Royton one step from Wood Cup glory

Photo: Picture by PAUL STERRITT.

JUGGLING ACT: Royton skipper Denny Hulme, who later went on to play a starring role with the bat, holds on to the ball as Rochdale batsman Tom Avery misses.

WITH wickets falling and overs running out, Royton were in need of a hero if their dream of winning the Wood Cup for the first time in their history was to remain alive.

Step forward Captain Marvel, Denny Hulme. It might not have been the most stylish innings of all time, but boy was it effective.

Hulme's unbeaten 25 under the most severe pressure was cheered by a large and boisterous Paddock crowd who saw their side limp to a two-wicket semi-final victory over equally-gallant Rochdale.

Royton's reward is a final date with Norden at Walsden CC on August 2.

This was a cup-tie that had echoes of the previous week's quarter-final against Walsden. A green pitch with little bounce meant it was never going to be a high-scoring match and Rochdale, who were reduced to 97 for seven, were grateful to scramble 143 all out.

Their batting ambitions were knocked by the loss for only 10 of prolific professional Wensley Lansdale, excellently caught in the gully by Aqib Zulfiqar off Sam Fielding.

Matthew Smith's bowling of Marradon Bend for 12 was equally significant as Rochdale had lost their two premier batsmen for a combined total of 22.

Chasing a moderate target was never going to be easy on a pitch particularly suited to slow bowling.

Geeth Alwis, the Royton professional, had proved that in a spell of three for nine off 10 overs of

strangulation.

And after Royton – with Tony Walsh (33) again to the fore – had made steady progress to 78 for three, they, too, were starved of runs as Lansdale and Dale Highton, in particular, applied the squeeze.

Highton finished with amazing figures of two for seven off 10 overs, while Lansdale's 10 yielded just 19 runs.

Wickets fell and overs disappeared before Hulme strode to the wicket at 89 for five. Batting outside his crease, he swung his bat often, not always connecting with leather.

But he survived while others perished and, with five runs needed off the last over and Smith facing Michael Harling, the skipper was grateful to see his fellow batsman grab a single.

Off the next ball, Hulme clipped Harling to the square leg boundary and Royton, just as they had in the previous round, had fallen over the finish line with their skipper at the crease. Hulme celebrated with a roar and clenched fists and was given a deserved standing ovation as he climbed the pavilion steps.

The skipper is on a mission to finally end Royton's drought in the CLL's flagship cup competition.

His team is only one win away and if they can match Hulme's desire and bottle, you never know, they might just do it.

twitter: @KeithMcHughOC