1st XI vs Ramsbottom (Away) – Sun 3rd May
After heavy over night rain skipper Crabtree won the toss and elected to bowl first. The only change from the first two weekends was young opening bowler Jamie Taylor replacing the injured Chris Humphreys.
It was young Taylor who took the new bowl, alongside experienced campaigner Tahir Maqsood. It was the latter who made the early breakthrough having Fielding caught behind for just 9. Maqsood then really hit his straps, taking the next 6 wickets to finish a wonderful spell of seem bowling with 15 overs, 7 maidens, 7 wickets for 31 runs. This included the prize wicket of the home club professional Khurana, LBW for just 5 whilst not offering a shot. Makin again bowled well, without any look and it was left to the economical Rizwan Sadiq (7 overs 1 for 9) and Joe Humphreys (4 over 2-12) to clean up the lower order, meaning Ramsbottom were all out for 145 from 48 of their allotted 5o overs.
In replay the Stags lost Jack Taylor (8) and Joe Humphreys (0) early to be reduced to 15-2. A solid partnership between Dom Humphreys and Norden professional James Price took the score up to 66. Humphreys was dismissed, caught behind off the bowling of Holderness for a well made 33. This brough Shipley to the crease and any nerves were put to bed as another 50 + partnership ensued. Shipley was bowled by Khurana for 26 and Sadiq came in to finish 2 not out, alongside professional Price who finished on 60 not out, the Stags knocking off the required target with more than 12 overs to spare.
Scorecard : https://lancashireleague.com/Scorecards/1420/1420900.html
2nd XI vs Ramsbottom (Home) – Sun 3rd May
Skipper Docker won the toss and elected to bat first. Is faith was soon rewarded as young openers Devine and Kirkby added 57 for the first wicket. Kirkby (21) was first to go, deceived in the flight by the experienced Fielding and well stumped by Hinchcliffe. Pimm (7) came and went and Devine was caught and bowled by Javed, attempting to bludgeon one over the top, only to sky it straight upwards. The middle order then collapsed and at 102-6 the Stags looked in real trouble. However a fantastic unbroken 7th wicket stand of 75 from Marshall (41) and Callum Hill (33) wrestled back some momentum with Norden finishing on 177-6 from their allotted 45 overs. A special mention to Govindu and Javed, two young spinners for Ramsbottom who look to have a very bright future.
In replay Rammy got off to the dream start, cantering along to 64 without loss before Olly Holt removed both openers. 84-3 quickly became 116-7 with the introduction of young Sebastian Howard. His 7 overs of prodigious inswing led to 5 wickets for just 15 runs and the game had swung Nordens way. Some late resistance from Rammy’s lower order was eventually broken by Jake Hill, who claimed 2-12 from his 6.3 overs.
Scorecard : https://lancashireleague.com/Scorecards/1421/1421165.html
Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11npGXbFWnM
3rd XI vs Walsden (Away) – Mon 4th May
The 3rd XI made the trip to Scott Street on Bank Holiday Monday to face Walsden, kicking off their 2026 campaign.
New captain David Bebb won the toss and chose to bowl first on a surface that looked likely to offer something for both bat and ball. The Stags made an excellent start, with James Frankish and Will Hindley each striking in their opening overs. Walsden looked in danger of collapsing early, but Noah Davidson showed patience at the crease to steady the innings. Alongside wicketkeeper Lively, he built a useful partnership before Lively was dismissed with the score at 69-4.
From there, the visitors tightened their grip on the game. Accurate, economical spells from Callum Hill and Uzair Hussain created sustained pressure, leading to regular wickets. When Davidson was eventually dismissed thanks to a well-taken catch in the deep by Frankish, the innings quickly unravelled. The final six wickets fell for just 16 runs, leaving the Stags chasing a modest target of 101.
While it never looked a particularly daunting total, there was a brief moment of hope for Walsden when Norden opener Harry Mason was bowled with just the second ball of the innings. However, Ross Collin and David Bebb quickly settled any nerves, putting together a commanding partnership of 79. Bebb was eventually dismissed after advancing down the track and chipping to backward point.
Michael Thorpe joined Collin but was soon bowled around his legs, bringing Callum Hill to the crease fresh from a promising knock for the 2nd XI. After taking a couple of deliveries to settle in, Hill confidently cleared the ropes with his third ball, leaving just two runs required. A wide and a quick single to fine leg sealed the win, with Norden finishing the job with 20 overs to spare.
