Match Day 14th June 2008 3D SPORTS NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE MCMILLAN'S ALL-ROUND HEROICS TAKE KENDAL TO THE SUMMIT By Michael Latham Kendal went to the top of the 3D Sports Northern Premier League after a dramatic four-run victory at overnight leaders Leyland, who were knocked off the summit for the first time this season. Kendal's South African professional Ross McMillan produced another superb all-round display, top-scoring with 57 in his side's innings of 162 for 7 at Fox Lane, in which skipper Ikram Ullah made 51, and then taking 6 for 59. Mark Phillips snapped up the match-winning catch at fine leg to dismiss Steven Pallett off Ben Simm's off-spin with five balls to spare to decide a gripping encounter. Andrew Makinson was Leyland's highest scorer with 44. Ross McMillan's all-round display helped Kendal knock Leyland off the top Blackpool stay second but are just two points off the lead after their paid man, Sri Lankan Sejeewa Weerakoon produced a brilliant match-winning innings of 93 not out (including three sixes and eight fours) to see his side to a five wicket win over Morecambe. Blackpool were rocking at 84 for 5 chasing their victory target of 178 but skipper Paul Danson again came in to settle things down, supporting Weerakoon with a vital 28 not out in an unbroken partnership of 94. Sajeewa Weerakoon was Blackpool's match winner again Morecambe's professional, New Zealander Bruce Martin underpinned his side's total of 177 for 9 with a disciplined innings of 70 while Phil Dennison supplied valuable support with 46. The hostile Richard Gleeson took five for 64 for Blackpool. Left-arm spinner Martin then took four wickets before Weerakoon saw Blackpool home with nearly seven overs remaining at a sunlit Stanley Park. Reigning champions St Annes moved up to fourth after Stephen Twist's fine innings of 62 not out saw them overhaul Preston's total of 213 for 6 with eight balls to spare. Twist's fourth-wicket partnership of 101 with professional Mansoor Ahmed (48) was crucial though Rhys Williams returned from holiday to take four wickets for Preston. Paul Mann and professional Bilal Asad had opened with a stand of 75 for Preston but none of their batsmen reached 40. Teenaged opening batsman and wicket-keeper Josh Tolley continued his outstanding form, notching a fifth successive half-century but Chorley had to settle for a winning draw against visitors Barrow. Tolley made a superb 82, hitting 13 fours and two sixes, as consistent batting down the order helped Chorley reach an imposing 242 for 6, Michael Critchley hitting an unbeaten 54. Barrow pro Pasan Wanasinghe (65) shared a second wicket stand of 132 with Cumberland batsman Darren Clark (75) but pro Friedel de Wet and Bill Smith each took three wickets to leave their side two wickets short of victory in a tense finish. Josh Tolley hits his sixth half-century of the season Carnforth's South African pro Ryan Bailey showed why many good judges regard him as the best batsman in the league with a masterly 162 not out but still finished on the losing side. Bailey hit four sixes and 19 fours in his 143-ball innings that dominated Carnforth's 254 for 6 at Parkside Road in a match reduced to 46 overs-per side. But Netherfield captain Chris Parry hit his second century of the season (105, including one six and 14 fours) and shared a second wicket stand of 118 with Australian professional Callum Ferguson (62) as the home side reached their target with seven wickets and 16 balls to spare. The highly-rated youngster John Huck saw his side home with 51 not out. Finally, Lancaster had to settle for a winning draw at Birch Hall despite totalling 209 for 7 in a match reduced to 44-overs per side, thanks largely to professional Taufeeq Umar's 64. Kamran Anwar, one of a clutch of promising young bowlers at Darwen, collected four for 35. Darwen finished 15 runs short of victory with three wickets remaining after their professional Atif Ashraf hit his first century of the season, a superb 108. Lancaster's Tim Barry returned to bowling