T/20 Disappointment for Firsts

Westhoughton hosted Astley Bridge in the first Bolton League area semi final of the ECB T/20 competition. The hosts bowled first and made a couple of early breakthroughts thanks to Paul Hart (1-29 from 3) and Kieran Edwards (1-10 from 2). Rob Houghton (2-31 from 4) then struck with the score on 59, but this brought on a counter-attacking onslaught from the visitors. The next 50 runs came in just over 4 overs as Bridge were 118-3 with 12 overs gone, it looked like Westhoughton would be chasing 200+. This changed as Rob picked up his second wicket and Atiq Uz-Zaman (2-16 from 3.4) picked up his first wicket to dismiss the two in batsmen. Bridge collapsed to 142 all out inside 18 overs with Rob Brown (2-8) wrapping up the tail with the help of two run outs.
Having fought back so well, the hosts had renewed optimism of reaching the final. However, having lost Atiq for 8 in the first over, Dan Naylor soon followed for 3 and the hosts looked to have stalled in their charge. The next wicket fell with the score on 56, but 11 overs had passed and the run rate was 10 already. Despite Ian Pilkington's best efforts (41 from 37 balls), Westhoughton were always chasing the game, and with only Rob Houghton (19*) and Kieran Paisley (12) reaching double figures, the home side finished on 120-8 from their 20 overs. A disappointing result for the lads who face the top two sides this weekend, Little Lever in the league and Bradshaw in the Hamer Cup respectively.