Amateur dramatics

Well you'd better start eating humble pie because the men from Seedhill are on course for their second successive Lancashire League title thanks to some dramatics of the amateur variety.

Okay, Roger Harper is arguably the most consistent professional the league has ever seen.

And, yes, the West Indian picked up another five wicket haul to take his tally for the season to an impressive 74 victims.

But this vital victory over Accrington, which saw Nelson steal a march on title rivals Haslingden and East Lancs, was more about collective responsibility than it was about Harper's individual brilliance.

At 67-6, and with Harper back in the pavilion following a rare failure, Nelson's goose looked well and truly cooked.

But some of Seedhill's unsung heroes promptly took centre stage and proved they aren't just there to make up the numbers.

And after masterminding a remarkable recovery to haul the League champions up to 166, they then offered Harper superb support in the field to wrap up maximum points off the game's penultimate delivery by 13 runs.

"Naturally, we weren't very happy with the situation when we were 67-6," said Harper.

"But I think we showed today that it's not about one individual, we are a very good team.

"For anyone to win a league you need contributions from everyone.

"We did that last year and we are doing it again this summer.

"Jason Warwick and Khuram Nazir got us towards a respectable target.

"And then young Jonathan Finch acquitted himself well on his first team debut.

"It became a question of patience after that and we kept at it in the field until we got our reward."

Accrington skipper Mas Ahmed had little hesitation in inserting the visitors after winning the toss.

And he must have been rubbing his hands as Kaz Shazad and Tariq Hussain set about tearing the heart out of the Nelson top order.

Openers Duncan Spencer (12) and Danny Kegg (6) put on 27 before the lively Shazad struck first blood.

And they'd slumped to 47-5 by the time Hussain (6-54) got the big wicket of Harper, trapped lbw for just eight.

But a seventh wicket partnership of 53 built on honest endeavour between Warwick (36) and Nazir (34) turned the tide.

And Finch, together with Trevor Kegg, ensured that momentum wasn't lost as they added 32 for the ninth wicket to give their side something to defend. Kegg then struck an early blow by removing opener Accrington opener Mohsin Ahmed (4) soon after the tea interval. But as long as Kiwi professional Mark Bailey stayed around, the home side were always in the hunt.

He occasionally cut loose with the odd dashing boundary in his 44, but his duel with Harper became a game of patience.

Frustration finally got the better of the New Zealander, though, and he flashed a bat at a leg-side delivery from Martin Heap, allowing wicketkeeper Mike Bradley to take a stunning diving catch.

An entertaining partnership between Mark Burns (20) and Matt Wilson (20) swung the game back in the home side's favour.

But Harper - who else? - accounted for Wilson before then removing Burns and Shazad in the space of three balls to tip the balance once again.

Needing 34 off 19 deliveries with only three wickets in hand, Accy had to go for it. But Danny Kegg held onto a sensational caught and bowled to remove Hussain.

Then some smart fielding accounted for Zahir Afzal and last wicket pair Steve Birtwistle (14) and Damian Clarke entered the last two overs still 20 runs short.

They couldn't eek out the runs, though, and in one last desperate throw of the dice, Birtwistle launched Harper's penultimate delivery into orbit.

But Trevor Kegg held onto an excellent catch on the mid-wicket boundary as Nelson wrapped up maximum points to close the gap at the top. HANDS up those who thought Nelson were a one-man band!

Well you'd better start eating humble pie because the men from Seedhill are on course for their second successive Lancashire League title thanks to some dramatics of the amateur variety.

Okay, Roger Harper is arguably the most consistent professional the league has ever seen.

And, yes, the West Indian picked up another five wicket haul to take his tally for the season to an impressive XX victims.

But this vital victory over Accrington, which saw Nelson steal a march on title rivals Haslingden and East Lancs, was more about collective responsibility than it was about Harper's individual brilliance.

At 67-6, and with Harper back in the pavilion following a rare failure, Nelson's goose looked well and truly cooked.

But some of Seedhill's unsung heroes promptly took centre stage and proved they aren't just there to make up the numbers.

And after masterminding a remarkable recovery to haul the League champions up to 166, they then offered Harper superb support in the field to wrap up maximum points off the game's penultimate delivery by 13 runs.

"Naturally, we weren't very happy with the situation when we were 67-6," said Harper.

"But I think we showed today that it's not about one individual, we are a very good team.

"For anyone to win a league you need contributions from everyone.

"We did that last year and we are doing it again this summer.

"Jason Warwick and Khuram Nazir got us towards a respectable target.

"And then young Jonathan Finch acquitted himself well on his first team debut.

"It became a question of patience after that and we kept at it in the field until we got our reward."

Accrington skipper Mas Ahmed had little hesitation in inserting the visitors after winning the toss.

And he must have been rubbing his hands as Kaz Shazad and Tariq Hussain set about tearing the heart out of the Nelson top order.

Openers Duncan Spencer (12) and Danny Kegg (6) put on 27 before the lively Shazad struck first blood.

And they'd slumped to 47-5 by the time Hussain (6-54) got the big wicket of Harper, trapped lbw for just eight.

But a seventh wicket partnership of 53 built on honest endeavour between Warwick (36) and Nazir (34) turned the tide.

And Finch, together with Trevor Kegg, ensured that momentum wasn't lost as they added 32 for the ninth wicket to give their side something to defend. Kegg then struck an early blow by removing opener Accrington opener Mohsin Ahmed (4) soon after the tea interval. But as long as Kiwi professional Mark Bailey stayed around, the home side were always in the hunt.

He occasionally cut loose with the odd dashing boundary in his 44, but his duel with Harper became a game of patience.

Frustration finally got the better of the New Zealander, though, and he flashed a bat at a leg-side delivery from Martin Heap, allowing wicketkeeper Mike Bradley to take a stunning diving catch.

An entertaining partnership between Mark Burns (20) and Matt Wilson (20) swung the game back in the home side's favour.

But Harper - who else? - accounted for Wilson before then removing Burns and Shazad in the space of three balls to tip the balance once again.

Needing 34 off 19 deliveries with only three wickets in hand, Accy had to go for it. But Danny Kegg held onto a sensational caught and bowled to remove Hussain.

Then some smart fielding accounted for Zahir Afzal and last wicket pair Steve Birtwistle (14) and Damian Clarke entered the last two overs still 20 runs short.

They couldn't eek out the runs, though, and in one last desperate throw of the dice, Birtwistle launched Harper's penultimate delivery into orbit.

But Trevor Kegg held onto an excellent catch on the mid-wicket boundary as Nelson wrapped up maximum points to close the gap at the top.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.