Saturday 19th September 2009 - Parkers Has Beens vs Hodgys XI

After the season finished last weekend, there was one more game on the agenda for both the first and second teams, and that would be against each other.

With the first team batting first, they reached a total of 204-9 from their 30 overs. Kearsley's L.Bridge and Tongey top scored for the first team as they both hit 31. Rick and Ste Parker along with Coatsey also chipped in with scores in the 20s and so did extras. Rob Houghton picked up 3 wickets, Rob 'Big and Daft' Brown picked up 2 wickets, as did a returning Woody. The total may have been lower but for a few pieces of suspect fielding, especially a missed run out chance from Spike, although he had earlier run out Coatesy.

In defending the total, the first team used 10 different bowlers. The second team managed to score 150 all out in 25 overs with Jimmy 'The Pie Man' Burrows top scoring with 44 (not out, after Willy deliberatly ran him out for no reason) along with 38 from Big and Daft. Immi, Tongey and even a returning Ste Lucas picked up wickets for the firsts, with Knotty being on a hat trick at one point!

This weeks TFC was awarded to Crooky, after he was dismissed third ball, which was thanks to a stunning diving catch from Jimmy B.

Teams:

Parkers Has Beens: Coatsey, Rick, Ste, Crooky, Immi, Tongey, Knotty, Keith, G.Firth (Egerton) L.Bridge and Scuba (Kearsley)

Hodgy's XI: Pete Hilton, Rob Houghton, Hodgy, Spike, Big and Daft, Runi, Jimmy B, Kingy, Kieran, Willy, Woody.

Sunday 13th September 2009
1st Xl: At St George's Oval: Westhoughton 95-9 Walkden 97-6
1st XI scoreboard v Walkden
Westhoughton first team lost to Walkden first team in the 20/20 Quarter Final. In a low scoring, yet very close contest, Westhoughton batted first and could only muster 95, with a helpful 24 from Craig MacKellar allowing the home side to have a chance of defending a reasonable total.

Walkden made very hard work in reaching the total as they needed all 20 overs to score the runs, as they needed a 2 off the last ball to make sure of victory. The batter hit a reverse sweep for 4 which saw the end of the road in the 20/20 for Westhoughton.

Saturday 12th September 2009
1st Xl: At St George's Oval: Kearsley vs Westhoughton
1st XI scoreboard v Kearsley
This game as a ''double points'' game due to the earlier game in the season which ended in controversy.

2nd XI: At Kearsley: Westhoghton 66 Kearsley 70-2

Westhoughton second team lost to Kearsley in the final game of the season. With a win needed to secure the title, Westhoughton got off to a poor start as they were soon 2-1, and things didn't get much better for the away side as they were all out for 66. Only Rob Houghton (30) offered any resistance, with Extras (10) the only other score in double figures.

Trying to defend the total was always going to be a tough ask, and so it proved as Kearsley won by 8 wickets, with Nathan Blair and Kieran Edwards both picking up a wicket in the innings.

This saw the end of the season for the 2nd team as they achieved their 3rd straight top 3 finish. After picking up more points than last season it could be seen as a step in the right direction, but the disappointment of not winning the league could bring about the extra boost ready for the new season, when it arrives. And Westhoughton will surley be looking to end the losing streak at Kearsley sooner rather than later.

2nd Xl scoreboard v Kearsley

WicketkeepingStats - click here

Sunday 6th September 2009
1st Xl: At Walkden: Walkden 160-3 Westhoughton 104
1st XI scoreboard v Walkden
Westhoughton first team lost to Walkden first team. Batting first Walkden scored a respectable 160 for the loss of 3 wickets in 33 overs. Ste Parker took 2 wickets, with the other wicket being a run out. In chasing down the total Neil Bannister top scored with 40, and Ste Parker contributed a helpful 27 but it wasnt enough as Westhoughton fell well short of their total.

2nd XI: At St George's Oval: Walkden 59 Westhoughton 60-7

Westhoughton second team beat Walkden by 3 wickets in a low scoring game. Bowling first, Westhoughton got 3 early wickets thanks to Kieran Edwards (2) and Nathan Blair (1). After a slight recovery, Walkden fell from 43-3 to 59 all out thanks to 5 wickets from Jimmy Burrows who was also involved in a run out along with Edwards. Danny Naylor also picked up a wicket.

Chasing down the total, Westhoughton had Peter Hilton (19) top score, with useful knocks from Rob Houghton (13), Martin Hodgkiss (11), and, as always, ''Mr Reliable'' Extras chipped in with a handy 14. Along with this there were 3 ducks in the innings, for Rob Brown, Danny Naylor and Kieran Edwards.

This weeks TFC was awarded to Rob Brown for his duck, although he did take a catch it wasn't enough for him to avoid the award. With only 1 game left in the season, their is only one man who has stood above all others in the TFC category this season, Mike Entwistle. Will he be able to avoid a last day TFC or will the shirt once again find a way towards Spike?

2nd Xl scoreboard v Walkden

Saturday 5th September 2009
1st Xl: At St George's Oval: Westhoughton vs Farnworth
Match Abandoned without a ball being bowled

2nd XI: At Farnworth: Farnworth vs Westhoughton

Match Abandoned without a ball being bowled

Saturday 29th August 2009
1st Xl: At Astley Bridge: Astley Bridge vs Westhoughton
1st XI scoreboard v Astley Bridge
Westhoughton first team were rained off in their game against Astley Bridge without a ball being bowled.

