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.