A pitch-side look at our win over Hightown last Saturday.
Maghull 1st XI welcomed Hightown St Mary’s to Hall Lane this past Saturday, with our visitors making the short trip down the Formby bypass.
Having gained promotion to Division 1 in 2024 and comfortably consolidating their league status in 2025, their 2026 league results before Saturday’s game showed a loss against New Brighton in the season opener, followed by a draw at home to Sefton Park.
With the weather set fair, Hightown won the toss and elected to bowl on a green Maghull wicket. Shahab Khan was opening the bowling for Hightown, fresh from a call-up to the Lahore Qalanders in the PSL.
Setting the Stage
Maghull openers Jon Ring and Joe Campbell set about their work on what looked to be a tricky wicket against two high-class opening bowlers in Matt Laybourne and Khan. They played the opening pair well, and their patience was rewarded, tucking into any uncharacteristic loose balls offered. The first wicket stand reached 44 before Laybourne had Campbell trapped in front on 19. Two noises as it struck Campbell’s pad had the Maghull players on the boundary edge thinking Campbell had hit the ball. But Ring later confirmed it had struck both pads and had been the correct call.
Josh Byrne, who scored 66 in the league opener against Ainsdale, joined Ring in the middle. He immediately looked in similar touch and together with Ring added 101 for the 2nd wicket. The stand was broken when Byrne was caught at mid off attempting to go over the top, falling for a well-made 62, which included two sixes. Harry Beddard and skipper Macauley Lawrenson then came and went cheaply with the Maghull innings faltering slightly. Then Cameron Lawrenson joined Ring and the pair took the score to 202 in the 47th over. Lawrenson then fell to a good catch in the deep for 31, and soon after the Maghull innings came to a close with the score 233. Jon Ring scored a well-made 90 before he was eventually out, selflessly caught in the deep, looking to score quickly for the side.
Defending the Total
The Hightown innings got off to a steady start. The short boundary on the clubhouse side proved as difficult to defend for Lawrenson as it was for the Hightown captain, Matty White. But the two opening bowlers, Zack Benton and Craig Black, were rewarded. Eight overs in, with the score on 13, Black had Dylan Riley caught at 1st slip by Ring, to a good length ball. Jackson Darkes-Sutcliffe joined Joel McGinnigle at the crease, and together they put on 21. The partnership was broken in the 13th over with the score on 34, when Benton bowled a beauty of an in-swinger to uproot the middle stump of Darkes-Sutcliffe for 2.
Matt Laybourne came to the crease next and, with only his third ball faced, played one of the shots of the day as he unfurled a glorious front-foot drive down the ground against Benton. You could forgive the Maghull players’ heads for dropping slightly as they realised it wouldn’t be plain sailing today.
The Game Changes
Benton was still bowling with pace and moving the ball in the air. At the other end, Black was bowling well, hitting a hard length and getting the opener McGinnigle to play and miss. There was a decent shout for a caught behind turned down by Chris Williams, the standing umpire, and more plays and misses. But in the 16th over, the game truly turned in Maghull’s favour. After persistent length bowling, Craig Black took the edge of McGinnigle’s bat, and Paul McKenna took the catch behind the stumps. Game on.
Shahab Khan, the Hightown pro, was the next man to walk out, with Maghull entering the unknown now. Black’s first ball went across the left-handed Khan, who felt for it with his hands, eager to get bat and ball…Edged… Taken!!!
The Maghull players go wild. The game is definitely in their hands now, but there’s still a job to do. Former Hightown captain, Leo McCarthy, joined Laybourne at the crease. He navigated the hat-trick ball, just, as a noise is heard as another fine Black delivery goes past the bat. But umpire Williams rightly keeps the finger down.
The pair absorb the Maghull pressure and take the score to 87 before Benton bowls McCarthy for 18. The skipper White comes and goes for 13, falling LBW to Cameron Lawrenson. Guy Edwards doesn’t stick around too long either, as Declan Devine has him struck in front of all three for 1. The game looks to be done, but Josh Byrne puts down a relatively easy chance from the number 9, Weindling, at backward point. Laybourne rubs salt into the wound and continues to play beautifully. The pair takes the score to 166.
Finishing the Job
Dark clouds gather over Hall Lane, and for the first time, the Maghull players don’t look in control. This soon changed, however. Joe Campbell entered the attack, bowling his off-spin with a short leg in place. With only his 9th ball, he got Weindling caught on the third grab by Byrne at short leg. We’re back in it.
Benton re-enters the attack. Maghull are smart with their field placings, trying to starve Laybourne of the strike. Eventually, the plan works, with a single taken from the fourth ball of Benton’s 15th over, leaving two balls at the number 10, Blackhurst. But Zack only needs the one as he pins Blackhurst LBW. 175-9
The number 11 Johnson survives the final ball of Zack’s over. Laybourne and Johnson play out Campbell’s next over. But they can’t get the vital single needed to keep the number 11 off strike for the next over. Zack has the chance to win it for Maghull now. And with the first ball of his 16th over, he bowls the number 11, Johnson. Maghull has won the game.
Full credit to Matt Laybourne, who put up a great fight with the bat and held his side together. But Maghull took the spoils, and with it move up to 6th in the league. Huge credit to Jon Ring and Zack Benton, setting up and completing a great win for the Hall Lane side, and Macauley Lawrenson’s first League win as Captain.
We move on to next week, when we make the trip to Sefton Park. See you there!
A massive thank you to the great Ray Hibbs for capturing the action with his exceptional photography skills.
