Cricket: Bootle eye cup success again

Sep 1 2007 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post

Bootle eye cup success again

THE highlight of one of the biggest weekends of Merseyside’s 2007 cricket season takes place at Liverpool CC tomorrow when Firwood Bootle meet Bolton League side Greenmount in the final of the LCB Knock-Out Trophy.

This prestigious match is normally played at Old Trafford but Lancashire officials have agreed to move the game to Aigburth to mark the club’s 200th anniversary.

However, Bootle’s attempt to win the Lancashire Cup for an unprecedented fourth year in succession makes up only one part of a mouthwatering menu of cricketing excellence in the region over the next 48 hours.

This afternoon the six teams still in contention for the Business Assistance Liverpool Competition’s Premier League title meet in three head-to-head matches and it is still possible that all may still be in with a chance of winning the championship this evening, a state of affairs described by Bootle skipper Ian Cockbain as “fantastic for the Competition.”

But the long-serving Wadham Road captain is less impressed by the tactics adopted by some of the sides in the top division and is a strong supporter of a change in the points system.

“Teams come to our ground and don’t play cricket against us,” he said.

“They have the mindset that we are the reigning champions and we outplay them but don’t get any more points for doing so.”

The Rake Lane side lead Cockbain’s men by nine points going into their home game against Ormskirk while Bootle visit fourth-placed Lytham who have hit a good run of form and are in search of their first-ever title.

Tomorrow’s attractions also include some of the best young cricketers in the Liver-pool Competition on view at Fleetwood Hesk-eth’s Sea Cop ground when they take on the North Staffordshire and South Cheshire League in the North West Colts Trophy semi-final.

The match is due to start at noon.