Rain Favours the Vikings

The 1st XI play on as the majority of the league call off for rain, allowing them to rejoin league leaders.

Photo by Robert Shaw

Victory at Cheshire Lines

It was an away game for the 1st XI as they travelled to Cheshire Lines to play their 1st XI in a clash that could see Lines charge up the table. Irby, with dire need of a confidence boost, were also keen to play despite the miserable weather in the morning. They headed north in the morning away from the cloud cover and briefly escaped the rain. It was the return of skipper Cam who won the toss on a very wet looking track… He elected to field. With a delayed start the Vikings got to their work, working through their spells and bowling tight lines. Cheshire Lines were reduced to 48-3 off 21 overs before another rain spell prematurely ended their innings. With the magic of DLS, a revised target of 89 to win from 21 overs was calculated. With the pitch rapidly deteriorating it was time for the lads to bat.

Like previous weeks, a strong opening partnership from Wilkes and Umer allowed the side to relax into their innings. The runs were flowing and the damage had been done… or had it? A sudden flurry of wickets saw the back of the two openers before Afridi was then quickly run out for just 5. Hussain and Tahir were next to bat, with very few runs left to get and a mutlitude of overs to get it, it was bish-bash-bosh from the duo, racking up the final runs before victory was granted to the Irby lads. We soldier on. With the fall back caused by the defeat to Prescott the week before, gaining these points today has granted us a fantastic lifeline for the league standings as we draw level with the side once more.

The 3s Progress in the Leddy Cup

The 40-over cup match for the L&DCC got underway on Sunday with the 3rd XI facing up against Prescott & Odyssey’s Sunday 3rd XI. Skipper Bough, stepping up from his role as 4s skipper, won the toss and elected to have a bat on a much improved, sunnier day at Mill Hill Road. It was a slow start from the lads, with the openers falling relatively quickly and some poor shot choices in the middle order allowing the game to balance on a fine edge. This was before Jones at 4 carried his bat until the very last ball with a great, stabilising 32 runs. It was time to have a bowl. With 105 to defend it was down to good fielding and the correct line and length to try and restrict Prescott.

Irby did just that. Miles, Booth, Bough and Evans at the top with fine spells. The followed up quickly with wickets flurrying from Thompson (4-9), Anderson and Booth again (3-20) which allowed the Vikings to storm to victory. Prescott & Odyssey were bowled out for 76 and Irby claimed a strong victory. It’s a great confidence boost for the team as they progress to the next round of the cup, a quarter final game this Sunday against Birkenhead Park’s 3rd XI.

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