It was a well-earned victory and Bebb’s first as skipper. Combined with wins for the 1st and 2nd XI on Sunday, it capped an excellent weekend and underlined the Stags’ impressive strength in depth.
Scorecard : https://www.lancashireleague.com/Scorecards/1421/1421948.html
4th XI vs Darwen (Away) – Sat 2nd May
A new dawn arrived with Norden fielding a 4th team away at Darwen. An inexperienced team comprising of 11 players all under the age of 18 made the short journey over to Darwen to play their first friendly of the season. Meeting early at 11.30 captain and vice captain, James Frankish and Adam Bunting, warmed the team up with a number of drills. Looking from the sidelines the professional way the team warmed up boded well for a great day of cricket.
Darwen won the toss and put Norden into bat. With Uzair Zaidi and Adam Bunting opening the batting, confidence was high in posting a good total. However it was not long before Bunting was back in the dressing room, falling victim to one of Darwen’s two senior players, caught after a mistimed drive. With the score at 2 -1 it was not the start we dreamt of. Haider Ali strode confidently to the crease and scored 6 runs quickly before becoming unstuck by a ball that held up, offering a simple caught and bowled. 11-2, time for consolidation. Thomas Almond came to crease and dug-in whilst Zaidi started to find his form and began playing fluidly with some lovely cover drives. The pair put on 31 before Zaidi was run out by a sharp bit of fielding for 21. He can count himself unlucky with only one stump to aim for he fell to a direct hit from square leg. 42-3 after 15 overs.
In came Rayyan Hussain who put on 10 with Almond before Almond fell for a hard fought 6 of 52 balls, demonstrating the difficulty in scoring fluently. Uzair Hussain was next in, joining his younger brother only to depart quickly for 2. The score now 57 for 5 off 22 overs. Scoring was proving difficult with wickets falling at regular intervals. However with strong batting still to come a 3 figure total still looked possible. Zac Brown was in at 7 but quickly lost his partner with Hussain going for a well crafted 13. This brought in Sami Ajaz who battled well for 12 before becoming another victim of Lonsdale who would finish with figures of 5 -9. The young spinner quickly accounting for James Frankish for a duck, Brown for 12 following some stern resistance, and then Oun Ofzal for a duck, leaving Ayaan Muther stranded on 4 not out. The score 90 all out from 31 overs. The young team had shown some promise however some rash shots lead to us under utilising the overs and posting a total which felt a little bit short.
Darwen’s reply started steadily with the Norden opening bowlers of Muther and Afzal bowling tightly with the score at 20-0 after 8 overs. Uzair Hussain and Haider Ali then picked up the challenge, maintaining a tight line before Ali struck removing both openers in consecutive overs bringing the score at 30-2 after 16 overs. Having started off in the field subdued the Norden fielders started to find their voices and started to believe they were in the game. Hussain grabbed a wicket, reward for his tight line, and the score at 35-3 after 17 overs. More tight bowling restricted the home team who also found scoring difficult with the score moving up to 52 before a change of bowling brought a couple of quick wickets for Sami Ajaz and a further wicket for Ali and suddenly the game was on. 68-6 after 26 overs. One of Darwen’s seniors had been grabbed following a diving catch from Uzair Zaidi who had been keeping things tight whilst bowling his probing spin. Ali got his 4th wicket to finish with 4-16 and when Zaidi snared Darwen’s other senior player for a well struck 12 having been dropped and rode his luck, Darwen were 76-8 after 31 overs. Norden sensed victory was theirs and went hunting for the final two wickets. Rayyan Hussain was brought on and when he accounted for Darwen’s 9th wicket following Zac Brown’s 3rd catch of the innings, the score was 85 after 38 overs. With two young tail-enders at the crease and Zac Brown working up some steam expectations were high. However the home side held firm and snook over the winning line with 6 balls to spare.
A fantastic game of cricket, played in the right spirit with two well matched teams. Plenty of lessons to be learned for all, however a great experience to play a longer format for all the boys who played with smiles on their faces and did the club proud. On another day the result goes our way and with more experience the team will go from strength to strength. A big thank you for all the parents for their support. Player of the match goes to Uzair Zaidi for his 21 with the bat and figures of 8 overs, 1 for 17. The real winner overall was the club with great potential on show (3 x u18s, 5 x u15s, 3 x u13s), with all boys benefiting from the experience. The next game can’t come quick enough!
Norden 4ths 90 all out, 31overs.
Darwen 4ths 91-9 off 39 overs.
