Walton Le Dale Cricket Club

JUNIOR FRIENDLIES ROUND UP

The final few friendlies have concluded for the juniors over the last couple of weeks. Here's a quick round-up:

Softball transition v Hesketh bank

More good experience for those new to matches, with more friendly debuts made. A loss in the end but good learning.

Softball transition v euxton girls

A close fought game with a team of those new to matches. An excellent learning opportunity, with WLD taking a close win. Jack B impressed with bat and ball.

Softball v Leyland

Dylan S started the game in great style with a 6 and it got even better with a hattrick during our bowling innings! A fantastic achievement in one of his first ever games. All in all, a good experience with WLD taking a comfortable win.

U11s v penwortham

A really enjoyable friendly, with Billy batting fantastically for his 15 not out the highlight. Penwortham ultimately came out on top but a good, competitive performance from WLD.

Hardball transition v Leyland

Another close game with single digit runs between the sides. Well done max and olly for both picking up 2 wickets in consecutive balls and Ben for an excellent unbeaten knock of 13.

U13s v Fulwood

In Tom Crook's final junior match before he progresses fully to senior cricket, it was only fitting he picked up a couple of wickets - showcasing recently practised off spin skills - a glimpse of a future change to spin perhaps? 🤔 Niamh also bowled great for 2 wickets in an all round exceptional team display. A partnership of 54 between Billy and Aim set up a strong total which Fulwood only reached with a ball to spare.

All the best to Tom in his future cricketing endeavours with the seniors as we draw another action packed and successful match season to an end for the juniors. We can already see the production line of Allstars and Dynamos which is fantastic!

FIRST BATTING RETIREMENT OF THE YEAR FOR THE JUNIORS IN U11 FRIENDLY.

Thurs 30th July - U11s v Tarleton

In preparation for next season, the U11s played a friendly with u12 rules rather than normal pairs. With retirements set at 25, WLD couldn't dislodge the excellent Tarleton openers who both retired. After that, Aim was the only bowler to pick up wickets as he picked up both the Tarleton wickets to fall. A very good score of 133-2 posted.

In reply, POTM 🏆 Ethan got the juniors' first retirement of the season as he reached 25 at faster than a run a ball. Back to back boundaries from Jayden were followed by double figure contributions from Billy, Aim and Bruno but WLD ultimately ran out of overs to finish on 86-4. A good preparation for next year. Thanks to Tarleton CC for hosting

NEXT GENERATION OF SOFTBALL STARS MAKE ENCOURAGING START!

Tues 21st July - Friendly for Softball transition group v Gregson Lane

Forming a team of entirely debutants to give a taster of match experience, this group comprising of Dynamos and those that have joined training for the first time this summer gave a more than creditable account of themselves. In the end, they even snatched a win by 1 run, but the important thing was they all seemed to have a great time and learnt plenty about the key points to remember for matches.

Bowling first, the youngest of the team, Arthur, bowled brilliantly with no wides or no balls in his 2 overs. Wickets went to Sam with 2 and Harvey and Dylan with 1 a piece, but all bowled encouragingly, especially in their second overs. Gregson Lane finished on 78-4. For the WLD batting; Beatrice, Jessica and Ethan all ran really well between the wickets and Dylan and Jake both hit boundaries in the final pair to finish just ahead of Gregson Lane on 79-4 (net 99 v 98). We look forward to some more friendlies before the season is out and can't wait to see what they can do with a full winter of training behind them!

Thank you to Gregson Lane CC for hosting to get the kids a game, it is much appreciated 🤝

YOUNG U13s SIDE BAT WELL IN ECCLESTON FRIENDLY

Mon 20th July - u13s friendly v Eccleston u12s

It was an inexperienced WLD u13s side that took on Eccleston on Mon night, with two hardball debutants in Ibrahim and Bruno, and a team mostly consisting of u11s. Eccleston batted first and impressively racked up 152-1 in their 20 overs, helped in part by a number of errors in the field by the WLD team. Ethan picked up the only wicket for the bowling side.

With not many runs coming from the top or lower order, Eli and Teddy put on an excellent partnership in the middle order to boost the total. Both attained their new top score, with 13 from Eli an excellent effort in his first season playing cricket matches and POTM Teddy 🏆 with 17. WLD couldn't keep up with the rate and finished on 92-8 in a valiant attempt against a large total. Thank you to Eccleston CC for hosting to get the kids some more game time, it is much appreciated 🤝

AGONISINGLY CLOSE, BUT SOFTBALL ROYALS MISS OUT ON LEAGUE TITLE

Sat 18th July - Softball Royals v Chorley

After 7 wins from 7, the Softball Royals fell at the last hurdle, missing the opportunity for a shared title win. Wickets kept falling during the WLD innings which ultimately cost them. 10 fell in total, with some avoidable run outs and playing straighter giving them focus areas for winter improvement. 85 runs were scored with Franklin on 11 and Tom 14 top scoring.

