Yes folks it may be October 2009, but the cup draws for 2010 have already been made! Here’s how our teams have been paired up.

Calverley Cup (1st Division)

1st Rnd - Robinsons v TSJ

2nd Rnd - Robinsons or TSJ v Blackley or Springhead

Hunter Cup (4th Division)

1st Rnd - Bye

2nd Rnd - Darcy Lever or Ashton Ladysmith v TSJ

The times they are a-changing! The magnificent new artifical wicket was installed at Crompton meadows on Thursday 15th October. Thanks to fundraising by the committee, and a successful grant application, the new wicket has been put in place and will be unveiled officially for this year’s Boxing Day fixture against Brooksbottom CC.

Special thanks go to Kieran for the grant work and the rest of the committee for getting this development through!

A sensational innings of 122 from Russ propelled the firsts into the Calverley Cup final following a 56 run over Fothergill and Harvey. Having lost the toss, we were sent in on what looked to be a damp wicket, but this didn’t stop the opening pair of Russ and Boris getting off to a flier - Bird whacked two sixes in the second over and this set the tone for the afternoon.

Th eopening stand raced past 100 inside 18 overs and such was Bird’s dominance that his ton came up moments later out of the first 130, and included around 10 sixes! When Dunan eventually got out for a good 25, a few quiet overs followed. The run rate was upped in the closing overs by skipper Ash (36 not out) and Nelly B who whacked 27 in no time. The target of 261-6 looked a pretty good one!

Some excellent early bowling from Doc stopped the home side getting off to a flier, and when Bird an dNelly came into the attack wickets tumbled. An asbolutely sensational catch from Marshy got rid of Syab for a secnd ball duck, and with the score at 50-5, it looked like our game all the way.

However, you underestimate Fothergills at your peril - just 10 overs later they’d somehow raced to 160-5, and were well in the game again - some lusty hitting and a couple of bad misses contributed to the chaos, and it took another great catch from Marshy and some good ground fielding to stem the flow. Having removed both danger men, Si cleaned up the last few wickets to leave us victorious by 56 runs and on course to defend our cup again!

 The final will be played against Littleborough Lakeside, and will be held at Prestwich Cricket Club on Sunday August 30, match start 1.30pm.

Horror show from the firsts this weekend - having performed superbly to dismiss Elton Vale for just 69, with Doc, Asif and Ash taking all the wickets, some truly horrible batting saw a record low for many years of 27. No explanations, just horrid batting!

Another week, another pulsating game at Crompton Meadows, where visitors Fothergill and Harvey provided decent opposition on a decidedly hostile pitch.

In muggy heat the visitors batted first, and dangerman Syab got off to a flier, smashing the ball to all corners for several overs before falling to a super catch from Pete. Fothergills continued to bat recklessly, with shots to all parts and the ball eluding fielders numerous times. However, the innings couldn’t last like that and Doc steamed in to claim 4 quick wickets to leave the opposition at 99-8. Unfortunately a suspected broken finger forced Doc from the field, and Fothergills late order rallied, smashing their way to 185 before the last man fell.

A challenging target then, and one made much harder by some heavy rain which spiced the pitch up no end. After a flurry of early boundaries, quick wickets fell, including a farcical run out, and this left Doc and Marshy to try and rebuild the innings from 40-3. After a good hour of struggles, the pair valiantly batted on, and suddenly switched gears as the bowling tired. 21 came off one over to leave a target of 50 from the last 10. Despite losing both Marshy (45) and Doc (46), Nelly B steadied things with a tremendously cool 30 not out, and with Asif hitting a 6 at a crucial point to relive the pressure, we scrambled home with 8 balls to spare!

The 2nds had another day of mixed fortunes on Sunday against visitors Springhead. Early rain shortened the match to 38 overs per side, and after 10 overs the game looked all over with the visitors standing at 70-2. Skipper Moriarty applied the brakes, and with a strangelhold at one end, Rob Holt just bowled straight and picked up 7-57 - aided with some good catching, including a lovely one form Rowdy! Mozzer picked up a blinding caught and bowled, and the Totts boys cleaned up to leave a target of 129 - a great effort considering the start.

With several key batsmen missing, the early losses of Jones and Moriarty looked to have sealed Totts fate, but some stout batting and dogged middle order hitting gave the home side hope. Sadly the innings closed at 121, leaving Totts just 8 runs shy of an unlikely win.

A stunning comeback after the first 15 overs saw the firsts dispose of league leaders Littleborough Lakesiders in a superb performance. After a poor start which saw the visitors rattle up 100-2 off just a third of the available overs, the introduction of slow men Nelly B and Big Bird put the brakes on proceedings and a combination of terrific tight bowling and good catching saw the visitors collapse to 158 all out. Nelly ended with 5-19.

