Stags as 4 wickets from Dean Lord helped bowl the home team out for just 133. Tolley was in no mood to hang around and he raced to 50 in just 36 balls. Zaidi continued his aggression of the weekend with 38* from 25, finishing the match with 3 sixes as Norden chased down the target with over 20 overs to spare. Another away trip, this time to Wigan, awaits in the next round.

Friday night saw a very healthy Stag Park crowd witness a truly remarkable game of cricket, with Greenmount professional Jacques Snyman producing an innings that not many will forget in a hurry. Norden batted first and a quickfire 91 from 50 balls from Zaidi helped take the total to over the 200 mark. The umpires then saw fit to penalise Greenmount for a slow over rate, so another 38 runs were added to the target meaning a daunting 245 was needed for victory. Not many gave the division 2 side a chance, but Snyman has been in remarkable form in recent weeks and he and fellow opener Evan Williams showed from the off that they still fancied their chances. Sami Waheed picked up 2 wickets for Norden, including the dangerous Williams for 30, but Snyman was starting to go ballistic at the other end. The box of spare balls was soon empty as they vanished to all parts of the village, with no Norden bowler spared. The South African struck 13 sixes as he took the visitors to an incredible victory with 4 balls remaining. Snyman finished on 164* from just 70 balls in one of the best displays of hitting this ground has ever witnessed.
T20 Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5526566

It was a case of ‘after the Lord Mayor’s show’ for the 2nds, who followed up their excellent victory at Burnley with a poor display at home to Ramsbottom. Having won the toss and elected to bat, it looked like the strong home batting line-up should be set for a big total. Unfortunately, a series of poor shots meant that the innings never got going. Only Kabir Ahmed reached 30 and Norden were grateful for 31 extras from the visitors. Skipper Phil Docker left the field a frustrated figure as he remained 23* having run out of partners as Norden could manage just 170 on a good pitch and a short boundary from the Woodhouse Lane end. Unfortunately, the bowling effort was no better and Ramsbottom needed only 28 overs to knock off the runs. A big improvement will be needed for the Junior Cup quarter-final next week.
2^nd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5593283
2^nd XI Highlights: Highlights: 2nd XI vs Ramsbottom 10.6.23 – YouTube

Norden went into Sunday’s game against Burnley having won all of their completed home games in the league this season and that run continued with perhaps their best performance of the year so far.

After winning a good toss, Norden took first use of a flat Stag Park pitch and the crowd were treated to yet another masterclass from Josh Tolley. His new opening partner for the day was Lee Crabtree and the pair negotiated tight early spells from the reliable Fergus Bailey and Bharat Tripathi. Crabtree looked comfortable in his new role and he was the first to look to accelerate with a straight 6 off Bailey and a couple of delightful cover drives. Burnley, with new-ball bowler Harry Snowden unable to bowl due to injury, looked short on bowling options and Norden looked to attack Liam Bedford from the off when he replaced Bailey from the Woodhouse Lane end. 15 runs came from his first over, but he forced a miscue from Crabtree in his second and he departed for a well-made 38. Ashar Zaidi, as he has done so often, then came in to combine with Tolley to great effect. Only visiting pro Ockert Erasmus was able to bowl with any real control from that point as these two top-class players never looked in any trouble at all in a partnership that totaled 145 when it ended as Zaidi was starting to look like he was going to cause some real carnage. It seems flippant to say that Tolley’s hundred was inevitable, but in truth it seemed that way from the outset. The form that the Norden opener is in is something that you don’t see often in league cricket and his fifth century in four weeks came from 128 balls with 9 fours and 4 sixes. Scott Butterworth came in to provide the end-of-innings fireworks and his 37 from 16 balls contained the biggest hit of the day, a pick up that easily cleared the scoreboard.

