Read rally to beat Little Lever and lift T20 Trophy

Yahoo

4 days ago

Will Wrathall has praised the resilience of his team-mates after Read claimed the first trophy of the Anthony Axford North West Cricket League summer on Sunday, beating Little Lever in the final to claim the Birtwistle Cup T20 crown.
Captain Wrathall and co triumphed at a Finals Day split across two Sundays at Astley Bridge because of the weather.
They beat hosts Bridge in a rain-affected semi-final last Sunday, chasing a revised target of 89 in 12 overs to win by eight wickets.
The Sunday just gone, they then squeezed past 2023 champions Little Lever by two wickets chasing 156. Earlier in the day, Little Lever had beaten Padiham in the semi-final.
South African overseas amateur Zadian Muller stood out in both games for a Read side who had hit a bit of a flat spot in their season leading up to Sunday.
In recent weeks, they have suffered two damaging defeats to Padiham - one in the semi-final of the Hamer Cup and another in the league. The latter, on Saturday, meant they were replaced at the Premiership's summit by Farnworth Social Circle.
'We lost one game in close to 40 in the league and Hamer Cup (since the start of last season),' said Wrathall. 'And then we lost three in four.
'So we're not used to losing.
'We're trying to figure out how to lose and how to bounce back.
'Sunday was a great way to show we can get over the line and we can go on and do it. Every credit to the lads in that sense.'
The aforementioned Muller took a wicket and a catch and hit 44 off 28 balls opening the batting in the semi-final win over Astley Bridge before claiming two wickets with his seamers and hitting 49 off 26 in the final win over Little Lever.
He was named player-of-the-match in a final which saw Little Lever post 155-8 thanks to opener Cameron Murray's 52 off 26. Earlier in the day, he crashed a stunning 104 off 56 in the thrilling two-run semi-final win over Padiham as the latter narrowly failed to chase 194.
In the final, Read had to recover from 85-5 after 10.1 overs. When captain Wrathall fell at 127-7 after 16.2, the game was very much in the balance. But a busy unbeaten 20 from Elliot Lowes saw his side home.
'It was a topsy-turvy game,' said Wrathall.
'I don't think anyone really thought we were going to win it until we actually did.
'Duckworth Lewis was on the board and was pretty much level all the way through, so it shows how tight it was.
'But fair play to Little Lever, they lost in great spirits. They're a great set of lads.
'Zadian got runs on Saturday in losing to Padiham (55). He had a really good weekend.
'He's not had a bad season by any stretch, but he wanted more. Things have started to click for him now, which is a great sign for us.
'He's brilliant to have around. He's obviously a great player, but he's so knowledgeable about the game. It's like having another professional around, really.'
The NWCL posted a video on their X account on Sunday evening of the Read players celebrating the winning moment on their dressing room balcony, with Wrathall front and centre.
'It was a funny one that,' said the skipper.
'The Little Lever fans were below us. They weren't saying anything out of order, but we did hear them say, 'Wrathall's out now, we'll win'. So it was nice to show them that we can bat all the way down and that we're never out of a game.'
Read are now in place to complete the NWCL trophy set by the end of September.
Hamer Cup champions last summer, they have now won the Birtwistle Cup and are very much in the Premiership title race - just a point behind Farnworth Social Circle with eight games to go.
They also won last season's Championship league title.
Wrathall continued: 'We actually spoke about that on Sunday, and someone referred to it being like Chelsea, who have won every title as well, including the Conference League and the Club World Cup.
'It's definitely something we've thought about even though it's not at the forefront of our minds. We just have to take it one game at a time.
That next game is a blockbuster top-of-the-table Premiership clash with Social Circle at Read on Saturday.
'We're coming up against Jameel Stuart, who is averaging nearly 130 in the league. On Read, he could be quite scary when you think of how small the boundaries are and how good the pitch is,' added Wrathall.
'But, seriously, we're confident.
'I saw a couple their lads on Sunday, Chris Lane and Max Perry, and we were speaking about it.
'We're both really excited about it.'
n The T20 Area Final between Preston and Read takes place on Sunday (1pm start).