Just a reminder that our winter cricket nets start at Old Trafford’s Indoor Cricket Centre on Monday 13th February from 9pm.

The Junior Cricket Presentation evening is set for Friday January 20th at 7:30pm, hopefully with Lancashire County Cricket Club’s Stephen Parry presenting the prizes (to be confirmed).

As most people are aware Ian has been suffering with his knee and hip for the last couple of years. So much so walking was difficult never mind working as he did on the ground and in particular the square.

Well he has finally had the operation he has been waiting for and last week received a new hip. All is going well and Ian should be out of hospital soon.

Hopefully he will be back on the ground next season.

Bonne chance Ian!

THE champers overflowed as Prestwich were presented with the league title trophy – three games ahead of schedule.

The side had already been christened champions of the Lees Lancashire County League prior to their final home match against Dukinfield on Saturday.

And the Heys team were determined to ensure the celebrations did not fall flat, by wrapping up the game in around two-and-a-half hours with an eight-wicket triumph.

This meant they had gained a maximum of 25 points from their last five games, whilst nearest rivals Woodhouses had faltered.

The fizz had to be kept on hold for a short time, however, while league chairman Tony Crook hurried to the Heys ground earlier than he had planned to make the formal presentation to captain Steven Lorenzini.

It is the club’s third league title in recent years, following on from its ice-breaker in 2004 and a league and cup double in 2007. They narrowly missed out on repeating that achievement this year, having lost to Woodbank in the Walkden Cup final.

Skipper Lorenzini said: “It’s a great reward for all the players who have put in so much effort this year. There’s only three players in this team who played in the 2007 Championship win so it’s clear that we’ve done a lot of rebuilding over the past four years and it’s finally paid off.

“To win it with three games to spare is testament to our consistency during a season where everybody has beaten everybody. Hopefully we can build on this now and kick on next year and after that and not struggle like we did last time we won a league.

“No team has worked harder than us, I’ve never played in a team to train with such dedication and high standards over a season and we are deserving winners.”

Dukinfield were bowled out for 63 as spinner Andy Bradley continued his phenomenal season by chalking up a magnificent personal milestone – 100 wickets for the season.

He took three wickets, as did bowling compatriots Danny and Chris Jones, to leave a re-jigged batting order little problem in knocking off the required target.

The early finish and subsequent celebrations took their toll the following day, as they fell to a 93-run defeat at Denton.

Steve Wharton struck 102 in the home side’s 191 for 8, but a jaded Prestwich lurched to 98 all out, with only Lorenzini (30) and David Taylor (24) putting up any noteworthy resistance.

The final game of the season on Saturday sees the newly-crowned champions making the short trip to neighbours Stand.

Prestwich took the honours in Bank Holiday Monday’s Mercedes-Benz Whitefield T20 competition at The Heys. Steven Lorenzini’s side overcame Bury with just one ball to spare in a reduced five over final as the weather did it’s best to try and spoil the day.

Prestwich defeated Unsworth in the first semi-final by 5 wickets with Professional Danny Jones hitting a 25 ball 50. In the other semi, Bury were victorious over Roe Green.

In the five over final, Bury batted first and scored 50-8 but Prestwich ran out winners with a ball to spare by 7 wickets.

It was a crucial weekend for the title hopes of Prestwich with games against top four sides Glossop and the reigning champions Denton West but the Heys men made short work of both thanks to a magnificent fifteen wicket haul for Prestwich’s man of the moment Andy Bradley.

Prestwich batted first at Glossop on Saturday after skipper Steve Lorenzini had won the toss on what looked like an absolute belter at North Road. However appearances proved to be deceptive and fluent runs were hard to come by.

The new opening pair of Chris Thomas and Tom Gibson battled through 24 painstaking overs to add 72 for the first wicket before Thomas was caught and bowled by Hargreaves for a gutsy 38, Gibson followed soon afterwards for 34 but the pair had set up the platform for Matthew Wiley (38) and a late flurry from James Wharmby and Dave Taylor saw the visitors reach 160 for 8 from their allotted 50 overs.

