13 June 2018
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 abd after 5 overs were 25-1. After this the scoring rate increased rapidly, despite the loss of an early wicket. With the outfield like lightening 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.