Morden Morden send more house to save the house.
Fantastic. Hello, welcome to House cast.
We've got a mildly interesting guest.
No, we've got Ben with us just because we've not had a podcast
for ages or on the season mitigating circumstances.
I think Jez was away the. Only pod when we're winning,
don't. We.
Well, allegedly. It's worth mentioning that Jez
is still away. Yeah, Jez is still away.
He's the, he's like the driving force of this, isn't he?
Really. So But we've we've done it in
person now because me and Dukes were available and others were
away and Ben is available. So we thought we didn't really
do like a preview of the season either, did we?
So we might as well have a have a go on it.
Hello, Ben. Good evening, Joe.
How are you?
Doing. I'm all right, yeah.
How was your mood this Monday compared with last Monday?
A little bit better, Yeah, a little bit better.
It's a. Monday, isn't it?
Yeah, OK. Shot aren't the best of times,
yeah. But that really changed.
It really changes your mood though, doesn't it?
For the your outlook for the week, I'm finding now depends on
what happens on a Sunday. Really changes how I approach
how I approach the working week. Yeah, definitely.
Last week. But I think, you know, I need to
give me a wide birth. Well, well, is it worth talking
about the Rami game before we before we get onto this?
Week. So briefly, yes, I'm OK.
All right, so go and enjoy. You're the you're the regular
horse who's a player. You talk us through how the game
went. Yeah.
So we were obviously supposed to play there on the Saturday, but
I got rained off on the Friday because of the weather. 10 on
the and then we went there on the Sunday.
I think preparation pretty good. Ben hadn't it really.
Yeah, we've done plenty. Really.
Most of us think we've. Done at least as much, if not
more than everybody else, I reckon.
Yeah, a bit of travelling. Yeah, you know, to get absolute.
Crap, had a nice remote to Liverpool.
Oh yeah, I heard about that. Yeah.
That's worth telling everybody into that, that we had a
preseason friendly. Was that the weekend before the
season? What start it was wanted?
No2. Two weeks, Yeah, it was the
first weekend in April, right. OK.
And. We were playing at Northern
Away, which is in Crosby, yeah, which is an hour and 10 minutes,
yeah. Something like that.
Yeah, an hour after me. We've played there a few times
and you've always got a chance of playing there.
To be fair, we've been there for a friendly in the past.
When I woke up 1 morning a couple of years ago and I woke
up 1 morning it had been snowing here and text their captain and
it were kind of like what you want to buy what snow?
And we went and played a full game.
And so yeah, we'd had a wet week, but all was good set off
Sunday morning and. You'll have to speak to anybody
from Northern about the game. Well see this is where it gets
messy because one dance El Pietro was it was involved in
arranging this friendly. So the plot thickens with that.
So the person that had arranged the friendly on northern side,
that wasn't the captain either and he was in, he was in Spain,
which I didn't realise with some of the, yeah, some of with some
of the Lancashire set up. So there was a breakdown in
communication shall we say. Anyway, I got there for the me
time to see their covers halfway across the 8 field and all their
lads in the net about two miles away that you can just make out
in the distance and their captain saying we've been trying
to get hold of you. But Lakes is in Spain, so no
one's had your number even though.
So when he said I've been trying to get hold of you, not
actually. He probably has me on every
social media going, but hey ho, we had a nice try drive out to
Crosby. So lads drove over and no game,
yeah. Yeah, covers are blown off, but
yeah, we're not. We've done plenty when it's
rained, we've gone for an indoor session.
It's been pretty, pretty good preparation I think, and then we
had the game at Little Lever, which was probably up there with
the coldest I've ever been on a cricket pitch for both sides.
To be fair, we're sort of good to each other on that day and it
was actually worthwhile we could have.
Called it off at any point I reckon.
Yeah, I mean, it was on the verge of getting ridiculous at
one point, but it sort of stopped raining and the sun came
out and we just kind of put up with it.
But yeah, it was cold, but well worthwhile.
And then, yeah, we go to Rams Bottom in good spirits and and
prepared well really. But as Joe Joe was saying it, it
rained for bits during the week. There's a track ready in the
middle that got wet and they were concerned about that.
They were concerned about playing on the wicket that we
did play on because that had already had a friendly on it.
