The final week and weekend of the local league season is often a melancholy time for myself and thousands of others.
It’s a time of adieus and farewells and a time when many of my vintage acknowledge that when the next season comes around, a couple of familiar faces may no longer be joining us for whatever reason.
Pros leave or aren`t re-signed, amateurs move on and sadly some of our more senior companions and familiar faces around the grounds meet their end of days as we pray to get through the cruellest of the seasons and make it to another Spring.
We cricket buffs do have the slight consolation that the County Championship runs almost into October but that still leaves six full calendar months without cricket and you would have to be pretty hardy or determined to get full value for your membership to watch the current Lancs side as the weather turns autumnally colder and wetter.
The domestic football season hardly ends before running into the next one and my devotion to and patience with the money-soiled winter game is greatly diminished these days, although I was at Ewood on Tuesday night, so the most blessed relief from dark, inclement days is only to be found from following overseas England tours or other international series or, a recent discovery, watching Jurie Snyman`s lot Easterns on YouTube. They start this week as you read this.
I`m not sure if Rochdale CC screen their games on the internet or not but if they do Jurie may well be watching on Sunday afternoon (they’re only in hour in front of us in Johannesburg) to see if his Accrington club mates can clinch promotion.
The situation is pretty straightforward. If Jacob Clarke`s team win they will be up. They stand on 190 points and 200, with ten for a win, is more than Crompton can achieve.
Should that happen and Crompton beat Nelson, Accrington will be champions.
Should Accrington lose and Nelson beat Crompton in the first v thirds game at Seedhill, Accrington should still go up provided Crompton don`t garner seven bonus points, theoretically possible in a close game.
If Crompton win and Accrington lose it would still be possible for Jacob`s team to go up but they would have to gain four more bonus points than Nelson. I think.
I told you it was straightforward but maybe not.
Accrington are in this position after a splendid home win over Middleton on Sunday. Skipper Jacob led the way with an opening three-for salvo after putting the visitors in as a grim, grey, rainy morning miraculously fined up and left us with a slightly shorter 46 over game.
Opposing captain Andy Gregoriou can consider himself unlucky to have been brilliantly snapped up one handed low to his left by second slip Johnny Dack as Accy continue to provide catch-of-the-season contenders but Dawood Rahman won’t remember the agricultural hoik which got him bowled neck and crop too fondly and Sam Ganner was tempted down when Emile Haratbar stood up and his stumping left Middleton 31 for five at less than two an over as Clarke and sub pro Tilaksha Malshan Baduge reeled off maiden after maiden.
The middle order proved a little more durable and following an uncharacteristic loose over from the pro Clarke made a double change after 20 overs.
Olly Lowe and Kian Farnworth initially leaked a few too but Lowe crucially had visiting sub pro Ayaz Tasawar caught behind for 43 out of the 65 on the board.
Malshan was recalled and accounted for Addison Holland to make it 77 for five but a busy stand of 53 between Rehan Udwadia and Tom Rutter was eventually ended in the 43rd over when the former holed out to Clarke off Simon Hanson for 42.
Kian Farnworth got rid of Rhys Tierney but Middleton pushed past 150 with Rutter finishing 34 not out.
Accrington set off at a lick Middleton had never looked like attaining with Dack and Graeme Sneddon breaking the back of the chase in another fine opening stand of 69.
Dack was caught behind for 31 off fourth-change Holland as Gregoriou rang the changes but Sneddon had his head down without any of the injudicious strokes which sometimes see him give it away and it was therefore a surprise when he popped one to mid-off at 42 having taken the total past 100 wth Sam Molloy, back to his own solid self and thriving in the number three spot.
Molloy and Sri Lankan Malshan breezily took the total to within nine of victory before Molloy departed for 33 leaving Malshan to hit a six and a single to bring scores level before Haratbar hit the winning boundary with a full 15 overs spare.
A performance as ruthlessly efficient on Sunday will see Accrington playing top level Premier League cricket in 2027.
My `Saturday team` Cherry Tree also ended their home campaign with a win on Saturday when two overseas amateurs took centre stage.
Brinscall`s redoubtable and hugely likeable Barbadian Lamar `Bruiser` Springer threatened to exhaust the supply of matchballs with a characteristically thrilling but all-too-brief 17-ball 32 including three sixes, two of which cleared the adjacent Leeds to Liverpool canal into picturesque back gardens across.
This frivolity was ended by home pro Min Bhada who had him softly caught and bowled from a miscue. Brinscall pro Ravi Rathnayake rather irresponsibly fell to a catch by Kurt Smithson attempting to emulate Springer after hitting a four and a six off Ross Bretherton but fell in the former Leyland man`s next over.
From a racing-start 50 for two Brinscall had little to offer else save a fine 28 from young Robson Matthews at three.
Pro Bhada took six for 46 (his second six-wicket haul in three games) as the innings subsided to 92 all out and the stage was set for the Blackburn side`s departing overseas player, Aussie Hudson Walshaw, to provide his own glittering near-swansong with a boundary-peppered unbeaten 65 from 14 balls with fourteen fours.
Hudson and Cherry Tree end the NWCL season at Ribblesdale Wanderers on Saturday.
After a season with East Lancs and 2026 with their close neighbours it’s unlikely the popular Walshaw will be back on these shores to play next summer and everyone who`s met him will join me in wishing him great future success and happiness.
That was very much the theme of my Saturday night too as wedding celebrations for my step-daughter Millie and husband Dan continued with a party at Penwortham Cricket Club.
Needless to say with an outside food truck hired and a lovely seated patio to enjoy a bite on, I spent rather more of the evening outside with Rollo chatting with a couple of the PCC twos lads still around after their game who told me how much the folks there have enjoyed having Kieran Grimshaw as sub pro.
The ex-Accrington current Rishton professional made 82 for Penny firsts in a win at Thornton Cleveleys on Saturday adding 150 with Jonathon Hothersall for the second wicket. Grimmy chipped in with a couple of wickets too.
With both a wedding and a funeral to attend this week, the loss of a close friend this summer, a turbulent recent house move and the continuing saga of my dad`s physical decline, the last knockings of the season are even more than usually sentimental for me.
Here`s hoping Accrington can provide some more real joy to balance the mixed emotions.
Last week`s quiz - The pro and amateur with the match-winning 111 stand at Middleton in 2018 were Janith Liyange (KLJ Vimuthki) and Grimmy himself, 41* and 69 respectively while Ross Brown, whose dad Nigel I played with for Haslingden YCOB in 1979 and 1980, took 4 wickets.
This week - in 2019 when Accrington made their first league visit to Rochdale which current Lancs League player took 4 for 33 in a one-wicket defeat? And for a bonus point the brother of which current Lancashire player made his only Lancs League appearance for Rochdale? And if you can name the two Accrington opening bats you qualify for club genius status - they made less than 30 1st XI appearances between them.