action after injury and finished with four for 91. Atif Ashraf hit a fine century foe Darwen against Lancaster RESULTS DIVISION ONE RESULTS Blackpool v Morecambe Blackpool (12pts) defeated Morecambe (3pts) by 5 wickets Morecambe 177 for 9 (B Martin 70, P Dennison 46, R Gleeson 5 for 64), Blackpool 178 for 5 (S Weerakoon 93 not out, B Martin 4 for 79) Chorley v Barrow Chorley (9pts) winning draw; Barrow (5pts) Chorley 242 for 6 (J Tolley 82, M Critchley 54 not out), Barrow 185 for 8 (D Clark 75, P Wanasinghe 65) Darwen v Lancaster Lancaster (9pts) winning draw; Darwen (5pts) Lancaster 209 for 7 (T Umar 64, K Anwar 4 for 35), Darwen 195 for 7 (Atif Ashraf 108, T Barry 4 for 91) Leyland v Kendal Kendal (15pts) defeated Leyland (3pts) by 4 runs Kendal 162 for 7 (R McMillan 57, Ikram Ullah 51), Leyland 158 (A Makinson 44, R McMillan 6 for 59) Netherfield v Carnforth Netherfield (12pts) defeated Carnforth (3pts) by 7 wickets Carnforth 254 for 6 (R Bailey 162 not out), Netherfield 255 for 3 (C Parry 105, C Ferguson 62, J Huck 51 not out) St Annes v Preston St Annes (12pts) defeated Preston (4pts) by 4 wickets Preston 213 for 6, St Annes 217 for 6 (S Twist 62 not out, Mansoor Ahmed 48, R Williams 4 for 45) 3D SPORTS NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE Division One Club P W15 W12 D4 D1 L NR4 BP Pts Kendal 10 3 2 3 0 2 0 21 102 Blackpool 10 2 5 0 1 2 0 9 100 Leyland 10 3 2 2 1 2 0 18 96 St Annes 10 2 3 2 0 3 0 18 92 CHORLEY 10 0 4 3 0 3 0 20* 80 Morecambe 10 1 3 1 4 1 0 20 79 Lancaster 11 1 1 3 3 3 0 37 79 Barrow 11 2 1 1 3 4 0 24 73 Netherfield 10 1 2 2 2 3 0 22 71 Carnforth 10 2 1 1 2 4 0 21 69 Preston 10 2 0 1 0 7 0 20 54 Darwen 10 0 2 0 2 6 0 23 49 Fleetwood 10 0 1 1 1 7 0 16 33 * 2 Points deducted for slow over rate TO SEE MIKE LATHAM'S PICTURES OF THE DAY Blackpool v Morecambe Click Here DIVISION TWO The game of the day last Saturday in Division Two was the meeting of Barrow and Chorley at Ernest Pass. After being put into bat Barrow reached 191 for 9 thanks largely to contributions from Tod Bamber, who has returned from university to challenge for a first team place and Guy Heffernan. Bamber's 71 and Heffernan's 57 were the main contributors with Jim Lee and Richard Flood each taking three wickets for the visitors. Chorley fell 15 runs short with two wickets remaining on 176 for 8, Adam Peacock top-scoring with 59. Glen Kermode took 3 for 31 for Barrow.Chorley have a 11-point lead over both Barrow and who are tied in joint second place. Captain Andy Griffiths has kindly sent in a report of his side's game with Morecambe which is to be found below.St Annes are handily placed in fourth place after they won batting second at West Cliff. Preston's 192 for 7 featured a fine undefeated 71 from captain Johnny Winter, who is also donning the wicket-keeping gloves at the moment, with David Bartholomew taking 3 for 68 for and young spinner Seve Hurst 2 for 59. David Bartholomew took 3 wickets for St Annes at Preston Seve Hurst has forced his way into St Annes First team Paul Wilks 59 and valuable mid-order contributions from Bartholomew (39) and Gareth Costin (33) saw the visitors home by four wickets with three balls to spare. Darwen held on for a draw at in a match reduced to 43 overs by rain. Captain Iain Parkinson hit a superb 84 not out, including ten fours and three sixes for in their total of 211 for 5, veteran David Bonner taking four for 49. Darwen closed on 104 for 8, Michael Grant top-scoring with 39 and left-arm seamer Liam Moffat taking three wickets after dropping down from the firsts. Liam Moffat helped take Lancaster close to victory over Darwen Netherfield's 15-point win over Carnforth saw them move above into sixth place. Opening batsman Shane Hyland hit 122, including one six and 19 fours in Netherfield's imposing total of 250 for 6 before he was stumped by James Whincup off Joe Gibson. Carnforth were bowled out for 121 in reply, the wickets shared by six Netherfield bowlers with Wayne Tomlinson making 31. Wicket-keeper Stephen Jones picked up five catches behind the