The Glossop innings got off to the worst possible start when Bradley removed Wilde caught and bowled with the score on 1.

This brought Sri Lankan international Bathiya Perera to the crease. Perera who has scored over 1400 hundred runs this season is always pivotal to Glossop’s hopes, but Bradley removed him LBW with his very next delivery handing Prestwich a massive boost.

When the dangerous Pennington departed caught by Thomas in the deep Glossop’s hopes were dashed, and although there was spirited defiance down the order, wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals, with Holden superbly running out Stopford without facing a ball and Gibson collecting 4 catches.

The home side were eventually dismissed for 124 and Bradley’s haul of 7 for 54 made him only the second player to reach 800 1XI wickets for Prestwich after current scorer Bob Hinchliffe.

Reigning champions Denton West were the visitors to The Heys on Sunday and they decided to bat first having won the toss. This decision didn’t work out too well as Andy Bradley again ripped through the opposition line up, the tall off spinner extracting sharp turn and bounce from the Prestwich wicket.

West professional Lee Dale was the first to succumb, caught by Nick Carter and when Berry and Melling had been removed, all caught close in on the leg side, the visitors were in all sorts of trouble at 28 for 4.

With Danny Jones proving almost unplayable at the other end only some dogged defence from O’Brien and Garde prevented total humiliation, but once they also departed Bradley made short work of the rest as the Tameside team were bundled out for just 96.

Andy Bradley’s return of 8 for 50 saw his wickets tally for the season extend to 90, including 8 five wicket hauls.

In reply Prestwich made short work of chasing down the measly total, Tom Gibson remaining unbeaten on 20 offering valuable support as the prolific Sam Holden and Matt Wiley despatched the ball to all parts of the Heys Road ground, and beyond.

Holden smashed 23 from 19 balls and Wiley hammered 32 from just 18 balls, taking him past the 900 run mark for the season.

Prestwich now find themselves 11 points clear at the top of the table with 4 games to play, and travel to Irlam this Saturday knowing that 2 more victories will see them clinch the title.

• On Bank Holiday Monday, Prestwich CC are hosting a T20 tournament sponsored by Mercedes Whitefield. There will be three games throughout the day starting with Prestwich v Unsworth at 10.30am. There will be a barbecue, full bar service etc and all are welcome. Admission £2 adults, children £FOC.

The Cricket section is looking for a member to take on the brilliant work previously done by Keith Mills as the club’s ‘CLUBMARK Standards Manager’.

Each section of the club is looking at managing their own areas as it is extremely unlikely we will be able to replace Keith within a single role. The role involves keeping all our administration and coaching details up to date. The ideal method will be the management of a spreadsheet which would highlight individual training records and the need for key reminders updating training and certification. This is a crucial role for the section.

If you are interested please contact me directly.

Brian Lorenzini

Spinner Andy Bradley ploughed into Flowery Field and came up smelling of roses.

His superb haul of 8 for 27 instigated a nine-wicket triumph to signal a return to form for Prestwich.

The Hyde side wilted for 60 under the “Bradders” battery, before Prestwich comfortably chased down the small total and collecting a maximum five points.

Bradley’s haul was his best-ever as he took full advantage of a helpful pitch, taking his tally for the season to 75.

With second-placed Woodhouses defeated by Woodbank, the Heys lads extended the lead at the top of the Lees Lancashire County League to six points.

Whilst the weather finally cleared up last Saturday, conditions were on the soft side due to the downpours of previous days, and the wicket looked far from straightforward.

Yet whilst the Flowery top order found it difficult to get to grips with Bradley, they did not help themselves with some injudicious shots.

The in-form Neil Mistry was the first of the off-spinner’s victims, well held by a tumbling Chris Thomas at mid-on.

