Wavertree draw leaves 2nds seventh
Paul Valentine takes 3-32 at Sandown Lane
Wavertree 187-9 (Mark Powell 51, Robin Lloyd 30; Paul Valentine 3-32) Rainhill 133-9 (Motsim Khan 49, Paul Valentine 24; Daniel Webster 4-35) Rainhill (7pts) drew with Wavertree (7 pts) Scorecard Rainhill held out for a draw against Waverttree and go into the final game of the season sitting in seventh place in the league. Batting first, Wavertree lost two early wickets when Phil Morgan bowled John Henry Daulby for 11 and Paul Millar dismissed Edward Hopkins without scoring. However, Michael Cain and Marc Powell mounted a recovery and were building a promising partnership until Morgan intervened to take his second wicket of the afternoon and send Cain (29) back to the pavilion. Powell and Rod Salisbury came together with the score on 57 for 3. Scoring didn't come easily, but the pair withstood some probing bowling and moved the score beyond 100. Salisbury was run out by wicketkeeper Ashar Sohail and and Sohail had a hand - or two - in the next dismissal when he stumped Zac O.Brien off the bowling of Paul Ford. Powell's defiance was broken moments later when he was caught and bowled by Paul Valentine (pictured) for a well-earned 51. Rainhill felt they had turned the match in their favour but the sixth-wicket partnership of Bharat Grover (18) and Robin Lloyd (30) frustrated the visitors. Grover fell lbw to Paul Ford for 18, but Lloyd and new partner Amaan Safvi scored at a rate of a run per ball. Both were caught and bowled by Paul Valentine, but their efforts had helped their team to a total of 187 for 9. Rainhil's reply got off to a dismal start when opener Ethan Powell was bowled by Safvi without scoring. However, Valentine and Motsim Khan shared a valuable second-wicket partnership worth 45. Valentine was bowled by Daniel Webster for 24 and was replaced at the crease by Paul Ford, who looked comfortable and played some confident shots. Ford and Khan had taken the score on to 97 for 2 when Ford was run out by Daniel Webster. This sparked a mini-collapse as Paul Millar was out first ball, caught and bowled by Robin Lloyd, and then Khan was out to the same bowler, agonizingly one run short of his half-century. With the stubborn Khan removed, Sam WIlliamson (10) and Dan Woodward (12) provided some resisatnce but Daniel Webster took three late wickets to finish with figures of 4 for 35. However, Wavertree were unable to bowl out Rainhill as Phil Morgan (9 not out) and Oliver Powell (0 not out) held out for the draw. Rainhill's final match of the season will be at home to Southport Trinity on Saturday.
Umpires: Keith Summers, John Veacock
Scorers: Peter Barrett, David Crossley