These two left-handers have enjoyed an eventful couple of weeks.
Maghull Cricket Club is celebrating its centenary in 2026. Naturally, much attention has been paid to the last hundred years and all the cricket that has been played at the club. But the future is always on the horizon, and in the case of two young players in particular, that future seems very bright indeed.
Owen Quilliam and Tadhg Bell, two left-handed bowlers and batters, have enjoyed a remarkable few weeks with bat and ball in their hands. Owen only joined the club last season, having never played cricket at any level. He came in with a decent sporting pedigree, having been a goalkeeper on Everton’s books for several years. Tadhg is a product of our junior setup, having started in All Stars some years ago. They both took their first steps into senior cricket in 2025. But over the last few weeks of 2026, they have played like old pros.
Goin Well for Owen
Recently, Owen achieved scores of 30* and 50* in back-to-back nights in junior games. He also took a couple of wickets along the way, helping his side to wins on both occasions. These deeds saw him named Player of the Week by Director of Cricket Paul McKenna.
This past weekend, Owen made his 2nd XI debut and didn’t take long to get into the action. He picked up a wicket with his very first delivery. Before his second over could be completed, he had taken the remarkable figures of 3-0, with his third wicket the final one to fall in a victory for the 2nds. To show this was no mere fluke, on Sunday, he repeated the dose. Owen came on to bowl for the 4th XI with Winstanley Park requiring only seven runs to win with a single wicket remaining. With his second delivery, he produced the perfect delivery to bowl the final batter. This gave him his second winning moment in two days.
The Directors View
Asked about Owen, Paul McKenna, Maghull’s Director of Cricket, had this to say, “We got really lucky with Owen last year. He came with a high-performance background after spending so long with Everton FC. But he’d never been coached properly when it came to cricket. He’s a natural sportsman, which is obvious to anyone who watches him. What he lacked in terms of coaching, he quickly made up for after half a year with us. He’s a sponge when he is being coached, and it doesn’t take many attempts for him to take something on board.
When we sat down for selection last week, the 2nd team were short of established players. Given his performances midweek, we decided it was safe to play him in the 2nd team. Even if initially, he was down as just a batter. When I heard the news that he’d taken 3-0, including the winning wicket, I was honestly over the moon! He’s taken it in his stride and kept his feet on the ground. To then go and repeat the effort in that heat on Sunday, with the game getting away from us, showed us another aspect of his game.
Owen is a credit to everyone involved in his development, including his parents, Steve and Kerry, who have similarly taken to the club to Owen…like they’ve been here forever. We’re delighted to have them all at Maghull!”
Tadhg Answers the Bell
Tadhg was a teammate of Owen’s in the junior games and was also in the 4th XI side against Winstanley Park. Indeed, Tadhg had quite the impact on this game. Asked to open the batting for the first time in senior cricket, Tadhg went past his previous top score of 16 to go past 50 for the first time. Not content with that, he pushed all the way through to reach his hundred, reaching three figures off 134 balls.
Tadhg became the youngest player ever to score a century in a senior match for Maghull. He is also the first centurion in our centenary season. But he wasn’t finished there, as he also came on to bowl and took 2-27 to play his part in bowling the opposition out just short of their victory total. These deeds saw him follow Owen in being named Player of the Week. Tadhg is currently the leading wicket taker for the 4th XI this season, with six wickets coming at an average of 22.
The Directors View
Putting aside the considerable skin he has in the game, as Tadhg’s stepdad, Paul McKenna had this to say, “What can I say about Tadhg without sounding biased! His love of cricket is there for everyone to see. He loves the sport, and it’s that which has pushed him on over the last year or so.
Like Owen, he missed out on the League Rep side. This came as a bit of a shock to Tadhg. He’d won all the awards at his age group in the club last year and thought he was a shoo-in for that side. It rocked his confidence immediately afterwards. But he soon put it behind him and took the view of proving those selecting the Rep side wrong for omitting him. Which is quite mature for someone who’d only just turned 13.
A full winter of netting and growing has put him in a really good place this year. I’ve spent hours coaching and throwing balls at him, getting him to play straight and stop the lazy slogging (which proved hard to get out of him!). He had a really good year last year. It’s been a struggle to get across to him that we are trying to set him up to be successful and effective in the years to come, rather than right now. He’s netted well, but when it came to a game, he would often get out in frustrating ways, often spooning the ball to cover point while attempting a pull shot!
Proud Spectator
Paul was one of the many in attendance to see Tadhg reach his century against Winstanley Park.
“On Sunday, it felt like all those hours he’s put in had worked! 100 not out, and the youngest player ever to reach three figures for Maghull!
After a nervous start opening the batting, he settled down and played beautifully. He was driving the ball along the floor, clipping off his legs, and running really well. His second 50 came off just 28 balls. Watching it, you wouldn’t have known that from the way he played. It was risk-free cricket. When he clipped a single off his legs to get his century, it was one of the proudest moments of my life. A reward for all the hours he has put in and his desire to be better.”
Reward for Hard Work
Junior Coordinator and 2nd XI captain Liam Gibbons said of the pair, “Nothing has given me greater pleasure over the last few weeks than to see two of our most promising youngsters perform to the standard they have. The ability they both have, the powers of concentration, is just phenomenal. They are also two of our hardest-working juniors. Both Tadhg and Owen have an incredible will and desire to improve. They want to get better every day. Tadhg, for instance, has faced an astonishing number of balls in training this winter and so far this season. All because he wants to get better at his craft.”
We’ll leave the last word to Paul, who says, “To both Owen and Tadhg, we all say this. Keep going, keep pushing each other to be better, and keep enjoying it!