2nd XI: At St George's Oval: Astley Bridge 91 Westhoughton 72-3*

Westhoughton second team beat Astley Bridge by seven wickets in a rain affected game. Bowling first Westhoughton restricted the visitors to 91. When rain stopped play, Astley Bridge were 18-0 off 6 overs, but after Kieran Edwards took 6-35 their was no chance of Bridge posting a truly challenging total. Jimmy Burrows picked up a couple of wickets, along with Danny Naylor and Nathan Blair who both picked up one wicket.

In chasing down a reduced total of 72 from 32 overs, Westhoughton lost 3 wickets, including Rob Houghton (14), Danny Naylor (13) and the season's leading run scorer Martin Hodgkiss for 0. Peter Hilton 37* and Jimmy Burrows 5* saw the home side over the line and assured another 6 points were taken from the game.

2nd Xl scoreboard v Astley Bridge

Saturday 22nd August 2009 - First game at St George's Oval
1st Xl: At St George's Oval: Westhoughton Eagley
1st XI scoreboard v Eagley
Westhoughton first team beat Eagley in the first ever senior game to take place at ''the new ground'' as it was known for many months but has finally been named St George's Oval. Westhoughton batted first and scored 214-8 with Nishit Shetty becoming the first batter to reach 50 on the new ground as he top scored with. Mark Atherton also contributed.

When Eagley batted their pro, O'Rourke, top scored with 80 but it wasnt enough as they were all out for. Shetty took 4 wickets along with 3 each from Harty and Crooky. Paul Atherton also picked up 4 stumpings.

2nd XI: At Eagley: Westhoughton 245-7 Eagley 56

Westhoughton second team beat Eagley by 191 runs in what was meant to be Westhoughton's home game against Eagley. Westhoughton batted first and reached 245 thanks to 50s from Martin Hodgkiss (57) and Rob Brown (52, a 29 ball fifty which also saw him hit four 6s in one over). Other contributions were from Rob Houghton (39).

In dismissing the opposition, the wickets were shared around between the four bowlers with Nathan Blair and Rob Brown both taking 2 wickets, and Kieran Edwards and Jimmy Burrows both added 3 wickets to their totals for the season.

This weeks TFC returned to Spike this week as he didnt get any runs or any catches.

2nd Xl scoreboard v Eagley

WicketkeepingStats - click here

Sunday 16th August 2009 - Last Game at the Tyldesleys.
1st Xl: At the Tyldesleys: Bradshaw vs Westhoughton
1st XI scoreboard v Bradshaw
Westhoughton first team beat Bradshaw in what will be the final game to be played at the Tyldesleys. Westhoughton won by 6 wickets. Further details to be added.

2nd XI: At Bradshaw: Westhoughton 234-9 Bradshaw 208-7

Westhoughton second team beat Bradshaw by 26 runs. Batting first Westhoughton posted 234 runs, with an opening stand of 45 before Hodgy and Rob Houghton. After this it wasnt until the 6th wicket partnership of 49 between Nathan Blair and Puda that helped the score move along again. The mainstay of the innings was a superb unbeaten 127 from Irfan Puda. Puda hit 12 fours and 7 sixes in his innings, including 3 straight down the ground onto the bowling green. Puda and Mike Houghton added an unbeaten 44 for the last wicket to reach 234. Martin Hodgkiss (37) and Extras (23) were the next top scorers. There were 4 ducks in Westhoughtons innings: Hemant, Kieran, Saj and Wazzem, so there were plenty of people already in contention for TFC.

Due to Bradshaw's slow over rate they lost 4 overs batting time. In defending the total, Nathan Blair, Kieran Edwards and Rob Houghton all picked up 2 wickets with Puda taking the other wicket.

The TFC today was awarded as a joint TFC for the weekend between Saj and Hemant. Can these 2 players re-discover some form and avoid the TFC next weekend, or will the shirt once again be left in the hands of 1 of these two?

2nd Xl scoreboard v Bradshaw

Saturday 15th August 2009
1st Xl: At the Tyldesleys: Westhoughton 129 Little Lever 97-3
1st XI scoreboard v Little Lever
Westhoughton first team lost to Little Lever in a rain affected game at the Tyldesleys. Further Details to be added.

2nd XI: At Little Lever: Little Lever 87 Westhoughton 89-1

Westhoughton second team beat Little Lever by 9 wickets. In bowling out the home side, Nathan Blair and Arun Pindoria both picked up 3 wickets each to help reduce the hosts to 81-7 before Rob Houghton (2) and Wazzem Nawab (1 wicket and 2 catches) cleaned up the tail. Danny Naylor also picked up a wicket.

In chasing down the total, Rob Houghton (34) and Martin Hodgkiss (47*) took the total to 87 before Houghton was dismissed, but Westhoughton still won by 9 wickets and picked up 7 points.

The TFC was awarded to Saj Gharda, even though he did take a catch, he dropped 2 catches and so was given the award, would the TFC curse continue with another poor performance in the next game, or would it return to the early season form of a turn around in performance levels after the TFC?

2nd Xl scoreboard v Little Lever

Saturday 8th August 2009
1st Xl: At Heaton: Westhoughton 209-7 Heaton 113
1st XI scoreboard v Heaton
Westhoughton first team beat Heaton. With Tuesday's 20/20 fresh in the memory, Westhoughton were once again the visitors to Heaton and they managed to make it two wins in five days against the same opposition. Westhoughton batted first and scored 209-7 with the main contributions coming from Neil Bannister who top scored with 95*, and a 41 from Rob Brown.

In dismissing the opposition, Mike Crookson took 3-25 as the home side slumped to 113 all out.

