Report and photo: Peter Rogan

If it was excitement you were looking for then Brook Lane was the place to have been to watch over 400 runs being scored, 13 wickets taken, spectacular fielding and a nail-biting finish.

It finished well for Ormskirk - who won the toss and elected to bat - with a victory by a margin of 22 runs to earn a maximum 25 points and take them up to third place in the table.

It was a very shaky start with the wickets of Alex Rankin (0) and Robert Rankin (5) going cheaply to leave the score on 26-2 needing opener George Politis and skipper Gary Knight to steady the boat which they did very successfully with a stand of 106. Politis went on to make a fine 58 runs before being dismissed when bowled by Chris Firth to leave the score on 132-3.

The ensuing partnership of captain Knight and Harvey Rankin put on 88 runs, during which the skipper reached a fine century before losing his wicket to a fine catch by Tim Baybutt off the bowling of Chris Cunningham, having scored 111 to include fourteen 4s and two 6s.

To take the score from 220 - 4 to a declaration of 251- 4 Harvey Rankin became the third batsman to pass the half century mark and ended with an undefeated 51 runs to his credit. John Armstrong was unbeaten on 12 at the close of the innings.

The Ormskirk batsmen had set a very challenging total for their S&B counterparts to pass and at one stage they looked to be on target.

JJ Fielding and Jack Stanley opened the innings and took the score along to 69 when Fielding (41) was caught by Sam Marsh off the bowling of Harvey Rankin.

A second wicket partnership of 51 between Jack Stanley and Jonathan Whitehead was looking very strong before Harvey Rankin took a superb catch on the boundary off the bowling of Zahir Shehdaz to dismiss Whitehead (32)

The third wicket fell to an equally fine catch when Martyn Farrell claimed the wicket of Basil Sultan (4) off his own bowling to take the score to 136-3. With Shehzad taking the 4th wicket of Adam Phillips (4) with a lbw decision and with only 5 more runs added the odds looked to be in favour of Ormskirk.

The odds evened up when Tom Baybutt joined opener Jack Stanley and set about attacking the Ormskirk bowling. They put on 75 runs and were looking entirely comfortable when Sam Marsh uprooted the stumps of Baybutt (39) to take the score to 216-5 - drama followed almost immediately when a fine piece of fielding by Scott Lees had Stanley (88) run out to make it 217-6.

Ormskirk were back to being favourites!

With overs running out the bowlers, particularly Zahir Shehdaz, gradually took control. He took the three wickets of Romario Brathwaite (3) caught by Gary Knight, Chris Firth (9) caught by Alex Rankin and Bobby Wincer (0) caught off his own bowling.

With 9 wickets down the innings closed with the score at 229 because Thomas Crew was unable to bat due to an injury he sustained when fielding. Thankfully, OCC has since heard that he's made a good recovery.

Ormskirk won a great game which was a credit to both sides; choice for the award of 'Man of the Match' went to Gary Knight for his scintillating century.