Cricket: Depleted Heywood fade to defeat at Glossop

Heywood’s second successive defeat in Division 1A of the Greater Manchester League was not totally unexpected.

But the authority of Glossop’s victory at their North Road ground, to make it a double over the visitors following a win at Crimble early in the season, certainly was.

Heywood fielded a depleted side at Glossop on Saturday 20 July, with  Bobby Cross, Jack Morley and Wes Hunt all unavailable, and never at any stage of their innings after batting first did they look like posting a competitive total.

Heywood eventually subsided for 104 from 42.4 overs and the home side galloped to their target with eight wickets to spare in 18.3 overs.

It leaves Heywood in sixth place in the table, after being top little more than a week ago, and with a battle to get back into the top two and regain their place in the Premier League.

The good news is that, while leaders Moorside have room at the top on 50 points, the next five teams are separated by just a further three points.

Heywood seem to have become over reliant on openers James Kettleborough and Cross, who have already shared partnerships of 201 and 167 this season.

So, with Cross absent it was a significant blow when Kettleborough was the first to go at Glossop at the start of the third over with the total on two, clean bowled by Cameron Ball and one of seven eventual victims by that mode of dismissal.

Mikey Witts and Andy Dawson did not make much impression, either, and it was left to professional Faisal Iqbal to try to hold things together single-handedly as the clatter of wickets resounded in his ears.

He was eventually the sixth man out with the total 70 after a contribution of 43 from 71 balls as the rest of the batting line-up fought survival battles.

The only other players to reach double figures were Sean Burrill and Sohail Asildada, with 10 apiece. That trend follows the previous week’s home defeat at home to Moorside when only four players managed double digits.

A target of just past the 100 mark did not really give Heywood much of a chance, despite Asildada having Dale Pennington caught behind in his second over.

From then on Dan Eyre took command and forged a second-wicket partnership of 76 with Will Coates to make the result a formality, despite Iqbal having Coates caught by Burrill for 33 with victory in sight.

It was tough on the Heywood bowling attack with the home side racing along at more than five-per-over, as paceman Simon Dawson leaked 46 runs from his seven overs and Kettleborough went for 31 from just 15 balls in a token spell towards the end.

It’s not the end of the world for Heywood, however, with a run of forthcoming games in which they can reasonably expect to start favourites.

But a more settled side and contributions from their middle to lower order batsmen would not go amiss.

Heywood

• J Kettleborough b Ball 2
• M Witts b Ball 7
• F Iqbal c Browne b Adderley 43
• A Dawson b Adderley 1
• S Burrill b Adderley 10
• S Dawson b Hargreaves 3
• M Grogan b Hargreaves 3
• S Asildada run out 10
• J Kaye b Ball 6
• T Pagett not out 8
• C Hilton b Ball 6
• Extras 5
• Total (for 10 wkts, 42.4 overs) 104
• Fall of wickets: 2-1, 21-2, 24-3, 46-4, 58-5, 70-6, 75-7, 82-8, 91-9, 104-10
• Bowling: C Ball 10.4-1-33-4, R Adderley 15-8-20-3, A Coates 3-0-16-0, W Hargreaves 10-3-19-2, O Kenyon 4-1-13-0

Glossop

• D Pennington c A Dawson b Asildada 3
• D Eyre not out 58
• W Coates c Burrill b Iqbal 33
• A Browne not out 4
• Extras 8
• Total (for 2 wkts, 18.3 overs) 106
• Fall of wickets: 18-1, 94-2.
• Bowling: S Dawson 7-0-46-0, S Asildada 4-0-16-1, F Iqbal 5-0-10-1, J Kettleborough 2.3-0-31-0