As the weather continued to play havoc for all the paid and volunteer ground staff throughout the North West, our season was delayed in starting as both our Intersquad outing and our 1st D40 league game were cancelled due to no grounds being available, many leagues had already delayed the start of their seasons at this point.
Luckily, a slight upturn in the weather over Cheshire meant we could make the short trip to Appleton CC in May to take on Cheshire as both teams looked to get some game time ahead of the league season. Winning the toss, we opted to bat, getting some valuable time in the middle and it was the returning Kristian Collinge who followed on from his measured innings at the end of 2023 who benefitted striking 78 runs at the start of the day before retiring to allow others time to bat. Skipper Liam Griffiths hit 45 on his return from injury and Aaron O’Neill blazed 33 to push the total to 219 all out.
Aaron then followed this up claiming 3 wickets from his opening 8 over spell for just 19 runs and was well supported by Left arm Spinner Jack Fisher who also picked up 3 wickets for 22 runs. Lancashire went on to win by 79 runs but were unable to remove the solid M. O’Brian (44*) restricting the hosts to 140/8 from their 40 overs.
The next Weekend we made the long trip to Sussex and the opportunity for the squad to experience cricket on a 1st Class County Ground, playing at The Hove. Things started well as Adam Finneran (10) and Kristian Collinge (29) put on 54 runs for the first wicket but from there it quickly collapsed as the side were once again bamboozled by the young Leg spinner Vosloo (4-12) as we were bowled out for 93.
James Dixon picked up a wicket with the score on 7, giving confidence a boost but unfortunately Sussex would go on to win by 9 wickets.
So it was back up to the North for the next 2 fixtures and once again heavy rains meant we were unable to play our Friendly at Unsworth CC and a Thunder storm over Swinton Moorside meant we were rained off against Essex.
Overnight Rain meant a delayed start to the League fixture against Essex (Similar to the 2023 season), Injuries, County Duty and Holidays saw several new faces in the line and again we made a decent start putting on 29 for the first wicket on a damp pitch. A middle order collapse was temporarily halted until a slip meant Jimmy was run out 15 taking the score to 82, spurred on Essex picked up the remaining 5 wickets for 11 runs, leaving Lancashire 93 all out.
Jimmy Dixon was firing on all cylinders after tea and with his first ball picked up the opener with a catch from Fisher, before a rumble of thunder, crash of Lightening and all the players left the field. Due to the high volume of rain, the ground was unfit to continue and a draw was the result.
Finally 2nd June saw Lancashire take to the field in sunshine as the Development squad headed to Dukinfield for our friendly fixture. With many of these fixtures we utilise the time and the 40 overs allowing our batters time at the crease to build an innings and also develop their game and confidence whilst fielding the bowlers get the opportunity to have a spell and overs under their belts whilst the fielders experience the time in the field for 40 overs and increasing their concentration levels.
Alex Buckley made a real positive start to our batting innings before unfortunately being run out, Tyler Preece was promoted to opener and showed just how solid a batter he can be and how much he has improved over the years justify that position, Tyler would go on to make 30 runs before being out pushing on towards the end of the innings. Unfortunately again wickets fell at regular intervals meaning we reached 124/9 at the tea interval.
Lancashire looked to defend their total well from the off with 2 good opening spells by Robert Wight and Alex Buckley, unfortunately the total was not enough on the day, however we saw Thomas Wilson and Jack Fisher both have a long spell of bowling and were both able to consistently bowl to the field set. Robert and Jack Hughes picked up wickets to boost their confidences and all the bowlers were backed up by the fielders including 2 stunning 1 handed catches in the leg side.
Once again Injuries and other events meant we entered the game against Hampshire with an understrength team at Firwood Bootle CC, the boys showed superb character throughout the game, unfortunately as is usually the case, a dropped catch turns around to bite you, Williams striking 125 proved a huge difference. Jimmy Dixon (3-38) and Robert Wight (3-44) were the stand out bowlers following a tight spell of Spin from Waqass Khan (1-25).
