Having elected to bat on winning the toss, Bootle’s openers failed for the second week in a row.

Skipper David Snellgrove and Craig Prince both being dismissed with just two runs on the board, the former to a dubious-looking lbw decision. There was, however, no cause for alarm as Patrick Jackson and Jack Kelliher took the Prestatyn bowling apart with a fantastic third wicket stand of 175 which gave the visitors total control of the contest.

Australian star Jackson’s fantastic 147 off just 90 balls featured 21 fours and four sixes, while 56 of teammate Kelliher’s 70 runs also came in boundaries.

Jackson and Steve Dutton (24 not out) added a further 61 together and Bootle eventually declared at an imposing 272-4 after 37 overs to set the home side a stiff target.

To their credit, Prestatyn’s openers, Gareth Boughey and Steve Giblin, got their side off to a very good start posting 83 for the first wicket. But then Bootle’s Ronnie Davis really got to work and began slicing through the Prestatyn batting order with a super display of bowling. Davis hit the stumps five times in his excellent return of 5-49 from 14 overs to peg the home side back.

The Welsh outfit’s innings turned into something of a procession as one batsman after another succumbed to the accuracy of Bootle’s accurate attack. In the end, Prestatyn were all out for 120 in 34 overs as their remaining wickets went down for only 37 runs, the promising start now no more than a distant memory.

Steven Mullaney (59 no) and Jack Kelliher (41) maintained the momentum, allowing the declaration to be made at 225-6 after 51 overs.

Wallasey were in immediate trouble at 25-4 in the 13th over of their reply, but Australian Mitchell Cook hit an aggressive 59 as a fifth-wicket stand of 69 offered them a glimmer of hope.

Once that partnership was broken, however, Bootle regained control, and despite the last pair, John Murphy and Matty Hughes, adding a defiant 40, Wallasey were all out for 153. Mark O’Connor returned 4-23 from his nine overs to pace the Bootle attack.

Snellgrove and Prince once again set the tone with an opening partnership of 74, but the innings really took off when Snellgrove was joined by Patrick Jackson (61 no) to add a terrific 120 for the third wicket in 14 overs following a two hour stoppage for rain.

The Bootle captain hit five sixes in his magnificent unbeaten 115 and he declared at 222-2 after 36 overs.

Northern had 41 overs to bat but showed little inclination to chase the total and the game stagnated into a draw as the home side closed on 137-4.

Rain delayed the start until 2.42 pm, at which point David Snellgrove asked the visitors to bat first when he won the toss, and Mark O’Connor’s fiery opening salvo blasted a hole in New Brighton’s top order batting, getting rid of Matthew Thompson, Alex Roberts and Paul Hale with only 19 scored.

Martyn Evans and John While staged a mini-recovery with 45 for the 4th wicket, but Patrick Jackson soon started weaving a spell with his clever off-spin and New Brighton slumped to a precarious 112-8. Three careless dropped chances (none of them especially difficult) cost Bootle valuable runs as Ashraf Nawab and Nazim Mohammed were allowed to add 28 together, but the innings ended at 144 after exactly forty-one overs, Jackson returning 5-52 and O’Connor 4-37.

The result was not yet a foregone conclusion, as New Brighton are a good bowling side, but Snellgrove and Steven Mullaney gave their team the best possible start with a fiercely aggressive opening partnership of 107 during which the visiting bowlers were well and truly put to the sword.

After Mullaney’s dismissal for 55, the captain was joined by Jackson, and between them they saw Bootle safely to the winning post, which was passed with seven overs to spare to complete a truly impressive victory that will send out a clear message of intent to the rest of the Premier League.

Bootle at once encountered problems in the shape of Bay’s Australian seam bowler Nathan Rimmington, who posed danger in each of his two spells and finished with figures of 5-59.

Steven Mullaney made 35 and Patrick Jackson grafted for 2 hours and 3 minutes for his 44, but when the total reached 118-8 there was cause for concern in the Bootle camp. Mark O’Connor and Mathew Lawless came to the rescue with an invaluable 9th wicket stand of 36 and the innings ended at 160 in the fifty-first over.

The home side must nevertheless have fancied their chances of inflicting Bootle’s first defeat of 2009, but Ronnie Davis (4-24) had other ideas as he reduced Bay to 53-7, at which point the victory target must have seemed a long way off.

Sion Morris and Alan Walburn then rallied the Welsh cause with a partnership of 42 until Jack Kelliher pulled off a spectacular, full length diving catch to send back Morris, and shortly afterwards Colwyn Bay were all out for 99 as Bootle departed with another 23 points safely in the bag.