timbers. Finally there was an exciting finish at Shap Road where Leyland defeated Kendal by eight runs, successfully defending their total of 175 for 5 in which opener Alan Richardson made 91 and Alan Dugdale took 3 for 31. The home side were bowled out for 167 despite 56 from Paul Dodds. Stephen Cartwright took 4 for 42 for and Stuart Parker consolidated his position at the top of the wicket-keeping charts with another five victims. Stephen Cartwright helped bowl Leyland to victory at Kendal Barrow v Chorley Barrow (9pts) winning draw; Chorley (6pts) Barrow 191 for 9 (T Bamber 71, G Heffernan 57), Chorley 176 for 8 (A Peacock 59) Carnforth v Netherfield Netherfield (15pts) defeated Carnforth (1pt) by 129 runs Netherfield 250 for 6 (S Hyland 122), Carnforth 121 Kendal v Leyland Leyland (15pts) defeated Kendal (3pts) by 8 runs Leyland 175 for 5 (A Richardson 91), Kendal 167 (P Dodds 56, S Cartwright 4 for 42) Lancaster v Darwen Lancaster (9pts) winning draw; Darwen (2pts) Lancaster 211 for 5 (I Parkinson 84 not out), Darwen 104 for 8 Morecambe v Blackpool Blackpool (7pts) winning draw; Morecambe (6pts) Blackpool 203 for 9 (D Newton 81, M Penney 41, N Milner 6 for 62), Morecambe 170 for 4 (R Smith 50, N Milner 49 not out) Preston v St Annes St Annes (12pts) defeated Preston (4pts) by 4 wickets Preston 192 for 7 (J Winter 71 not out, F Ugradar 46), St Annes 195 for 6 (P Wilks 59) 3D SPORTS NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE Division Two Club P W15 W12 D4 D1 L NR4 BP Pts Chorley 10 4 3 0 3 0 0 15 114 Blackpool 10 4 1 3 0 2 0 19 103 Barrow 11 2 2 5** 0 2 0 28 103 St Annes 10 1 3 3** 2 1 0 26 92 Morecambe 10 1 3 2 1 3 0 27 87 Netherfield 10 3 2 1 0 3 1 8 85 Lancaster 11 0 5 1 2 3 0 17 83 Leyland 10 3 0 2 0 5 0 22 75 Darwen 10 0 3 1 2 3 1 18 64 Preston 10 2 1 0 1 6 0 15 58 Kendal 10 1 0 1 2 5 1 19 44 Fleetwood 10 0 1 0 1 7 1 16 33 Carnforth 10 0 1 0 3 6 0 16 31 ** Tied Match 5 pionts each Michael Latham's Featured Match of the day Blackpool v Morecambe Blackpool stay second after victory over Morecambe Blackpool CC coach Mick Moore has kindly sent this report of his side's victory over Morecambe at Stanley Park: On a slightly overcast day at Stanley Park, Blackpool who started the day on 88 points and were deservedly in second place in the NPCL, took on an unbeaten Morecambe team, 12 points behind them in the league. Morecambe were without the injured Jono Gates but Luis Reece was unable to bowl for Blackpool due to a back injury. Captain Paul Danson duly won the toss again and invited the visitors to take first knock on a track which was to offer a little for the bowlers, but held no real fears for batting on. Young Jamie Hogarth (1 for 17 in 6) was first to strike in his second over, bowling opener Vishal Goyal for 7 with a stunning yorker. Mark Woodhead followed soon after, caught by keeper James Smith off the bowling of paceman Richard Gleeson, currently enjoying his best season in the league so far. Former Blackpool player and current Morecambe skipper Mark Lomas (24) then came to the crease where he and New Zealand professional Bruce Martin (70) settled down to retrieve Morecambe`s slightly perilous start. Lomas, who was neatly caught and bowled by Blackpool pro. Saj Weerakoon to leave his side 90 for 3 in the 29th over, was replaced by the hard-hitting Phil Dennison (46). With ten overs to go, it looked as if Lomas`s men were set to plunder the home attack for a substantial total. They were handily placed at 128 for 3. However, captain Danson decided it was time for quickie Gleeson to return to the attack and he had other ideas. Dennison was the first of four victims claimed in his hostile and accurate second spell, three of which were clean bowled & with the reliable Weerakoon keeping things tight at the other end (16-4-42-2), Morecambe were restricted to 177 for 9 in their 50 overs. Martin top-scored with a highly responsible innings of 70. This could have been a considerably lower total, had Blackpool maintained their usual high standards in the field, but apart from one smart run out