Bamford-Fieldhouse Cricket

Bamford-Fieldhouse U13s 132-9 - Uppermill 42 all out. (Home)

The Saddleworth Junior Cricket league got underway this weekend on a damp Sunday morning and Bamford-Fieldhouse made a good start with a convincing 90 run win against Uppermill at home.

Batting first, the home side got off to a good start with Joe Smith-Butler and Alex Willis putting on forty runs before Smith-Butler dragged a wide ball back onto his stumps. Adam Ahmed kept up the momentum and when Willis retired on 30 he was joined at the crease by Danny Matthews. After Ahmed went the same way as Smith-Butler for 20, Ben Garside and Matthews played some good shots and Garside's dismissal for 20 led to a mini-collapse though Matthews played on steadily to reach his 30.

Uppermill's young and inexperienced side found the going tough against some good Bamford bowling in which all of the outfielders bowled at least two overs. Rhodes made a useful 16 and Williams defiantly protected his wicket for 40 deliveries before the visitors were all out for 42. Peter Dalton picked up 3 wickets and he was well supported by Connor Wright and Hamza Mughal.

Credit must be given to the spirit and sportsmanship of the Uppermill players who never let their heads go down.

The Bamford coach was particularly pleased with the form of his top five batsmen and the way everyone pulled together in the field. This should stand them in good stead for some of the undoubtedly tougher challenges to come, starting away at Heyside next Sunday morning.

Bamford-Fieldhouse U15s 78-7 - Royton 117-2. (Home)

On Monday evening, Bamford's U15s took on Royton's Saddleworth League side and were given a lesson in how to play disciplined, well organised cricket by a Royton side who performed all facets of the game thoughtfully and with skill. Bamford were not helped by the fact that Ben Durrant injured his ankle making a good stop in the field and had to go to hospital. Hopefully he will have a speedy recovery.

The visitors batted first and after Ahmed Nawaz removed Bardsley, K. Hussain and Hawthorne put on 80 runs in around 90 balls with a mixture of solid defence and powerful attacking shots. Both batsmen picked the bad ball well and the placement of their shots was excellent. K. Hussain retired with a well deserved 50 not out and Hawthorne was run out on 37. The pick of the Bamford bowlers was Ibbi Alam who went for 16 runs off his four overs without a boundary being scored.

Bamford began their innings well with Joe Smith-Butler and Abbu Alam putting on 27 before hitting the self-destruct button and getting run out to great direct hits from the Royton fielders. Matthew Buckley and Callum Openshaw steadied the batting, running well and taking some very quick singles until Openshaw perished to the accurate Webb. Nawaz went soon after when Webb drew him down the wicket and he was easily stumped. Buckley top-scored with a workmanlike 18 and in the failing light, Ibbi Alam and Hassan did their best but in the end Bamford came up 32 runs short.

Hopefully Bamford will learn from the mistakes and pick themselves up before next week's league match at Friarmere.