League double-headers are rare in the Lancashire League era, and this looked like a tough one for Norden, with away trips to high-flying Todmorden and Burnley. This proved to be the case, with 2 defeats and only 6 points to show for the weekend.
Saturday’s visit to Todmorden produced much the closer of the 2 games. Norden won the toss and chose to field first, but Todmorden openers Noah Priestley and Bilal Abbas got the home team off to a flying start with a partnership of 75 from 16 overs. Mitch Owen finally ended the stand when he clean bowled Priestley for 35 and from then on, skipper Greg Butterworth took over. On a pitch definitely offering something for the spinners, Butterworth ripped through the home batting line-up, taking the next 5 wickets to fall with the total only moving on to 98. Dean Lord then removed Todmorden professional, Ed Moore, caught by Butterworth and when Lord grabbed his second as Dan Joseph edged behind, Todmorden still hadn’t reached 3 figures. The experienced Andrew Sutcliffe, batting down the order, dug in and batted 10 overs alongside Joe Hanson to enable Tod to reach 129 before Scott Butterworth wrapped things up with 2 quick wickets. Greg finished with figures of 5 for 31 from 14 overs.
129 was definitely in the ‘something to bowl at’ category and Norden were unable to get off to the same sort of start Tod had managed. Priestley had Lee Crabtree caught behind and then picked up the key wicket of Owen for just 9. In similar vein to the first innings, it was then spin that did the majority of the damage. Hamza Ali emulated fellow slow-left-armer Butterworth’s feat of taking 5 consecutive wickets and only the Butterworth brothers and Dom Humphreys had put up much resistance. Sutcliffe then joined the party with his off-spin and Norden were in deep trouble at 87 for 8. The two Oli’s, Holt and Yates, battled hard before Yates fell to Sutcliffe with 27 still needed. Last man Dean Lord had been at the crease when Norden got over the line the week before, but on this occasion he was left stranded as Holt was caught by Moore off Sutcliffe to give Todmorden the win by just 12 runs.
1st XI vs Todmorden Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6107867
Sunday’s defeat at Burnley was a much more comprehensive affair. Overnight and early morning rain meant the game was reduced to 39 overs per side and Norden elected to bat first. What followed was a really poor performance in all three disciplines and one that will have to be quickly forgotten. Fergus Bailey was tormentor-in-chief for the defending champions, taking 4 for 28 in his opening spell of 10 overs. Lee Crabtree worked hard for his 29 but he found very little support as Norden slumped to 70 for 7. Real credit to Stan Kearns, playing just his 2nd game at this level, who batted with maturity beyond his years for his 16*, but the left-arm spin of Bharat Tripathi took the final 4 wickets to fall and Norden were dismissed for just 90 inside 30 overs. The day only got worse as Burnley openers, Liam Bedford and Qasim Shah got stuck into the Norden bowling. Bedford in particular was particularly harsh on anything loose and a lot that wasn’t. He finished 57* from only 29 balls faced, and Shah was also unbeaten on 35 when Burnley reached their modest target in the 11th over. The bounce-back opportunity comes at home to Haslingden next Sunday.
1st XI vs Burnley Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6107784
An equally tough looking weekend for the 2nds yielded a better return when, despite a heavy defeat on Saturday, they were able to pick themselves up and record an outstanding win against league leaders Burnley on Sunday.
Saturday was hard going for Tom Booth’s young side. In truth, not helped by the questionable decision to bat first on a wet, green one, they were outclassed by a good Todmorden side. Thomas Barker took 5 wickets with his left-arm seam and only 2 Norden batters reached double figures as they collapsed to 59 all out. Callum Hill was the only player to come out of the game with much credit as he also took a wicket to go with his hard-fought 15 with the bat.
The 8-wicket defeat could have really dented the confidence going into Sunday but, helped by a couple of returning players, the performance could not have been more contrasting. Again batting first, although this time not through choice, Norden openers Danny Devine and Phil Docker rode out a tough opening period and Devine then began to find his attacking strokes. Unfortunately, both fell in quick succession and when a further 3 quick wickets fell it looked like it might be a case of history repeating itself. Jamie Taylor and Mo Waheed were determined that this wouldn’t be the case and the pair added 65 for the 6th wicket. Taylor, in particular, looked in fine form. He drove the ball beautifully through the covers and his maiden 2nd team half-century was thoroughly deserved. He finished on 53* with Waheed adding 26 and Callum Hill again chipping in down the order.
156 for 9 represented a pretty decent total on a pitch that was offering plenty for the bowlers, but Burnley’s openers managed to do exactly what Norden’s had earlier on. It was the introduction of Taylor that changed the game. His extra pace was used to good effect, bowling short with the leg-side field set out. 3 Burnley batters perished to the short ball as youngsters Jake Hill, Abu Farooq and Theo Andrew all clung on to excellent catches. Waheed then removed the experienced Joe Marshall and Norden were all of a sudden big favourites. The remaining Burnley batters had no answer to the wily Waheed and he helped himself to a 5-wicket haul as the visitors fell 51 runs short. A fantastic performance from a side containing 6 under 18’s, who should all take great confidence from the win.
2nd XI Saturday Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110332
2nd XI Saturday Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1eACgeRp_4&feature=youtu.be
2nd XI Sunday Scorecard: https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/6110253
2nd XI Sunday Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_USzY5WhKGs