Shore take the title in last ball thriller

CRICKET’S Palace Shield launched its junior section way back in 1972 and it took 35 years to introduce an under-10s league ... but now they are so glad they did.
The first league season for such young players ended with the most thrilling and nail-biting final imaginable ... and with a Fylde winner.
The trophy winners weren’t known until the final ball of the final match, but it was South Shore who pipped Longridge to the title, having conceded fewer wickets after the run totals ended equal.
Shore had home advantage for Sunday’s final against the only team to have beaten them all summer.
The rules of the competition are geared to enabling every player to bowl and to bat for the same number of overs – whenever a batsman is ‘out’, he loses five runs for his team but doesn’t have to leave the crease.
Longridge chose to bat and hit three quick boundaries before losing their first wicket, a catch by Zach Selant off the bowling of Ellis Jones.
An outstanding catch by Matthew Garrod gave a Shore a wicket they really needed and two wickets in consecutive balls from Jordan Makepeace kept the score down. Jordan finished with three for 13, including a wicket from the final ball of the innings.
Carl Kennedy was excellent behind the stumps as Longridge closed on 275 for six (the teams start on 200) from their 20 overs, a score which would win most matches.
The Shore reply got off to an excellent start as Ellis Jones and Alexander Vowles scored freely and ran well.
Captain Kennedy scored off virtually every ball and found further able support frome Matthew Swallow, who hit a superb boundary through the covers.
The partnership between Tyne Davis and top scorer Selant was the highest of the game and both were not out.
Selant hit three boundaries in his knock of 19 and Davis scored two in his 15.
Garrod and Sean Jagger battled against accurate bowling, leaving the final pair of Makepeace and Elliot Fackey needing 12 runs from 12 balls.
Makepiece scored nine off the next over, including a straight four over the bowler’s head.
But the drama was not over as the next four balls produced only one extra, then Fackey scrambled a single off the penultimate ball.
The scores were tied but Shore had lost one fewer wicket than Longridge, so knew they would win as long as the last ball was safely negotiated.
They did precisely that and both batsmen were swamped by jubilant team-mates.
Winning captain Kennedy received the Brian Gill Trophy, named in honour of a founder member of the Palace Shield’s junior section, who died recently.
The presentation was made by his widow, Dorothy, and by another founder member, Arthur Rose.
Shore coach Paul Swallow was delighted that the players’ hard work was rewarded. He felt they benefited greatly from the club’s £70,000 investment in nets last October.

South Shore’s Jordan Makepeace

Kirkham storm into final

KIRKHAM Grammar School under-13s reached the final of the Lancashire Cup with a six-wicket win over St Margaret’s School, Liverpool.
Captain Adam Galley’s fiery pace bowling earned him four wickets, all clean bowled and Will Roper took two in an excellent spell taking two crucial wickets.
Baker led the reply with 17 as Kirkham clinched victory at 91 for four with 10 overs remaining. They face Bury Grammar School in the final.

South Shore youngsters celebrate their nail-biting victory

Wyre are Lancs champs

Wyre District Under-13s have been crowned district cricket champions of Lancashire after beating Blackburn and Darwen by eight wickets in the final at Thornton Cleveleys Cricket Club.
Blackburn and Darwen set a target of 151-9 off 40 overs as Jack Northropp took three wickets and Jake Apperley and James Wilson two apiece.
Wyre made 152-2 off 32 overs in reply, Wilson leading the victory charge with 63.
Northropp also completed a fine all-round performance with 48.
Wyre had reached the final with convincing wins over Pendle, Hyndburn and West Lancs District.
Coach Martin Elson said: “It is a fantastic achievement by the lads and they should all be very proud of themselves.”
The team (front from left ): Josh Vincent, James Wilson, Dan Evans, Jake Apperley. Back: Tom Winstanley, Matthew Griffiths, Joe Ratcliffe, Phil Roskell, Fraser Burnie and Jack Northrop.
Others in the title-winning suqad included: Toby Roberts, Stefan Detko, Mart Winstanley, Adam Stone, Lewis Armour, Jack Newsom, Jack Morrison and Luke Williamson.

Wyre district cricket champions