Wallasey Cricket Club of the Liverpool Competition, winners of the Quinn Foden Cheshire Cup in 1998, again reached the final this season. They cruised to a comfortable victory in the semi-final against Cheadle Hulme of the Cheshire County League Premier Division.

Having elected to bat on a wet wicket, Wallasey struggled to a total of 128 for 8 in their allotted 40 overs, helped by a gutsy 57 from skipper Mike Beaver. This total should have been achievable despite the conditions, but Cheadle never liked the look of the pitch and failed to apply themselves against some excellent bowling, mustering only 56 all out. Pick of the bowlers was Phil Luxon, an occasional medium pacer, who devastated the opposition with a spell of 6 wickets for only 10 runs in his 8 over spell, supported throughout by some fine fielding and catching.

Wallasey's opponents for the final, staged at the compact Wallasey Oval ground, turned out to be neighbours and arch-rivals New Brighton, 1998 Liverpool Competition champions, who had seen off Bramhall fairly easily in the other semi-final. The pairing ensured a match which was possibly even more tense and exciting than the final staged at the same venue last season against Warrington, when Wallasey won dramatically with a six off the penultimate ball of the game.

This time, played in front of a raucous and partisan crowd of around 500 spectators, New Brighton batted first on what appeared to be a difficult pitch. Wallasey's opening bowlers gave nothing away, making scoring almost impossible. Mark Anderson finished his allotted 8 over spell with 1 for 14, whilst Ian (Eddie) Hemsworth ended up with 2 for 14. New Brighton were rescued to a great degree by Steve Nealy (47) and Paul Watson (43) who hit out well and put on a valuable 94 run partnership. Charlie Lamb chipped in with a quick 24 not out towards the end, to give New Brighton a respectable total of 187 for 7 at the close of their 40 overs.

Wallasey set about the chase in uneasy fashion early on, Mike Beaver going cheaply to a hotly disputed catch, which created even greater tension amongst players and spectators alike. Only when Zac Feather and Mike Hughes joined each other at the crease did Wallasey increase the tempo. Feather scored an immaculate 68, whilst Hughes stayed through to the conclusion with 45 not out, the pair putting on 112 runs. However, some tight, penetrative bowling from Simon Verry (3-16) and John Horrocks (2-25), supported by Neil Cross (0-16), ensured that Wallasey would have to emulate their previous season's performance to retain the cup.

Their supporters need not have worried as the promoted 2nd XI youngster, Chris Bourne, who appeared nerveless as he strode to the wicket, scored 9 runs from 5 balls, hitting a 4 to win the match with 3 balls to spare. Zac Feather was rightly named Man of the Match for his batting, made to look easy on a less than perfect track.

Full credit to Wallasey, as never before in the history of this competition has a club managed to retain the cup, but they do make life difficult for themselves with these continual heart-stopping finishes!

© 1999