With the rain due, Hampshire raced through their overs to confirm a result as Lancashire finished 98/8 in reply from the 23 overs possible, Jimmy once again showed his prowess with the bat scoring 31 before unfortunately being run out, Rory McIntyre and Jack Fisher both contributed 16 each. The rain came in and unluckily for us we weren’t able to get back out to try to pick up some valuable bonus points.
Sunday 9th June, we returned to Development team action as we travelled to Ashton Ladysmith CC playing charity Friendly raising awareness and funding for the Alzheimer’s Society. A delayed start due to rain in the morning didn’t dampen the atmosphere on the day and it was the hosts who would get first go at batting as Lancashire won the toss. The day again was a chance for our younger / less experienced players the chance to step up and that is exactly what they did, Jack Hughes picking up his best figures for the Red Rose of 2-13 from his 5 overs and Tyler Preece stepping in with 3 wickets for 24 runs. Picking up wickets at regular intervals we managed to initially bowl the hosts out for 145, with the pre-toss agreement that the game was for development, the top order returned to the crease to support G John who took the game to the bowlers. The hosts reached tea with 251 on the board.
Lancashire were able to reach 151 from their 40 overs with Debutant Chris McElroy and Aaron O’Neill able to use their early set backs to settle nerves and allow valuable time in the middle.
Once again we hit the Saturday traffic as we made our way over the Severn Crossing and over to Swansea to take on Wales. Well done to all that made the trip on a difficult day, Morale was low going into the fixture and things soon went down hill as we lost 2 players to injury, credit to the Wales batters for the way they utilised the space to gain 2 centuries in the innings and post a total of 359/5. Wickets were difficult to come by on the day but Stefan Holmes showed his experience picking up 2 wickets in his spell (2-28), Adam Finneran and Robert Wight battled hard all afternoon with no reward to show.
Lancashire were always struggling to chase down this score but with true grit and determination up stepped the hero of the day Aaron O’Neill, having been waiting in the wings for so long to take his chance, he put all his effort and winter training into action to finish unbeaten on 63, he dug in initially and battled the storm that came his way, then pushed on when the opportunity arose, each time when something wasn’t quite right, he hit the reset button and started again, John Simpson, Jack Fisher and Robert Wight all dug in and supported him to the end, unfortunately a caught and bowled meant we finished on 143/9 all out.
Weather once again hampered our season as our annual showcase fixture against Lancashire Thunder was cancelled and then the lowest point in the season came following Injuries, Fixture Clashes and Unavailability's we held out until the last possible moment to see if the rain could come to our rescue but not the case, we ended up conceding our fixture away to Middlesex and effectively meaning with the points deduction we would finish bottom of the standings for 2024.
We next headed to Stayley CC for our next fixture, however due to the inconvenience of England reaching the Euro Championship Cup final we weren’t able to play a complete fixture but we were able to have a game which saw several new faces join the group for the first time, and also a couple of familiar faces return to the scene to get some game time, meaning that we are continuing to strengthen our D40 sides.
Sunday 21st July – The fixture everyone looks forward to, Red versus White.
Lancashire knowing there was still mathematically a chance we could move from the foot of the table headed over the Pennines to Barnsley of the last game of the league season and a chance to salvage some pride. Toss won and we would bat first, a decision we were soon possibly to regret as we lost our first wicket with the score on 0.
Not to be as Kristian Collinge and Tom Meskell raised their heads above the parapet and took the game to Yorkshire both controlled the game and punished the bad ball, giving the home side many a headache and many on field decisions. Firstly Kristian reached his maiden century as the pair put on 190 for the 2nd wicket, Tom followed closely behind on reaching his century and would then go on to reach 121 not out as Lancashire closed on 263/7, a flurry of wickets at the end as we tried to push on further.
Yorkshire looked from the off to try to finish the season with the bragging rights as Hewitt and Sugden put on 65 for the first wicket, but it was the spin trio of Khan (2-34), Finneran (3-40) and Fisher (2-43) that would tie down the run chase in the middle of the innings and put the target out of reach. Yorkshire finished on 215/8 from their 40 overs.
