Ben’s knock featured in The Cricket Paper

Ben’s knock has been featured in The Cricket Paper – a newspaper solely dedicated to cricket which is available at WH Smiths as well as online.

It reads:

Just like buses, one century for long service Lowerhouse batsman Ben Heap quickly brought another – and according to the 29 year old it was about time too. Heap first turned out for Lowerhouse as a junior at the age of 11, and 15 seasons of senior cricket in the Lancashire League had still not yielded a ton for the opener. That was until last week, when after a stunning 106 no out steered his side to a t20 triumph over Ramsbottom on Friday evening, Heap was in full flow on Sunday to hit 175 off 148 balls, including 18 fours and six maximums, despite surviving a scare on a duck.

That beat Tommy Shutt’s 112 year old club record of 173, and also helped the House to their highest total ever of 334 off 50 overs. “I’ve been threatening it early on in the season, I’ve had 3 fifties, and have been well set with plenty of overs to go,” said Heap, who did make 150 in 2015 as a club professional during a season-long move to Padiam. “It’s been coming now for a number of years in the Lancashire League, and it all fell into place last weekend. It has been almost a burden for a long time; I am a decent batsman in the league but I haven’t had the huge scores that one or two others have. “ “So it was a huge weight off my back on the Friday, and then on the Sunday I was much more relaxed and didn’t really think about it too much in the 90s.” “It means a lot to be part of the clubs history now. I made a lot of older committee members and spectators very happy – even though I wasn’t aware it was a record at the time.”

“As I walked off a few people made me aware, and when you think about how much has happened since it was set in 1905, I’m very proud!” The first ton got House off the mark in the t20 competition whilst they currently sit sixth in the Lancashire League, and Heap hopes his heroics have get the side back on track. He added “We really needed a weekend like this as a team. We’ve had a few players come and go, a new captain and a new professional. So everything has just taken a while to click, and it has been one step forward, two steps back until now. We really needed that win in the t20s, and to win in that fashion chasing eight an over in the pitch black, I can really sense the confidence in the lads. We’ve had a couple of quieter seasons in the Lancashire League, so we’re just looking to stay in the mix and make sure were in the top half when the league splits”