2nd XI: At the Tyldesleys: Westhoughton 245-8 Heaton 119

Westhoughton second team beat Heaton by 126 runs in their final league game at the Tydlesleys in convincing style. Batting first Martin Hodgkiss top scored with 78 from 77 balls, assisted by a late 56 from 38 balls from Danny Naylor. Extras scored 31.

In dismissing 10 man Heaton, Rob Houghton took 4 wickets for 38 runs. Kieran Edwards took 2-27 and Arun Pindoria chipped in with 1 wicket alongside 2 run outs, 1 from Mike Entwistle and 1 from a quick thinking Danny Naylor to run out Heatons last batter.

This weeks TFC was awarded to Hemant Patel as he scored 0 with the bat and didn't have alot to do in the field.

2nd Xl scoreboard v Heaton

Saturday 1st August 2009
1st Xl: At the Tyldesleys: FSC 200 Westhoughton 150-9
1st XI scoreboard v FSC
Westhoughton first team lost to Farnworth Social Circle by 50 runs in a rain affected game. With the game being reduced to 33 overs per side, Farnworth Social Circle batted first and posted an impressive 200 in their 33 overs. Westhoughton were missing Ian Pilkington who was injured in the warm up and so Nishit Shetty opened the batting and top scored with 86 before he was run out towards the end of the innings when he tried to keep up with the run rate which was rising to around 9 and above.

2nd XI: At Farnworth Social Circle: Westhoughton vs Farnworth Social Circle - Match Abandoned - Wet Pitch and Outfield.

2nd Xl scoreboard v FSC

Saturday 25th July 2009
1st Xl: At the Tyldesleys: Westhoughton 55 Tonge 56-2
1st XI scoreboard v Tonge
Westhoughton first team lost to Tonge by 8 wickets. Further details to be added soon.

2nd XI: At Tonge: Westhoughton 166-9 Tonge 160

Westhoughton 2nds beat Tonge in a very close game at Tonge. Batting first, Westhoughton posted 166-9 in their 50 overs, thanks to a well paced innings from Jimmy Burrows, who top scored with 48* from 60 deliveries, along with 28 from Extras, 21 from Kieran Edwards and 18 from Rob Houghton.

In dismissing the opposition, Rob Houghton and Mike King both took 1 wicket. Kieran Edwards got 3 wickets towards the end of the innings, however, the star performer with the ball was Nathan Blair, dismissing 4 of Tonge's top 5 batters, as well as claiming the final wicket to win Westhoughton the game when the home side needed a mere 7 runs to win.

This weeks TFC was awarded to Mike Entwistle. Spike won the award after scoring 1 run with the bat, and, although he did take a catch, he also dropped a chance in the slips.

Westhoughton 2nds won by 6 runs.

2nd Xl scoreboard v Tonge

Sunday 19th July 2009 - Lancs Knockout
1st Xl: At Bottle: Bootle 169 Westhoughton 152
1st XI scoreboard v Bootle

Westhoughton first team lost to Bootle in the Lancs Knockout semi final. After losing to Bootle in the National Knockout earlier in the year, Westhoughton were looking to get revenge, however they were unable to and are now out of the competition. Further details to be added soon.

Saturday 18th July 2009
1st Xl: At Greenmount: Greenmount 151-8 Westhoughton 134
1st XI scoreboard v Greenmount
Westhoughton first team lost a rain affected game to Greenmount. Bowling first, Westhoughton's pro Nishit Shetty took 4 wickets along with 3 wickets from Immi and there was also a wicket for Rob Brown.

When chasing the total, the top scorer was Nishit Shetty with 62, but after his contribution only Rob Brown (20), Adam Coates (15) and Neil Bannister (10) made double figures for Westhoughton as they fell just short of the 152 they needed to win.

2nd XI: At the Tyldesleys: Westhoughton 102 Greenmount 106-4

Westhoughton 2nds lost to Greenmount by 6 wickets. Batting first the home side only managed 102 with Keith Houghton top scoring with 26. Martin Hodgkiss and Extras (17) second top scored.

In trying to defend the total, Jimmy Burrows took 3 wickets, and Rob Houghton got 1, but it was never going to be enough to dismiss the opposition with the number of runs required.

2nd Xl scoreboard v Greenmount

Saturday 11th July 2009
1st Xl: At the Tyldesleys: Westhoughton 129 Horwich 130-1
1st XI scoreboard v Horwich
A weakened Westhoughton side lost to Horwich in a one sided game. Westhoughton were missing Banny, Pilky, Mark, Paul, Harty and Imi, but started well enough getting to 90 for 2. Unfortunately that then became 129 all out. Adam Coates top scored on 30, Rick got 20 but that was about it.

Horwich knocked them off with very little fuss one down, with the loss of 1 wicket to Ste Parker #1. Horwichs pro Jadhav finsihed up on 97*.

2nd XI: At Horwich: Horwich 178 Westhoughton 183-3

Westhoughton 2nds beat Horwich. With a list of players missing for one reason or another including: Peter Hilton, Nathan Blair, Rob Brown, Hemant Patel, Jimmy Burrows and Irfan Puda, just to name a few, there were a few returning faces for Westhoughtons 2nd team including, Ste and Warren Kenny, Mike Houghton, and, after a long absense, Andy Forshaw.

Bowling first, Westhoughton restricted Horwich to 178, with Kieran Edwards taking 4-35 from 12 overs, and Rob Houghton 2-84 from 24 overs. Andy Forshaw also got 2 wickets after a tidy spell of 2-22 off 7.4 overs. There were also 2 run outs in Horwichs innings including a rather confusing situation that saw the batter on his way to the pavillion before he was actually out.

