Nicol shines to lead Heywood into LCB KO Cup Quarters

Rob Nicol made a superb 75 to set an imposing target for Prestwich

Pro Rob Nicol showed his class to set Heywood on their way to an LCB KO Cup quarter-final showdown with Walsden.

He hit a brilliant 75 on what appeared a slightly sticky pitch at Prestwich on Sunday to help Heywood post a formidable target of 216 off 39 overs, the match reduced in overs from 45 with Heywood on 178-3 as rain blew in.

He then bowled his eight overs for just 34 runs as he and the ever-impressive Joe Lovell – he finished with the superb figures of 4-28 off his eight – tightened the screw on the home side who were eventually dismissed for 158.

The momentum for the Heywood innings was set by Bobby Cross, who made 49 opening up before he was deemed to be trapped in front.

This brought Nicol and skipper Danny Pawson to the crease, and they soon shook off memories of Saturday’s defeat at Unsworth and produced more of the form they showed at Monton in the T20 on Friday.

They both looked to hit well down the ground, with Pawson taking more chances than Nicol, who was excellent down the ground. The pair ran well and punished anything loose and were helped at times by some lacklustre fielding from Prestwich.

The pace of the pitch could be judged by the number of times the pair had to check drives to keep them down and the way they hit the man behind square on the offside as they tried to use the pace of the ball, but it didn’t do anything untoward and the pair hit hard all around the field before Pawson fell for 47 as the rain swept in.

Heywood lost six overs when they resumed on 178-3, leaving them just 5 more overs to bat, and with Nicol going for 75, caught trying to force the pace, they did well to reach 216, especially as the home bowlers tightened up their line and length. There was time for a little cameo from Liam Mason, who ‘Dillscooped’ two fours over the keeper.

This was always going to be a tough ask for Heywood but the Prestwich batsmen set about the task with enthusiasm. Mike Hudson played some nice shots off Andy Dawson, but Humza Naeem struck two crucial blows when he removed James Wharmby with a short ball then bowled the dangerous-looking Sam Holden with a beauty.

Pawson came on to claim the wicket of Hudson, before the key moment of the match came off Joe Lovell’s first ball. Lovell pushed his first ball through and had home pro Marty Walters trapped leg before. There certainly sounded like an inside edge from the boundary, but the umpire was quick to raise his finger and to the credit of Walters and the home support they took the decision well.

Lovell, in tandem with Nicol, was in complete control of his off-spin as usual in the cup competitions, and picked up more key wickets. Tom Scott chipped to Sean Burrill at deep mid-off, he bowled Tom Gibson and then speared a quicker ball through the defences of Aziz.

There was some resistance in the Prestwich tail, but Nicol, Pawson and Dawson picked up a wicket apiece and the game was done.

Heywood
R Cross lbw b Scott 49
W Hunt lbw b Holden 6
R Nicol c Walters b Scott 75
D Pawson b Bradley 47
L Mason b Reeve 9
A Dawson c Walters b Scott 6
J Lovell run out 2
S Burrill not out 0
D Latham not out 0
Extras 22
Total (for 7 wkts, 39 overs) 216
Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-73, 3-178, 4-196, 5-208, 6-210, 7-213
Bowling: S Holden 7-0-32-1, M Walters 7-0-30-0, T Scott 8-2-28-3, A Bradley 6-0-33-1, W Reeve 8-0-58-1, O Holt 3-0-24-0

Prestwich
M Hudson c Nicol b Pawson 29
J Wharmby c Mason b Naeem 9
M Walters lbw b Lovell 10
S Holden b Naeem 12
T Gibson b Lovell 22
T Scott c Burrill b Lovell 19
H Aziz b Lovell 1
O Holt b Dawson 5
A Bradley c Cross b Nicol 1
N Bailey not out 7
W Reeve c Latham b Pawson 10
Extras 33
Total (34.3 overs) 158
Fall of wickets: 1-23, 2-46, 3-59, 4-75, 5-120, 6-125, 7-128, 8-129, 9-145, 10-158
Bowling: A Dawson 6-0-37-1, H Naeem 7-1-29-2, D Pawson 5.3-0-20-2, J Lovell 8-0-28-4, R Nicol 8-0-34-1