Sunday 1st May saw Old Glossop 3rd XI welcoming league newcomers Springhead for the season opener in what turned out to be an exciting game to keep the assembled masses entertained. The forecast in the days leading up to the game didn't look too good but thankfully the rain stayed away on the day and despite damp conditions in the outfield, the wicket was in great condition and so play could go ahead.
Springhead won the toss and elected to bat giving opening bowlers Ethan and Seth the opportunity to bowl their permitted 5 overs each (maximum 7 overs each but 5 in a spell in this format). They both bowled well, restricting the visitors to only 18 runs in the first 10 overs and finished their spells with a wicket each to give us a really good platform to build on.
Next into the attack came new boy Anjum Mirza who bowled superbly on his debut taking 3 wickets in his opening spell, firstly bowling Springhead skipper Grimes who was looking good on 24. He then took 2 wickets in 2 balls, assisted by catches from Seth and a brilliant diving effort from Zaeem who also contributed with a run out. Father and son duo Paul and Ben Howbrook came into the attack with Paul going close to taking a diving catch off his own bowling and Ben taking his first wicket in senior cricket.
We were in a really strong position at this point but then strode out Naveed Hussain for Springhead who set about smashing our attack for a quickfire 50 (batters to retire at 50 but can come back in at the end of the innings). Catches from Ben and Leon off Tom and Ethan's bowling respectively meant that big hitter Hussain was back in for a last wicket stand, he finished on 75 off 31 balls, well batted. Anjum came back into the attack to wrap the innings up, Paul taking the catch. Springhead finished on 156 all out after 33.4 overs, a good score and a challenge for our young batsmen to rise to.
Tom and Seth opened the batting and showed great patience building their innings, both playing beautifully timed strokes to put us in a really good position. Seth finished on 22 runs and so young Zaeem was next in, fresh from his 130 not out the day before for the 2nds. Tom departed for 45 after miscommunication leading to a run out which was a shame because he fully deserved to get a 50 with a great knock. Zaeem contributed 22 before a rejuvenated Leon entered the frame and played some lovely shots to put us on the brink of victory. Another debutant Chris James sealed the win with a boundary, Leon finishing on 27 not out. OG finished on 159 for 6 off 28.1 overs giving us a hard fought opening day win.
There were some great performances with both bat and ball but the most pleasing aspect was that everyone made a worthwhile contribution which bodes well for the season ahead.
It is also nice to welcome new players to the club and we look forward to seeing more from them.
It was a great day all round as George was celebrating his birthday and provided much appreciated pizza and cake to keep everyone happy. No game this coming Sunday so the next game is at home to Staley on May 15th.