It was to be 284 to win for Burnley, a big ask but not an impossible one by any means with the batting conditions on offer. Butterworth made that task much harder, though, with another impressive opening spell in which he picked up the Burnley top 3 by targeting the stumps to good effect. Until Erasmus was back in the pavilion, Norden could not be truly confident of victory and it was Dean Lord who got the crucial breakthrough. Lord, who has been unable to bowl for several weeks with a side strain, bowled a fiery spell and produced a peach to find the outside edge of the South African’s bat and the celebrations were as enthusiastic as you’d expect. Joe McCluskie provided some resistance for the visitors with 69, but he never threatened to get them close as wickets fell regularly at the other end. The margin of victory was 74 runs for The Stags and with other teams at the top of the league also suffering defeat, the Lancashire League table looks incredibly tight with 8 teams separated by just 14 points.
1^st XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5592478
1^st XI Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYMNZjfidII&feature=youtu.be

Norden travelled to Bacup on Friday night for an extremely one-sided t20 game. Norden’s 182 made light of a very tricky pitch, with Josh Tolley hitting an imperious 112 from 65 balls. Bacup’s reply never got going at all and they subsided to just 44 all out in 11.3 overs. Greg Butterworth claimed the remarkable t20 figures of 6 for 4 but there will be much stiffer challenges to come in the next few weeks in this competition, starting against group leaders Greenmount at Stag Park on Friday.
T20 Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5526565

The 2nds visited Turf Moor in the return fixture to face the table-toppers and put in a superb performance to come away with the points. Oli Kirkby was the star man, scoring his maiden senior half-century, taking 3 wickets and claiming 2 catches. Kirkby put on partnerships of 79 with Kabir Ahmed and 116 with spencer Allen on his way to 78. Allen’s 56 was his first 50 of the season and underlined his return to form in recent weeks. Norden got up to 227 for 6 from their 45 and it was very much game on at halfway. Burnley’s strong 2^nd XI batting line-up were always going to be in the hunt and so it proved. First Josh Holding and Joe Marshall put on 78 for the 2^nd wicket, and the Gareth Halley and Matthew Thornton combined for 68 to put the game very much in the balance. Kirkby and Usama Malik proved to be the match-winners for Norden with the ball, picking up 3 wickets each and Kirkby fittingly finished the game by claiming an excellent diving catch running forward as Burnley fell 10 runs short of their target in an excellent game showcasing the strength of these 2 clubs.
2^nd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5593273

The 3^rd XI were led to victory by a fine all-round performance by stand-in skipper Mohsin Iqbal on Saturday at home to Bacup. Iqbal struck an impressive 84* from just 56, and was ably supported by Oli Yates with 41 and an unbeaten 25 from Joe Donnelly as Norden racked up 192 for 5 from their 40 overs. An openng stand of 50 from the brothers Boardman looked to have put Bacup in a good position but Iqbal and Saad Malik combined for 4 wickets in quick time to change the course of the game. Iqbal was then able to rotate a young bowling attack and there were another 2 wickets for Charlie Gooding, taking his season’s tally to 12, as Bacup fell 26 runs short.
3^rd XI Scorecard : https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5616275
3^rd XI Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozivM0bA-y0

A long weekend of cricket saw Norden’s senior sides record 5 wins from a possible 6 and progress to the quarter-finals of both Lancashire League cup competitions. Unfortunately, the one blip in an otherwise excellent weekend was a heavy league defeat for the 1^st XI at Clitheroe on Sunday.