So they, you know, didn't want to play on that one again on the
Saturday. It was an extremely short Byron
Ritter one side probably not fit for the Premier League cricket
if we're being honest. You know, you're talking about a
4045 yard Byron Ritter one side. Having said that, it's same for
both sides. We did, we did pretty well to
start. We have to think first game and
got them 60 off for four 57. For four they were.
Yeah, 57 for four pros out, you know, we're in a really, really
good position and a couple of couple of LBW sharks that could
have gone our way at that stage. I felt, if I'm being honest with
when Toxie was bowling, but that's the way it goes.
And then with a really, really short boundary and you've 6
wickets in the tent, you can do what they did down the stretch.
And then we get off to a great start.
And I just think due to a lack of clarity of how we were going
to approach the chase and under a little bit of pressure, we
just played a little bit recklessly against their pro and
sort of let them in the back door really after a fantastic
start. So yeah, it felt like a game
that we could have won and probably should have won.
And through our sort of or lack of clarity and readiness under
pressure, gifted in the 12 points I felt.
I think when if you were to look at the scorecard, you'd look at
it and you'd go we've been battered, but I think it was
actually a really like a really winnable, winnable game at lots
of different stages, even when they got to two sort of 10/2/15.
I. Still sort of thought.
Well, especially, especially when we were yeah, 6060 for none
after about 8 overs or whatever it were, yeah.
Yeah. I mean that's, you know, that's
it's, you're on a used wicket there.
And then when you do put yourself under a little bit of
pressure through a couple of dismissals and you're on a used
wicket. And then the prawns, obviously
an half decent baller for Ram's bottom and he comes on and it
and it does start to take to a little bit of spin.
Then you can understand how we end up, how we end up under a
little bit of pressure. But yeah, we've probably gifted
some of our wickets away. But I was.
You know, there was some positives and I'd rather losing
that fashion, if I'm being completely honest with you, then
being overly cautious and running out of time chasing 200.
You know, I sort of believe that the bigger games, when
everything's on the line, you're going to win more on the front
foot, looking to score, looking to get the runs within the overs
rather than stretching the game out for too long.
Yeah, there were. Probably times a couple of years
ago when that situation we would have probably would have
battered 45 overs, 50 overs and got to 151. 60 and I just, I
just remember games like that where we've just expected too
much of the tail. You know, we've sort of thought,
right, the pros are now we're just going to see the pro out
and we've ended up needing far too many in the last 10.
Realistically, you know, we're a short boundary perhaps that
could have balanced out slightly differently, but yeah.
The two lads for them battered very well, let's be honest.
We've got to give credit where it's due.
Absolutely. And I think you, but you in the
first innings when the there is less scoreboard pressure, I feel
like you can set the game up like they did.
I think there were about 120 with 1112 overs left, something
like that. Still only four, nine.
To me that has a slightly different feel to it.
Rightly or wrongly, if you're in the second-half and you're 120
and there's 11-12 overs left chasing 250, there's a there's a
slightly different feel to it. Yeah.
And again, going back to the first things I, I watched all of
the game, we didn't, we didn't look to get that much wrong
really in the first first things, perhaps a little bit of
rustiness with the ball, but we, we didn't, we didn't feel badly.
We didn't drop catches. We just the 2, the two boys
batted very well, didn't they? And we just came out on the
wrong side of it. Absolutely.
And they said they took advantage of the.
They won the they won the Cup last year and they'll be there
or thereabouts. So although.
They did get beat yesterday. Yeah.
OK, fantastic. Yeah, lovely.
So then we played Enfield yesterday again a good The
weather makes a big difference, doesn't it, to the atmosphere of
the week. I think you can.
I've been down at the club every night.
Yeah. And I could not believe I was.
It was. Yesterday, I mean, I was down
for the 3rd 11 game on Saturday and the the again, loads of
people there. They've been more on that than a
lot of the first team games. So it's it's looking, it's
looking good. And obviously the new building
work will be ready soon as well. So that'll be that'll be really
great. But yeah, Enfield they've come
up promoted. They've got some very good
experienced players, aren't they?
Bracey and and Simon's of a bowler and Jack off.
So they're always going to be dangerous.
Did you have any thoughts about yesterday, Ben?
Yeah, like you said, they've, they've a sort of close knit
group, aren't they really that have played a lot of cricket and
been together for a long time. It was a bit of unknown around
that who, who the professional was and that's always, you know.
Yeah, it's, it's difficult to plan and you don't know what to
expect. So he was, he was a sub
yesterday, Imran Rafiq. Yeah, yeah.
