Match Day 14th August 2004
WINS FOR TOP TWO - BUT NETHERFIELD WIDEN THE GAP
By Gerry Wolstenholme
Although two of the top three sides won on Saturday, Netherfield increased their lead at the top of the table as they picked up 15 points to the 12 garnered by Fleetwood. And Morecambe's failure to pick up a single point meant that they dropped to third place and now, barring any bizarre happenings, they could well be out of the title race as they are 22 points behind the leaders.
Netherfield entertained Barrow at Parkside Road and made the day's highest total of 214-7 to which Dale Benkenstein contributed a top score of 79 with Tommy Prime making 38 and Danny Welbourne 33. There were three wickets each for Peter Lawson, for 44 runs, and Daryl Wearing, for 71 runs. Barrow made a steady start but once skipper Ian Allington had gone the rest capitulated in the face of some excellent leg spin bowling by Marc Hadwin who took 6-14 including taking a hat-trick to end the game. The result was that Barrow, at one point 105-5, were bowled out for 109 to lose by 105 runs.
Fleetwood meanwhile made short work of Leyland in a slightly reduced game at Fox Lane. The home side batted first and in their 55 overs made a modest 133-8 with opener Adrian Walsh top scoring with 37, James Wright making 28 and Martin Kelly 22 not out, coming in at number 10. Doug Marillier took 5-35 and Steve Hill had 2-31. Fleetwood lost a wicket in the opening over and then another soon afterwards but Marillier, 57, and Michael Clinning, 52 not out, took their side to the verge of victory before the professional was dismissed. But it was soon over thereafter as Fleetwood won by seven wickets at 136-7.
Morecambe's title hopes perhaps went up in smoke at Woodhill Lane as Kendal bowled them out for just 88. Phil Thornton made the bulk of the runs with 44 as only Phil Dennison, 11, and extras, 11, were the only other contributions in double figures. Kabir Khan took 6-25 including a hat-trick and Kevin Howarth took 4-54. Then the game was over before five o'clock as Ikram Ullah, 71 not out, monopolised the scoring as Kendal raced to 90-2 for an eight-wicket victory.
Chorley were winners at Windsor Park where visitors Lancaster were dismissed for 148 with a number of players making a start but not continuing as Ben Simm made 33, Renier Munnik 29, Chris Glover 23 and Ben Harrison 22. Stephen John took 4-33 and Tom Smith 3-27. John made it very much his day when Chorley replied as he made 80 including eight fours and four sixes and with Tom Smith and Nigel Heaton both making 20, Chorley won by five wickets at 152-5. For Lancaster, there were two wickets each for Graham Barnes and Ben Simm.
The remaining two games ended in draws, at Birch Hall and Stanley Park. At the former ground, it was a struggle for batsmen in that St Annes managed only 133 in almost their full quota of overs to which Duncan Whalley contributed 33, Russ Bradley 22 and Joe Davies 21 while Keith Semple took 4-15 and Neil Cordingley took 4-48. When Darwen replied the struggle became even more dramatic as the home side held on at a meagre 81-8 made in 52 overs with Gareth Cordingley making 29 and only Jeff Hacking, 11, and Chris Lowe, 10, of the rest reaching double figures. Stephen Twist, recovered from his ankle injury, took 4-21, as the second most unlikely draw between these two sides this season was the result.
At Stanley Park the midweek rain meant a much-delayed start and when Preston went in to bat they had a reduced number of 42 overs. In them they made just 129-8 with opener Munaf Bavla making 52 but only Glenn Johnstone of the rest getting into double figures as he made 18. Justin Kreusch had 2-58 and youngster Michael Taylor 2-10 and Steven Croft took 4-23 before he went and held the Blackpool innings together with a fighting 47 that was very much needed for the rest contributed little other than veteran Robin Bracewell's 26 and Kreusch's 21.
Even so Blackpool looked on course for victory at 105-3 and then at 113-4 but Manoj Parekh, 3-24, and Raouf Akbar, 3-42, soon put those thoughts out of their minds and Blackpool ended up hanging on for a draw at 116-9. Croft now has 817 League runs and is on target to break the Blackpool amateur record of 917 held by Martin Pickles.
