Cricket: Lindow lose out to league champions

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In the final fixture of the season Lindow 1st XI hosted local rivals Mobberley, who had already guaranteed their promotion spot but were aiming to secure the championship by acquiring just 6 points from the local derby.

Lindow had little to play for but pride and for the fun of it as they had cemented their 8th league position the previous week. Surprisingly Mobberley's captain won the toss and elected to bowl on a wicket that looked relatively flat. Lindow's opening pair Baker (63) and Peel (17) took advantage of the slow but consistence pace on offer and quickly put the runs on the board before a change in the bowling attack saw the end of Peel's innings and Lindow's momentum.

Park (15) and Braddock (0) both got trapped by the tight lines and the lack of pace offered by the Mobberley spinners. Bull (42) then joined Baker at the crease and began the counter attack, sweeping the runs onto the board and freeing Baker to push himself past his half century. Bull and Baker finally succumbed to temptation, ending their efforts in short succession with Lindow on 145. A flurry of shots from Haworth (9) and the rest of the middle order saw the home side complete their innings with a below par 170-8, which was a testament to the visiting bowlers accuracy and persistence.

With just 120 runs to score for the visitors to obtain the 2 final points they needed to be crowned champions, Mobberley entered their innings with a nervous optimism. However, Lindow had no intention of making it easy for the visitors and begin their attack with venom equal to that of previous encounters.

Walker (22-1) swiftly found his mark and sent their opener back to the pavilion with little to show for himself. Mobberley calmly and intelligently began to dig in, taking runs when they were on offer and preserving their wickets until the pace and shine had been taken off the ball.

As the new ball threat began to fade the visitors jumped on the opportunity and swiftly began to accelerate the scoreboard. Lindow responded by entering the spinners into the attack and the lure of leg spin from Ramsden (24-1) made an impact - almost instantly removing one of the danger men. By this point in the game just 15 runs were required for Moberley's additional 2 points and the juicy carrot of the league title was dangling before their eyes.

Mahmood (19-3) then joined the attack with every intention of ruining the party before it had started but despite taking out their middle order with some exceptional catching in the field, the visitors finally obtained their 120 target. Sighs of relief from the batsmen and roaring celebrations from the visiting crowd marked their season's success, but the game was still to be concluded. With the pressure of the title battle now behind the Mobberley batsmen they began to play freely. Some aggressive and creative strokes from the visitors saw them rapidly chase down the total to add the cherry of a final league victory to the championship season cake.

Match report by David Kendrick.

Tags:
Cricket, Lindow Cricket Club
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