Aggers And Kaye Continue To Star For Heywood

Heywood 212-9 (Agathangelou 115) Milnrow 168 (Kaye 6-52) Heywood won by 44 runs

Andrea Agathangelou and Chris Kaye are continuing to play starring roles in Heywood’s Central Lancashire League campaign.

Aggers raced to his third century in four CLL games as Heywood rattled up 212-9 against Milnrow on Saturday.

Then 42-year-old left-arm spinner Kaye expertly used the big Crimble ground to his advantage to claim 6-52 as Milnrow were bowled out for 168.

Aggers, who filled the breach to become the club’s professional at the end of April, may have started slowly with Heywood but is now starting to make up for lost time.

He has now aggregated 759 runs in 16 innings, twice not out, for an average of 54.2 and has his sights on passing 1,000 runs despite his truncated start to the season.

Kaye, meanwhile, is having the time of his life despite his advancing years and his latest haul takes his total to 68 with seven games still left.

Aggers certainly dominated the Heywood innings against Milnrow to such an extent that he reached 50 out of a total of 64-2 in the 15th over, despite losing Danny Pawson and Ross Zelem along the way.

He was eventually caught on the boundary edge, attempting another of his trademark pulls over mid-wicket, for 115 made off 101 balls in 134 minutes – containing three sixes and nine fours.

And when he went at 162-6 there was a danger that, with more than 10 overs left, the Heywood innings would peter out tamely.

But Australian overseas amateur Hamish Paterson gave the lower order a vital injection with an aggressive 25 and, helped by useful contributions from Lee Grogan and Adam Fawcett, made sure that Heywood went beyond the 200 mark.

Paterson then struck with the ball, having overseas amateur James Newnham – who scored a century against Heywood earlier in the season – caught behind to only his third delivery.

Alex Scholefield and professional Raheel Majeed threatened to turn the game around with an aggressive second-wicket stand in the face of some loose bowling by Paterson and Humza Naeem.

But the Aussie struck another crucial blow with the total 42 when he had the talented Scholefield caught by Bobby Cross at second slip for 27.

And then left Majeed, who made 161 out of Milnrow’s massive 358-2 against Heywood back in May, as the key wicket.

The man from Pakistan should have gone for 30 with the score 66-2 when he was dropped by Adam Fawcett at point off Naeem, and for a spell the visiting professional looked capable of making Heywood pay a heavy price.

But the picture changed once Kaye and his fellow spinner Rob Slawson teamed up in the attack.

Kaye had Nathan Sinkinson and Justin Fletcher well caught by Grogan at mid-off then Tom Hicklin taken by Cross, and, at 125-5, it became apparent that Majeed was the visitors’ only real hope.

But he, too, fell to Kaye for 79 trying a big hit on the legside only to top edge a catch to wicketkeeper Pawson, Declan Wilkinson was bowled by the left-armer first ball and Adam Good was last man out to another terrific catch by Cross at wide mid-on.

Slawson played his part at the other end, and perhaps deserved more than just the wicket of Joe Lovell caught behind.

But this was again the Aggers and Kaye show.