By Michael Latham
Barrow pro
Pasan Wanasinghe hits out during his match-winning
innings |
Leyland continued their winning start to the
season in the Furness Building Society Northern Premier
Cricket League (incorporating Readers Cricket Balls) as they
also beat the threatening rain clouds to record their third
successive win, defeating Blackpool by four wickets at Fox
Lane.
While neighbours Preston were rained off at tea
time at West Cliff Leyland's South African pro Brett Pelser
made a crucial 40 to steer his side home in a tense finish to
a low-scoring game. Tom Reece (20) and Andrew Makinson (21 not
out) also played their part as Blackpool fought tigerishly in
the field in an attempt to protect their total of 126 for 9.
Richard Gleeson and Steven Mercer each took two wickets for
the visitors.
Earlier Mike Moore, who has bravely resumed
his cricketing career after suffering a multiple leg fracture
early last year top-scored with an unbeaten 34 as ex-Blackpool
opening bowler Luis Reece continued his fine start to the
season by taking three for 19 in 14 hostile overs. Pelser
weighed in with two wickets including Blackpool's Sri Lankan
pro Nimesh Perera on debut and James Rounding, benefitting
from a winter playing in Australia also claimed two
victims.
Barrow gained their first win of the season as
their experienced Sri Lankan professional Pasan Wanasinghe hit
an undefeated 71 to steer them to a six wickets win at Birch
Hall. Darwen had struggled on a freshly prepared pitch after
the umpires had ruled the original pitch unsuitable as
Cumberland county bowler Graham Dawson claimed the first four
wickets in an impressive opening spell.
Darwen's
Jordan Clarke hit a defiant unbeaten 41 to deny the
rampant Graham Dawson |
Skipper John Cordingley (40) and wicketkeeper
Jordan Clarke (41 not out) rescued their side from 49 for 7
with a defiant eighth wicket stand of 55 in 20 overs and
Darwen's total of 128 looked competitive in the circumstances.
Playing at Birch Hall for the first time Dawson returned four
for 40 and skipper Daryl Wearing three for 39.
John
Cordingley made a captain's innings for
Darwen |
Despite a brief delay for rain, Barrow opener
Jon Miles, a century-maker on this ground three years ago got
his side off to a fine start with an innings of 40 before he
was run out by Andrew Cook. But with Lancashire Academy player
Yakub Bhamji bowling with sustained hostility Barrow were
indebted to the determination of Wanasinghe who suffered
several blows to the hand and survived a confident appeal for
a catch behind off Bhamji. Wanasinghe hit 12 fours and one six
and faced 101 balls, with Barrow reaching their target at a
quarter to seven just before heavy rain began to fall.
Barrow
opener Jon Miles faces up to Yakub
Bhamji |
Chorley's South African professional JJ Smuts
continued his fine start at the club with an impressive all
round display in a tense two wickets win at Broadwater.
Spinner Smuts took four for 48 to support opener Kieran
McCullagh's four for 47 as Fleetwood struggled to 138 for 9.
The home side were indebted to their Australian professional
and captain Matt Frith who made 52 off 88 balls.
Smuts
anchored Chorley's reply with 54 off 66 balls but after
reaching 78 for 1 the visitors were pegged back by a fine
bowling stint by Frith who took four for 36 and spinner
Michael Clinning (four for 33). McCullagh, another Northern
League cricketer to spend time playing down under during the
winter, hit a vital undefeated 14 to calm Chorley
anxieties.
Kendal skipper and professional Ross McMillan
was the unluckiest cricketer of the day, bowling his side to
what appeared to be a winning position at Lune Road before the
weather intervened. The South African collected the season's
first hat-trick, having Lancaster's new Sri Lankan pro Roy
Silva caught by Terry Hunte and bowling Tim Barry for a duck
with the last two balls of his fourth over and then having
Kiran Uppoor caught by Paul Dodds with the first ball of his
fifth over. Lancaster, 7 for 5 at that stage, had struggled to
68 for 9 when play was abandoned, McMillan taking five for
24.
Preston fought their way to 174 for 6 at tea
against a tight Carnforth bowling and fielding display, Lukman
Vahaluwala top-scoring with 41 when the rains came and the
match was abandoned shortly after six o'clock. Opener Sajid
Patel made 35 and skipper Adam Parker 36.
