2nd X1 REVIEW: BOOTLE AND WALLASEY SET THE PACE

Date: 15th May 2015

Rainford top Division 1 with Alder and Spring View joint leaders of Division 2.

Report by Rob Durand

After three rounds of the new season (although week two was severely curtailed due to the weather with just three games being completed), the early leaders in each division are Bootle and Wallasey jointly in the Premier, Rainford in Division One and Alder and Spring View jointly in Division Two.

Andy Gill's fine bowling performances have been the key to Bootle's good start claiming 12 victims including an excellent 7/10 in the opener against a shell-shocked Maghull who crumbled to just 28 all out in which he also took a hat-trick (and for good measure then added a fourth in four balls).

Wallasey had Stephen Potter's unbeaten 105 (in a shared unbroken partnership of 164 with Joel Huston) as the reason for their opening victory over last year's champions Birkenhead Park and he then added 95 against Maghull which, together with Matthew Keogh's 7/25, kept the men from the Oval as the head of the table.

Rainford's efforts to get a game on in rain affected week two saw them pay off with former St Helens Town player Phil Murgatroyd taking 5/66 against his old team giving them an early advantage in Division One as they are the only side in all three divisions to have a 100% win record. Liverpool lead the chase with two wins.

There have been four centuries with Matthew Cartmell of Lytham's 131 the best. Connor Windell (Ainsdale) Chris Cartmell (Lytham) and David Atkinson (Rainhill) have also reached three figures. Dylan Norbury's 7/9 for Ainsdale against Caldy is the best bowling return in the division. Four players have so far claimed a six wicket haul Stephen Birkett (Rainford), Dave Gregson (St Helens Town), Ryan Hargreaves (Highfield) and Ryan Williams (Rainhill).

In Division Two, Alder benefitted from winning in week two to come back from a narrow defeat to Wavertree in the opener and then comfortably beat Burscough to jointly head Division Two with Spring View whose bowlers have given their batsmen low targets to win their games with Ryan Gornell's 6/14 the most impressive performance so far..

A Hodgson father/son combination featured in a Northop Hall second wicket stand of a 144 run partnership with junior Jamie finishing on 123 no. The other century maker has been Danton Stanislaus for Birkenhead St Marys. Prestatyn ended up a single run short of Old Xaverians total in the drawn encounter in the opener. Parkfield paid the penalty for playing an unregistered player on the opening day and have been fined.

Stats, There have been 19 home wins and 8 away wins, with 10 matches drawn. Fifteen of those wins have been where the side winning the toss bowled first against just one where the side batted on winning the toss.