Double acts take centre stage

STRIKE ONE: Moorside bowler Lee Warburton revels in the wicket of Austerlands opener Abhi Ettimadai.

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Armstrongs Office Furniture Saddleworth and District Cricket League
MORECAMBE and Wise, The Two Ronnies, The Chuckle Brothers — each one a famous double act. Yes, even The Chuckle Brothers, who came before children’s television served up such classics as Crackerjack, Runaround and Tiswaz.

They fed off one another, each taking it in turns to bring audiences to life in their very own way.

Moorside’s double acts took centre stage at Thorpe Lane on Saturday — but rather than making Austerlands laugh they reduced them to tears in this Armstrongs Office Furniture Saddleworth and District Cricket League clash.

The first routine featured Lee Warburton and Glen McFadyean who, with five wickets apiece, sent the home side spiralling to 94 all out in a match of 22 overs per side.

It then became the Richard Baines and Lloyd Kingston show. The pair put on 83 to steer Moorside to a nine-wicket win and a first success in four league and cup matches.

After heavy rain overnight and throughout the morning, it was a minor miracle that play got under way at all.

Credit must go to Austerlands for their work on the ground and to the umpires, Mike Dunkerley and Clive Senior, for giving the game every chance of going ahead.

With Bamford Fieldhouse, the leaders, enjoying a weekend off — it was the Hollin Lane outfit’s open date — Austerlands knew a win would take them to the top of the table.

Unfortunately Kevin Du Feu’s side fluffed their lines.

It started going horribly wrong for Austerlands in a strange second over bowled by Warburton.

Firstly, Abhi Ettimadai was dropped at slip. He then hit a four and a six, before skying a full toss to Chris Entwistle. Overseas amateur Mark Hayward was dismissed next ball, edging a delivery to Kingston, who made up for his earlier miss.

Dave Oldfield denied Warburton a hat-trick, but it had set the tone for a disappointing Austerlands innings.

Michael Schofield perished for 14, also to Warburton, while a promising stand of 26 between Oldfield and Adam Young was broken when the latter became McFadyean’s first victim.

McFadyean was introduced because of an injury to professional JP Lee, but the understudy quickly adjusted to the role.

Oldfield’s stay — he top-scored with 16 — came to an end courtesy of a fine running catch by Kingston.

The other batsmen offered little resistance as Austerlands were bowled out with 11 balls of their innings remaining.

They were handed an extra five penalty runs for illegal fielding. Eagled-eyed Dunkerley noticed that Moorside captain Francis Sutherland had gathered a throw wearing a wicketkeeper’s glove, which had been ripped off by ’keeper Baines in an attempt to retrieve the ball.

After dismissing Greenfield for only 69 a week earlier, the hosts knew victory was still possible.

And they made an early breakthrough when Lee pushed the ball straight back to bowler Oldfield.

But that was as good as it got for Austerlands, who bowled too short or too full, and both Baines and Kingston cashed in.

Pro Junaid Khan displayed plenty of pace but was guilty, like his team-mates, of failing to find a consistent line or length.

The young Pakistani tried a bouncer but Baines, who averaged almost 50 last season, just swatted the ball to the boundary. His best shot, however, came off Andy Young, a beautiful on-drive for four.

Overseas amateur Kingston was strong either side of the wicket, and the pair received a standing ovation when they returned to the pavilion triumphant.