Without the luxury of being able to take to the field Ainsdale CC lost their position at the head of L&DCC division 1 due to some shabby matchday preparations at Northop Hall. Overnight rain had caused there to be some standing water on the outfield of the Smithy Lane pitch. With no knowledge of this, the Ainsdale team made the long journey to North Wales. However, the sight that greeted them when they arrived at the ground was unsatisfactory to say the very least. The disappointment they felt was justifiable due to the fact that not only was there no courtesy phone call advising not to travel but there was also an abject lack of effort by the home side to make the ground playable. The scene that is common throughout the league of players and supporters working feverishly to make any play possible was sadly missing in the principality. Musings about health & safety issues were given as reasons for the apathetic approach to clearing any standing water, possibly though, this was a side that simply didn’t fancy taking on Swift, Mohammed, Newcombe, Khan et al. With the fixture being declared unplayable Ainsdale players were then left with the prospect of driving back to their Liverpool Rd HQ with nothing more than the 5 points that an abandoned match gives them. On a positive note though for Ainsdale this lack of play meant that for the first time in the clubs 101 year history the 1st XI has now gone a full calendar year without having to taste the bitter pill of defeat on any occasion in competitive league matches, a statistic that skipper Dave Newcombe should be proud of. The first XI do have some midweek action when they host Northern CC in the ECB T20 on Thursday evening supporters should note that this fixture is a 6pm start at Liverpool Rd. Following this there is a return to league action on Saturday with another home match this time against Rainhill CC.

Ainsdale 2nd XI did manage a full days play in an exciting encounter with Ormskirk CC. on winning the toss Ainsdale captain, John Thompson, decided to bowl first on a green looking track. Thompson gave a debut to Paul Jones, a recent signing from Fleetwood Hesketh, and what a dream start he had. The very first delivery of the day saw Jones remove the leg stump of Ormskirk opener Rob Jones. In an excellent opening spell Jones was also responsible for the dismissal of James Illingworth whilst Ainsdale’s other opening bowler Joel Barlow removed Michael Jones and Owen Griffiths in a spell the saw the Ainsdale attack reduce the visitors to 60-6. Ormskirk fought back well from this with their skipper Shaun Brocken making a fine century. Ainsdale fielders no doubt ruing the fact that Brocken was dropped when on 4 as he played some excellent shots on his way to an unbeaten 101. The visitors declared after 45 overs having set the home side a target of 184 for victory. The Ainsdale batsmen began their run chase in a positive way. Opening batsman Tom Wainwright in particular began to build an innings with some firm stroke play and some very confident running and calling. However Wainwright was sent back to the pavilion on 34 when one nipped back at him off a good length from the bowling of Jamie Barnes. Ainsdale batsmen came to the crease but unfortunately failed to really create the big innings that was required to threaten the total set for them. Paul Hughes scored a well crafted 20 before being caught attempting to hit one over mid-on and Brendan Richards stayed in the middle long enough to score an unbeaten 31. Realistically though when Ainsdale entered the last 20 overs requiring a run rate of more than 8 an over batting out a draw was the most obvious way that the game would finish. Ainsdale eventually settling for a score of 126 – 7 and securing 6 points. This coming Saturday a trip away to Lytham CC gives John Thompson and his men another opportunity to climb into the top half of the league.