Rochdale defeat in cup

Rochdale were beaten in the final as Monton and Weaste successfully defended the John Willie Lees Wood Cup at Norden yesterday (Sunday 2 August).

Opening batsman Paul Green, the first man to reach 1,000 runs in the Lake Garage CLL this season, hit a routine 50 in Monton’s 255 for eight after they were put into bat on a damp wicket.

Green’s runs were no surprise given his amazing record this summer, but few would have expected such a potent contribution with the ball as underdogs Rochdale were dismissed for 218.

Green’s medium pace netted him two for 22 from 10 overs and sealed him man-of-the-match adjudicator Howard Dronsfield’s vote.

Rochdale played their part in a decent final but, to be honest, they were always behind the eight-ball once Monton had been given a flying start thanks to Green and Naveed Din.

The pair put on 76 for the first wicket before Din, who had hit Anthony Clough for two sixes in one over, holed out to 15-year-old Greg Butterworth at deep mid-on off veteran spinner Neil Avery.

Green went on to complete a chanceless 50, but the track was always offering encouragement for the bowlers and when Green and Trent Scott (30) were dismissed, Monton were not quite so dominant as young off spinner Butterworth (two for 29) and professional Kash Weeraratne (three for 55) kept a lid on the scoring rate.

Still, Monton would have been delighted with their total bearing in mind the strength of their own bowling attack.

Rochdale opening batsman Dominic Ayres, who began the final as the the competition’s top scorer alongside Green, dispatched Asraf Gorsi’s first ball of the innings for six.

But he added only seven more runs to his tally and Rochdale, despite an excellent 50 from Daz Cryer and 46 from Weeraratne, were always behind the required run rate.

Their cause was hopeless by the time the terrific Greg Butterworth made a quickfire 33, but Rochdale deserve credit for passing 200 against a quality attack on a difficult track.

Green was one of four bowlers to pick up two wickets, the others being stand-in professional Steven Parry (two for 25), captain Trent Scott (two for 52) and Gorsi (two for 58)

Green’s man-of-the-match trophy was complemented by his man-of-the-competition award, judged by league chairman Neville Fletcher. The Monton opener’s 50 took his competition tally to 282.


Not a ball was bowled in the CLL on Saturday as persistent rain washed out play at eight CLL grounds.