CHRIS Humphreys’ praiseworthy efforts with the ball then bat just failed to inspire Heywood to any material reward in their last Central Lancashire League game at Crimble.
The seasoned seamer claimed 4-47 in a marathon 17-over spell but could not stop a Chris Schofield century from helping Littleborough to a healthy 206-9 from their 50 overs.
Then, coming in with Heywood on a perilous 76-7 in their reply, he showed the home middle order how to show application – with a good deal of help from 14-year-old Jack Morley – with an unbeaten 28 which almost earned a bonus point for reaching 75 per cent of the Boro total.
Michael Burns had ripped through the Heywood top order to get rid of professional Rob Nicol, Dale Latham and Bobby Cross, then Matt Taylor accounted for Dominic Humphreys, skipper Danny Pawson and Dominic Fawcett. And when Phil
Deakin trapped Shaun Burrill it looked odds-on Heywood failing to reach three figures.
But Humphreys Snr had other ideas, admittedly mainly in the face of mainly the second string Boro attack, and shared a stand of 19 with Joe Lovell before the diminutive Morley joined him at the wicket.
The oldest and youngest members of the side played sensibly, taking what was on offer, and it was therefore a shame when – after a stand of 42 – Morley edged Boro professional Mohammed Zaman Khan to slip for a worthy 17.
It left Heywood needing another 18 to make their point, and when Simon Dawson claimed a five courtesy of four overthrows then clubbed a six over long-on from Barnes it looked as if the earlier rearguard action was about to yield a minor dividend.
But when Dawson attempted a repeat maximum he could only sky the ball to Deakin, who had been posted to the boundary edge in anticipation of a similar shot.
Earlier, Humphreys had taken the first four Boro wickets in his excellent spell before Schofield found a willing ally in Barnes.
From 82-4 they took the total to 137. And, even though Barnes fell for 26 when Morley came into the attack, Schofield continued to pepper the short boundary with the wicket sited near the edge of the square.
Morley also claimed the scalps of Burns and Deakin with return catches and commanded the respect of Schofield. The ex-England star had his share of luck but deserved his three-figure contribution to take his side past the 200 mark and what
was always going to be a challenging target for Heywood.
LITTLEBOROUGH
C Perren lbw b C Humphreys 21
G Hulme c Latham b C Humphreys 14
C Schofield lbw b Nicol 103
M Zaman Khan lbw b C Humphreys 4
M Taylor b C Humphreys 2
J Barnes c Latham b Morley 26
M Burns c and b Morley 6
P Deakin c and b Morley 5
S Reeza run out 0
M Hodson not out 0
C Roche not out 3
Extras 22
Total (for 9 wkts, 50 overs) 206
Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-44, 3-64, 4-82, 5-137, 6-147, 7-196, 8-197, 9-203
Bowling: S Dawson 5-2-18-0, C Humphreys 17-3-47-4, D Humphreys 6-1-8-0, J Morley 14-2-51-3, J Lovell 6-0-53-0, R Nicol 2-0-19-1
HEYWOOD
R Cross b Burns 9
R Nicol lbw b Burns 23
D Latham b Burns 6
D Pawson c Khan b Taylor 21
D Humphreys lbw b Taylor 3
D Fawcett c Schofield b Taylor 1
S Burrill lbw b Deakin 4
J Lovell lbw b Barnes 11
C Humphreys not out 28
J Morley c Perren b Khan 17
S Dawson c Deakin b Barnes 11
Extras 14
Total (40.2 overs) 148
Fall of wickets: 1-31, 2-38, 3-41, 4-54, 5-65, 6-70, 7-76, 8-95, 9-137, 10-148
Bowling: M Burns 10-1-34-3, M Hodson 7-1-37-0, M Taylor 7-0-25-3, P Deakin 5-2-9-1, J Barnes 6.2-1-27-2, M Zaman Khan 5-2-14-1
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