Results in brief (home sides in bold):
Preston 129-8 (Bavla 52, Croft 4-23), Blackpool 116-9 (Croft 47)
Preston 8 points, Blackpool 4 points
Lancaster 148 (John 4-33), Chorley 152-5 (John 80)
Lancaster 3 points, Chorley 12 points
St Annes 133 (Semple 4-15, Cordingley N 4-48), Darwen 81-8 (Twist 4-22)
St Annes 7 points, Darwen 5 points
Leyland 133-8 (Marillier 5-57), Fleetwood 136-3 (Marillier 57, Clinning 52*)
Leyland 1 point, Fleetwood 12 points
Morecambe 87 (Thornton 44, Khan 6-25, Howarth 4-54), Kendal 90-2 (Ullah 71*)
Morecambe 0 points, Kendal 12 points
Netherfield 214-7 (Benkenstein 79), Barrow 109 (Hadwin 6-14)
Netherfield 15 points, Barrow 3 points
NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Division One
| Club |
P |
W15 |
W12 |
D4 |
D1 |
L |
NR4 |
BP |
Pts |
| Netherfield |
20 |
7 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
32 |
202 |
| Fleetwood |
19 |
3 |
8 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
35 |
192 |
| Morecambe |
20 |
4 |
7 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
22 |
180 |
| Darwen |
19 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
37 |
167 |
| Chorley |
19 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
6 |
3 |
31 |
162 |
| Kendal |
19 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
6 |
1 |
34 |
156 |
| Preston |
19 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
9 |
1 |
42 |
148 |
| Blackpool |
19 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
2 |
40 |
146 |
| St Annes |
20 |
1 |
4 |
2* |
4 |
6 |
3 |
52 |
140 |
| Barrow |
20 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
9 |
2 |
51 |
121 |
| Leyland Motors |
19 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
8 |
2 |
43 |
119 |
| Lancaster |
19 |
1 |
2 |
3* |
3 |
8 |
2 |
50 |
113 |
| Leyland |
19 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
15 |
2 |
40 |
50 |
* includes 5 point for a tie
In the Second Division the most notable achievement of the day was that Sean Bickerdike of St Annes has broken the run aggregate record at the club. His 60 gave him 822 for the season thus surpassing Charlie Boucher's 786 of last season. Andy Kellett also scored 58 not out for St Annes in their 171-1 that overhauled Darwen's 170 all out to which Simon Painter contributed 40.
Morecambe remained at the top thanks to Faruk Patel's 7-32 that helped bowl Kendal out for 76, a total quickly overtaken with 77-4 for a six-wicket victory.
Russell Miller of Netherfield also had seven wickets, 7-46, in his side's seven-wicket victory over Barrow who were bowled out for 130 with Jason Halfpenny making 58. In Netherfield's reply Byron Kennedy made 45 and Ben Haddrick 40 from 134-3.
Julian Edwards of Leyland had a good all-round day with 4-49 in Fleetwood's all out 124, Colin Sherlock 46, and then he made 54 not out but he could not help his side to a victory as they fell five runs short at 120-7.
And Andy Armstrong, 5-63, and Ross Parker, 5-42, shared the Preston wickets for Blackpool who won by 26 runs at West Cliff. Mark Griffiths made 48 and Paul Sidebotham 46 in Blackpool's 165-7 as Andrew Starkie took 4-37 but Preston were bowled out for 139.
Scores in brief (home sides in bold):
Barrow 130 (Halfpenny 58, Miller 7-46), Netherfield 134-3 (Kennedy 45, Haddrick 40)
Barrow 1 point, Netherfield 12 points
Fleetwood 124 (Sherlock 46, Edwards 4-49), Leyland 120-7 (Edwards 54*)
Fleetwood 7 points, Leyland 5 points
Kendal 76 (Patel 7-32), Morecambe 77-4
Kendal 1 point, Morecambe 12 points
Chorley 156 (Sparks 4-16), Lancaster 107
Chorley 15 points, Lancaster 4 points
Blackpool 165-7 (Griffiths 48, Sidebotham 46, Starkie 4-37), Preston 139 (Parker 5-42, Armstrong 5-63)
Blackpool 15 points, Preston 3 points
Darwen 170 (Painter 40), St Annes 171-1 (Bickerdike 60, Kellett 58*)
Darwen 2 points, St Annes 12 points
NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Division Two
| Club |
P |
W15 |
W12 |
D4 |
D1 |
L |
NR4 |
BP |
Pts |
| Morecambe |
20 |
4 |
10 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
29 |
226 |
| St Annes |
20 |
5 |
8 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
24 |
205 |
| Chorley |
19 |
4 |
9 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
14 |
190 |
| Darwen |
19 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
30 |
162 |
| Netherfield |
20 |
2 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
6 |
1 |
54 |
159 |
| Fleetwood |
19 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
8 |
1 |
42 |
129 |
| Lancaster |
18 |
1 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
1 |
29 |
125 |
| Barrow |
19 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
35 |
121 |
| Leyland Motors |
19 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
5 |
7 |
2 |
39 |
118 |
| Blackpool |
18 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
7 |
2 |
41 |
114 |
| Kendal |
19 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
10 |
2 |
33 |
95 |
| Preston |
20 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
12 |
0 |
38 |
91 |
| Leyland |
18 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
10 |
2 |
49 |
72 |
ACTION REPLAY:
HADWIN STARS IN DRAMATIC VICTORY
Netherfield 214 for 7, Barrow 109
By Gerry Wolstenholme
Marc Hadwin was the catalyst for Netherfield's victory at Parkside Road on Saturday as he took six Barrow wickets when the visitors were making every effort to hang on for a draw. His first ball turned some distance and set the tone for the rest of his performance, which he capped with a hat-trick in dismissing the final three Barrow batsmen so that they were all out for a modest 109 in reply to Netherfield's 214-7.