In chasing down the total, Rob Houghton went for 0 as he was clearly still on the ropes after bowling a mammoth 24 over spell with a few decisions going against him. With Danny Naylor, 25, and Mike Entwistle, making a seasons best 51, their was good support for the in form Martin Hodgkiss, who top scored with 75* including 16 from the final 3 balls to wrap up the game.

This weeks TFC was the toughest decision in a long time, due to such an excellent batting display meaning only 5 people batted, and with only 4 bowlers being used, 3 of whom went onto bat, it left a few people who did nothing but field. There were many contenders, and for that reason, a final decision was split and so this weeks TFC will be declared at a later date when a final winner is confirmed.

2nd Xl scoreboard v Horwich

Sunday 5th July 2009
1st Xl: At Egerton: Egerton 192-9 Westhoughton 150
1st XI scoreboard v Egerton
Westhoughton first team lost to Egerton. Bowling first, Mubarak Patel took 4 wickets for Westhoughton, Crooky and Shetty took 2 wickets each, and McKellar also managed to get himself a wicket.

When chasing down the total, it was pro Nishit Shetty who top scored with 58 and he was helped by 32 from Crooky. Ste Parker scored 21 but Westhoughton fell short of their target.

2nd XI: At the Tyldesleys: Westhoughton 289-5 Egerton 153

Westhoughton 2nds beat Egerton for the first time this season in a convincing matter. Batting first, Westhoughton posted 289-5, thanks in most to a partnership of 164 between Martin Hodgkiss and Hemant Patel. Hodgkiss top scored in the innings with a brilliant 137 off 131 balls, including 20 4s. Patel second top scored with 59, and a few quick runs from Mike Entwistle, 36 from 22 helped boost the score. Extras also had a fine 34.

In bowling out Egerton, rain interrupted for the second day running. With Egerton on 67-3 from 19 overs, the rain set in. After the delay, Egerton now had to chase a total of 224 runs to win, in a total of 40 overs. Thing took a turn for the worse for Egerton though as they fell to 72-6 and then 97-8 thanks to Jimmy Burrows taking 3-36 and Hemant Patel taking 3-26, at this point. However, things took a turn for the worse for Patel as his next, and unsurprisingly last over, went for 27 runs. He finished with figures of 3-53. After a 54 partnership though, the last wicket fell 2 runs later thanks to Kieran Edwards, who returned figures of 3-14 from 6.4 overs.

With everyone in the team contributing in some way, whether it be a catch, a wicket or some runs, there was only one man left who had done nothing apart from turn up, watch and then field, and that man was debutant Matthew Trow. In what was a cruel twist of events, his winning of the award was a true Thanks for Coming, as he contributed nothing to the win, but that was through no fault of his own. After an appeal was heard by a select commitee, the decision stood and Trow accepted his first ever TFC on his second team debut.

2nd Xl scoreboard v Egerton

Saturday 4th July 2009
1st Xl: At Kearsley: Westhoughton 211 Kearsley 179-7
1st XI scoreboard v Kearsley
This game was rain affected and their was some confusion about the total needed to win. A further update will be published soon.

With Westhoughton batting first, it was Nishit Shetty who top scored with 47 before being run out, and Mark Atherton scored 40 to help boost the total to 211. Adam Coates (30) and Rick Parker (27) also made handy contributions to the total.

Westhoughton's wicket takers were: Immi who took 3 wickets, along with Shetty and Ste Parker who both took 2 wickets.

Further details to be released soon.

2nd XI: At the Tyldesleys: Westhoughton 238-9 Farnworth 161-9

Westhoughton 2nds beat Kearsley for the first time in a couple of seasons. Batting first, the home side lost skipper, and the man who won todays TFC award, Peter Hilton for 0. With 10 overs gone, Westhoughton were 19-2 and struggling against a solid opening from S.Mort. Things picked up in the next 20 overs thanks to Rob Houghton (30) and Mike Entwistle (39), who hit his first 6s of the season. After 32 overs, Westhoughton were on 94-4, and Mort had figures of 1-26 off 16. However, this was the moment Irfan Puda arrived at the crease, and he went on to reach 50 in 31 balls, and was out on 75 from 44 balls, with 15 of those deliveries being dot balls. Westhoughton reached there 238-9 thanks to a quick fire 25* from Nathan Blair who hit 3 fours and 1 six towards the end of the innings.

In dismissing the opposition, the rain had a part to play, as 14 overs were lost in the second innings. Westhoughton's wickets were spread through the attack, with Blair and Edwards taking 2 wickets each, Burrows chipped in with 1, and Puda took 3. There was also a run out from the returning Pindora, who seemed to have brought a big following with him. Kieran Edwards took a sensational catch on the boundary to dismiss Kearsley's number 9 which will live long in the memory of those who saw the catch.

2nd Xl scoreboard v Kearsley

Tuesday 30th June 2009 - Lyddon Trophy
1st Xl: At the Tyldesleys: Blackrod 169- Westhoughton 170-4
1st Xl scoreboard v Blackroad (not available yet)

Westhoughton first team defeated Blackrod to record their second 20/20 win of the season. After a sensational start from Immi, who took 2 wickets in the first over of the game to leave the score at 0-2, the away side recovered to 99-2 and in the end reached 169 thanks to a couple of 50s from two of their batters.

Chasing down the total was made to look easy by Mark Atherton who scored a brilliant 70+ including a few massive 6s.