There was no play
in the game between Netherfield and reigning champions St
Annes at Parkside Road
FIRST DIVISION SCORES
DARWEN v BARROW
Barrow (12pts) defeated Darwen (0pts) by 6
wickets
Darwen 128 (J Clarke 41no, J Cordingley 40, G
Dawson 4 for 40), Barrow 131 for 4 (P Wanasinghe 71no, J Miles
40)
FLEETWOOD v CHORLEY
Chorley (12pts) defeated Fleetwood (2pts) by 2
wickets
Fleetwood 138 for 9 (M Frith 52, K McCullagh 4
for 47, JJ Smuts 4 for 48), Chorley 141 for 8 (JJ Smuts 54, M
Clinning 4 for 33, M Frith 4 for 36)
LANCASTER v KENDAL
Match abandoned (4pts each)
Lancaster 68 for 9 (R McMillan 5 for 24
including hat-trick), Kendal did not bat
LEYLAND v BLACKPOOL
Leyland (12pts) defeated Blackpool (1pt) by 4
wickets
Blackpool 126 for 9, Leyland 129 for 6 (B
Pelser 40)
NETHERFIELD v ST ANNES
Match abandoned (4pts each)
No play
PRESTON v CARNFORTH
Match abandoned (4pts each)
Preston 174 for 6 (L Vahaluwala 41), Carnforth
did not bat
Morecambe no game
FURNESS BUILDING SOCIETY
( INCORPORATIN READERS CRICKET
BALLS )
NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Division One
| Club |
P |
W15 |
W12 |
D4 |
D1 |
L |
NR4 |
BP |
Pts |
| Leyland |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
42 |
| Chorley |
3 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
30 |
| St Annes |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
27 |
| Darwen |
3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
22 |
| Morecambe |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
17 |
| Netherfield |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
19 |
| Fleetwood |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
17 |
| Barrow |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
16 |
| Kendal |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
7 |
16 |
| Lancaster |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
15 |
| Lancashire Colts |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
| Preston |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
12 |
| Carnforth |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
9 |
| Blackpool |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
MIKE LATHAM'S MATCH REPORT
Leyland v Blackpool
Blackpool`s dismal start to the season continued
today at Fox Lane as the high-flying Leyland boys took winning
points from a low scoring affair. Put in to bat on a typical
seamer friendly wicket by Leyland skipper David Makinson,
Blackpool`s openers Mounsey and Smith got off to a slow start
against some tidy bowling from Andrew Makinson and the
impressive Luis Reece(3 for 19), who appears to have gained a
yard of pace since last season.
He started the ball rolling for Leyland by
bagging John Mounsey LBW in the 11th over (12 for 1). Next to
go was all-rounder Furniss(10) bowled attempting to pull a
short ball from Rounding (30 for 2) It really required some
steel and determination from the visitors to graft out their
innings where the situation was one of increasing pressure.
However, Smith followed fairly quickly ,caught behind off
Rounding for 10 (33 for 3) which brought Prash Aga to the
crease to join new pro Sri Lankan Nimesh Perera. With the
score on 41 Aga nicked one off pro Pelser to be caught behind
for 3 and Blackpool were in deep trouble at 41 for 4
Enter
Mr Reliable, captain Paul Danson, yet again having to come to
the wicket with his team`s innings in tatters. Nobody is
better suited to the situation than Danno who will get stuck
in and graft whilst making sure he puts any loose deliveries
away. He is a great example to his team who would do well to
try and emulate his example.
He and pro Perera(15) took the
score to 63 before Pelser had Nimesh caught at slip by Reece
the ball bouncing out of keeper Watkinsons gloves.(63 for
5)
Michael Moore batting down at no 7 got off the
mark with his customary boundary 4 off Pelser before Danno was
adjudged leg before to Peter Cummings who had been shifting
the ball both ways and getting extreme variable bounce to
boot. Unlucky Skip (72 for 6)
Mercer joined Moore in the
middle and the pair built a confident partnership of 38 before
Merce was out caught for 12 (110 for 7)
Moore`s innings of
34 not out was liberally sprinkled with boundaries including
one lovely straight 6 off Cummings but again he was left high
and dry with the score on 126 for 9 when the 50 overs ran
out.
Keeper Sissons (3n o )kept Bash company for 4 overs as
the pair added 15 much needed runs to the visitors
tally.
Pelser finished with 2 for 23 with a wicket each for
Cummings & Makinson
In the 2nd half Blackpool started encouragingly,
nicking 2 early wickets Parkinson falling to a good catch by
Mounsey at point off the bowling of Andy Hogarth and Luis
Reece being dismissed by Gleeson to a brilliant catch by
Furniss in the slips for a duck (5 for 2)& Blackpool were
looking good.
Blackpool`s outcricket was really good today
with big improvements in bowling and fielding, their best
performance of the season so far.
Paceman Gleeson bowled
with fire and accuracy , collecting 2 wickets but was worth
more than that on the day, beating the edge of Pelser`s bat
consistently but without the desired result.
The Leyland pro survived to collect a
workmanlike 40 runs to underpin the home side`s
innings.
Steve Mercer picked up a wicket in his first over
trapping Foster LBW (62 for 4) & with the score on 77
Furniss clean bowled pro Pelser to keep Blackpool well in the
game.