Danny Jones, whose 14 overs yielded just 22 runs, then produced a fine yorker to bowl Matt Hawley to make it 21 for 2 before Bradley got in full swing, removing the next five batsmen in the space of four runs. He was aided by some excellent outfielding, with James Wharmby’s running catch at deep mid-wicket upholding the standard.

There was a slight rally as Field went from 36 for 8 to 59 as professional Steve Oddy struck a couple of meaty blows, but Bradley bowled Lister before Chris Jones wrapped up proceedings with the fifth ball of his first over, having Glen Middleton caught by Wharmby at extra cover.

There was an early stutter in the Prestwich reply as Thomas was dismissed for 1 with the score on 5.

The impressive Oddy gave nothing away in his spell, conceding just two runs from seven overs.

But Steve Orrell (26 not out) and Matt Wiley (36 not out) tamed the opening salvo and once the score reached the 30s, the runs flowed more easily and victory was quickly attained.

* A key weekend faces Prestwich as they travel to Glossop on Saturday, before hosting last year’s league champions Denton West on Sunday.

* FOURTEEN-year-old Zach Wood scored a magnificent 130 as Prestwich 2nds returned to winning ways. His outstanding innings, made up of 10 fours and eight sixes, was the backbone of a total of 251 for 7. Infact, he couldn’t be kept out of the action as Flowery Field 2nd XI were dismissed for 167, with the youngster taking 2 for 17.

PRESTWICH need to end their midsummer wobble in a bid to get their title ambitions back on track.

Only a Chris Thomas-inspired rally salvaged a vital point for the Heys side as they limped to a 49-run defeat at Denton St Lawrence (DSL) on Saturday.

This means they still lie at the top of the Lees Lancashire County League by the slenderest of margins from Woodhouses – who dumped rivals Denton out for just 18.

It was the third league defeat in four games for the Heys side, who must now recapture the form that saw them defeated just once in all competitions in the first half of the season.

On a sticky-looking DSL wicket, it looked a good toss to win and see the opposition bat, and Andy Bradley struck with his first ball which lifted sharply to dismiss Welsh for 0 – caught by Elliott Woodage at slip.

Adam Hawley and Imran Mirza then took up the attacking gauntlet and raced to 55 in the first 10 overs, taking full advantage of the short, straight boundary off Bradley.

The introduction of Tom Gibson helped stem the runs flow as he conceded just 10 runs in five overs. Jones then bowled the dangerous Mirza for 18, and had Abid well held at slip by Woodage for 14.

But Hawley was batting freely and stylishly, and a productive partnership was fostered with the arrival of Jason Stringer at the crease.

He cracked 47 in 52 balls, before he was superbly caught one-handed by Tom Gibson, lunging forward at deep mid-wicket.

Hawley survived two dropped chances, and was the mainstay of the DSL innings, striking 91 before he was claimed by Chris Jones, the first of his three wickets.

Bradley came back well in his second spell to finish with 5 for 64, while Danny Jones’s 15-over stint finished with 2 for 64 and Chris Jones returned 3 for 49 from his 15-over spell, but the 208-run total was going to be no easy target.

A solid start was imperative for the visitors, but the early losses of Danny Jones, the below-par Matt Wiley, and Steve Orrell, left them at 21 for 3. A promising stand began to develop between Sam Holden, who had dislocated his little finger in the warm-up, and captain Steven Lorenzini, pushing the total up to 64, before Holden was l.b.w to Mirza for 18.

James Wharmby made steady progress to 13 before he was stumped and Lorenzini was caught by wicketkeeper Dilnut for a gritty 27.

At 104 for 7, the Prestwich reply was in danger of petering out like a cheap firework, but Thomas provided the necessary spark to rescue a much-needed point. He cracked 5 fours and two sixes in a faultless innings, and having ensured his side had reached the required three-quarter total of 156, deservedly notched up his half century in the last over.

Prestwich’s character will be fully tested on Saturday when Flowery Field are the visitors.