Barrow skipper Ian Allington won the toss and inserted Netherfield, a decision that looked a good one on a damp track when two wickets were taken for just two runs. Peter Lawson was the wicket taker as he induced Craig Walmsley to play away from his body to a lifting ball that he steered straight into the hands of Rawl Lewis at second slip and that was 0-1. Gareth White made two before Lewis took his second catch as Lawson produced late away swing that took the edge of White's bat and he was gone at 2-2.
There followed the best batting of the innings as Dale Benkenstein, opening in the absence of Chris Parry, and Danny Welbourne put on 109 runs in 92 minutes as the track began to dry in the intermittent sunshine. Welbourne was given lives by some poor Barrow catching but he capitalised and hit five crisp boundaries in his 33 runs before he edged Daryl Wearing to wicketkeeper Dean Williams and Netherfield were 111-3.
Benkenstein meanwhile had looked in no difficulty and had progressed sweetly to 79 when he was undone by a ball from Wearing who drew him forward and trapped him leg before wicket. It was a disappointment for the South African who had looked well set to reach his first League century but his fine 79 came from 101 balls with 11 fours and one six and on his dismissal Netherfield were 126-4.
Grahame Clarke made only 14 and then skied Wearing to long-off where Mike Hughes took the catch and it was 138-5. Skipper Tommy Prime, looking in good form, and Graeme Dodds then put on a valuable 47 runs for the sixth wicket, which fell when Dodds skied the returning Lawson to extra cover for Iain Kermode to take the catch. He was gone for 21 and Netherfield were 185-6. And it was 207-7 when Wearing caught Prime off Lewis, who had opened with seam and had by then reverted to his more familiar leg spin, for a more than useful 38 made from 75 balls with four fours. Scott Clement, five not out, and Marc Hadwin, six not out, saw Netherfield through to their final 214-7 with Lawson taking 3-44, Wearing 3-71 and Lewis 1-66.
Barrow opened strongly in the form of Ian Allington who played two delightful drives for four and then played the shot of the day through extra cover to the boundary. Unfortunately he was out in the same over as he drove rather firm-footedly at a ball from Ryan Wilson and he was gone for a cameo 15 as White took the catch and Barrow were 22-1. Lewis did not fare well for when he had made five he played a poor shot at Wilson, not moving his feet and holding his bat out to get an edge that was simply slip catching practice for Walmsley and that was 32-2.
The imperturbable Shaun Miller and James Riley then began to consolidate although the latter did raise the hopes of the Netherfield bowlers with some rather chancy pulls. The pair took the total to 67 before Benkenstein broke through when he had Riley caught at slip by Prime for 20 and one run later it was the end of Miller who had batted well for his 23 made from 55 balls. He edged Benkenstein to wicketkeeper White who took the catch and Barrow were getting into trouble at 68-4.
Paul Wilcock and Mike Hughes began another recovery but the arrival of Hadwin on the scene changed the game dramatically. As already mentioned his first ball ripped across the batsman and probably put fears into the minds of those to follow. He struck first fortuitously when Wilcock played a rash across the line shot, missed and was bowled for 10 and that was 86-5. Dean Williams joined Hughes and the pair defended stoutly until Hughes, who had made 15 from 56 balls, played no shot at a ball from Hadwin and was leg before wicket at 105-6.
The end was then nigh for the remaining four wickets were lost for four runs. In the same over as Hughes was dismissed, Hadwin bowled Din Bandara for a duck and that was 105-7. Iain Kermode made three before he became the first victim of a Hadwin hat-trick when he offered no stroke and was also leg before wicket at 109-8. Wearing also played no stroke to his first ball and it bowled him and then Lawson looped a catch to slip where Benkenstein did the necessary and it was all over for Barrow at 109 with Dean Williams, having watched the disasters from the other end, six not out. Hadwin finished with 6-14 with his final five wickets coming in the space of 11 balls and Netherfield had won by 105 runs with 12.1 overs of the final 20 overs unused.
