Cricket: Thomas and Morley prosper at Lancashire

Olivia Thomas, Heywood Cricket Club

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Olivia Thomas and Jack Morley are continuing to fly the flag for Heywood Cricket Club at county level.

Both players, products of the thriving youth system at Heywood, have come through busy spells playing for Lancashire with flying colours – giving hope that they can aspire to even higher levels.

Olivia Thomas, whose 14th birthday was on 3 May, played for the Lancashire Under-15s against Durham and Yorkshire on Tuesday of last week, opening the batting and scoring 43 and an unbeaten 41 in 15-over matches.

On Thursday, she was promoted to the Under-17s against Derbyshire and Yorkshire in T20 games, claiming 2-18 and 1-17 respectively from four overs.

To cap a fine county week Olivia played for the Lancashire women’s second team in Warwickshire on Sunday.

Back on the club scene, she continued her leg-spin bowling progress by claiming a hat-trick for Heywood in the Under-15s game against Radcliffe on Monday.

Jack Morley, 17 on 25 June, has made startling progress since breaking into Heywood’s first team at the tender age of 13.

The left-arm spinner and left-hand batsmen has played for the North of England Under-17s team for the past two years; Lancashire’s Under-17s last year and again in 2018; and was drafted into the Lancashire Academy for training at Old Trafford from the end of 2017.

Now he has graduated to playing for Lancashire’s second XI in one-day and three-day matches. His best bowling figures have been 2-30 from 10 overs against Durham on Monday, and with the bat an unbeaten 24 against Derbyshire on 17 May.