The spectator was an hour or so late, but that’s not normally a problem. The first hour of a league game might involve a few interesting skirmishes, maybe a sense of what the pitch and outfield are like, but nothing you can’t catch up on.
Arriving an hour after the start, you’ve got time to grab a drink, say a few hellos, find a good spec and then check the scoreboard.
The spectator squinted across the Moor Park turf at the number beneath “wickets”.
“Is… is that a 7?”
By this time, Newton-le-Willows were wishing they hadn’t turned up at all. Northern’s Liam Grey had torn through their top order with a devastating spell of fast, accurate seam bowling.
Landing it on a sixpence on a fourth-stump line and threatening both edges, Grey left the visiting batters nowhere to turn.
When he finally took a breather after 11 overs, he’d conceded just 10 runs and taken six wickets. Northern’s dry run of four winless games, which put an end to their title defence, was all-but over - Newton’s troubles, sparked by their 80-point penalty for fielding an ineligible player, were deeper than ever.
Chris Chambers and his side have promised to fight to the last ball to avoid relegation, but they weren’t given the chance on Saturday. The skipper himself - Grey’s second victim, squirting a leading edge to gully - could only watch with a rueful smile as his top order capitulated.
Only Ben Walkden made double figures - when he fell aiming a loose drive at a rare full ball from Aussie import Quincy Titterton, there was precious little left for the spectators. The visitors were dismissed for 37 inside two hours, and the hosts completed a nine-wicket win with a minimum of fuss.
Winning captain James Cole was understandably full of praise for Grey, saying: “That was one of the best spells of seam bowling I’ve seen in a long time.
“He was a bit unlucky not to get seven or eight, and in my opinion on days like this he should be playing professional cricket.”
Only spinners have taken more wickets than Grey’s 32 this term. And while he wasn’t needed with the bat on Saturday, he’s contributed 633 runs and two centuries as well.
“He doesn’t really bowl a bad ball,” added Cole. “He bowls at a decent pace and it was one of those days where everything was sticking to hand.
“He’s far and away the best seamer in the league, and someone who should be on the county circuit.”
A few weeks ago, Northern were the closest challengers to leaders Wallasey. But three defeats and one draw saw them slip to fourth - they’re in the final of the Ray Digman Trophy, having beaten Ormskirk in the semi on Sunday, but it’s still been a disappointing end to the season for Cole.
He added: “We’ve played our bad games at the worst possible times.
“We were quite confident going into the year, but losing two or three experienced players and giving two or three youngsters a go means it’s been a bit of a development year.
“We’ve gone quite deep in some of the cups but fallen short on the big occasions - hopefully, the lads will be better for it moving forward.
“We want to win as many games as we can and finish as high as we can - and we would like to take a trophy out of a frustrating season.”
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Wallasey are on the brink of their first ECB Premier Division title since 2002 after a stunning display even by the sky-high standards of Sumit Ruikar.
The Indian left-armer settled yesterday’s Wirral derby against New Brighton with a spell of 9/9, the best figures in the top flight since Srikant Mundhe took all 10 for Colwyn Bay against Birkenhead Park in 2016, and the cheapest nine-wicket haul on record in the Comp.
In the last 10.3 overs of his spell, he took seven wickets without conceding a single run off the bat, dismissing the visitors for just 64.
Earlier, he’d shown he can bat, too, top scoring with 71 out of 215.
Southport & Birkdale missed the chance to gain valuable ground at the bottom of the table, as Orrell Red Triangle’s tail held firm to earn a draw. Jonny Whitehead’s 75 set up the hosts’ 226/6, but Richard Everett’s 52 followed by some obstinate defence kept the home spinners at bay.
Formby suffered a 142-run defeat at Ormskirk which leaves them in serious danger of getting sucked into the bottom two. George Politis hit 97 and Gary Knight 56 in the hosts’ 247/6.
Tyler McGladdery set a new record for runs in a Premier Division season - at least since the split to three divisions in 2010 - as his unbeaten 55 helped Rainhill to a nine-wicket win over Birkenhead Park, chasing just 101. Park’s weekend improved on Sunday, when a win over Widnes set up a Cheshire Cup final on home turf against Nantwich.
Leigh’s Sam Dorsey carried his bat for 63 to see his side to 185 against Wigan, for whom Jordan Hampson took 5/30; the visitors looked comfortable at 145/3, but Mattie McKiernan’s 5/45 earned a 19-run win.
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Promotion and relegation from Division One both look like three-horse races, after the top three all won and the bottom three all lost on Saturday.
Lytham lead the way after a six-wicket win at Ainsdale; Colwyn Bay are hot on their heels after Will Evans’ unbeaten 148 and Zack Gidlow’s 84 set up a 127-run win over second-bottom Northop Hall.
Rainford, in third place, scraped to a one-wicket win over Firwood Bootle after the last pair of Liam Gaskell and Andy Davies put on 34 to rescue a lost cause. Earlier, visiting skipper Danny Davies hit an unbeaten 69.
Bottom side Fleetwood Hesketh were rolled for just 43 by Highfield, for whom Ryan Parry took 6/22 to set up a 10-wicket win.
Caldy, set 290 at Spring View thanks to Suleman Khan’s 103 and Dave Gornall’s 65, reached 241/6 but fell 22 runs short despite 50s for Chris Edwards, Martyn Evans and Corne Nel.
Sefton Park held on to draw their derby clash with Liverpool, for whom Jared Clein hit an unbeaten 106. Ben Percival’s 58 was the top score for the hosts as they closed on 185/6 in reply to 240/7.
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St Helens Town maintained their lead in Division Two with a 69-run win over Sutton. Ryan Donnelly’s unbeaten 81 was the top score for the hosts.
Second-placed Old Xaverians chased 218 for a four-wicket win at Hightown St Marys, with Josh Dilworth’s unbeaten 72 the winning hand.
Cricket may be the last thing on anyone’s mind at Maghull, whose captain Paul McKenna is seriously ill in a Mexican hospital after suffering a suspected stroke. In his absence, Tony Molloy’s 90 set a target of 224 for Wavertree, who closed eight down and 17 runs behind.
And Southport Trinity’s Salman Ahmed made history - his 136* was the 100th century scored this year in the Comp. It led his side to a five-wicket win over Norley Hall, for whom Liam Martlew, Daniel Fisher and Michael Simpson all made half-centuries.