He was aided by Rick Parker (30) and Crooky (18*)

Saturday 27th June 2009
1st Xl: At the Tyldesleys: Walkden 144 Westhoughton 120-8
1st XI scoreboard v Walkden
Westhoughton 1sts beat Walkden in a rain affected game. Walkden batted first and scored 144 all out, with Ste Parker taking 4-30. Westhoughton chased down the target for the loss of 8 wickets with the runs being shared throughout the team, with Crooky hitting the winning runs with a few overs left.

2nd XI: At Walkden: Westhoughton 174 Farnworth 168

Westhoughton 2nds ended their losing streak today against fierce rivals Walkden. After batting first, the away side scored 174 which was achieved through a 51 partnership between Danny Naylor and Hemant Patel for the 3rd wicket, and a 69 partnership between Rob Brown and Kieran Edwards for the 8th wicket to lift Westhoughton from 97-7 to 166-8. Naylor top scored with 35, followed by Brown 34, Edwards 33, and Patel 28.

In bowling out the home side, Westhoughton got the perfect start, with Nathan Blair dismissing Wantling for 0. This was part of a sensational opening 7 overs from Blair, with 5 maidens and only 4 runs being conceded from his bowling. After reaching 139-8, it seemed as though the game was over, until a 27 partnership helped Walkden to 166, before Rob Houghton, who took 5-60, dismissed S.Edwards for a dogged 26. After this, the home side needed a mere 9 runs to win from 6 overs, and with 5.1 overs left, 7 were needed. However, Blair struck and got last batter Jewell caught behind. This silenced the ''Barmy Army'' of Walkden fans who, not for the first time, had pre-empted victory for their side only to have their hopes dashed at the last once again, for something like the 4th game in a row at Walkden.

After the lasp gasp victory, the one question to be answered was, who had won the TFC? Candidates from earlier in the day, Houghton, Hodgkiss and Burrows had all contributed with the ball and catches, or both. Then Brown who got 0 wickets couldnt receive his 3rd award in a row thanks to his batting. That left scorer Seb Miller to pick up his first award of the season after leaving the scorebox mid innings, although he did have a strong case for 2 Walkden players to claim the prize,

2nd Xl scoreboard v Walkden

Sunday 21st June 2009 - Two Cup Exits
1st Xl: At Kearsley: Westhoughton 191-9 Kearsley 195-4
1st XI scoreboard v Kearsley

Westhoughton 1st team lost to Kearsley. Pro Carter took 4-42 as well as top scoring for Kearsley with 96*. Further Details to be added soon.

2nd XI: At the Tyldesleys: Westhoughton 139 Little Lever 157

Westhoughton 2nd team lost for the second game on the bounce at home to Little Lever. After returning to normal ways by losing the toss, the home sied were faced with bowling out Little Lever and with the score on 30-0 off 3 overs, things weren't looking promising. After reaching 119-3, the away side fell away to 157 all out thanks to 3 wickets from Rob Houghton and Nathan Blair along with 2 from Puda, 1 from Rob Brown, and a run out from Rob Houghton.

In chasing down the total, Westhoughton had an ok start, but ended up on 71-8 and the away side thought the game was over. After a 51 run partnership from Mike Entwistle (23) and Peter Wilcox (22*), there was some hope left, but after last man Edwards fell, who was struggling with a leg injury, the game was over and Westhoughton had fallen 18 runs short. Extras top scored for Westhoughton with 49.

For the 2nd successive day Rob Brown was given the TFC but once again he left the ground before accepting his award, will he be able to turn his luck around like all previous winners of the TFC have done?

2nd Xl scoreboard v Little Lever

Saturday 20th June 2009
1st Xl: At Farnworth: Westhoughton 224-4 Farnworth 195-7
1st XI scoreboard v Farnworth
Westhoughton 1sts beat Farnworth thanks to a Century from Ian Pilkington. Rick Parker (48) and Mark Atherton (38) also contributed with the bat.

In bowling out the opposition, Nishit and Crooky both took 3 wickets each, with McKellar getting the other wicket.

2nd XI: At the Tyldesleys: Westhoughton 220-9 Farnworth 253-8

Westhoughton 2nds lost to Farnworth. After winning the toss for the first time in a long time, Westhoughton chose to field first. Farnworth posted 252 in their 46 overs thanks to 101* from M.Daley, assisted by 39 from Extras, 35 from Bohannan and 32 from A.Rushton. Jimmy Burrows took 4-51 from 11 overs and Nathan Blair 2-55 from his 12 overs. The other two wickets were run outs.

Chasing down the total Westhoughton got off to a great start reaching 116-0 from 24 overs. However, after losing openers Peter Hilton (59) and Rob Houghton (52), Westhoughton were reduced to 136-4. After a recovery from the home side, another collapse occured as Westhoughton went from 171-4 to 188-9. Danny Naylor scored 29, with Nathan Blair adding 21* at the end of the innings.

This weeks TFC was initially given to Kieran Edwards after 0 wickets and 0 runs, but on closer inspection the decision was reversed and it was Rob Brown who also scored 0 runs and got 0 wickets, but went for more runs than Edwards, who was awarded the shirt. However, Brown had already left the ground before he could accept his TFC shirt.

2nd Xl scoreboard v Farnworth

Sunday 14 June 2009 - Cups
1st Xl: At Uppermill: Westhoughton 235-9 Uppermill 132
1st XI scoreboard v Uppermill

Westhoughton 1st team beat Uppermill by a massive 103 runs. Batting first Westhoughton posted 235-9, with opener Paul Atherton scoring 59 with Nishit also scoring 43.