Where's he play? I'm not sure.
I'm not. Sure, I've seen his name
knocking around once or twice before, but yeah, as we've
experienced in the past, it's sometimes you're at the look of
the draw and he battered well for his 100th, didn't he?
But yeah, I thought that the wicket was pretty flat.
We got a little bit frustrated at times, myself included, but
overall thought it was, you know, a tidy enough ball in
display really on a, on a pretty dead surface.
I think you look around the results yesterday and I said
this afterwards to the lads, you look around the results
yesterday and quite a few of the games teams didn't get bowled
out in either innings. And I just put that down to, you
know, reasonably soft squares. And then and then and then a
week or so, I think everything had just slowed up and
everything was happening slowly. And so I didn't think, I didn't
think we we did Lords wrong. But there's probably another
1015% to come from everybody just yet in the field and with
the ball, I would say. But yeah, fairly comfortable at
half time knowing that how fast our outfield is and that if we
if we got a way and put up a couple of partnerships that
their heads have dropped pretty soon I think.
And. Did get off to a good start
again, didn't we? Yeah, yeah.
Really good. So they they battered first and
got 210. Yeah, sub professional 102.
Looks like he battered for the vast majority of the innings,
yeah. Yeah, I don't really think he'd
give a chance, Ben. No, no, but you know I'm I'm
he's a left hand bat, so I'm still at slip for however many
overs. Paddy and Southie bowl for the
majority. I'd have been at slip with a
left-hander in a new on numerous occasions.
The ball looks like it's going to take the outside edge and
potentially go to your hands, but just due to the the slowness
of the wicket, he manages just to sort of block it into point.
There was just no zip or. No.
Or bite. I don't really.
I can. I can only really remember 1
ball that turned a lot and the one that dam bowled I think yeah
it. Was pretty wide, weren't?
It pretty wide, it bounced a lot and it just gripped.
I think that was the only one where I thought that's so.
What you're saying is your brother didn't spin one all day.
We spun that half tractor that pulled it halfway down and all
went all the grounds in his shed I.
Thought Pat Ball were. Well recovered thank you.
Let's quickly touch hard embrace Wells knock because he got 25,
but he got 83 sixes and 1/4 so that 25822 of them in 44.
I mean, I've, I've, I've seen that on numerous occasions.
A big, strong boy. Yeah, it's a clean ball and it's
entertaining. And look, if he gets away from
you, he can win a game on his own.
I. Think he did that last weekend
and he did play hassling and I think the week before he.
Got 90 or 50 balls, but yeah, he's always, he's always got
that in the mandate and you need to get him early, certainly.
But yeah, Tom binds back well there a couple landed in the
road, didn't he? But he he had the last laugh,
didn't. He yeah.
And then our innings, like Joe says, got off to a very good
start and obviously the crucial game-winning partnership between
Tom and SAPS. I just wanted to mention the
change in the batting order. A few of our supporters were
mentioning it as I was walking around the ground yesterday.
Do you want to just talk us through that?
What your what your thoughts are there?
Yeah, I mean, to be honest, it's not a massive change really in
terms of the 11 lads in the in the dressing room.
I mean, I guess to those paying close attention, it's exactly
the same as we set up in the cup.
And, you know, obviously it's about balancing things as well
and getting people in the right spot.
And it's no knock on anybody else that's battled at the top
or, or #3 previously. Well, obviously Tom's batting
is, you know, is improving at a rapid rate and he's sort of went
at his best. He's pretty free flowing and
matches what we what we're trying to do as a side.
And young Henry slotted in at 5 and that's sort of crucial
really as a balancing act because he's the only
left-hander that we've got and you know, more sides are trying
to recruit, should I say left arm, left arm spinners.
So I've been having him there in the middle order, helps us
balance that when the left arm spins coming on as he showed at
Rams bottom in fact. Yeah, there's a good player of
spin anyway. I mean.
I've got no doubt that he'll, I think over his career he will
want to bat three or open batting, whatever.
But I actually, I actually I've always really liked him batting
at 5:00 and 6:00. I think he I think when he gets
in, he rotates well. I can remember the words, the
cup innings that he played, played.
You know that was at 5 or 6. I think he, I think he played
and he does play spin. He does play spin really well.
So I've got no doubt till bat at the top of the order at some
point. But but I think it's not, I
don't think it's a bad thing that is that he's batting, that
he's batting there because it's a really good.
