Date: 23rd July 2010
LIVERPOOL DAILY POST
Northern captain James Cole is hoping that Merseyside cricket fans will forget their club loyalties for one day and back his team's bid to reach the last eight of the ECB National Club Championship.
The Moor Park team face the highly-rated Nottinghamshire Premier League outfit West Indian Cavaliers on Sunday, but Cole believes that previous disappointments will make his side harder to overcome this time around. "We lost to Kibworth in the last 16 in 2007, when we were comprehensively beaten, and we lost to the same side in the quarter-finals in 2008, when we were unfortunate," he said.
"We're were well set up for the national knock-out this year because we're a young team and most of the side bats and bowls, which gives me plenty of options. We've also worked very hard to get to this stage," he pointed out. "You play club cricket partly in order to be involved in games like these and it's great to have one of them at home. I know the Bridging Finance Knock-Out Trophy matches are taking place on Sunday too but I'm just hoping that people whose sides are not involved in those matches will come along and support the Liverpool Competition's representatives."
"There were maybe a thousand people at Kibworth one year and I know there was a good crowd when Caythorpe beat Bootle in the quarter-final a few seasons back. It would be great if we could match that sort of gate."
Cole's team is almost at full strength for the high profile clash with only John Wildman missing from the regular line-up. But while the all-rounder is swotting for his final accountancy exams, no one would blame him if his thoughts strayed to Moor Park, where the Cole brothers, "Yogi" Baer, Chris Tipper et al. will be testing themselves against one of the best limited-overs sides in the country. "I've spoken to Steven Mullaney, who now plays at Nottinghamshire, about West Indian Cavaliers," said Cole. "He tells me that they're a very aggressive side, containing a number of first-class players and I already knew that the former England seamer Alex Tudor played for them. My strategy will be adopt a positive approach. Ideally I'd want to bat first, set a good total and then defend it, but if we have to chase, we're ready to do that too."
But while Cole's men are warming up for Sunday's encounter with their always fiercely-contested local derby at Hightown tomorrow, some other Premier League teams will be hoping to seize the advantage in what is bidding to be the most tightly-fought and unpredictable title race for many years.
Leaders Lytham travel to New Brighton needing to respond to their defeat at the hands of Ormskirk last week, while Tim Watkins's team have won four of their last five and are now only 45 points off the pace. Colwyn Bay's home game against Highfield also looks like a game to savour, while Bootle and Ormskirk have what may only appear to be more straightforward tasks at home to Prestatyn and Newton-le-Willows respectively.
Tomorrow's Games: Bridging Finance NW Liverpool Competition:
ECB Premier League: Firwood Bootle v Prestatyn, Colwyn Bay v Highfield, Hightown v Northern, New Brighton v Lytham, Northop Hall v Wallasey, Ormskirk v Newton-le-Willows. First Division: Fleetwood Hesketh v Rainhill, Leigh v Southport and Birkdale, Liverpool v Maghull, Orrell Red Triangle v Formby, Rainford v Sefton Park, Skelmersdale v Wigan. Second Division: Ainsdale v Birkenhead St Mary's, Burscough v Alder, Caldy v Southport Trinity, Moorfield v St Helens, St Helens Recs v Wavertree, Sutton v Parkfield Liscard.
Sunday: ECB National Club Championship: (1.00 start) Northern v West Indian Cavaliers. Bridging Finance Knock-Out Trophy Quarter-Finals: (1.30 start) Colwyn Bay v Firwod Bootle, Leigh v Lytham, Wallasey v Highfield, Ormskirk v Rainhill
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