In dismissing Uppermill, Crooky took 6-15 from 7 overs and help to take the hosts from 59-0 to 132 all out.

2nd XI: At the Tyldesleys: Westhoughton 224 Walkden 141

Westhoughton 2nds made sure of victory against Walkden in their cup replay on the 14th June 2009. With the home side losing the toss, no changes there, they were put into bat by Walkden who obviously had fond memories of years gone by at Westhoughton, they didnt last long. With Hemant and Rob Brown making 40 and 44 respectively the away side were frustrated fror nearly 30 overs as they picked up just 2 wickets. Mike Entwistle scored 24, Puda got 22 and so did Jimmy Burrows in trying to help push the score along. A return to form from Extras saw a fine 34 which will help boost the end of season average.

In bowling out the away side Westhoughton were put on the back foot for a second day with boundaries for the first few overs, that was until Kieran Edwards, figures of 3-20 from 10, dismissed opener Rushton. He then picked up Baker and Beresford who scored 20 and 22. Rob Brown took 3 wickets as well as Edwards. Jimmy Burrows took 1 wicket, but also claimed two very good catches at long off. Two run outs occured from Rob Houghton and Martin Hodgkiss, who was trying to avoid the TFC after only scoring 4. Walkden only had 10 batters as Wantling injured himself when taking a catch from Puda, only to then drop the catch.

In the end Westhoughton won, but Nathan Blair picked up the TFC after his opening 6 overs went for 36 runs, opposing teams should be wary as seen that anyone who wins or comes close to winning the TFC performs well next weekend. Westhoughton advance to the next round.

2nd Xl scoreboard v Walkden

Saturday 13th June 2009
1st Xl: At the Tyldesleys: Westhoughton 249-7 Astley Bridge 230-8
1st XI scoreboard v Astley Bridge
Westhoughton 1sts beat Astley Bridge in a close game at the Tyldesleys. Mark Atherton continued his fine run of form with the bat as he scored 91* with assistant of 70+ from the pro as the home side reached 249-7. Astley Bridge couldn't surpass the Westhoughton target and so Westhoughton took another 6 points.

2nd XI: At Astley Bridge: Westhoughton 270 Astley Bridge 147

Westhoughton 2nds beat Astley Bridge and, somewhat unexpectely by looking at the scores, collected another hard earned 7 points. After scoring 270 in their 50 overs thanks to Martin Hodgkiss top scoring with 84, and contributions from: Jimmy Burrows who scored 47 form 29 balls, as well as Danny Naylor and Rob Brown who both scored 40, it was left to the home side to try and overcome this target.

The home side scored 147 runs in 46 overs, with 47 coming in the final 20 overs, similar to last year when they failed to chase down a small total of around 150 against the same opposition, after batting all 50 overs without losing all 10 wickets. With the home side chasing down the target with a few boundaries Nathan Blair got the break through as he dismissed the big figure of Bridge's opening batsmen Coop. Blair and Burrows took 3 wickets each along with 2-7 from 5 overs from Irfan Puda as well as a good run out from Spike who was desperate to avoid a 2nd consecutive TFC after only scoring 8 with the bat.

However, there were only really two options for the TFC, Rob Houghton and Peter Hilton. Both men scored ducks, but both men did take catches to try and avoid the TFC. In the end it was skipper Peter Hilton who was the lucky owner of the shirt as he returned to the club.

Westhoughton 2nds won by 123 runs.

2nd Xl scoreboard v Astley Bridge

Tuesday 9th June 2009 - Lyddon Trophy
1st Xl: At Horwich: Horwich 138-3 Westhoughton 139-4
1st Xl scoreboard v Horwich (coming soon)

Westhoughton first team beat Horwich in the Lyddon Trophy 20/20 game with Rick Parker top scoring for the away team who picked up 13 points for the win.

Sunday 7th June 2009 - Lancs Knockout
1st Xl: At the Tyldesleys: Westhoughton 182 Denton Saint Lawrence 168
1st XI scoreboard v Denton Saint Lawrence

Westhoughton first team beat Denton Saint Lawrence to progress through to the next round of the Lancs Knockout. Batting first, the hosts reached their score thanks to 45 from pro Shetty, 31 from Crookson and 20 from Mark Atherton.

In bowling out the visitors, Harty, Shetty and Mackellar all took 2 wickets with Immy, Crookson and Ste Parker chipping in with a wicket each.

Westhoughton will play Uppermill in the next round of the competition.

Saturday 6th June 2009 - Rain
1st Xl: At Bradshaw: Bradshaw vs Westhoughton - Match Abandoned

2nd Xl: At the Tyldesleys: Westhoughton vs Bradshaw - Match Abandoned

For the first time this season, rain struck and brought a match abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Sunday 31st May 2009 - Cups
1st Xl: At the Tyldesleys: Walkden 149 Westhoughton 150-7
1st XI scoreboard v Walkden
Westhoughton first team gained revenge for their semi final defeat against Walkden at the first oppourtunity this year. With the away side batting first, they only managed a modest total of 149. Pro Nishit Shetty took 5 wickets for Westhoughton.

In chasing down the total, Mark Atherton followed up his 60+ yesterday with another 50 to help steer Westhoughton to victory with time to spare.

2nd XI: At Walkden: Westhoughton 161 Walkden 161

In what was a strange cup tie played at Walkden, both teams innings seemed to follow each other right down to the final runs as both teams ended up on a final score of 161 all out.