Batting first, Bootle found the somewhat innocuous visiting bowling very much to their liking, openers David Snellgrove (53) and Steven Mullaney putting on a massive 157 for the 1st wicket before the captain was dismissed in the 27th over.

Mullaney treated the fans to a glorious exhibition of class batting as he proceeded serenely to 162 not out, during which he struck 22 fours and 4 sixes, one of which went straight through the bedroom window of an adjacent house. The declaration came after 129 minutes and 36 overs with an imposing 242-3 on the scoreboard.

Mark O’Connor sent back Mark Fearnley in the third over of the visitors’ reply, after which Ian Lyon and Chris Chambers dug in with a courageous partnership of 50 to bring their side back into the reckoning.

Once Roger Smith had clean bowled Lyon for 33, the rest had very little to offer in the way of resistance and it was the Bootle spinners, Snellgrove (4-8) and Patrick Jackson (2-8), who cleaned up the last six wickets as Newton-le-Willows were skittled for 99 in the 38th over of the innings.

The 1st XI now face an incredibly demanding schedule of four matches in four days, starting at 6pm this evening (Thursday) with a Liverpool Echo Cup tie against Maghull at Wadham Road, followed tomorrow afternoon (2pm) by a trip to Ribblesdale League side Baxenden in the 3rd round of the Lancashire Cup. Saturday brings a league game at Fleetwood Hesketh, and the all-action weekend concludes with a visit from Saddleworth League club Bamford Fieldhouse in the 4th round of the ECB National Club Championship.

It all began a week ago today when Maghull visited Wadham Road for a Liverpool Echo Cup tie and were bowled out for 82 with nineteen balls of their 20 overs unused. Jack Kelliher (26) and Steven Mullaney (43 not out) put on 59 for the opening stand and Bootle raced to victory by 9 wickets after just 6.4 overs.

The following afternoon it was off to Baxenden for a 3rd round Lancashire Cup assignment, Ronnie Davis dismissing the first four home batsmen to leave the Ribblesdale League side in disarray at 39-5. Davis ended up with 4-10 from his nine overs and Gavin Reynolds chipped in with a useful 3-13 as Baxenden were all out for 96 in the 42nd over.

When David Snellgrove (47 not out) and Craig Prince began the Bootle reply with a partnership of 62 the match was as good as settled, and the visitors won at a canter by 8 wickets after 25.4 overs.

Saturday’s Premier League match at Sea Cop provided a veritable feast of class batting as Bootle piled up a massive 264-3 before declaring in the 39th over, the Fleetwood Hesketh bowling being torn to shreds by Prince (58 not out), Patrick Jackson (65) and especially Jack Kelliher, who hit six towering sixes in an innings of 80 which occupied just 33 balls.

When the hosts’ turn came, only Derek Sykes and Faisal Yasin were able to offer any serious resistance with a 4th wicket stand of 51 as Fleetwood Hesketh were sent packing for 117 to lose by 147 runs. Defeats for New Brighton and Colwyn Bay on the same afternoon mean that Bootle have now opened a 62 point gap at the top of the table.

The 4th round ECB National Club Championship game with Bamford Fieldhouse on Sunday provided high drama for a large Wadham Road crowd basking in warm sunshine. Kelliher was again in good nick with a top score of 47 in Bootle’s total of 220-7 after their mandatory 45 overs.

When the Saddleworth League club lost half their wickets for 98, the victory target must have seemed a long way distant, but an attacking partnership of 79 between Simon Marshall (81) and Mark Chadwick (48) put a very different complexion on things causing some worried frowns to appear on home supporters’ faces.

After Mark O’Connor finally had Marshall caught behind, the asking rate edged higher and higher until 15 runs were required from the final over. The first three balls produced only 3, but Jason Maher then hit a huge six off Roger Smith though was unable to repeat the effort from the last delivery as Bamford Fieldhouse ended on 217-8 to lose by 3 runs. A trip to Chester-le-Street awaits in the round of sixteen.

Ian Sutcliffe invited Bootle to bat first only for his team to endure a massive opening stand of 215 featuring Steven Mullaney and David Snellgrove. Mullaney was dropped before he had reached his half-century and took full advantage to make a sparkling 128 which incorporated 22 fours and 3 sixes.

Snellgrove himself was unbeaten on 80 as the Bootle captain called a halt to proceedings with 222-1 on the scoreboard after exactly 36 overs and 137 minutes worth of batting.

A heavy and prolonged shower extended the tea interval to an hour and 35 minutes, after which two wickets apiece for Mark O’Connor and Ronnie Davis soon had the home side in serious trouble at 14-4 in the fifth over of their reply.

