Netherfield cemented their Bay 96.9 Northern Premier League title with an emphatic 13th win of the season and this after batting first and being 2-2. They went on to make 257-3 before declaring with 16 overs of their 60 remaining. Fleetwood then made a valiant effort on the mammoth total but were bowled out for 197 to lose by 60 runs.
Craig Walmsley and Tommy Prime, the latter run out without facing a ball, were the two early dismissals but then Pieter Strydom and Simon Dutton put on 223 for the third wicket. Strydom started circumspectly but then blossomed and at one stage scored an incredible 74 from three overs. The first went for 20, the second for 24 and the third was even more interesting. Michael Clinning was the unlucky bowler and he was hit for five successive sixes from the first five balls and then he restricted Strydom to a single to make the over worth 31. Two of the sixes were possible catches as Bobby Denning and Jeremy Newman failed to prevent shots from flying over the ropes. An unbiased Clinning felt that three might even have been worthy of catches and he said that his thoughts before the last ball of the over alternated between bowling underhand or bowling a bouncer. In the event he bowled more-or-less the same ball and restricted Strydom to one! Simon Dutton played his part admirably as he helped himself to his first century of the season, finishing on 102 not out.
In Fleetwood's reply, which could have occupied a record 79 overs as Netherfield bowled their overs so quickly, a few of the early order batsmen got a start but none went on to capitalise. Only Bobby Denning with 49 made any serious impression as they were bowled out for a creditable 197 but even that meant defeat by 60 runs by a team that has thoroughly deserved its place at the top of the table. And as for Pieter Strydom, he took 4-22 in Fleetwood's replay and in his innings he not only broke the professional record at the club, he also broke the record for the most runs by a batsman at Netherfield when he passed Grahame Clarke's 1996 total of 1107. Congratulations to a superb cricketer and a nice guy.
Chorley clinched the runners-up spot with a 15-point victory over Leyland Motors. Batting first Chorley only made 158-8 to which Tommy Smith contributed a top score of 53 and Iqbal Liley took 4-40. Motors reply stuttered to 110 all out for them to lose by 48 runs and thus end up next-to-bottom of the table. Once again Roland Horridge has led his side to second place and, if rumours are to be believed, it could be his final assault on the title as he has announced that he will have retired by the time next season comes along. If, on this occasion, the rumours are true, it will be a sad day when he no longer graces the cricket grounds of the League but it has been a pleasure to have watched him in action for a good number of years. He will undoubtedly be missed, by players and spectators alike.
Third place eventually fell to Blackpool who not only defeated Kendal at Stanley Park but also removed them from second to fourth place. The game was low scoring but none the less entertaining for that. Blackpool made 109 with Andy Kenyon batting well for 42 and Kabir Khan signing off with an excellent 8-31. Kendal then reached 49-2 only to be bowled out for the addition of a further 34 runs and therefore to lose by 26 runs.
The only other winners on the day were St Annes who defeated wooden spoonists Lancaster by 51 runs. And another professional signed off with a good performance. Dave Callaghan made 44 of St Annes' total of 198-8 and then struck with the ball, taking 6-53 as Lancaster were dismissed for 147 with former captain Phil Dennison making a top score of 54. Retiring professional at Lancaster Gareth Breese continued last week's good form with the ball and ended with 6-52. And Dave Callaghan's three-year reign at St Annes is now ended, as he will not be returning through family commitments for a fourth term. He has been a valuable, hard-working and effective professional and everyone wishes him well for the future whatever that might hold for him.
Improving Preston meanwhile fought out a high-scoring draw at Morecambe. The visitors batted first and Raouf Akbar made his second century of the season with 112 not out and, top bowler, Manoj Parekh made 56 which saw their side to a declaration at 232-7. It proved to be finely judged for Morecambe made a tremendous effort to overhaul the total and only finished four short at 228-8 with Rehman Shah's 6-93 being the star performance.
Finally at Leyland Darwen batted first and with Gareth Cordingley making another century, this time 109 not out, totalled 215-7 before declaring. Leyland's reply reached 182-7 thanks to 80 from Munaf Bavla and 45 from former professional Neil Rimmer; Jeff Hacking was the most successful bowler with 4-57.
Division 1
Abbreviated scoreboards (home team in bold):
Blackpool 109 (Kenyon 42, Khan 8-31), Kendal 83 (Sharp 6-35)
Chorley 158-8 (Smith 53, Liley 4-40), Leyland Motors 110
St Annes 198-8 (Callaghan 44, Breese 6-52), Lancaster 147 (Dennison 54, Callaghan 6-53)
Darwen 215-7 dec (Cordingley G 109*), Leyland 182-7 (Bavla 80, Rimmer 45, Hacking 4-57)
Preston 232-7 dec (Akbar 112*, Parekh 56, Stephens 4-65), Morecambe 228-8 (Shah R 6-93)
Netherfield 257-3 dec (Strydom 136, Dutton 102*), Fleetwood 197 (Denning 49, Strydom 4-22)
Northern Premier League Division Two
Congratulations to Fleetwood second team who won the Division Two title, being 10 points clear of second placed Lancaster. Nick Coultas rattled off 106 not out as the champions elect chased Netherfield's total of 169. They reached it for the loss of only three wickets and secured the title that they last won in 1998.
Lancaster kept up the pressure right to the end and finished their season on a high with a 40-run victory over St Annes. It augurs well for both clubs that while the first team of each finished in the bottom three, the second string were first and second respectively.
Division 2
Abbreviated scoreboards (home team in bold):
Darwen 175 (Brown 43, McKenzie 4-30), Leyland 116 (Mercer 46, Bonner 5-17)
Netherfield 169 (McDonald 62, Gregson 6-47), Fleetwood 172-3 (Coultas 106*)
Kendal 155 (Schmid 60, Mustafa 4-43), Blackpool 157-7 (Bartholomew 44, Barrington 4-36)
Chorley 157 (Hotham 73, Jones 5-40, Cartwright 4-34), Leyland Motors 137
Preston 133-8 (Starkie 41, Mann 40, Clough 5-55), Morecambe 134-8 (Demain 68)
Lancaster 178-9 (Ferro 63, Batterbee 44, Booth 4-54), St Annes 138 (Dennison 4-31)
