The faces said it all. A week earlier, Birkenhead Park’s players had been looking forward to a Cheshire Cup final, their team sitting fifth in the table.

By the time Northern wrapped up a 37-run win in their final game of the season, they were relegated – brought low by an administrative error, and finished off by New Brighton’s nine-wicket win over Orrell Red Triangle.

Ashen-faced, they gathered at the Moor Park pavilion and shook their heads – there wasn’t much to be said in response to the sympathetic words of their opponents.

An hour or so after he’d leaned past one from left-arm spinner Danny Wilson and been stumped for 64, finishing off his side’s chances of a fruitless but satisfying victory, Tom Foster had somehow recovered enough composure to be proud of what his side had achieved since earning promotion this time last year.

He said: “For us to come fifth and reach an ECHO Cup semi and a Cheshire Cup final, I’d have bitten your hand off. 

“And for us to lose by 30-odd runs after such an emotional week, I’m obviously really proud of the lads.”

While the visitors were dwelling on the immediate past, the hosts looked to the future – 15-year-old Matthew Wood opened the batting alongside Jac Kennedy, with a third teenager, Johnny Browne, coming in at 3. Another 15-year-old, Seb Rice, made his 1st XI debut.

While the mainstay of their 223/8 was a 73-run stand for the sixth wicket between Chris Laker and Andy Clarke, it’s clear the future is bright for James Cole’s side, even after a slightly transitional season in which the Ray Digman Trophy, on a bowl-out, was their only silverware.

The arrival of Tyler McGladdery from Rainhill will boost an already daunting top order for 2023, and 18-year-old Wilson’s match-winning 6/32 – including the key wickets of Foster and Mike Barnes, for an attractive 51 – showed what he can continue to offer.

Cole said: “We’ve seen over the last few week, obviously we couldn’t win the league as Wallasey had run away with it, so we’d given some of the youngsters a go.

“There’s been a lot of positives, really – we’ve gone quite deep in a lot of competitions and not got over the line.

“It’s been a long season, and we’ll be a lot stronger next year.”

For Foster, even his pride is clouded by regrets – for now.

He and the club remain confident of getting their 80-point deduction reviewed – with Newton-le-Willows in a similar boat, there could yet be a twist or two to come.

He said: “When I got the call on Monday, I thought it was a hoax, I thought someone was taking the Mickey.

“This week has just been a bit of a shock, really. I’ve felt awful all week.

“It’s a tough one to comment on in that we’re not denying we’ve accidentally broken the rules. It’s just mind-blowing to me that someone who’s cleared to play 2nd and 3rd team isn’t allowed to play in the 1st team.

“There was no malice intended. Our named overseas had gone home, so we brought a young lad up… I just wish I could have chosen someone else from the 2s.

“We’re going to fight it. There’s an appeals process. We need to get an SGM called – we’ve a lot of support from clubs already. 

“So we’re really going to push that, and fight as long as we can.”

David While was the star of New Brighton’s great escape, taking 6/18 to dismiss Orrell for 109. They’re the two sides in 10th and 9th position, who could be affected by any reprieve for either of the relegated clubs.

Southport & Birkdale pulled themselves clear of the mess with an emphatic win over Wigan. JJ Fielding scored the 57th and last century of the Premier Division season, his 117 augmented by Jonny Whitehead’s unbeaten 91 in the hosts’ 291/3; skipper Chris Cunningham took 5/31 to keep the visitors 164 runs short.

Champions Wallasey signed off with a one-wicket win over Rainhill, thanks to 8/56 from Andy Beaver which restricted the visitors to 145, despite Ross Higham’s 62, then an unbeaten 49 from Jack Leckey, which crept the hosts over the line.

Formby overcame Newton-le-Willows by nine wickets, with Calum Turner passing 1,000 league runs on his way to a decisive 73* in pursuit of 132.

Second-placed Ormskirk finished with a draw against third-placed Leigh. George Politis top-scored with 78 in the hosts’ 260/6 before Mattie McKiernan’s 58 helped the visitors close on 192/6.

