Match Day 17th April 2004 ONLY ONE FIRST DIVISION WINNER - THE RAIN! By Gerry Wolstenholme We always know when the cricket season has arrived, the temperature drops dramatically, overcoats are pulled from the wardrobes and the rain, that has usually been spasmodic up to then, comes in with a vengeance! The start of the 2004 Northern Premier League season was no different as five of the six First Division games ended in no result verdicts. Thankfully two Second Division games that finished early provided teams Chorley and Morecambe with definite results. Barrow's Northern Premier League start at the Ernest Pass Memorial Ground did not get past one innings as St Annes batted first and had reached 150-5 from their 57 overs when the rains came. It was a day for the two West Indian professionals in that St Annes' Jimmy Adams top-scored with 38 and Barrow's Rawl Lewis took 4-51. Gareth Evans made 30, Adrian Darlington 25, after a slow start, and Stephen Twist 25 for St Annes as both teams took the statutory four points. There was one interesting incident in the game in that Adams pulled a ball for six straight through the rear window of his own car off the bowling of Ray Mowat who later gained revenge by dismissing Adams. At Chorley the second innings did get underway but when Preston had reached a modest 32-2 from 17 overs in reply to Chorley's 190 all out, the rains came and the game was abandoned. For Chorley skipper Nigel Heaton made a top score of 66 with one six and seven fours and the evergreen Neil Senior contributed a hard-hitting 54 with two sixes and four fours. The only other Chorley batsmen into double figures were Nick Woods, 32, and Paul Greenwood, 15, while Preston's professional Raouf Akbar took 6-55. Netherfield got off to a flyer at champions Darwen with Craig 'The Worm' Walmsley in sparkling form. He made most of the early runs until he was out for 74 made from only 80 balls with two sixes and seven fours and with Grahame Clarke making 39, Netherfield went on to compile 196-8. Gareth Cordingley with 3-25 was Darwen's most successful bowler and he was at the crease with 17 not out from 37-1 from 11 overs before that game too became a victim of the weather. At Fleetwood, Morecambe batted first and found it hard going on a slow pitch and against some useful seam bowling. Phil Dennison made a top score of 39 in their modest all out total of 127 and Tom Blundell bowled admirably to take 3-21. Fleetwood had made 10-0 from six overs when rain intervened. At Lancaster, where a new administration is in charge, the home side had professional Renier Munnik to thank for their 172-5. He made 60 not out with one six and five fours and he on 85 for the third wicket with David Heywood who made 39 as the Lune Road club totalled 172-5. Julian Edwards, 2-27, and Patel, 2-25, were the pick of the Leyland bowlers. Leyland had made just 18-0 from eight overs before proceedings were halted. Finally Leyland Motors compiled the day's highest total of 203-8 with Stephen Cartwright making the highest individual total of the day with 83 with six fours. James Aspinwall made 49, with eight fours, as Motors set Kendal a daunting target. There were three wickets each for Kabir Khan, 3-41, and Kevin Howarth, 3-48, with one of Howarth's wickets being last year's leading run-maker Atif Ashraf for a duck. Kendal faced 23 overs and had made 69-3 when that game too was ended. David Makinson, who had made a useful 21 in Motors' innings, took all three wickets for 25 runs. Motors by dint of bowling their 23 overs go to the top of the table with their eight points, to everyone else's four! Results in brief(home team in bold): St Annes 150-5 (Adams 38, Evans 30, Lewis 4-51), Barrow did not bat Match abandoned 4 points each Chorley 190 (Heaton 66, Senior 54, Akbar 6-55), Preston 32-2 Match abandoned 4 points each Netherfield 196-8 (Walmsley 74), Darwen 37-1 Match abandoned 4 points each Morecambe 127, Fleetwood 10-0 Match abandoned 4 points each Lancaster 172-5 (Munnik 60*, Heywood 39), Leyland 10-0 Match abandoned 4 points each Leyland Motors 203-8 (Cartwright 83, Aspinwall 49), Kendal 69-3 Leyland Motors 8 points, Kendal 4 points There were wins in the Second Division for Morecambe who bowled Fleetwood out for 73 thanks to Faruk Patel's 