With Westhoughton batting first, bad memories of previous games against Walkden seemed to be coming back to haunt the visitors as they found themselves struggling on 79-7 with only Irfan Puda who hit 19 in 10 balls reaching double figures from the top 7 batters. It was left to the lower middle order and tail to keep the visitors in game as Adam Radcliffe (23), Kieran Edwards (26), Nathan Blair (17) and also Peter Wilcox (10*) helped reached the 161 total, although 11 overs were left to be bowled when Westhoughton were all out. The top score for Westhoughton was Extras with 41. In the last 3 games Extras has scored 143 for Westhoughton second team.

In bowling out the opposition, Walkden also found themselves on 79-7 thanks to a tidy spell of 3-24 from 10 overs from Irfan Puda. With a small recovery and a few big shots being played, Nathan Blair bowled what seemed to be Walkdens last main batter for 36 to finish his figures off as 3-33 from his 10. However, with 30 still needed for victory the home side kept plugging away. With the score on 159, the number 10 batter for Walkden hit a 2 and suddenly started sprinting towards the Walkden pavillion to the bemusement of the Westhoughton team and 90% of the spectators. The scores were tied, and only the number 10 and a handful of the Walkden faithful seemed to think they had won. Upon returning to his crease, he was obviously wanting to get the game over and in doing so scampered through for a single, or so he thought. With a do or die moment for the visitors, the impossible happened, a direct hit and a run out had secured a last gasp tie for the visitors.

This game will live long in the memory for those watching and playing, although at more than one point it looked as though both teams could have won or lost the game at any moment as they both slumped to poor starts with good recoveries. Full details of what will happen due to the result will be posted upon confirmation of the details.

2nd Xl scoreboard v Walkden

Saturday 30th May 2009
1st Xl: At the Tyldesleys: Westhoughton 266-8 Eagley 192-9
1st XI scoreboard v Eagley
Westhoughton first team ended their losing streak by easily beating Eagley. Batting first Westhoughton reached a high total of 266-8 with the main contributions coming from Pilky and Rick who both scored 50+, and along with a quick fire 60+ from Mark Atherton, whose 50 came off 23 balls, boosted the total.

In bowling out the opposition, Harty took 3 wickets, while Ste Parker and Immi took a couple of wickets each to restrict the away side to 192.

2nd XI: At Eagley: Westhoughton 296 Eagley 94

Westhoughton 2nds beat Eagley by a massive margine of 202 runs on the sunniest day of the season so far. After an opening partnership of 34, Martin Hodgkiss and Rob Houghton shared a parternship of 109, with both batsmen scoring 51. However, after this partnership was broken, Westhoughton soon found themselves 169-5. After this slight setback it was upto Danny Naylor (59) and James Burrows (35) to get the away side back on track. When this partnership was broken on 291, the other remaining wickets fell cheaply, but the foundations had already been built, helped in part to another helpful yet unexpected 60 from Extras.

In bowling out the opposition, Nathan Blair and Kieran Edwards reduced the home side to 18-3. Rob Brown took 5 wickets for 17 runs from his 3.3 overs to finish off the game.Only two Eagley batsmen recorded double figures, and in their 30 overs only 5 boundaries were scored.

On a side note, the anticipated debut of the ''TFC - Thanks For Coming'' t-shirt occured, and Mike Entwistle was the proud owner of the first man to wear this shirt after his catch in the slips wasn't enough to make up for his failing with the bat where he scored 0.

2nd Xl scoreboard v Eagley

Sunday 24th May 2009 - National Knockout
1st Xl: At Bootle: Westhoughton 85 Bootle 86-1
1st Xl scoreboard v Bootle (coming soon)

Westhoughton first team lost to Bootle in the National Knockout. Batting first, Westhoughton only mustered 85, with a majority of the runs coming from Ste Parker (37), and Adam Coates (22). Bootle's main bowling came from Ronnie Davies who had figures of 2-9 off 9, as well as Lancs hopeful Ste Mullaney who finished with 3-6 off 7.

In response the home side only lost one wicket in chasing down the total.

Saturday 23rd May 2009
1st Xl: At Little Lever: Westhoughton 188 Little Lever 193-5
1st XI scoreboard v Little Lever
Westhoughton first team lost by 5 wickets in this rain affected game, with the overs being reduced to 28 overs per side. Further details to be added soon.

2nd XI: At the Tyldesleys: Westhoughton 174 Little Lever 111
Westhoughton 2nds beat Little Lever by 63 runs. In setting the total of 174, Mike Entwistle top scored with 47, aided by a handy contribution of 42 from extras.

In bowling out the opposition, a devastating opening 7 overs, shared between Nathan Blair and Kieran Edwards, saw the visitors struggling on 20-4 with any runs that were scored coming from edges. After a small fightback, it was the returning Irfan Puda who dismissed Little Levers top scorer, and from that moment the game was over. The last 4 wickets fell for 2 runs, with Rob Brown taking 3 wickets in 4 balls to wrap up the game shortly after drinks.

2nd Xl scoreboard v Little Lever

Saturday 16th May 2009
1st Xl: At the Tyldesleys: Westhoughton 130 Heaton 133-8
1st XI scoreboard v Heaton
Westhoughton first team lost by 2 wickets in a low scoring game against heaton. Batting first, the home side reached their total thanks to contributions from Ian Pilkington (29) and extras (21) being the only scores above 20.

In response, Heaton reached their target with 2 wickets to spare, dispite two wickets from Craig, Immi and Shetty. Harty and Ste Parker also got 1 wicket each.