by fielding coach Michael "Bash" Moore and another very tidy performance behind the stumps by vice captain James Smith, they were lacklustre and well below par. Bruce Martin top scored with a responsible innings of 70 Gleeson finished with figures of 15-1-64-5, his second five- wicket haul of the season, underlining what good progress he is making as an effective strike bowler. Graeme Cassidy becomes one of Richard Gleeson's five victims Captain Danson was happy enough at tea, but wise enough to realise that there can be no room for complacency in the camp if his boys were to maintain their much improved position in the league. Every game is a tough one and runs on the board are always important. His players were duly reminded that patience and determination, producing partnerships were required to win the day. Unfortunately this message appeared not to have been picked up by his top order batsmen, who were unable to respond to their captain`s demands. The first four were all dismissed for single figure scores, three falling victim to the left arm spin of professional Martin. Craig Outram (10) showed some positive resistance before being caught behind by Damian Gudgeon off Martin, leaving the home side struggling on 84 for 5 after 22 overs. Popular professional Weerakoon, who had got off the mark with a first ball six over long on off Martin was then joined by the redoubtable Danson. His confident stride to the crease typified the overall never-say-die attitude prevalent in the Blackpool camp at the moment and the pair settled in to forge the Seasiders` fight-back. Gradually they wrestled the initiative back from the Morecambe bowlers and then set about their attack with some gusto. Between them they added an unbeaten 94 to pass their target and finish on 178 for 5 with 7 overs to spare. Weerakoon`s 93 not out contained three mighty sixes and seven fours and Danson's 28 (at least!) not out listed five cracking boundary fours. Martin finished with 4 for 79 from 20.1 overs. Sri Lankan professional Saj Weerakoon hit 93 not out Skipper Paul Danson hits Graham Lee over the top Blackpool have now won seven of their ten games so far this season, one more than the whole of last year and retain their rightful place at number 2 in the league two points behind Kendal who beat Leyland. Things are very tight in the top half of the table and this league remains wide open, as it probably will do right to the end of the season. Michael Latham's Featured 2nd Division Match of the day Morecambe v Blackpool Andy Griffiths' account of the Morecambe v Blackpool game follows. The game finished in a winning draw to visitors Blackpool at Woodhill Lane: Blackpool travelled to Morecambe, and with a bit of luck managed to avoid the M6 rolling roadblock petrol price fuel protest, so much so that we arrived at 11:30am and were greeted with the first of a couple of showers and a lengthy wait to get into the changing facilities! After losing the toss, Blackpool were asked to take first use, which was not a problem as we have been winning the toss and batting on a number of occasions this season. After seven balls the rain set in, and eight overs were lost, four from each side.When play resumed, Newts and Knocker (Dave Newton and Nicky Wall) carried on their recent run of opening wicket partnerships to take the score past 50 and for the first time this season past 100 without losing a wicket, although Newts (not feeling at his best with constipation!) tried extremely hard to get out as he was unbelievably dropped three times in four balls, and five times overall...! Knocker was again first out, this time as late as the 27th over, when abattling innings of 23 was ended by the slow left arm guile of Morecambe CC chairman, Nick Milner. Michael Penney, promoted to number 3 in the batting order, to take advantage of his quick scoring attributes, joined a tiring Newton at the crease; (Newts was heard to remark "what have you sent him out for" after being forced to scamper far too many runs for his liking!). Newts eventually found the hands