Saturday brought success all-round with two very solid cup wins. The 1sts took on Todmorden, who had defeated Greg Butterworth’s side in the league just 2 weeks earlier, and they put on a fine batting performance to post a challenging total of 284 for 6 from their 50 overs. The innings was built around a 3^rd century in as any weeks for Josh Tolley. Dropped at point when on 6, the Norden batter made Todmorden pay as he paced his innings beautifully. An opening stand of 84 with Alex Willis laid the foundation and Tolley was able to accelerate in partnerships with Ashar Zaidi and Greg Butterworth before he departed to huge applause in the 46^th over for 123. Haris Hussain and Scott Butterworth provided some lusty blows late on and the feeling at the break was that it would almost certainly need a special innings from visiting professional Will Bosisto if Tod were going to chase down the runs. That did not materealise, as after Lukas Debnam had picked up the early wicket of Andrew Sutcliffe, youngster Jack Taylor marked his first appearance of the season with the big wicket. Taylor found plenty of turn in his spell and although he struggled for a consistent length, he drew a misjudgment from Bosisto when on 19 as he looked to cut a ball that was too full and had his off stump disturbed. Despite a half-century from Sohail Sajjad, Tod were never in the game after the departure of their main man and Zaidi helped himself to 4 wickets as Norden moved comfortably into the next round with a 92 run victory.

Unfortunately, Wi-Fi doesn’t yet appear to have reached Rishton, so details on the 2nds victory are a bit sketchy. What is known is that Norden chased down their target of 186 for the loss of 5 wickets, with Kabir Ahmed hitting some form with a half-century and Spencer Allen and Oli Kirkby getting the boys over the line. The draws for the next round will be at this Wednesday’s league meeting.
Worsley Cup Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5992432
Worsley Cup Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsC6oUFuigg

Sunday saw Norden’s poor away form continue as they were comprehensively beaten at Chatburn Road. After electing to bat, the Norden top-order collapsed and rare failures for Tolley and Zaidi had the visitors reeling on 19 for 4, with veteran seamer Will Purser picking up the two big wickets. Lee Crabtree tried his best to put some respectability to the total with an unbeaten 32 but he ran out of partners with 8 and a half overs remaining and only 108 on the board. Home professional Dilshan Munaweera finished with figures of 5 for 34 and Purser took 3 for 17. Both Norden’s new-ball bowlers picked up a wicket but there were no further breakthroughs as Munaweera and Jack Dewhurst finished off the victory with an unbeaten partnership of 70.
1^st XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5592469

It was better news at Stag Park as Mo Munawar’s 4 wickets went a long way to restricting Clitheroe 2s to 136 all out. A bit of an early wobble saw the top 3 back in the hut with just 23 on the board, but Spencer Allen’s cool head alongside Phil Docker initially and then Danny Devine and Tom Booth, meant that it was a perfect weekend for the second string and they continue to challenge on both fronts this season.
https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/55932702^nd XI Scorecard:

Friday night saw the start of the t20 competition at Stag Park and Norden got their first 2 points on the board with a 38 run victory against Ramsbottom. Skipper Greg Butterworth top-scored with 45 for the home side as they posted 147 from their 20 overs. Not a massive score by any means but the chase was all but over after one ball as deputy professional Billy Godleman picked out Lee Crabtree at mid-off from Lukas Debnam’s opening delivery. Debnam picked up 2 more wickets and there were 2 for Zaidi as Rammy limped to just 108 for 8.
T20 Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5526569
T20 Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecjmW2RPD8w

The 3rds rounded off the weekend with a good win at Todmorden on Bank Holiday Monday. Adam Khawaja scored the single required from the final ball of the game and he finished with a well-made unbeaten 38 to get his team over the line. There had earlier been two wickets each for Mo Omar and Saad Malik as Tod posted 152 from their 40 overs. Khawaja then batted sensibly from number 4 as others upped the tempo from the other end. Joe Donnelly’s unbeaten 10 from just 4 balls being particularly important.
3^rd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5616271

Norden enjoyed an excellent weekend, with wins over local rivals Rochdale in the league and Ormskirk in the LCF Knockout.