Wales got the points they needed from their fixture and so we couldn’t move up the league but we did finish the season on a high.
So onto the Development side and a return to Wardham Road for a fixture against a Bootle Women’s XI, 30 overs a side
Batting first Captain Adam Finneran was able to build a confidence boosting innings of 52 before retiring to make way for the youngsters, up stepped Sam and Lewis to the middle both batted with control and composure, punishing the bad balls, running well between the wickets taking the score to 189 from the 30 overs, Sam unbeaten on 61 from 85 balls and Lewis 52 from 52 balls, both showing what potential is present in the county.
Bootle chased down the target with 2 overs to spare, Lewis picking up a wicket and 2 run outs along the way, but at the other end of the age scale it was pleasing to see Derek Grabham and Billy Gartside get some valuable overs in again.
Stretford CC were our next hosts batting first they made 195/9 from their 40 overs as Matty Tamburro (2-36) and Debutant Kazim Dalvi (3-39) bowled with precision, some strong hitting from the opener setting the home side off to a good start.
As we left the field for tea, then the weather turned and a down pour delayed the run chase.
Finally it stopped and Duckworth Lewis came into play meaning Lancashire needed 160 from their allocated overs in reply.
Meskell set them on their way with a quick fire 39, before Chris McElroy 16 and Adam Finneran saw the side close to victory. The end was closing in and out came Kazim to fire the ball straight back down the ground for 2 fours to seal the victory.
Sunday 18th August – Ribblesdale Wanderers v Lancashire Disabled Development – Final game of the Season
Lancashire started very strongly as King Jimmy was able to take a back seat from bowling and watch the youngsters step forward, Matty Tamburro produced superb spells of both seam bowling and spin bowling to finish with figures of 4 for 10 off 7.4 overs. Ribblesdale were restricted to 23/6, skipper Evans steadied the ship to get the total to 78/8. Then in came Waqass Khan for the hosts, hitting 27 runs from 35 balls to push the target up. After a short delay due to an injury, Lancashire finally bowled the host out for 146. Tyler Preece picking up 2 wickets.
Jimmy Dixon turned batter for the afternoon, opening up with Youngster Sam, putting on 27 for the first wicket off 5 overs. Jimmy would then go on to make 49 before helping Khan’s confidence with the ball, being caught at slip.
Kazim once again stepped up and showed what a good acquisition he could be with 34 runs in the middle order, unfortunately the wickets fell to regularly and Lancashire finished 10 runs short. Billy Gartside like Waqass earlier should that he has improved with the bat scoring 7 at the end.
Weather was again a problem as our fixture against Warton was cancelled.
Despite a frustrating season from Injury and Unavailability leading to a long season in the D40 Quest, It is a real positive that we have new players coming along and joining the squad, many youngsters that will hopefully start to challenge the more experienced squad members and strengthen our side into the future
Along side this, several of our squad and Lancashire players went on to represent England – Jimmy Dixon (Deaf), Thomas Wilson (LD) through the season.
Callum Flynn (PD) was again present for both England and in the DPL with Jimmy D.
Joel Harris, Jordan Williams, Luke James and Tom Meskell all played in the DPL final at the Swalec Stadium, with Tom finishing with a winners medal for 2024.
Following the 2024 season we at Lancashire Disability would like to thank the following Clubs in hosting our Squads and D40 fixtures
- Swinton Moorside CC
- Firwood Bootle CC and Firwood Bootle Ladies
- Ashton Ladysmith CC
- Stayley CC
- Dukinfield CC
- Stretford CC
- Ribblesdale Wanderers CC
Also Thanks to
- Unsworth CC
- Horwich RMI CC
- Warton CC
Who were due to host our Development Squad this season but unfortunately due to weather and Cup finals we were unable to play the fixtures, hopefully 2025 will be a chance to try again
Preparations for the 2025 season start in November at the Cricket Centre at Emirates Old Trafford