It's not. Not a lot of players can do
that, I don't think. You're often pigeonholed, aren't
you? At the well, I certainly was.
I could either bat at the top or I was at the bottom.
And for him to be able to do a few different roles I think is
brilliant. Yeah, that's a good point.
That's a good point. Now, also for his own
development, he's batting in between Salpe and Frankie.
Yeah, yeah. Again, we are probably, well
they definitely are Our best two players have spin so.
Yeah. Very good, yeah.
But yeah, it's not too dissimilar to what we've done in
the Worsley Cup and the way we've set up in that.
So it's not really too early into the rest of the lands, I
don't think. OK, good.
Anything else from yesterday? I.
Don't think so. I think it was just a pretty
professional performance, weren't it really, in the end,
Yeah. Like I said, it's probably
another 1015% to come from everybody really, but yeah.
I'm getting, I'm getting the vibe that you're not 100%
satisfied with where we've been so far in the two games.
Is that fair? Yeah, probably.
Yeah, probably, but not through the lack of effort or
preparation. I just think, you know,
sometimes it it takes a few games to hit your straps and
just sort of remember what sort of gel this together in the 1st
place. And, you know, it's a new
feeling for some of those boys coming into a season being
champion. Yeah.
And I just think, you know, probably in the middle of the
middle of the summer with a few more games under our belt would
have probably bowled them field out yesterday.
Yeah, I think so. When there's a little bit more
in the pitch, yeah. Yeah, I think, I think so.
Just because people are in natural rhythm then at that
point, aren't they? They know what they're, they
know what they're what they're about.
So yeah. Yeah, I think that brings us
nicely on to Gary's first question.
Yeah, Guangzhou. It's so this is from Gary, who's
in, Who's on the Continent? Yeah, he is.
Is there any change to game strategy this year to openly
discuss last year back first, go hard, etcetera?
And are you expecting opponents to play differently to counter
that success? See, I don't, I don't think if
I'm being honest, I don't think we were all that predictable in
what we were going to do at the toss last year anyway.
I think that was probably more relevant in Salpe and Ben's
first year, in my opinion. I think if you go back and look
at some of the scorecards last year, actually, we bowled first
quite a few times and bowled teams out for next to nothing
and chased it down quickly. So I don't get that feeling of
being reliant on batting first anymore with this group.
And I said this in the changing room yesterday, you know, even
though I departed fairly early and this is not in a
disrespectful way towards Enfield whatsoever because I
felt it against other sides. But after those first couple of
overs went the way me and Johnny set off, I didn't get a sense
that Enfield believed that they could win the game.
You know, and I, you know, I sort of when you look back in
retrospect, you know, I probably have been a captain that's sort
of aired on the side of batting first majority of the majority
of the time. But I don't get that feel with
this side anymore, really with the strength in depth from 1:00
to 11:00, I mean. It's really interesting that
what you said about what you felt Enfield was thinking,
because that is, I mean, we've been on the.
Receiver just about 9:00. Times aren't we, you know, when
we were when we were first, probably less so you, but we're
certainly when I was first playing first team cricket,
there were grounds that you would go to which you felt beat
before you even got there. And interesting that, you know,
maybe some teams think that about us now if they don't, if
they don't get you or Johnny out for a couple of overs and.
That's what it felt like yesterday.
And I'm not, I'm not suggesting for a minute that everybody's
going to feel like that. But in terms of how we approach
it, I do honestly believe that there's less focus on the toss
in terms of what we're doing than probably previously.
And in terms of the second part of the question of higher up,
the opposition are going to adapt, pretty much.
We've seen that already. And that's fields on the
boundary from the off, which you don't always see a lot more.
So I think for us it's, you know, still looking to have
plenty of intent and be aggressive, but be smart when
people are right on the boundary and not let your ego get in the
way. He used to do that a lot.
Didn't he? You start this sweep is.
That, yeah. Yeah, Graham, like was renamed
for it. Really.
Yeah. Yeah, I was.
I was actually. I used to be quite critical of
it as well. But it's almost negative in it.
Yeah, it can be viewed as negative.
Yeah, it's probably not really. If you remember, Australia did
it to England, didn't they? Do you remember when they came
over? Exactly.
It's probably smart, isn't it really in amateur cricket, if
you think about it, if you if you can take away the boundary
option and the the sort of four ball, then it's not a bad tactic
is it really to frustrate an amateur?