5-32 and then Nick Milner scored 33 not out in their 74-2 for an eight-wicket victory and for Chorley who dismissed Preston for 59 and knocked off 60 for no wicket for their 10-wicket victory. The day's top score came from S Rose of Lancaster who made 75 in his side's 196-8 against Leyland who finished on 40-4. Second Division results in brief (home side in bold): Kendal 126-7, Leyland Motors 28-1 Match abandoned 4 points each Lancaster 196-8 (Rose 75, Burstow 32), Leyland40-4 Match abandoned 4 points each Fleetwood 73 (Patel 5-32),Morecambe 74-2 (Milner 33*) Fleetwood 0 points, Morecambe 12 points Darwen 180-7, Netherfield did not bat Match abandoned 4 points each Preston 59, Chorley 60-0 Preston 0 points, Chorley 12 points Barrow 135-7, St Annes 25-0 Match abandoned 4 points each ACTION REPLAY: ALL TO NO AVAIL By Gerry Wolstenholme The sun that shone while Fleetwood had their team photograph taken for the local press was flattering to say the least for there was already an icy wind blowing off the Irish Sea. And it got worse as the sun disappeared later in the game. The rain then came so that Morecambe's effort of 127 all out on a pitch that was never easy to score on and against bowling that was always there and there abouts was to no avail for Fleetwood had only replied with 10-0 from six overs when the umpires took the two teams from the field - never to return! It looked a struggle for the batsmen from the very start with Tom Blundell in particular bowling a fine line and length and Steve Hill admirably assisting him. So much so that the usually prolific Mark Woodhead found it difficult to get off the mark and just when he thought he had, driving Blundell firmly but upishly wide of mid-off, John Wright dived to his left and plucked the ball out of the air. Woodhead was returning to the pavilion without scoring and Morecambe had lost their first wicket with 10 on the board. Phil Dennison meanwhile was carrying on in last season's form and, in partnership with Gareth Peddar, he did most of the scoring. The pair had advanced the total to 45, by which time Dennison had been dropped in the gully by Michael Clinning, before Michael Dewhurst caught Peddar at short extra cover off Blundell for seven. New recruit Brendan Hetherington joined Dennison but at 53 disaster struck. Hetherington forced the ball to point where John Hall juggled and then dropped the catch so Dennison sensed the opportunity for a single. However the 'never run on a misfield' maxim applied for his partner was not up for it and Hall's throw beat Dennison back to the bowler's end and he was gone for a 94-ball 39. Professional Franklyn Rose, who had asked if anyone had ever driven the ball over the houses at the far end of the ground before he went in, succeeded in reaching one of the gardens on the first bounce but in trying to repeat the stroke off Fleetwood professional Doug Marillier he was bowled for 14 and that was 86-4. Hetherington, 19, followed at 96 when he was leg before wicket to Hill and one run later Hill struck again, having Morecambe skipper Phil Thornton caught behind by James Ellis for 10. Tommy Clough made three before the umpire took an eternity to give him out caught behind off Marrillier and it was left to the combative Andy Bird to hoist the Morecambe total to some sort of modest respectability. He made 21 not out with three boundaries from 34 balls but along the way he lost Warren Quinn, bowled by Fish for five, Peter Stephens, a long-striding leg before wicket victim to Fish, and Jono Gates, leg before wicket to Blundell for one. Blundell was the pick of the bowlers with an excellent 3-21 from 13.5 overs in three spells, Fish took 2-22, Hill 2-27 and Marillier 2-49. So Morecambe were all out for 127, a low total but on the day, not one that was automatically going to lead to defeat; the stage was set for a sterling finish. Sadly the weather prevented that happening as, after just six overs and 10 runs the rain set in with a vengeance and once the players left the field there was little chance of them returning. And when it was called off the few spectators that remained wound their weary way home to the warmth of the fireside - the cricket season is here again!

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