PREVIEW: Palace Shield Competition - Week 6

The first half of this truncated season saw success for Wyre Cricket Club, as our first XI into the "Gold" grouping for the next phase of the Palace Shield competition, topping the table with 12 points from a possible 16.

There have been a number of highlights so far. Steve Rawcliffe, Marcus Webster and Kenny Crabtree have all made half centuries, with the 110 run partnership betwen Crabtree and Webster v Blackpool at Stanley Park standing out. With the ball, Tom Rawcliffe has taken 11 wickets in 4 games so far at an average of 8.27, meaning he tops the wicket-taking list across all 18 teams in Level 4. The bowling contributions from Simon Pollard and David Wright have also yielded 8 wickets a-piece so far and while Steve Rawcliffe appears 4th on the Wyre wickets list, his economy rate of 1.24 is a sterling effort.

We head into the next phase with Wyre II placed in the "Silver" group and finishing bottom of Group B. While results have been poor it has been encouraging to see Tom Gregson settle into his position in the batting order and season debutant Stu Walters has featured with both bat and ball. As the season has progressed, the spin duo of Warburton and Mackay have come into their own with 3 wickets apiece v Ingol II last week.

This week's Matches:

Wyre v Wrea Green II (Away - The Green)
Wyre's first game in the second phase is against the team that defeated Wyre II twice in the earlier stages (and finished level on points with group winners Kirkham and Wesham), so Wyre 1sts will be looking to attain some form of retribution in this game. A key figure for Wrea Green is Dipesh Answar, who starred with both bat and ball earlier in the season against our seconds, scoring an aggresive 33 in the middle order and taking 4 wickets. It had been widely felt that without the contribution from Answar, Wyre II may have been able to secure victory in that match.

In terms of team news, Stu Walters has been promoted into the 1st team for the first time, but other than this the team remains settled. The weather may play a factor on Saturday, with rain forecast, although it is looking to brighten up late morning with showers returning in the evening. The preceding week's weather may also play a part - if the wicket has been too wet to prepare, the match may be played on the astroturf strip.

BBC Weather Forecast for Wrea Green
?
19c “Light Rain and a Fresh Breeze”
Wind: ↗ 22mph
Chance of rain: 13-21% throughout the afternoon.
UV: Medium
Pollen: Medium

Wyre II v Charnock St James II (Home - Cottam Hall)
Wyre II face a Charnock St James team who have also been struggling with form this year, finishing bottom of L4 group D. Batting-wise, while they have managed to reach 3 figures on 1 occassion this year so far (with Phil Weir and Bailey Foster featuring), they have also been skilled out for some low figures, including 41 v Tarleton. Bowling-wise, Charnock St-James have struggled to take wickets - their best performance being against Darwen where they were able to take 4 in a reduced overs affair. It does appear that both teams are relatively evenly matched, and Wyre are hoping that the addition of Ben Powell at the top of the order will bolster the batting. Again, the weather is likely to play a part, and the toss will be crucial (captain Duffield having already lost 4 out of 5!). This is likely to be a relatively low-scoring affair with accurate line and length bowling being the order of the day.

BBC Weather Forecast for Cottam Hall
?
22c “Light Rain and a Fresh Breeze”
Wind: ↗22mph
Chance of rain: 15-29% throughout the afternoon.
UV: Medium
Pollen: Medium