And on slow wickets it's not always easy.
If you've got a couple of men out from the start, it's not
always easy to to rotate strike. So we'll see how that develops.
I think that's. What his position, it just, I
think he thought that amateurs just can't, can't rotate, can't
rotate, strike and they'll end up trying to hit, trying to hit
themselves out of it. And yeah, it's, I mean, we
didn't mention, I thought Johnny battered very well.
Yeah, he played very, very chop and cheese.
So he ran it because by his own ambition, he scratched it.
Ran me, wasn't it? Yeah, he did look very good
yesterday. Question 2, Ben.
From Gary. From Gary.
Are you managing the team any differently to avoid complacency
or second album syndrome? Second album syndrome?
I've not heard that one before. All my favourite artists have
great second. Albums.
Well, we've already talked about the batting order change.
I mean, that's one proactive change that you've made, I guess
to try and get the most out of what we've got and keep us
ahead. Is there anything else that
you've sort of thought of that might need a tweak here and
there just to no? Not really, no, no.
I think I won the league by 60 odd points this year.
Let's let's not look for stuff that we don't need that.
We exactly. And you know what?
That might never be repeated ever again.
Ever again. No, I mean, yeah, I mean that.
I mean that genuinely. That might never be done ever
again in this league. So, you know, you have to be
careful of drawing too many comparisons to last year, I
think. But I think more than anything
is putting more onus on the individuals in the side.
We've been together three years now, some of us have been
together for 15 years now. But you know, as a sort of core
group going in this direction that we have done recently, it's
the third year. So I think putting more onus on
the players to make sure that they that their their reason for
playing is the right one. They've set standards that they
need to exactly maintain. That they stay hungry.
We can talk about that. They are, you know, doing it for
the person next to him in the field.
And yeah, more accountability on each individual is probably
they've been the biggest change behind the scenes.
You know, it's not, it's not my team.
It's our team. And we're the Champions.
So, you know, you've got to look around that dressing room and
still make sure that you're you're doing it for the person
sat next to you. 11 change that is I'm particularly interested
in is the caterers, what I placed teas like this year with
the new caterers, what do you get?
I I thought we're off to a very good start this Sunday.
What do we have? So there was a chilli, there was
a salsa, some tortilla chips, rice, selection of cakes, fruit.
So I think there was. I might be wrong on this.
Yeah. There were, there was a
chocolate cake and there was, I don't think it was a lemon
drizzle cake, but it was. Do you know when you have those
like powdered? Cakes.
But it's got like crystallised. Sugar.
Embedded. Into it.
And two of those chips there were chippies.
So. So.
Yeah, excellent, I think. Good choice.
Lovely. Yeah.
Lovely start. Where do you get?
Best fed the best in the league these days.
Well, if they carry on like that, they'll be flocking.
Yeah. Little bro.
Usually. All right.
Norden. Norden, Norden.
Yeah. Excellent.
Unbelievable selection. Let me tell you this funny story
before I forget. I went to watch the second on
Sunday at Rochdale and I got there about 5 minutes after the
start and I walked onto the ground and I don't know if they
do this in the first team but the scorers were sacked outside.
You know unlike one of they've got some Pitney benches around
the front of the right hand side of the clubhouse, she's looking
at it and walked past Stuart's scoring.
She's got no glasses on. There's no way you can see
what's going on over there. He's blind as a back, he's got
no glasses on but he's like he's got his score but 2 inch on his
face and then he's looking up to see what's going on.
I walk around the thing and I don't think to Yanis and first
thing he says to me is have you heard about Stewart's glasses?
He's been playing footy, warm up and Sidney's shoot the ball.
He's Stewart flushing face and brought his specs.
Oh, Paul Stewart. Sorry, I have to score, do you
know? What I was saying that I did see
this with all glasses on and I thought I don't think what his
glasses on. I don't think I've ever seen him
on his glasses on. There you go.
They've had two good wins, haven't they in?
The second test, yes they have. They started very well.
They've been Rams bottom the first weekend, which you know,
they're historically quite strong.
Second team yesterday, they beat Rochdale comfortably, they got a
very good score on a difficult wit on a difficult pitch and
then bowled them out for 70 odd I think it was and.
There's been some good performances across both games,
didn't they? I mean, Joe Clark got 30 odd in
the first game and yeah. Shortcut runs in the first game.
