Weekend round-up
2nd and 3rd team win; 1st and 4th team play out rain-affected draws
1st XI v Wigan (A) Rainhill 197-6 (Tyler McGladdery 58, James Clarke 46; Jordan Hampson 3-68)
Wigan 161-7 (Aaron Redmond 54, Jake Leyland 26; Sam Kershaw 4-21) Rainhill (7 pts) drew with Wigan (6 pts)
Rainhill played out a draw at Wigan in a match that was disappointingly shortened due to rain.
Rainhill were put in to bat by Wigan, but not long afterwards the covers came out and play was stopped awaiting improvement in the weather. Play did eventually get under way again, and Rainhill's in-form batsman Tyler McGladdery made another solid contrbution with an 81-ball 58. James Clarke also showed his potential, adding 46 runs before being bowled by Jordan Hampson. Imliwati lemtur (24 not out) and Richie Forsyth (24) helped take the score to 197 for 6 from 48 overs.
Wigan, to their credit, did their best to chase the target but 198 in 38 overs was a demanding task. Wigan's top order defied some probing Rainhill bowling, with Aaron Redmond batting positively for his half century. Redmond's innings concluded when he was held by Ben Edmundson off the bowling of Sam Kershaw, and the wicket promoted a mini-collapse as the hosts slumped from 139 for 3 to 160 for 7. However, Rainhill were unable to bowl out Wigan and both sides had to settle for a draw - a somewhat unsatisfactory result given the drama of the reverse fixture.
2nd XI v Wigan (H) Bootle 97 (Jack Cliff 47, Charlie Nelson 17; John Ball 3-22)
Rainhill 99-2 (Neil Robinson 51, Ethan Powell 29; Charlie Nelson 1-10) Rainhill (25 pts) beat Bootle (2 pts) by 8 wickets
Despite the rain, Rainhill's 2nd team cruised to a straightforward victory over Bootle.
Bootle won the toss and opted to bat, but other than Jack Cliff - who showed some defiance with a well-played 47 - none of Bootle's top-order were able to answer the questions asked by Sam Waine (3 for 25) and John Ball (3 for 22). The visitors fell to 33 for 5, but rallied thanks to Cliff's efforts and lower-order contributions from Charlie Nelson (17) and Lee Brown (12). Bootle were bowled out for 97 with Cliff being the last out: looking for the boundary that would have given him a deserved half-century he instead hit Paul Ford to Matt Lawler.
Rainhill had little difficulty in chasing down the required runs, reaching the target in 21 overs. Neil Robinson hit a fluent 51 before he was bowled by Charlie Nelson, but the wicket proved academic. The 2nd team now sit in fourth place in the league, just 13 points behind leaders New Brighton. 3rd XI v Rainford (A) Rainhill 176-8 (Vish Maheshwari 43, Ethan Powell 36; Josh Spencer 3-24)
Rainford 42 (Ben Evans 34, Callum Potter 3; Paul Millar 4-5) Rainhill (25 pts) beat Rainford (4 pts) by 134 runs
The 3rd team ran out convincing winners against Rainford at Jubilee Recreation Ground after dismissing the home side for just 42. Batting first, Rainhill's openers Vish Maheshwari and Ethan Powell added 91 for the first wicket. Unfortunately, after making such a solid start, their wickets fell in quick succession but Rainhill were able to move on to 176 for 8 from their 40 overs. Josh Spencer took 3-24 for Rainford, but it was Rainhill who will have been the happier of the two sides at the interval. Rainford's reply got off to a terrible start when opener Luke Evans was out for 2, edging a ball from Paul Millar to Panchu Xavier. Things got rapidly worse as Millar and Stevie Pennington ripped through the top-order with terrifying ease: Rainford were staring down the barrel on 9 for 6 with Millar and Pennington have taken three wickets each. Captain Ben Evans offered some resistance, hitting 34 from 39 balls, but Vinod Varghese, Sam Addy and Millar (who finished with 4 for 5 from six overs) saw off the tail with little difficulty. Evans played some positive shots, including six boundaries, but was eventually last out when Sam Addy found an edge and Xavier held his second catch of the afternoon. Evans' contribution represented 81% of his team's total runs and avoided the ignominy of being bowled out for a more embarrassing total. Rainhill can be happy with their overall performance and a result that keeps then on track in the title race. 4th XI v Bootle (A) Bootle 156-2 (Lee Brown 54*, Liam Jones 49*; Kiran Nair 1-22)
Rainhill - Did not bat No decision - Rainhill 5pts, Bootle 5pts
The 4th XI's match at Wadham Road was frustratingly halted due to heavy rain, meaning both sides had to settle for 5 points each. Bootle opted to bat first and, although they lost an early wicket when Kiran Nair bowled Jeffin Jimmy for 5, Liam Jones (49 not out) and Liam Griffiths were able to take the score past 50 before Rainhill struck again - this time Oliver Wallis bowled Griffiths for 22. Lee Brown was the next man in and he hit a flamboyant 54 from just 34 balls to put Bootle in control.
Unfortunately, just after Brown reached his half-century rain stopped play and the game was unable to resume. Rainhill remain in fourth place in the league, 11 points behind second-placed Wavertree with a game in hand.
Under 9s The Under 9s played in their final festival of 2022, which happened to be at Rainhill.
Rainhill played Wavertree in their first match and won by 9 runs. Rainhill batted well, not conceding any wickets, while they also showed improvements in the field - especially with run outs. Their second game, against Sefton Park, went the way of their opponents, but the all-round progress was visible. More confident fielding and good running between the wickets bodes well for the future.