Match Report Ramsbottom 1st XI v Bacup 1st XI – 28 May 2022
RCC 313 for 5 (50 overs) BCC 116 all out (24.2 overs)
Scorecard here and recording of livestream here
Runs galore as we progress to next round of Worsley Cup
Saturday marked the return of Tom Parton to the team after a near 3 year sabbatical in Australia. Having only arrived on Thursday and clearly suffering from a chest complaint as well as jet lag we did not know what to expect from our former skipper.
We should not have worried because, having lost Jonny Dack with the score on 9, he soon got into his stride with the current captain Grimmy and the pair started to dominate the bowling. Tom played the restrained role as his partner looked in real good nick punishing any bad delivery (and there were quite a few) and some good ones to the boundary. Runs flowed freely and the pair really seemed to gel together giving the Bacup bowlers a torrid time.
The highlight of their partnership came when Grimmy reached his maiden Rammy ton. It was a great family moment as his brother (who was getting married the following day) and his parents were present and clearly overjoyed by the performance. When he fell 2 runs later the pair had added a 153 run partnership in quick time. Tom was then joined by our pro Sen who is in good nick with the bat and the pair continued to inflict grief on the tiring Bacup bowling. They added another 101 runs before Sen fell to a sensational boundary catch for a 41 ball half century. Wickets then fell in the latter overs of the innings as the middle order tried to push the score along but the main focus was on whether TP, clearly tiring badly, could make his century. This he did with a couple of overs to spare and he dispatched the last ball of the innings for six. He had made 114 not out. The team had totalled 313, the first time any of us can remember our senior side making 300 on Acre Bottom.
Faced with such a daunting target Bacup knew they had to rely on their early batting to have any chance at all. Sub pro Godleman and Collinge did make an impressive start against some wayward bowling and 60 runs were on the board after 10 overs. A change of bowling brought about the breakthrough when quick thinking by Harry Caton brought the stumping of Collinge.
Nine runs later Sen got his second wicket when he bowled the Bacup sub pro who had made an enterprising 46 off 32 balls.
After this the Bacup batting folded and Sen with six wickets and Grimmy with four went through them like a knife through butter; giving us a very easy success by 197 runs.
Although we were clearly expected to win this game it was gratifying to see the way we batted. To have two amateur batsmen score a ton in the same innings is a rarity and not been seen at Acre Bottom in my time.
Amateur Man of the Match – Shared between Tom Parton and Grimmy.
