Cross Ton Gets Season Off To A Flier

Heywood 220-4 (Cross 100, Pawson 43, Zelem 41) Crompton 135 (Naeem 4-38, Kaye 3-14) Heywood won by 85 runs

Youth and experience dovetailed perfectly to guide Heywood Cricket Club to a sparkling opening day Central Lancashire League victory.

The Crimble men skated to an 85-run win at Crompton, with 28-year-old skipper Bobby Cross making his 12th century for the club in a total of 220-4.

Then 15-year-old pace bowler Humza Naeem and left-arm spinner Chris Kaye, who at 41 seems to be getting better and better, gunned down the home side for 135.

Naeem finished with an impressive 4-38, including a devastating three wickets in four balls, and Kaye’s spell of 3-14 from 7.1 overs came when the home side briefly threatened to get back into the game.

Crompton were always on the back foot in their reply once Naeem got rid of Mohammed Naveed with his third ball, admittedly to a long hop, and Australian overseas amateur Hamish Paterson then clean bowled Danny Taylor with just three on the board.

But home professional Sida Hussain and talented all-rounder Aqib Zulfiqar started to pull things around, surviving a particularly impressive spell from Paterson .

And at 59-2, despite going at less than three an over, Crompton were showing signs of pulling things around.

So it was perfect timing when deputy professional Brett Pelser made the breakthrough by having his counterpart Hussain caught behind, then off-spinner Rob Slawson bowled the dangerous Zulfiqar for 30 without any addition to the score.

Stephen Wright and overseas amateur Sami Ullah threatened a revival, taking the score to 85 until Kaye came into the attack for what proved a telling spell.

And in his first over he enticed Ullah into lofting a catch to the long-on boundary, where Lee Grogan took a smart catch running in from in front of the pavilion.

Wright found another impressive ally in Majid Khan, and the pair aggressively sent the scoreboard rattling along.

Khan, in particular, took heavy toll of Naeem with a series of boundaries on the youngster’s return to the attack. But with Kaye tieing up the other end – despite being hit for a six by Wright – Cross was able to retain control.

At 130-5, the home side were still in with a sniff. But Wright fell for 28 to the Kaye-Grogan combination in almost identical fashion, paving the way for a spectacular party piece from Naeem.

He had Majid Khan brilliantly stumped by Danny Pawson with the first ball of his 10th over, then clean bowled Shazeed Khan and Jamie Good with his third and fourth balls.

Dave Shaw just about managed to deny him a famous hat-trick – dabbing the ball down then clawing it back from the stumps with his bat – but 130-5 had become 130-9. And it was probably fitting that Kaye should administer the last rites by cleaning up Shaw.

Earlier, Heywood’s top order had put on an impressive first day show, with Cross and 16-year-old Ross Zelem laying the base in a first-wicket stand of 111.

Both had their share of luck on a seaming wicket, but Zelem underlined his great promise by making 41 until being trapped lbw by Hussain.

Pelser, paid man for the day in place of his fellow South African Farhaan Behardien, impressed briefly with 14 and it was a surprise when he played down the wrong line to Hussain.

That, however, allowed Pawson to join Cross and the pair took toll of the Crompton attack.

Cross carried on in his own meticulous fashion while Pawson helped provide the impetus, particularly with one tremendous six off Carl Taylor.

Both were there in the last over, with Cross clubbing a four and a six off Hussain to reach three figures before clipping a skied catch to Taylor off the penultimate ball of the innings.

And even though Pawson also fell off the last ball, caught on the cover boundary for an impressive 43, Heywood were well pleased with a score that always threatened to be out of reach of the home side.