Needing wickets to stay in the game, an early direct hit from POTM 🏆 Aurelia (who bowled exceptionally well too) set WLD on its way, with 4 more run outs following. Unfortunately a lot of balls whistled past the stumps with only Oliver and Robert able to claim wickets. Chorley finished on 85-7, the same total but with fewer wickets to claim the victory.

Still, a fantastic season from our Softball Royals who have shown great improvement throughout the season and should be very proud of their achievements 👏

It was a wonderful evening of cricket and community coming together last night as we had our Juniors BBQ.

It was lovely to see over 50 children and their families enjoying food and cricket together as we celebrated the successes of our ECB Dynamos and All-Stars teams.

Hopefully we will see many of these children moving into our WLD juniors ranks in future years!

If you’ve a younger child who wants to get into cricket, keep an eye on our page as we look to run more of these sessions in the future.

TOUGH OUTING FOR SOFTBALL AMBERS V NEW LONGTON

Thurs 16th July - Softball Ambers v New Longton

An extremely difficult trip to New Longton for the Softball Ambers, against a very strong and experienced side who have inflicted many a drubbing this season. Against accurate bowling, two lovely cover drives for 4 from Chloe and Tommy aside, the batting couldn't get going as the dot balls racked up.

For the New Longton innings, even good balls were dispatched for 4s and 6s by the powerful New Longton batters. Rex picked up the only wicket and Robert 🏆 bowled very economically for POTM.

All in all a resounding loss to finish what has otherwise been a very encouraging season for the younger of our two Softball sides, with the Ambers managing 3 wins and plenty of improvement to take into next year.

SOFTBALL ROYALS WIN  AGAIN TO MAKE IT SEVEN WINS OUT OF SEVEN!

Weds 15th July - U10 Softball Royals v Eccleston B

The Softball Royals did what the England football team couldn't and got over the line for another win on a glorious Wednesday night in Eccleston. Varun and Vishal started well, with Vishal scoring 12 and Varun 15, before Isaac hit some good boundaries for his 13 to leave WLD on 97-4 from the 16 overs.

WLD's bowling was tight but wickets were hard to come by, but Eliza C and POTM 🏆Varun picked one up each. Eccleston finished on 74-2 which gave the WLD team their 7th win from 7, with a final game to play on Saturday. As not everyone plays each other, a win could end up with WLD Softball Royals one of 3 teams unbeaten at the end of the season at the top of the table!

JUNIORS ON VERGE OF A SECOND TITLE OF THE YEAR!

The U10 Softball Royals team will be making the short journey to Windsor Park, Chorley on Saturday morning, where an entire season comes down to one final game.

Seven matches unbeaten. Countless hours of practice. Every run scored, every wicket taken, every catch held has led Walton-le-Dale Under-10s to this moment.

One game.
One opponent.
One chance to become joint champions.

Standing in their way are Chorley Cricket Club, determined to spoil the party on what promises to be another glorious day of sunshine beneath cloudless skies. The conditions are set to be perfect. The outfield quick as a racing greyhound, and the ball should fly across the turf like a stone skipping across a summer lake.

Walton-le-Dale Royals know exactly what is required. Win today… and the league title will be shared with Garstang CC, who completed their own season undefeated last week.

No calculators needed. No favours from elsewhere. Simply victory.

The management have responded by naming a strong side. Every player knows what is at stake. Every player has earned the right to be here. But with opportunity comes expectation, and that expectation will be hanging over Windsor Park like a thundercloud that refuses to break.

Champions are remembered not for how they start a season… but for how they finish one.

And make no mistake, this final fixture is a mountain summit. Walton-le-Dale U10 Royals have climbed every slope, crossed every obstacle, and now stand one final step from the top. The recent hot spell has baked the wicket into a hard, sunburnt strip that could become a batsman’s paradise — but only for those brave enough to seize the moment.

Can Walton-le-Dale complete an extraordinary run? Can they stretch their unbeaten sequence to eight? Can they keep their nerve when the pressure is squeezing tighter than a vice?

The stage is almost set. The sun is on order. Windsor Park is waiting.

One final game.
One final hurdle.
A handful of overs to decide if WLD Royals can be crowned joint champions.

If you’re free, get over to Chorley Cricket Club for 10am Saturday to enjoy what promises to be a magnificent morning of junior cricket and hopefully the second title of the year for the WLD young stars.