Wallasey are leading the way at the top of the Love Lane Liverpool Competition - and they’re flying the flag for the region in the Royal London Club Championship as well.
Greg Beaver’s side reached the quarter-finals with a stirring victory over Bradford’s Woodlands on Sunday, Harry Meehan clubbing the winning six to wrap up a four-wicket win with two balls to spare.
With the prospect of a first league title since 2002 firmly in their hands going into the second half of the season, Beaver says it’s clear the club is going places.
He said: “It was a fantastic day on Sunday, a really big game for us as a club.
“With how we've come on over the past year or so, we really wanted to give the cup a good crack, given how good a side we've turned into.
“We knew what a strong side Woodlands were - they've won the Bradford Premier League for the past couple of years and gone far in the cup competitions, so we knew how tough that game was going to be.
“And the hard work paid off on the day. I’m really proud of our lads.”
South Northumberland, who conquered Northern on Sunday, will be the visitors for the quarter final on July 31.
“The quality of cricket that’s getting played in the Comp is only going to attract more top quality players to come and test themselves,” added Beaver.
One of the best around is Wallasey’s pro Sumit Ruikar, who excelled once again on Sunday - this time with the bat. His 76 from 50 balls, described by his captain as “one of the best situational knocks I’ve ever seen”, turned the game in his side’s favour after Alex Eagles’ 52 had softened the blow of Jamie Crawley’s first-ball duck.
After a 79-run stand, both Beaver and Ruikar fell with the target of 203 in sight, but Meehan’s emphatic pull made sure of the win.
Beaver is trying to keep his feet on the ground but, with a 44-point cushion in the league, it’s hard to avoid thinking of what the next two months might bring.
He said: “I’ve always been a big believer that you get what you deserve - so come the end of the season, if we deserve to win the league then we will win the league.
“And if we deserve to be in the semi-final or the final of the National then we'll be there.
“As exciting as it is, we've got to keep doing what we're doing and keep pushing until the end of the season.
“But it’s an exciting time - our U13s retained their title by winning 100% of their games.
“Juniors are the heart and soul of the club, they're the ones that keep the club going.
“It's great to see them doing so well and in years to come, they’ll be the ones flying the flag for our first team.
“So it’s a really exciting time.”