of a fielder with the ability to hold onto the ball and departed for a well made, if fortuitous 81, to become Milner's second victim.Steve Mercer, who had been suffering from a severe bout of "pad-rash"exacerbated by Penney's impromptu move up the order, joined young Penney and the score-board rocketed to leave us in a healthy position when Mercer fell for 18. However, entering the final 10 overs with the score 163 for 3, we felt well placed for a surge to take us to the 230 mark, which we thought would berequired against an aggressive Morecambe batting line-up.Sadly, it was not to be, as the wicket was offering spin and bounce, and the lads who followed the top four were asked to up the scoring rate from the off, which to a man they found difficult. Robin Bracewell was adjudged LBW for 10, and when Penney was out for an excellent and typical 41, that signalled the end of the free-flowing scoring. With Mike Taylor (8),Chris Taylor (2), Ben Heath (3) and a last ball run out, Dave Booth (0)perishing, captain Andy Griffiths was left undefeated on 12 not out, and the final total of 203 for 9 represented a last ten over return of 40 runsfor 7 wickets. Milner was impressive to pick up six wickets (6 for 62), which take him level with Andy Armstrong at the top of the 2nd XI league wicket-takers. When the Morecambe reply started, the dangerous opening pair of Ben Akrigg and Gulam Maje, fresh from posting 200 between them against Carnforth the week before, were both troubled by a lively and accurate opening spell from Mike Taylor, who had Maje dropped twice (not a man to drop twice lads!) but found a beauty to take the stumps to remove Akrigg who was out playing no shot! Andy Armstrong was, for once, struggling for rhythm as he battled against a dip on the bowlers' run up, and was taken out of the action as early as the ninth over, to be replaced by Steve Mercer, who in tandem with Tails kept the scoring rate well under 3 runs per over. Ian Izzatt, a precocious striker of the ball in his day, was be-calmed (it was NOT his day!) and with the patience of the Morecambe captain and his helpless troops in the pavilion running thin, he was instructed to "get on with it!" in no uncertain fashion. Despite looking like they had no interest in chasing the target, it was clear from this statement that the Morecambe captain would like his troops to have a go, so captain Griffiths asked Mercer to tempt the batsmen with some of his leg-spin variations, and turned to spin at both ends with Boothy also brought into the action.This seemed to do the trick and as the scoring rate increased so did the chances of the Morecambe batsmen getting out. Maje was out LBW to one of Mercer's slower balls, which brought the highly impressive junior Ryan Smith to the crease.Izzatt departed caught by Army after a circus juggler's impression to give Mercer his second victim, and then Milner came to the crease all guns blazing, to really up the ante.As the scoring rate increased and with the very attainable scoring rate required around the 7.5 runs per over mark, disbanded with his attacking field and went on the defensive, and the bowlers contained the opposition comfortably, but on a good pitch just couldn't find the breakthroughs required to get into the bonus points for wickets taken. In the 48th over the impressive Mike Taylor took Smith's wicket for 50,an excellent knock from a young lad who has a bright future in the game,but the fifth wicket could not be found, and with Milner 42 not out Morecambe settled on 170 for 4. A good effort from our lads, perhaps the biggest surprise of the day not losing a ball when we were bowling (Morecambe lost 4.!) particularly considering Merse was asked to bowl a few overs of leg-spin, and Boothy was bowling to a short boundary for long periods! We need to find ways of taking 10 wickets when bowling second against astubborn team with some good players at this level - a problem that needs to be addressed before the stern challenges of Barrow and ahead!

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