McGladdery shines but Wallasey progress
Rainhill defeated in semi-final despite McGladdery 141
Rainhill 262-6 (Tyler McGladdery 141, Sam Kershaw 53; harry Meehan 3-40) Wallasey 239-4 (Josh Rylance 59*, Jamie Crawley 46; Jamie Harrison 3-47) Wallasey won by 6 wickets Scorecard
Rainhill exited the Ray Digman Trophy at the semi-final stage following a six-wicket defeat at home to league leaders Wallasey. However, the match was memorable for a sensational contribution of 141 from Rainhill's Tyler McGladdery.
Having been put into bat, Rainhill lost the early wickets of Mike Rotheram (2) and Ross Higham (18) and found themselves on 23 for 2. However, McGladdery (pictured) and Sam Kershaw were able to turn the tide and, for a while, put Rainhill in control. McGladdery hit thirteen boundaries in his innings, including two sixes, while Kershaw's contribution was more measured. Their partnership was worth 141 and was ended when Kershaw, a few moments after reaching his half-century, was held by Jack Leckey to give Harry Meehan his third wicket of the match. Ben Edmundson joined McGladdery, and both continued to score freely.
Edmundson was bowled by Matthew Keogh after making a timely 31 from 38 balls. Once Rainhill were four down McGladdery dominated proceedings, retaining the strike and playing the big shots with supreme confidence. Towards the end of the innings James Clarke fell lbw to Mark Beaver and then McGladdery himself - in pursuit of quick runs - was run out by Andrew Beaver. Rainhill finished on 262 for 6 from 45 overs - a great effort and one that underlines the kind of player McGladdery is. Chasing 263 - later adjusted to 239 from 41 overs due to rain - Wallasey's Daniel Beaver and Jamie Crawley showed their intentions from the outset, batting sensibly and staying in touch with the run rate. Both were denied half-centuries by Jamie Harrison, who later picked up the wicket of captain Greg Beaver for 7. Josh Rylance (59 not out) and Harry Eagles (40) guided Wallasey towards the target and, although Eagles was bowled by Jack Lowrie, they had little difficulty in knocking off the required runs. Rylance played superbly to score at a rate of a run per ball while Harry Meehan plundered 25 from 11 deliveries to make sure of the win. It was frustrating for Rainhill given McGladdery's outstanding innings. However, in reaching the Echo Cup final and the Ray Digman trophy semi-final Rainhill have proven themselves to be a very useful limited-overs side.
The final will be contested between Wallsey and Northern, who triumphed over Ormskirk in the other semi-final.
Umpires: Gareth Cross, Chris Spencer
Scorers: Andrew Finney, Craig Kell