Saturday saw Stag Park host the first derby of the season as previously unbeaten Rochdale made the short trip. A beautiful day and a flat looking surface made Greg Butterworth’s decision to bowl first more difficult than it usually is at this ground, but brother Scott took the early wicket of Rochdale professional Henry Hunt, caught at point failing to fully commit to a cut shot. Zimmy Khan, newly arrived at the ground having had his shopping trip interrupted when told the game was on Saturday not Sunday, joined Ali Muzaffar and Muzaffar in particular began to take the attack to the Norden bowlers. The 4-pronged home bowling attack was starting to look a little threadbare as the experienced Rochdale pair combined effectively. Khan was measured and Muzaffar aggressive, as he looked to clear the front leg and find the short Stag Park boundaries. Butterworth was struggling for options as the partnership crept up towards 150 and he turned to Oli Holt, which proved to be an inspired decision. In his third over, the medium pacer removed both set batters and completely changed the course of the game. First Khan was bowled through the gate, and then Muzaffar, rather than consolidating after the loss of a wicket, tried to clear long-on but could only find the safe hands of Lukas Debnam. All of a sudden, from threatening a total of up around 300, Rochdale had to set their sights lower and rebuild. Andy Dawson, dropped on 7 by Josh Tolley at cover, played nicely for a run-a-ball 40, but until a couple of late boundaries from Jack Duffy, the rest of Rochdale’s middle order were unable to play as fluently. Scott Butterworth took a couple of wickets late on to finish with three, and Rochdale closed on 247 for 6, perhaps a shade over par but certainly less than where they had threatened to be at half way.

Norden’s recent struggles at the top of the order were not to be repeated as Josh Tolley and Alex Willis put on 62 for the opening wicket. Steve Oddy was his usual accurate self, though, and the run rate was starting to creep up when Willis was trapped in front by Khan. Ashar Zaidi was moved up to number three and he and Tolley began to set the foundations for yet another big partnership between Norden’s two main men. Like Norden, Rochdale looked a bowler short, but their change bowlers failed to have the impact Holt had done earlier and the batters were able to target Jacob Pauline, Hunt and Muzaffar, whose combined 12.2 overs went for 105 runs. Tolley backed up his century from last week with another here, surviving one scare as Michael Harling dropped a straightforward chance at mid-on when the game may still have been in the balance, and Zaidi put his foot down to race to an unbeaten 91 off just 72 balls. The partnership finished unbroken on 186 and Norden took 10 points, with the 9 wicket margin of victory failing to tell the full story of an excellent game.

1^st XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5592465
1^st XI Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0ohDd2b–s

Norden were definite underdogs when they took the long trip to Ormskirk on Sunday afternoon in the 1^st round of the LCF Knockout. The hosts were losing finalists last year and knocked Norden out of this competition in 2021. Ormskirk won the toss and elected to bat, but Norden have a different look to their new-ball attack this year and the fast starts offered to opponents so often last season, are much harder to come by this. Scott Butterworth has bowled with good rhythm from the first game and Lukas Debnam has provided excellent support, with his just rewards in the wicket column surely not too far away. Butterworth again got the first breakthrough by removing the dangerous Alex Rankin. Missing Oli Holt from Saturday’s team, Josh Tolley was the Stags 5^th bowler and Greg Butterworth introduced him early to good effect. He dismissed George Politis and Calum Turner either side of Zaidi cleaning up Lancashire wicket-keeper George Lavelle. 42 without loss had become 58 for 4 and Norden were in charge of the game. This never really changed from that point as wickets comtinued to fall. Butterworth, Tolley and Zaidi all finished with 3 as Ormskirk limped to 104 all out.

Early wickets were needed if Ormskirk were to stand a chance, but they didn’t materealise as Tolley and Willis again got off to a solid start. Both fell with the score in the 40’s but Zaidi and Haris Hussain made sure there was no real wobble. Hussain has struggled at the start of his Norden career, but he showed flashes of his undoubted ability here against a strong attack, hitting 3 fours and a six in his 20. Norden reached their target inside 20 overs for an unexpectedly comfortable win and a place in round 2 away to Morecambe on the 11^th of June.
LCF Knockout Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5572282

Victory for the 2nds at Redbrook meant it was a perfect weekend for Norden. Mo Waheed took 5 wickets as Rochdale were bowled out for 139 and Hashum Malik was at his destructive best, hitting 68 as Norden chased the runs down easily for the loss of just 3 wickets.
2^nd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5593265

