Cricket: Heywood take it to wire, but Royton edge victory

Heywood Monkeys’ fell to Royton Renegades in their latest Marston’s T20 Cup competition outing.

Losing by one wicket to the visitors followed a one-run defeat against Heyside Hyenas, also at Crimble, with Heywood just getting the verdict on run rate from their rain-hit visit to Littleborough Lions in between.

Now Heywood face a trip to take on Shaw Spartans on Thursday 21 June, while the abandoned clash at home to Thornham Thunder could be re-arranged.

It means that Heywood can reach a possible maximum three victories which may not be enough to go through to the quarter-finals, with only one team qualifying out of the Group.

The Monkeys were always up against it against Royton after an insipid batting display which saw them post just 97 with two balls of the 20 scheduled overs left.

Sean Burrill with 25 and Danny Pawson, 23, threatened to make sizeable contributions, and Mikey Witts, 13, was the only other batsman to reach double figures.

Yet at 67-3 and nine-and-a-half overs remaining Heywood must have harboured hopes of getting past 120 – which with hindsight would have been more than enough – before the rest of the batting line-up folded tamely.

Royton looked in control of the undemanding run chase despite Tom McQuinn claiming three wickets from his allotted four over spell, and when they reached 59-3 with almost half the overs left they, too, looked in a strong position.

To their credit, the Heywood attack stuck to the task and the Royton batting also hit the buffers. Pawson, Riley Paterson and Travis Towsend claimed a couple of wickets apiece and the visitors were level on 97-9 going into the last over.

They managed a boundary off Townsend’s second ball as the field was naturally brought in, and Heywood were left to reflect on the small margins that have cost them their two defeats in the group.

Heywood Monkeys

• R Cross c Joy b A Carruthers 5
• S Burrill b A Carruthers 25
• D Pawson b Maw 23
• T Townsend lbw b A Carruthers 1
• M Witts b Maurice-Scott 13
• R Paterson c Maw b Khurana 1
• D Latham b Khurana 0
• M Grogan c Scott b Kurana 1
• D Fawcett c A Carruthers b Brown 7
• T McQuinn b Maurice-Scott 2
• K Cross not out 3
• Extras 16
• Total (19.4 overs) 97
• Fall of wickets: 1-21, 2-39, 3-41, 4-67, 5-69, 6-69, 7-75, 8-78, 9-93, 10-97
• Bowling: R Holder 4-0-21-0, A Carruthers 4-0-16-3, J Maw 4-0-27-1, C Khurana 4-0-17-3, L Brown 2-0-8-1, J Maurice-Scott 1.4-0-4-2

Royton Renegades

• J Maurice-Scott c Witts b McQuinn 1
• C Khurana c Latham b McQuinn 10
• L Brown b Townsend 31
• R Carruthers lbw b McQuinn 4
• R Holder st Latham b Paterson 4
• A Carruthers c Latham b Pawson 21
• D Scott b Paterson 1
• C Jewell c K Cross b Townsend 1
• J Maw not out 10
• C Joy c K Cross b Pawson 2
• R Hadfield not out 0
• Extras 16
• Total (for 9 wkts, 19.2 overs) 101
• Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-35, 3-39, 4-59, 5-73, 6-76, 7-84, 8-95, 9-97
• Bowling: T McQuinn 4-0-22-3, D Pawson 4-0-26-2, K Cross 4-0-12-0, R Paterson 4-0-19-2, T Townsend 3.2-0-17-2