11 June 2018
Under 14 Cricket v Rossall - 9 June
KGS - 54 for 8 off 20 overs (Hodgson 15, Mellon 12)
Rossall - 55 for 2 off 12.1 overs (Hold 1 for 5, Mihell 1 for 11)
Rossall won by 8 wickets.
After losing the toss, Kirkham were put into bat on a warm summer's morning. The boys struggled against an accurate Rossall attack and had to work hard to score runs on a bouncy wicket. Charlie Hodgson batted well and looked to keep the scoreboard ticking over where he could and Alex Eastham dug in and tried to keep his wicket intact. Unfortunately, it was hard to get the ball away but the boys persevered and after some late runs from Michael Mellon, the team managed to finish on 54 for 8. After a good start with the ball with Harry Snape bowling a good line and length, Rossall's batsmen played patiently and put the bad balls away. Two late wickets gave the boys some encouragement but the team looked rusty after the half term break and a tough internal week of examinations.
Under 17 Cricket Report
The Under 17 side travelled to Rossall on Saturday for their first round game in the Lancashire Cup. Rossall decided to bat first and made a steady start on a superb surface after 5 overs were 25-1. After this the scoring rate increased rapidly, despite the loss of an early wicket. With the outfield like lightning, the batsmen got full value for their shots as boundaries started to come with increasing regularity. The Kirkham spin bowlers struggled to keep their line which proved beneficial to the now confident Rossall batsmen. Only one more wicket fell in their 20 overs as Clarke and Hainett punished any loose deliveries, the last seven overs going for 80 runs.
Kirkham faced a tough task to chase down the 185 runs needed to win, however Nathan Wood and Callum Doyle were up to the task as they kept up with the required nine runs an over from the start of the innings. Doyle punished anything short and hit two sixes in his innings of 58 and was the first Kirkham player to be dismissed with the score on 129. Wood continued to play some superb drives as he was joined by Charlie Partington who began his innings steadily. Wood (65) was caught at the start of the final over with 10 needed to win, as Rossall spinner Clark turned the screw with some accurate bowling. Kirkham needed nine from five deliveries and still 8 to win from the last two, Charlie Partington smashing two boundaries to win the game for Kirkham who celebrated jubilantly on the balcony of the Pavilion.