2nd XI: At Heaton: Heaton 189 Westhoughton 179-9
Westhoughton 2nds won a tight game against Heaton. Rob Brown, Nathan Blair and Kieran Edwards all took 3 wickets to help dismiss the hosts for 189.

In response, Danny Naylor top scored with 40, Kieran Edwards 32, Mike Entwistle 20 and Nathan Blair 15 helped Westhoughton to chase down their reduced target of 179 (d/l method). With the score on 115-7, a victory didnt look as prosperous as it could have been until a partnership of 41, between Blair and Edwards, who were both dismissed by the veteran Snowdon, helped steer the visitors towards victory by the slenderest of margins, just 1 wicket. The winning run came from a no ball.

2nd Xl scoreboard v Heaton

Sunday 10th May 2009
1st Xl: At FSC: Westhoughton 81 Farnworth Social Circle 82-2
1st XI scoreboard v FSC
Westhoughton first team lost their unbeaten record at table topping Farnworth Social Circle in a surprisingly one sided game. Batting first, only Nishit Shetty made any real progress as he top scored with 32. Craig McKellar took the two wickets for Westhoughton.

2nd XI: At the Tyldesleys: FSC 231 Westhoughton 221-9
In what was a close game, Westhoughton 2nds just fell short of their target by a mere 10 runs. Kieran Edwards took his first ever 5 wickets haul for the seconds as he took 5-24. In the run chase Rob Houghton top scored with 59.

2nd Xl scoreboard v FSC

Saturday 9th May 2009
1st Xl: At the Tyldesleys: Greenmount 199 all out Westhoughton 149-9
1st XI scoreboard v Greenmount
Westhoughton won (D/L method)

Greenmount scored 199 with Nishit Shetty taking 4 wickets andSte Parker also taking 3.

Westhoughton got their target for 149 for 9, with the winning run coming off the last ball, after being 115 for 3 with 7 overs left. With 11 needed off 7 balls and Adam Coates hit a six, so 5 runs were needed off the last over with 3 wickets left.

The last over went: 2, wicket, 2, dot, wicket then Harty popped the last ball over the infield for a great and well deserved win. Pilky reached 48 and Nishit contributed 40+ as well.

2nd Xl: At Greenmount: Greenmount 58 Westhoughton 61-1

Westhoughton 2nds beat Greenmount 2nds by 9 wickets, Will Bateson returned figures of 7-32 from his 13 overs, aided by Jimmy Burrows who took 3-12. In chasing down the modest total, Peter Hilton made light work of the run chase as he smashed 3 sixes and his 31 was the foundation of the batting performance that saw the target reached in a mere 10.2 overs.
2nd Xl scoreboard v Greenmount

Sunday 3rd May 2009 - National Knockout
1st Xl: At the Tyldesleys: Westhoughton 209-9 Northern 189
1st XI scoreboard v Northern

Westhoughton first team defeated Northern in the Cockspur National Knockout to advance to the next round of the competition. Neil Bannister and Steve Parker were on form with bat and ball respectively to help steer Westhoughton to a 20-run victory against Northern.

Bannister top scored with 81, and Ste Parker took 3-37 to bowl the visitors out for 189. Immi (2-30) and Craig McKellar (2-32) also chipped in with a couple of wickets each to help the hosts progress.

The next round of the competition takes place on Sunday 24th May 2009.

Saturday 2nd May 2009
1st Xl: At Tonge: Westhoughton 239-3 Tonge 160-9
1st XI scoreboard v Tonge
Westhoughton firsts won and carried on their excellent start to the season with an easy victory away at Tonge. Ian Pilkington led the way for the visitors with 69 and he received excellent support from Rick Parker 56* and Adam Coates 30*. Nilesh Shetty fell for 48, just two short of his 1st 50 for the club. Harty led the bowling attack and took 4 wickets with Ste Parker taking 2 wickets. Other wickets came from Puda, Craig McKellar and Immi.

2nd Xl: At the Tyldesleys: Westhoughton 261-9. Tonge 113
2nd Xl scoreboard v Tonge

Peter Hilton top scored for the 2nds with 86, Rob Houghton got 40 and 2 wickets, Rob Brown scored 39 and took 4-14 from 10 overs. Kieran Edwards got 3 wickets and Martin Hodgkiss scored 35 as the 2nds wrapped up and easy victory.

Sunday 26th April 2009
1st Xl: At Horwich: Westhoughton 182 Horwich 173
1st XI scoreboard v Horwich
Further details to be added soon.

2nd Xl: At the Tyldesleys: Horwich 111 Westhoughton 115-2
2nd Xl scoreboard v Horwich

Rob Brown took 3 wickets and top scored with 39* for the hosts, Rob Houghton took 4 wickets and contributed 23 with the bat and Martin Hodgkiss scored 35*.

First Game Scores: Sunday 19th April 2009
1st Xl: At the Tyldesleys: Egerton 232 all out Westhoughton 235-9
1st XI scoreboard v Egerton
Westhoughton first team start the season well with a 1 wicket victory over last seasons long time league leaders Egerton. Steve Parker took 5 wickets for the hosts with Mark Atherton contributing 72 with the bat along with Rick Parker who scored 40.

Here is a photo of the first team as they prepared to start the new season against Egerton. Please click on the photo for an enlarged size.

2nd Xl: At the Egerton: Westhoughton 119 all out Egerton 120-2
2nd Xl scoreboard v Egerton

Westhoughton second team lost there first game of the season as they try to retain the league title that they clinched last season. Peter Hilton top scored with 46.