After losing a couple of early wickets, there then followed a batting masterclass from Marshy (64 not out) and Boris (50 not out) as Totts romped to victory with 18 overs to spare.

The 2nds had a dramatic weekend, taking a valuable point away at leaders Littleborough, and then enduring a pulsating tied finish at Woodbank on Sunday!!

It was a mixed weekend of results for the firsts, winning one match and losing the other. Saturday was always going to be a stern test against old rivals Rochdale Catholic Club and it lived up to the billing. On a damp wicket Tottington batted first and posted a decent score of 170 for 5 from a reduced 38 overs. Paul Meehan dominated with the bat for Tottington scoring 93 before being bowled on the last ball of the innings. In reply Catholic Club made a solid start but there were some missed chances by the Tottington fielders which didn’t help. The Tottington bowlers also mixed it up but couldn’t seem to get the right line against a strong Rochdale batting line up, and in the end Rochdale ran out fairly easy winners.

On Sunday in was a different story against Robinsons. Kieran Coe top scored with 50 in Tottington first innings total of 172-7 and after the break the Tottington bowlers and fielders applied themselves better and bowled Robinsons out for 42 with Asif Iqbal being the pick of the Tottington bowlers finishing with 5-19, while Paul ended with 3-9 off a miserly 10 overs.

The 2nds pulled off a great win against Walshaw at home on Sunday. Having seen the visitors post a challenging 157, with Rob Holt the pick of the bowlers with 6 wickets, the boys applied themselves well. Despite losing a steady stream of wickets, Nick Fletcher stepped up with a great 42 not out to steady the innings and see the boys to a crucial 5 point haul ahead of next weekend’s tough double header.

The firsts moved within 2 points of joint leaders Fothergills and Littleborough Lakesiders on Saturday with a comfortable 7 wicket triumph against Ashton. Despite some spirited early batting, the visitors collapsed from 70-2 to just 116 all out - Nelly and Russ did most of the damage with some controlled bowling after the quicker men had suffered some damage.

Despite missing Paul and Marshy, the Tottington batting line up proved too powerful - another good knock of 41 from skipper Ash was backed up with good not outs from Russ and Nelly to add to their earlier work with the ball, and a comfortable 7 wicket win and 5 points ensued.

On Sunday, a sterner test presented itself in the shape of Cup quarter finalists Elton Vale. Desperate to progress and keep our hold on the cup, losing the toss on a baking hot day wasn’t good, but the Totts bowlers bowled superbly on a flat pitch. Doc showed some real pace, particulaely in his 2nd spell, Asif bowled 8 very tight overs for just 13 and 2 wickets, Ash also kept the scoring down, but once again it was the slow men, Nelly and Russ who did most of the damage - Russ was the pick of the bowlers with some super spin. A total of just 117 all out seemed maybe 40 or 50 runs light.

The Totts innings began disastrously with Clive, Ash and Paul all departing for ducks, but the team was rescued by a magnificent innings from Kieran, quite easily his best ever knock for the Johns. In an emotional performance, the CDO led the fightback, first with Russ, who hit some good shots in his 28, and then a solid partnership with Nelly took us to victory - Kieran ended with a quite superb 55 not out to send us into the cup semis, where will will face Fothergill and Harvey!

There was some personal triumph for Danny Mozzer on Saturday as he registered his first senior 50 for Tottington St Johns 2nd XI. Unfortunately the innings was the one shining light in a bleak batting performance that saw the Johns knocked over for 92 in pursuit of Ashton’s 152-9.

Congratulations Dan - and hope the boys can bounce back in their cup quarter final with Blackley next Sunday!

A Saturday of high frustration - the 2nd XI fixture with Darcy Lever was called off around lunchtime, the visitors inexplicably unable to raise a team; at least it’s 5 points in teh bag, but not great when you’re geared to play.

The 1sts took on Elton Vale - with the threat of weather always looming, this was likely not to finish, and that possibility was lessened by the Totts team having to bat first. It was very slow going, and after a rain break for the best part of two hours, Totts eventually reached a creditable 130 on a very poor surface. With just 25 overs left to dismiss the home side, and run-ups proving treacherous, Totts did really well to knock over 6 of the Elton Vale side; a couple of missed chances didn’t help. Big Bird bowled beautifully to take 4 wickets, but eventaully we ran out of time - 2 points each.

 The firsts began their cup defence on Sunday with a relatively straightforward win at Failsworth. Despite a couple of dubious decisions, Totts made 160-7 in their overs, with half centuries from Ash and Marshy and some good hitting from Nelly. The bowling performance was not too convincing, though Paul bowled well to take 2-6 off 6 overs. With the Failsworth side getting themselves out to silly shots, they were dismissed for around 90 to send Totts through to face Elton Vale in a few weeks.