Day 13: Westerhall all in a spin in last match of the tour

In the final game of the tour Kirkham travelled to La Sagresse to play Westerhall Secondary School. A team had been selected to give some players the opportunity to bowl and/or bat again given the amount of appearances on tour, the number of overs previously bowled or the number of times batted.

In yet another 35 over match Kirkham elected to bat and made a reasonable start against strong opening bowlers (20 for 0 off 4 overs). However, when the bowlers found more line and length, wickets started to fall. Some poor feet movement and shot selection opened the door for the bowlers to take command. Only Will Roper (27) took the bowlers to task and when he was joined by Marcus Mollinga with seven wickets down the score remained well below a hundred. Nevertheless, these two pushed along and although Marcus was offered little support after the fall of Roper, at least the final total passed the hundred barrier.

This looked too little to defend, particularly as the openers for Westerhall looked composed and threatening. However a wicket in the seventh over (Baybutt) halted the Westerhall progress. As Baybutt and Vaughan were finishing their spells, Ryan suddenly found a great line and length and claimed three wickets in two overs. Now five wickets down it was the perfect opportunity for the spinners to mop up. With Wilson at one end claiming 3 wickets, and Whalley at the other claiming two, the game slid into the hands of the Kirkham side and victory was clinched in the 26th over with Westerhall stranded on 77, some 35 runs short of victory.

This was a fantastic turn around and reflects Kirkham's spirit and determination throughout the tour. Five wins out of seven is a remarkable achievement. Well done to all the squad and staff on this success.