The Vikings March On

Another weekend flush with victories as Irby CC finish the weekend 3-in-3.

The 1's Defend a Low Score

From the outside it may appear like the first XI were skittled out for a sub-par score at Mill Hill Road, but it was not to be. How the tides have turned for the once-struggling side with the bat. Skipper Cam lost the toss this weekend, thrown in to bat on an overcast day with a tacky deck due to overnight rain.

It was down to Cam and Umer at the top of the order to set the Vikings on a roll, Umer rattling off a quick-fire first set of blows before falling fowl of a early-season chip to mid-off. Cam fell shortly after and then Rafi, looking to be positive but falling foul to a yorker. Irby had found themselves in trouble at 43-3. Nabeel, the hero of last week and Kammy yet to find his feet had a task on their hands. It was going well when Kammy guided one to slip. In strolled Casey now finding his way at a newly established number six role. It was the sensible heads of both Nabeel and Casey that put on a partnership of 42 before Casey fell. They had soaked the pressure well, steering Irby to a respectable total of 128 all out after Nabeel fell for 43 and the tail of Rob and Tom had had their say.

Now the ball. Irby the past few years have prided themselves with a solid and reliable bowling attack. This week, like last, lead from the front by James and Ollie, beating the bat continuously and tying the openers down. The pressure built and it was the batting duo of Casey and Nabeel that came to the rescue again with a sharp runout. Now it was time for the man of the moment. With arguably the best bowling spell we have seen Rob Mallon bowl he spun a web around his opposition masterfully, wiping out seven batters within the New Victoria batting order. Rob proved too much to handle for the batters that day, finishing with impressive figures of 7-13 off his 9 overs! Kammy then finished up the final wicket with only his second delivery bowled for Irby to leave the visitors 63 all out, falling short by 65 runs.

Irby 1s march on, with a three-way tie at the top of the table, they look to next week where they face Winstanley Park away.

The 2s Cruise to the Top of the Table

All the stars lined up to play for the Second XI as they travelled to Haydock CC for their second game of the season. It appeared like it may be rather unplayable, the wicket seemingly very damp underfoot after heavy rain the night before. But before we knew it, the stumps were in, Nathan had won the toss and Irby were bowling first. Game on.

Opening the bowling were the familiar faces of Will Miles and Oscar Wilkes, both stars of the week prior with the ball and seemingly a little too much to handle for the Haydock openers. Leave after leave proved one too many and they were quickly down a few wickets before they had really scored any runs. They were biding their time however, experienced fell in their favour as the ground and pitch began to dry out and the runs started to flow from the faster bowlers. It was now up to the steadier bowling of Matthew Gillespie, TJ and Harry Wilkes to guide Irby CC through a tough patch. The hosts were beginning to get restless and the wickets began to fall. Nathan, remaining patient, stuck with the spin option right until the 40 over mark with Farhad entering the scene with Sean in the final few overs with ball after ball completely unplayable from the pair. This did the trick, the fielding was sharp and the catches taken, the hosts finished their overs on 129-9.

An alarmingly strong Second XI meant we were blessed with a host of batters. Harry Wilkes and John Bennett opened the batting, both the players and spectators were treated with a masterclass of how to bat with grace and patience. John was admittedly a little bewildered when given out LBW on 42 with a ball he blocked (with his bat) back to the bowler and Harry marched on to his first 50 of the season (hopefully many more to come). Gareth Jones had a minor cameo and TJ fell foul to a poor running display (from both parties). But the damage had already been done by the opening pair, with Farhad and Sean Delaney cruising Irby to another strong victory over Haydock.

Their two wins in two takes them clear at the top of the table. They host Aigburth at Mill Hill Road next Saturday. 

The 4s Start with a Major Victory

As if it wasn't already amazing that the 1st and 2nd XI won convincingly, how about our 4th team?! Debutant skipper Kian Bough had an amazing time at the races, hosting Maghull CC's 3rd XI at home.

After a convincing run in the league last year the pressure was on the shoulders of Kian to start off well, and boy he did. He won the toss and elected to field. No sooner did he begin his quest, the wickets began to tumble. This was all achieved from the golden arm of Rohith Nayak. Mill Hill Road must have cast a spell on a few of the Irby bowlers, Nayak bowling figures of 6-13 off 10 overs dominating the Maghull batting line-up. It was between the overs shared of Haider, Arjun and Kian that mopped up the remaining 4 wickets to leave the visiting side 41 all out.

Just like that, the hosts were batting. It seems from the outside as though the 4s wanted an early dart home, 3 quick wickets falling before Bruno Jones and Kian finished the deal inside 20 overs. Bruno finishing with a great 20 not out, over half the score obtained. It was quite an admittedly short but sweet day for the 4th XI, who will find themselves next week travelling away to face Northern's 5th XI. It is a week where we will see all four teams play cricket for the first time this year.