Yeah, and a few wickets as well. And then Blaise got 50
yesterday, Yeah, on Axe on a very difficult pitch.
Yanis 5 wickets. Yeah and Simi got a few
yesterday as well. I've sent to Ben before you got
here. Seem like Sime batting with
Blairs probably helped Sime quite a bit, you know, just in
terms of focus and. Well, it would want to, yeah,
Yeah. So it's good to see them doing
well I. Like watching Sime bat.
Who's the least focus swing in seconds when he's out there
batting? Well, he backs next to Joel
Sharp in in batting order. I mean, maybe, maybe that's it.
In fact, he's between Shorka and Joel in a normal batting.
Or that I mean, I don't know. I say this to, I think I say
this story, tell the story every week to the second team.
It's still my favourite thing I've ever seen was when his
strength came out with his whites, he didn't didn't replace
his wise, he just got the string, tied it round like a
belt like a belt and then folded his folded his.
What about when he said yeah? Yeah, this.
No playing in Norden. Bear in mind, Jackson now wants
to become a police officer. I think.
Well, yeah, allegedly, yeah. So how many years ago this had
been? Only two, two years.
I hope it. Was playing yeah.
So we started having, you know, coursing fielders, right?
So Simi and Simi was a designated.
Target. It.
Was plenty of area. But he had he had the kit, you
know, the pads and stuff. So, Simi, Simmy, do you have
your do you have your fielding kit?
Yeah, it's in my car. Manage.
Go and get his kit. Some managing Walker on the car
park. Where is it?
Just Simmy, where's your car? It's a low rash.
It's about 10 minutes. You don't get, we say that a few
times, always a throwback cricketer.
You don't get, you don't get any like that anymore.
It'd have been a good 90s cricketer.
Yeah, I've got another quick question.
For you to find some questions. Yeah, here you go.
If I can find it. If you had to pick three names,
if you had to pick three names of it, their first 11 debut in
the next three years, who would it be?
In the next three years, yeah. Well, Olly Williams, he won't be
far off. Yeah.
Do you think that might be too soon?
Well, three years. Not gonna be 16.
Yeah, three years. You'd expect Clarky to be there
or thereabouts. Third one, I'm not sure.
Joe, go on. You're the APP head coach or
joint head coach. We've got a left arm semen
that's in there. Oscar Jackson balls with good
pace. He's only 13, but by the time
he's 16, you know, we were, we were playing, weren't we,
Sophie? Yeah.
How old's jacks? Jacks, I reckon will be. 16 I'm.
Not sure I'm. Thinking I.
Guess around that kind of age, yeah.
Yeah, he's still very raw and they're still very raw, but who
knows, in three years it could be there or thereabouts.
It's. Very competitive.
I like that about. I think, yeah, definitely ball.
Background, but yeah, KIRO. KIRO, is he playing any first
team? Yeah, I think so.
We need a new wicket keeper. Yeah, anytime we've.
Had a question from Drew, he says.
Can you ask Ben if he's got any stories from Johnny?
Why Ted stag do? It's
moving on, right? We've got coming up.
We've got a double header this weekend, we've got Accrington on
Saturday in the Worsley Cup is that.
At the home. They're both at home I think.
No, it's Clitheroes. Away Clitheroes away Accrington
at home in the cup, Clitheroe away in the league on Sunday.
We have a few missing, aren't we on Saturday?
We have, yeah. Johnny's wedding, Frankie's
working, Hawk is working, so a few missing, so a few
opportunities for some of the lads to get some first team
cricket. We had played Atkinson for a
while. I don't think T20T20 maybe,
yeah. Was that last year or the year
before he? Was the year.
Before, yeah. Yeah, that was a decent play and
he nearly won it for him, didn't he at the end just left himself
a little bit too much to do in that T20 away I remember.
Yeah, I do. He had a lot 6 that's been in
that, yeah. Well, pretty much.
I think probably for the last 7 overs, I think he probably faced
nearly every ball, yeah. But I bet we got 15160 and he
got 100 and not 100 and not out and.
They lost. Yeah, Yeah.
Yeah, I think they. Admit some signings that this
time, Accrington. Yes, yeah, I.
Think Simon Hanson's gone back, Yeah, from Rami's gone there
opening the batting, so yeah. And.
The ball, what's he called Kean? Yeah, Farnwith.
