Revised targets a step forward

ROYTON CC, from left to right, back: Matthew Hodson, Andrew Punchard, Ryan Carters (overseas amateur), Mark Woodward, Paul Hughes, Luke Procter (professional). Front: Joe Lovell, Connor Hey, Barry Woodward (captain) John Punchard, Simon Webb.

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GUIDELINES introduced to prevent boring and predictable conclusions to Lake Garage CLL fixtures have already produced their share of confusion.

Royton, by their own admission, were not fully conversant with the league's Duckworth Lewis-style rules during their defeat at Heywood on Saturday.

Heywood made 197 for four from their 50 overs, but showers at Crimble meant there was time lost in the game and the umpires and scorers worked out that Royton's revised target should be 183 from 45 overs.

However, Royton were initially under the impression that as long as they were not bowled out then the match would end in a draw and both sides would receive two points.

Their belief stemmed from the previous guidelines which stated that this would be the case if the side batting second had not received the same number of overs as the side taking first guard.

CLL officials, under prompting from member clubs, introduced the setting of revised targets in order to avoid the huge number of draws caused by rain-affected seasons.

This is surely a more satisfactory system for players and spectators alike, but it will take time to bed in and Royton were clearly unsure where they stood at the start of their innings.

Chasing 183 - a big ask in 45 overs on Heywood's large ground - they started well enough, but the loss of a couple of wickets prompted a change of approach and professional Luke Procter was particularly slow during his unbeaten knock of 28.

By the time it dawned on Procter and others that Royton needed to reach 183 - or even their three-quarters target of 134 - in order to secure any points, it was too late and they were restricted to 112 for seven.

Royton skipper Barry Woodward admitted his side had got their tactics wrong.

"Everybody was a bit confused," he said.

"We started with the intent of trying to reach the revised target, but were then under the misapprehension that we would draw if we were not bowled out.

“By the time we found out otherwise, it was too late."

Clearly this was a case of teething problems, but if more positive results are achieved during the season then that has to be good for everyone.

Heywood, through no fault of their own, were involved in 12 draws on their way to winning the title last season, while mid-table Unsworth (admittedly with a ground prone to waterlogging) drew exactly half of their 30 fixtures.


BOBBY Cross became Heywood’s leading amateur run scorer during his knock of 105 for the Crimble club against Royton on Saturday.

Cross, son of former Athletic striker David, passed Mark Wright’s total of 7,462 runs and, at the age of 26, looks destined to set a new mark which will never be beaten.