Norden lost a dramatic game at Todmorden on Sunday, despite a century from Josh Tolley threatening to snatch victory for the visitors. Tod elected to bat first, but an excellent opening spell from Scott Butterworth had them struggling at 60 for 4. Professional WIll Bosisto and Noah Priestley then came together for a century partnership, as Norden’s spinners for once struggled to provide the middle-overs squeeze. It took the returning Lukas Debnam to eventually break the stand and he collected a further two wickets as Norden clawed themselves back into the game. Priestley made 54 and Bosisto went on to 73 before he was bowled by Ashar Zaidi and Todmorden probably felt they were a little short of where they could have got to when they were bowled out in the final over for 213. Butterworth was the standout for Norden with 4 for 43.

Norden were soon in big trouble at 11 for 3, with Alex Willis, Haris Hussain and Zaidi combining for just one run. Tolley and Greg Butterworth had some re-building to do, and they were forced to play patiently in their stand of 74. Butterworth fell to Bosisto when on 39 and Oli Holt and Lee Crabtree both provided some assistance, but when they fell it was Tolley who needed to change gears and get Norden close. Norden players and supporters have seen him do just that on many occasions and again he was up to the task, bringing up his century and leaving himself on strike for the final over with 8 needed to win and 2 wickets in hand. Tolley struck the first ball and called for 2, but was sent back by Dean Lord and, unable to turn and recover his ground, was beaten by the throw from Bosisto and run-out at the non-striker’s end. Lord was unable to hit the next ball for the boundary he needed and was stumped to give Todmorden the win and 12 points to Norden’s 7 in defeat. Tolley deserved better, but Norden must find more runs from other sources if they are to be competitive.
1^st XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5592461

The seconds registered their first league win of the season with a demolition of Bacup at Stag Park. Just 36 overs were required in the match as Mo Munawar and Mo Waheed combined for 8 wickets to bowl Bacup out for just 64. Once Usama Malik had the dangerous looking Luke Bradford caught in the gully by David Bebb, it was easy going for Norden. The last 8 wickets fell for just 8 runs, with the highlight being a fine caught and bowled from Waheed who juggled a sharp return chance and managed to cling on to the rebound one-handed. It only took Hashum Malik and Oli Kirkby 8 overs to knock the runs off, with Malik’s power and Kirkby’s timing being much too good for the Bacup attack.
2^nd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5593258
2nd XI Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XtzxxCT6XM&feature=youtu.be

The thirds also managed their first victory of the year on Saturday against Rishton thirds. After tight opening spells from Kirkby and Will Hindley, there were 3 wickets each for Mo Iqbal, Stan Kearns and Charlie Gooding as Rishton limped to 93 all out in 35 overs. Iqbal was particularly impressive, bowling a full length and swinging the ball late. His figures of 3 for 14 from 8 overs did not flatter him at all. An opening partnership of 62 between Spencer Allen and Kirkby meant there were no wobbles in the run chase. Kirkby went on to make an impressive 46* as The Stags secured a 7 wicket win for a maximum 12 points.
3^rd XI Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/5616265

Nickname : Tilley

Squad no. 22

Batting Style : Audacious

Highest Score : 177

Favourite Shot : Lofted cover drive

Bowling Style : Hittable

Biggest cricketing achievement : My first 5 fer in senior cricket

How will the Stags go in 2023 : We will compete in all comps. Need to turn up to the big games, and hopefully get some silverware

Favourite movie : Forrest Gump

Favourite song : Bohemian rhapsody

Life motto : Hey… I don’t have all the answers. In life, to be honest, I have failed as much as I have succeeded. But I love my dog. I love my life. And I wish you my kind of success.

Sponsor : Elegant Bedrooms.
Elegant-Bedrooms is an established family run business with an excellent reputation for quality and services within Yorkshire and Lancashire.
Tel : 07877 924 057