So yeah, like you say, that's what you know, it's the nature
of the fixtures isn't it? It's an opportunity now for for
people to get a Chuck in what is normally a very strong amateur
bowling line up in the 1st 11. So there'll be opportunities on
Saturday and it's down to the lads to to take them, you know,
those that haven't had first team experience or many overs in
the last couple of years. And then Clitheroe Way on
Sunday, which has always been a tough game whilst we've been in
the the whilst they've been in our division shorts, so whilst
they've been in our league historically been a very strong
side. It's always a good day out
there. Personally, I always enjoy going
there. I think they're always pretty
good games over there. Tracks usually nice to bat on
and nice to bowl on. Yeah.
Outfield low, Yeah, Outfield's a bit roppy, but it's probably
better than ours at minute. But yeah, the tracks are usually
pretty firm. But I've got a bit of bit of
nibble, won't you say, John, I think.
There's something in it. Yeah, yeah.
I mean. They turned on.
Me and Johnny got to bat for 8:00 to 9:00 overs on the one
last year and they would have liked to have took that under
his under his armpit. Somewhere else they've played
212 'cause they're all so far. Yeah, yeah, close game
yesterday, wasn't it? Yeah.
They're always, they're always strong though, aren't they?
Yeah. Made some silence again.
Yeah, yeah. But yeah, it'll be a another
good tight game over there, I think.
And we'll have to. We'll have to be on it 100%, I
think. Yeah.
Yeah, definitely. Yeah.
Seconds. Second, as I play Accrington as
well. Yeah, and possibly because
they're all as well. Yeah, well they've made a good
start the second, so please, because I came out talking to
Paul Stanley yesterday about it and the last time they're in the
top division, they've had a lot of change.
And because Matt Open stood down as captain in the decks first
year and whatever, and it did, it took a little bit of time,
didn't it, for them to sort of acclimatise to.
That league? Really settled teams this.
Year, it's interesting in it and I said this last year that you
know, winning games of cricket at any level can become a habit,
you know, become a habit and they learn how to win games of
cricket. Last year, albeit you know it
probably, you know, there was probably room for improvement in
some of the the batting displays at times.
They've learnt how to win games of cricket and to be 2 from 2
and we'll just breed confidence around the dressing room more
than anything that they can compete at this level.
And they're they're only getting better individually as well
because they are a young side generally.
And you know, you like you mentioned Oliver Williams
earlier, you know, he's getting better as he's growing.
He's probably still and he's getting more experience.
Yanis has got wickets shortcuts doing really well you.
Forget how young they are because you.
I've played for a long. Time we've got Holly's only. 20.
When you look at the scorecards from last year and early on this
year as well, there's all there's also definitive roles as
well. I think within the side, you
know, Ollie and Charlie pretty much know that they're going to
be opening the ball in every week.
Deck Stanny Young Joe Clarke's in there now and replace Step
Metcalf. That really picks itself.
The middle order picks itself. They've got destructive batsmen
further down the order and then you've got short cap who's going
to come on and spin the ball both ways through the middle.
So I think the definitive roles there, they're probably all
turning up and it's a good place to be.
They're all turning up knowing exactly what they're doing.
Yeah, and they've got Blaze William as well.
Yeah, absolutely. You know, let's, let's not play
that down. That's massive for, for that,
for that group of lads. Massive.
Yeah. So we'll see how that goes.
What else, Joe? Have we got anything else to
talk about? I.
Don't think so. We don't have a draw to do no.
So God play, guess the winner this week.
That's a shame. Like a game I guess the.
Winner. Yeah, you've been good at that
then, Female. He's a great lad, he's.
A great lad, I. Must have missed that.
When we play. When we do the draw, when we do.
The draw we've now, it's now, it's now turned into a game,
Jess, when we when we first did it, Jess said.
And I've come up with a name for it.
It's called Guess the Winner. Which?
Is remarkable how? Many players of the draw it's.
577. Yeah, so he'll he has two.
Clues. Yeah, give you a few few clues.
If if he were a player, he'll say he's a great lad, played at
some point in time, age range between 20 and 50, decide if
it's a if it's a woman, he'll say female.
And then you've just got a list of of ones that you can go
through. You thought Chris has to win it
over 50 fifties. I don't think we've got anything
else. So yeah, let's do it.
Thanks for listening. Bye.
It's the House cast. Goodbye, we're the chest back.
Gordon Gordon, send more house to save the house.