Young guns ‘gelling well’

ROYTON CC... Matthew Hodson (back row left), Ryan Carruthers, Chris Hutchinson, Matthew Smith, Liam Mason, Cameron Delport. Scorer Beth Lovell (front row, left), Liam Brow, Alan Durose (captain), Tony Walsh, Gaz Lees, Joe Greaves.

CRICKET:

NEW Royton skipper Alan Durose is getting a tune out of his young team at the Paddock.

Saturday’s two-runs Lake Garage CLL triumph against Hey-wood was particularly satisfying for Durose and his players as the visitors looked to be heading for victory when needing only 11 runs from their last two overs.

But death bowlers Tony Walsh and Matthew Hodson did the business to restrict Heywood and their pro Andrea Agathangelou, and Royton’s on-field celebrations spoke volumes for the team’s unity and enthusiasm.

Durose said: “We have a young side which is gelling well, and we train very hard.

“It is going to take two or three years for the team to fulfil its potential, but the lads are all pulling together and I was delighted with the way we beat a good Heywood side.

“The idea at the end was to give their pro (Agathangelou, who finished unbeaten on 91) a single and to try to stop the fours. We did that well.

“Matthew did everything I asked him to do and Tony was superb.

“The other youngsters like Matthew Smith, Liam Brown and Ryan Carruthers also stepped up to the plate so it was a great team effort.”

Saturday’s game was only Durose’s fifth as captain and he admitted: “It is not easy, but I enjoy it.

“I have to do a lot of thinking and wins like Saturday’s provide great satisfaction.

“It is all new to me and, like the team, I am learning as well.”




Five-star Whittle



MEL Whittle was back in the old routine on Saturday when he played for Carnforth as stand-in professional.



The Northern League match against Chorley saw the 64-year-old return excellent figures of five for 64 from 25 overs as the home side bowled out Chorley for 190.

But the Carnforth batsmen could not emulate the former Oldham star’s bowling efforts and were restricted to 171 for nine, Whittle hitting 20 batting at number eight.

The cricket chairman at Oldham, Whittle says he was pleasantly surprised at his body’s reaction to bowling unchanged throughout the innings.

“I’m not in bad fettle for my age,” he quipped. “I got a little bit of cramp when I got out of the car at night, but it was no worse than that.”