By James Illingworth
Ormskirk ended their run of three league defeats with a convincing 70 run win against second placed Highfield on Saturday at Brook Lane.
Half-centuries from Glayzer brothers Matt (53) and Ian (58) helped Ian Robinson’s side post 210 before six wickets from Nicky Caunce and three for Gavin Griffiths sealed a 24 point victory.
However, Ormskirk’s batting demons returned on Sunday as a disastrous start to their innings meant Northern skittled the home side out for a dismal 76 in the ECB National Knockout Trophy area final.
Having reached last year’s quarter-finals the manner of Ormskirk’s capitulation came as a shock to everyone at Brook Lane as Northern knocked off the runs with ease to claim a nine wicket victory.
Saturday’s result leaves Ormskirk in sixth place in the Liverpool and District Premier League table although with every other match ending in a draw, Ian Robinson’s men narrowed the gap between themselves and the teams above.
Following on from their batting collapses in recent weeks, openers Matt Glayzer and John Armstrong made a cautious start to the innings after Highfield skipper Michael Farrell had decided to bowl.
With Glayzer curtailing his natural attacking instincts and appearing set on providing an anchor role for his side, Armstrong scored the majority of the pair’s 39 run opening stand before he was dismissed for 31.
Skipper Robinson (26) picked up where Armstrong left off, scoring three driven boundaries from his first three balls although his enterprising 20 ball knock came to an end when Scott Cornish trapped the right-hander leg before.
Simon Kerrigan (2) soon followed, bowled by Highfield’s South African professional Hillroy Paulse, pairing Matt with older brother Ian at the crease.
The two brothers shared 58 for the fourth wicket with left-hander Matt emerging from his defensive shell to strike eight boundaries and one sweetly struck slog-sweep which sailed over the long-on boundary.
After Matt’s watchful 133-ball knock was brought to an end for 53, Ian was paired with little brother Jonny (25) and they fell two short of a second Glayzer 50 wicket stand of the day when Ian hit a return catch back to James Taylor.
Ian’s 58 runs came from 67 balls with 11 boundaries, confirming his position as Ormskirk’s in-form batsman in 2010.
In reply, Highfield’s top order were blown away by Caunce and Griffiths with only two of the top seven registering double figures and Michael Farrell’s 36 the only meaningful resistance.
From 79 for eight, a rearguard action from Chris Liptrot (28) and Oliver Jump (12) took the visitors past 100 although Caunce sealed the win for Ormskirk with five overs remaining.
All but one of Caunce’s six wickets were caught behind the wicket as the Lancashire seamer produced a disciplined spell of line and length bowling, finding exaggerated bounce from the St Helens Road end of the ground.
But whereas the extra bounce in the pitch aided Ormskirk on Saturday it proved to be their downfall on Sunday against Northern. Matt Glayzer gloved the first ball of the match off Richard Stanyon to wicketkeeper James Cole while brothers Ian and Jonny were undone by Michael Jones deliveries which bounced excessively.
John Armstrong was trapped leg before first ball and James Illingworth and David Abraham will wish to forget their shot selections as every Ormskirk batsman failed to reach double figures apart from skipper Robinson, who was left stranded on 37.
Seamer Jones finished with superb figures of five for 19 and despite Chris Tipper (9) stepping onto his stumps off a Caunce delivery at the start of the Northern innings, the visitors eased their way to victory with Adrian Fraser finishing 31 not out.
Elsewhere the 2nd XI remain bottom of the table after a five wicket defeat away at Orrell Red Triangle on Saturday (Ormskirk 203/9 dec. – Scott Meredith 45, Orrell RT 205/5 – Shaun Brocken 3-58) while the 3rd XI drew away at Maghull (Ormskirk 182/8 dec. Ashley Baldwin 60, Aaron Cheung 59 – Maghull 131/8, Gary Taylor 4/41).
This week Ormskirk face a crucial weekend of cricket with Bootle visiting Brook Lane on Friday evening in the quarter-final of the Echo Cup Twenty20 before travelling to league leaders Lytham on Saturday.