08/09/2026
Senior Match Reports - Saturday 5th September 2026
Seconds Shine for Norley Hall
It was a day for the second team to take centre stage for Norley Hall whilst the first team lost in their top of the table clash.
The first team travelled over to Woolton in Liverpool to play Old Xaverians in a clash of first versus second as we reach the dying embers of the season.
They travelled there knowing that, whilst defeat would not end their promotion hopes, a win would give them a welcome buffer at the top of the table.
The Green and Golds were given a big boost in the run up when they found out that the home teams leading runscorer (Ian Carroll) and second leading runscorer/wicket taker (captain Josh Dilworth) were missing the game.
That said, they know that the home team would be formidable opponents especially at home where they have a tried and trusted method of batting first and backing themselves to bowl out the opposition.
When the hosts won the toss, they did exactly that and chose to bat.
It soon became obvious that the pitch was going to be a low and slow type and that scoring would not be easy for the batters out there.
This proved to be accurate as the play was attritional at times. At 28-3 and then 52-5, it very much looked to be advantage Norley Hall. However, it was clear that any chase of above 100 would be difficult on the pitch and that any score close to 150 would be very much in favour of the hosts.
Old Xaverians have shown all season that they are a team and don’t rely on individuals as they eeked out every run possible from the situation. They were also helped by a poor ground fielding performance from the visitors – with a number of misfields – and some, at times, loose bowling which saw some easy runs given away through full tosses and leg side bowling in conditions where batters were otherwise having to fight for every run.
Ryan Wood was brought back late in the innings to clean up the tailend which he did with aplomb. However, the home team had recovered from 52-5 to make 127 all out in 51.5 overs. Wood was the pick of the bowlers with of 4-35 whilst Callam Hughes took 2-34, Liam Martlew 1-9, Robert Collier 1-30 and Callum Martlew 1-6.
The consensus at the innings break was that chasing 128 to win would not be an easy task and that the Norley batters would need to apply themselves diligently and use the time they had available which probably meant up to 55 overs to be received.
Openers Colin Parrott and Alex Martlew – despite a couple of early scares - played the situation well in the face of some accurate bowing from the hosts. Indeed, at 34-0 then it was very much advantage Norley as the home team became subdued in the field. However, when Parrott was caught attempting to go aerial it triggered the first of two batting collapses that undermined the visitors chase. 34-0 soon became 35-3 as Callum Martlew and Shah Afridi were also dismissed.
The game suddenly took on a whole different complexion as the home team believed again and cranked up the pressure. Martlew and Matthew Hayes did a good job of stabilising the situation and, at 61-3, then they looked to have gained back control for the Green and Golds with lots of overs left in the day. However, when Hayes was caught behind attempting a late cut (a shot that had proved successful for him previously) it triggered an even bigger collapse than the first one. 61-3 became 73-9 with a number of the dismissed batters choosing the wrong shot option for the game situation and conditions.
Wood – with dogged support from Collier – tried his best to salvage the situation with a number of l***y blows interspersed with watchful batting. When the total required became less than 20 then hopes began to rise again. But when Wood was caught at extra cover then the Norley innings came to an end on 108 all out in only 43.5 overs – with around 10 overs of the days play left.
Wood capped a fine all round performance with 35 and Alex Martlew top scored with an excellent 42.
This was a disappointing defeat for Callam Hughes and his team especially given that the hosts were missing key players.
Norley Hall remain second in the league – with two games to go - but only 6 points separates the top 3 now and mathematically half of the division could still be promoted.
The players were clearly stung after the game by this below par performance and missed opportunity. All eyes will be on how they respond this Saturday when they welcome Cheshire Lines to City Road.
Back at City Road, the second team welcomed Prestatyn. Being asked to bat first, Harry Singh (30) helped to get the hosts innings off to a good start. At 56-3, Haroon Naseri (67 from 36 balls) and Ishy Ahmedji (50) continued their fine form of recent weeks as they put on a fourth wicket partnership of 124. When they both fell with the score on 180, then Mo Kapadia (34 not out from 22 balls) saw the hosts declare on 234-7 in 35 overs.
In reply, whilst some wickets did fall, it looked as though the teams season long Achilles Heel of being able to take 10 wickets when bowling second would again be an issue as the game looked to be meandering out to a draw. However, the introduction of the bustling pace of Edward Hurst and the left arm spin of Kapadia saw key wickets fall. Skipper Keiron Ashcroft then made light work of the visitors tailend as he took the last 4 wickets as Norley Hall won by 99 runs. Ashcoft had figures of 4-4 from only 13 balls, Hurst took 2-23, Kapadia 1-8, Naseri 1-24 and Abrar Khan 1-37.