	P	W	D	L	BatP	BowlP	Pts
Wallasey	22	15	4	3	83	30	413
Ormskirk	22	13	4	5	59	39	358
Leigh	22	11	7	4	62	39	321
Northern	22	10	7	5	79	37	316
Wigan	22	7	7	8	48	58	245
Rainhill	22	6	9	7	55	49	224
Formby	22	5	8	9	65	58	223
Southport & Birkdale	22	5	4	13	69	45	214
Orrell Red Triangle	22	5	7	10	53	49	202
New Brighton	22	4	5	13	49	68	197
Birkenhead Park	22	8	6	8	40	50	170
Newton-le-Willows	22	7	4	11	39	47	146

DOTTERS TONS UP AS RAINFORD AND COLWYN BAY EARN PROMOTION

Rainford are Division One champions after blowing away Sefton Park for just 41 to seal a 99-run win. Liam Gaskell’s hat-trick ran through the visiting middle order, while captain John Dotters took four wickets to bring his season’s tally to a phenomenal 102.

They’ll be joined in the Prem next year by Colwyn Bay, who defended 222/8 for a 34-run win at Ainsdale.

Lytham began the day in the box seat, where they’d spent most of the summer – but they ended it in third after Caldy chased 232 to earn a nine-wicket win. Tom Hessey made 111 for the promotion-chasers, but Haroon Khan replied with an unbeaten 132, in an unbroken stand of 171 with Chris Edwards, to seal the win.

That had an impact on the bottom, too – it meant Fleetwood Hesketh’s 65-run win over Firwood Bootle wasn’t enough to keep them up. Scott Rimmer’s 57 led the hosts to 195 before Sabbir Patel’s 6/61 wrapped up the win, but Hesketh join Northop Hall in Division Two next year.

Hall themselves slipped to a three-wicket defeat at Highfield, who chased 105; and Spring View finished fourth thanks to a 16-run win over Liverpool, set up by Suleman Khan’s 119 and Lewis Matthews’ 64 and confirmed by Suleman’s 7/65.

	P	W	D	L	BatP	BowlP	Pts
Rainford	22	15	1	6	38	46	384
Colwyn Bay	22	13	4	5	68	45	373
Lytham	22	14	5	3	53	36	369
Spring View	22	10	3	9	58	31	289
Liverpool	22	9	6	7	64	44	288
Highfield	22	9	6	7	57	51	288
Ainsdale	22	7	4	11	66	55	259
Sefton Park	22	7	7	7	44	45	234
Bootle	22	6	4	11	33	55	211
Caldy	22	6	0	16	35	57	210
Fleetwood Hesketh	22	6	6	10	43	44	207
Northop Hall	22	3	6	13	48	53	161

Xavs join town in bouncing back to division one

Old Xaverians sealed an immediate return to Division One with an eight-wicket win at Norley Hall. Dominic Bramwell finished unbeaten on 57 as the Woolton side chased 130 to secure second place behind champions St Helens Town.

Maghull were joined on Saturday evening by their captain, Paul McKenna – back from a spell in a Mexican hospital after falling seriously ill. On the field, their 126-run win over Alder wasn’t enough to get back into the top two – but in the circumstances, no-one was concerned by that.

Southport Trinity began the day with a chance of promotion – Liam Simms’ 7/21 helped them to a 76-run win over Parkfield Liscard, but other results didn’t fall their way.

Sutton beat Hightown St Marys by 32 runs, while Wavertree signed off with a 115-run win over Prestatyn.

	P	W	D	L	BatP	BowlP	Pts
St Helens Town	20	15	1	4	35	41	376
Old Xaverians	20	13	2	5	25	72	357
Maghull	20	12	4	3	63	41	347
Southport Trinity	20	13	1	5	27	46	338
Sutton	20	12	1	7	36	37	313
Norley Hall	20	9	2	9	37	50	267
Hightown St Marys	20	7	1	12	41	42	223
Prestatyn	20	6	3	10	29	48	222
Wavertree	20	7	1	12	35	36	211
Alder	20	5	1	14	20	73	193
Parkfield Liscard	20	0	1	18	20	46	56