But try as they might, Danno and his bowlers could
not take the necessary wickets needed in the push for
victory.
The "chirpy" Tom Reece made a lively 20 before
Mercer had him caught behind by the ever improving Rob
Sissons
Andrew Makinson then put Blackpool out of their
misery by smashing Mercer for a towering straight 6 to pass
their target with 4 wickets and 8 overs to spare
DIVISION TWO
Wade is Darwen's hero in Division Two
Darwen continued their winning start in Division
Two with a 70 runs victory at Ernest Pass. Mark Bennett hit 55
and 15-year-old Matt Fay added 47 in Darwen's 203 for 7 and
then seamer Chris Wade returned the impressive figures of six
for 67 as the home side were dismissed for 133.
Leyland are another team in form, earning a nine
wickets win at Stanley Park as Nathan McDonnell hit an
explosive unbeaten 77 off 81 balls to steer the visitors home
in an unbroken second wicket partnership of 127 with Ian
Farrington who finished 45 not out. Earlier Dave Newton
top-scored with 48 in Blackpool's 129 as veteran seamer Monty
Cottam took five for 41.
Preston's opening bowlers Usman Alam and Andrew
Starkie toppled Carnforth for just 51 in 24.1 overs at Lodge
Quarry, Starkie taking four for 23 and Alam six for 28. The
visitors cantered to an emphatic ten wickets win in only 7.1
overs.
There was a thrilling finish at Windsor Park as
Chorley's last wicket pair of Matt Parry and James Daniels
added six runs to steer their side to a one wicket win over
Fleetwood. The visitors' openers Matt Clark (64) and Mark
Emsley (25) posted 89 but Chorley's 14-year-old spinner
Matthew Critchley engineered a collapse, taking five for 30 as
Fleetwood lost ten wickets for 39, Daniels taking two for
none. Fleetwood fought hard in the field, Neil Gregson taking
four for 53 but they conceded 24 runs from no balls and wides
which proved crucial.
Russ Bradley hit an unbeaten 103 as St Annes
raced to 279 for 2 at Vernon Road with openers Sean Bickerdike
(67) and Adam Taylor (69) also in fine form. Despite a
fighting 41 from Josh Stafford Netherfield subsided to 118 all
out, Matt Grindley continuing his fine start to the season by
taking four for 27.
Darwen continued their winning start in Division
Two with a 70 runs victory at Ernest Pass. Mark Bennett hit 55
and 15-year-old Matt Fay added 47 in Darwen's 203 for 7 and
then seamer Chris Wade returned the impressive figures of six
for 67 as the home side were dismissed for 133.
There was
no play in the game at Shap Road between Kendal and Lancaster
due to rain.
SECOND DIVISION SCORES
BARROW v DARWEN
Darwen (15pts) defeated Barrow (2pts) by 70
runs
Darwen 203 for 7 (M Bennett 55, M Fay 47),
Barrow 133 (C Wade 6 for 67)
BLACKPOOL v LEYLAND
Leyland (12pts) defeated Blackpool (0pts) by 9
wickets
Blackpool 129 (D Newton 52, M Cottam 5 for 41),
Leyland 130 for 1 (N McDonnell 77, I Farrington 45no)
CARNFORTH v PRESTON
Preston (12pts) defeated Carnforth (0pts) by
10 wickets
Carnforth 51 (U Alam 6 for 28, A Starkie 4 for
23), Preston 53 for 0
CHORLEY v FLEETWOOD
Chorley (12pts) defeated Fleetwood (3pts) by
one wicket
Fleetwood 128 (M Clark 64, M Critchley 5 for
30), Chorley 129 for 9 (N Gregson 4 for 53)
KENDAL v LANCASTER
Match abandoned (4pts each)
No play
ST ANNES v NETHERFIELD
St Annes (15pts) defeated Netherfield (0pts)
by 161 runs
St Annes 279 for 2 (R Bradley 103no, A Taylor
69, S Bickerdike 67), Netherfield 118 (J Stafford 41, M
Grindley 4 for 27)
Morecambe no game
FURNESS BUILDING SOCIETY
( INCORPORATING READERS
CRICKET BALLS )
NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Division Two
| Club |
P |
W15 |
W12 |
D4 |
D1 |
L |
NR4 |
BP |
Pts |
| Darwen |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
45 |
| Leyland |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
39 |
| Lancaster |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
34 |
| Preston |
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
34 |
| Chorley |
3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
26 |
| St Annes |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
8 |
24 |
| Blackpool |
3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
20 |
| Netherfield |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
16 |
| Kendal |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
13 |
| Fleetwood |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
6 |
6 |
| Morecambe |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
| Barrow |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
| Carnforth |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