Gareth Glynne-Jones, with limited support from Martin Stoker and Nathan Heathcliff-Core, led the fight-back for Hightown, making a polished 85 during which he struck 15 boundaries, one of them a six off O’Connor.

He was, however, only prolonging the inevitable, and Hightown finally succumbed for 147 in the 38th of the 50 overs they were given to lose by 75 runs.

Presatatyn visit Wadham Road for a Premier League encounter this coming Saturday, while the following day the 1st XI undertake the long journey to Chester-le-Street for a last sixteen tie in the ECB National Club Championship.

Having been put in on losing the toss, Bootle were in immediate trouble, losing their first four wickets for 41 as they struggled against Prestatyn’s Indian spinner, Suresh Marripuri, whom they found difficult to read.

Patrick Jackson (47) and Neil Williams (36) got things back on a more even keel with a partnership of 69, but when they were sent back by Gareth Friday (4-32) the lower order offered little resistance against the clever bowling of Marripuri who finished with 4-43 from 21 overs as Bootle were dismissed for 145.

Gareth Boughey and Steve Giblin gave their side a good start with 47 for the first wicket, Boughey and Marripuri adding a further 55 for the third to take Prestatyn to within sight of victory. Jackson then caused a few flutters in Welsh hearts as three wickets fell for 10 runs, including that of Boughey who was run out for a well made 54.

The runs now dried to a trickle as Bootle fought tooth and nail to pull off an unlikely win, but despite Jackson’s fine 5-46 Prestatyn slowly edged towards the target, which was reached in the 47th over.

Fortunes did not improve the following day when the team travelled to County Durham to meet Chester-le-Street in the last sixteen of the ECB National Club Championship. Bootle elected to bowl first, but a massive 152 from Richard Waite allowed the home side to pile up 269-6 after their regulation 45 overs.

Lacking the ineligible Steven Mullaney and Patrick Jackson, Bootle’s batting was simply not up to the task set for them and they expired for 81 in the 28th over to lose by a resounding 188 runs.

On Saturday next the 1st XI meet Wallasey at The Oval in the Premier League and the following afternoon are in Lancashire Cup action with a quarter-final tie against Westhoughton at Wadham Road. Both games start at 1pm.

Bootle batted first on winning the toss and made steady progress against some accurate Northern bowling spearheaded by Jan Gadzina and Jack Boardman. A fourth wicket partnership of 71 between Craig Prince and Jack Kelliher (58) seemed to set the home side up for a decent total, but four wickets fell for the addition of 21 runs and had Northern scenting the possibility of an upset.

Roger Smith and Neil Williams (52 not out) then came together to add an unbroken 70 so that Bootle were able to declare on 224-7 in the 52nd over, Gadzina (3-38) and Boardman (3-32) taking the bowling honours for the visitors.

When David Snellgrove and Mark O’Connor removed Northern’s top five batsmen for 58, Bootle appeared to have a stranglehold on proceedings, but Karl Garcia and James Cole had other ideas as they put on an attacking 124 to bring their side to within sight of victory. Garcia struck 6 fours and 5 sixes in his 79 whilst Cole made 65, though before getting off the mark he completely missed a straight ball from O’Connor and was lucky not to be lbw.

After the stand was broken, Northern kept on pressing and arrived at the 54th and final over with 5 needed to win and three wickets intact. Two of those fell in the first two balls bowled by O’Connor, but the visitors could make only one run and Bootle could not strike what would have been the winning blow as the innings closed on 221-9.

The previous day, Bootle had a fine win over Ormskirk in the 2nd round of the Business Assistance Knockout Trophy at Brook Lane. The home side were bowled out for 137 in the 44th of their 45 overs, skipper John Armstrong top scoring with 52.

Nick Caunce dismissed Steven Mullaney for nought in the first over of Bootle’s reply and Snellgrove followed shortly afterwards. Patrick Jackson (35) and Craig Prince steadied the ship with 53 for the third wicket before Prince and Gavin Reynolds added a further 44 for the fourth to avoid any undue pressure building.

Prince’s solid 51 not out was an excellent effort under the circumstances, and he and Neil Williams finished the job off with nine overs to spare as Bootle triumphed by 6 wickets to earn themselves a trip to Sefton Park in round three.

Tonight the 1st XI meet New Brighton at Rake Lane (6pm) in the Cockspur Rum Club Twenty20 competition before entertaining Southport & Birkdale in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday (2pm) Bootle meet Glossop in the semi-final of the Lancashire Knockout Cup at Wadham Road.