Match Report Ramsbottom 1st XI v Norden 1st XI – 10th June 2023
NCC 271 for 6 (50 overs) RCC 213 all out (46.2 overs)
Scorecard here and recording of livestream here
The Misery Goes On
Our ninth league defeat on the trot came at the hands of a strong Norden outfit.
Expectation was not too high when the toss was won by the opposition who elected to bat in hot humid conditions on another wicket that looked full of runs.
With our former paid man George Linde travelling from Kent to sub pro for us we hoped he could strengthen our bowling attack. Sadly this did not happen and after a fairly reasonable start where we restricted Norden to 57 off the first 20 overs we fell into the old habit of failing to bowl to our field and runs were leaked at a fairly alarming rate. The opposition bat extremely well with Josh Tolley, the league’s leading run scorer, and their former pro Ash Zaidi, now playing as an amateur, their main run getters. Unfortunately for us both took advantage of our lax bowling and it allowed Norden to reach a formidable total of 271 at the end of their innings. Tolley was top scorer with 122 not out.
With the loss of Brad Fielding in the first over of our innings it looked as though we could face another humiliating defeat. However, to our credit and thanks mainly to some fine innings from Tom Parton (35), Ben Pearson (34), Jason Pyke (49) and Harry Caton (41) we ended up on 213.
The fact that in the main the Norden bowlers bowled to their field and that Ash Zaidi is a class spinner shows what a good effort these four amateurs put in. Our next two matches have become extremely important and we need to get into a winning mentality. Hopefully our new professional, due to arrive this week, will lift our moral and bring a more resolute attitude from the lads.
Man of the Match – Shared between Jason Pyke and Harry Caton
