AUSSIE ace Troy Martyn stole the Rainford CC headlines at the weekend.

Saturday saw him accepting the first team captaincy following the shock resignation of vice-captain Anthony Poynton and skipper Phil Schofields absence due to holiday commitments.

Southport Trinity elected to bat first but were restricted to 144/9 from their 50 overs as Rainford's resident 'swing twins' Harrison and Corden bowled 35 overs between them at a cost of only 80 runs taking seven wickets on the way.

Rainford's fielding was also of the highest quality with young Mark Mullock particularly impressive.

However, if the large crowd thought they had witnessed some impressive cricket in the first innings then what was to follow was simply breathtaking. Aussie Martyn strutted out to the crease looking like a man with a mission, and he did not disappoint. An innings of sheer brilliance saw Rainford cruise to an emphatic six wicket success and as Martyn hit the winning runs he also brought up his first century of the season, a chanceless 101no to give Rainford only their third maximum of the season.

The seconds faced a difficult match away to fallen giants new Victoria and the Southport side must have felt confident after posting a reasonable 193/7. Rainford's wickets were shared equally amongst the bowlers with Gallagher, Welding and Fogarty all earning their spurs.

In reply Rainford set about the home side attack with relish with all batsmen contributing runs.

However it was Williams who stole the show, a classy unbeaten 96 saw Rainford home and cemented his position as Division three's premier runmaker. Worthy mention must also go to Pendleton who shared in a stand of 92 with the skipper during the last hours play and banished any thought of a New Vic win.

Rainford's bumper weekend didn't stop there.

Traffic congestion delayed the start of the annual President's Day fixture but when the action got underway it saw Tony Hemingway's men take first use of the crease.

Orrell's Steve Tickle scored the first half century of the day and this was followed by some useful runs from the bat of Highfield's Grant Martyn as the President's men rattled up 182 from their 40 overs.

Rainford's bowling was of the highest quality with Australian guest Adrian Cracker leading the way and the usual tight spells from Corden, Harrison and Martyn leaving Rainford with a reasonable total to chase.

This they did to perfection. Dave Kearsley, pushed up the order once more, scored a quickfire 49 and Mark Mullock stroked a pleasant 25 but it was left to Ste Harrison to bludgeon his side to victory in the last over with an unbeaten 65 to continue the Rainford side recent success in this fixture.

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