New Brighton CC 131 All Out (Jones 30; Harrison 5-44)
Rainhill CC 135-3 (Godleman 57, Usman 48; Silva 1-31)
Rainhill enjoyed a 7 wicket win over New Brighton at home, thanks to captain, Jamie Harrison’s 5 wicket haul and runs from Billy Godleman and Khalid Usman.
Winning the toss and choosing to bowl, Rainhill got off to the perfect start with skipper Jamie Harrison taking a wicket with the very first ball of the game. This gave Rainhill the momentum with their opening bowlers creating pressure on an attacking New Brighton top order.
Rainhill’s bowlers restricted the
visitors to 97-7, thanks to the spin pairing of Khalid Usman, (20-9-33-3) and Saeed Ullah, (11-3-18-0). Having taken two wickets in his first spell, Rainhill’s captain, Jamie Harrison returned to take the last three wickets of New Brighton, returning figures of 5-44 from his 15.5 overs.
Like the start of their bowling display, Rainhill’s batting got off to the perfect start. Billy Godleman hit the first ball of the innings to the cover boundary. Rainhill got to 66 before losing their 3rd wicket which brought overseas professional, Khalid Usman to the crease. What followed was a partnership of 69 between Godleman and Usman, displaying the ability to absorb pressure if needed, but still maintain attacking shot making in chasing down New Brighton’s score. Billy Godleman finished with 57 not out from 75 balls, including 8 fours, greatly supported by an attacking 48 not out from 31 balls from Khalid Usman, including 3 fours and 4 sixes.