By Michael Latham
Leaders Blackpool stay top of the 3D Sports Northern Premier Cricket League but their lead was cut to six points by Leyland.
Blackpool romped to a nine-wicket victory over Preston at Stanley Park, bagging 12 points with 14.3 overs to spare. Lancashire CCC all rounder Steven Croft, playing his third game of the season for his hometown club, was the Blackpool hero.
Lancashire's Steven Croft inspired leaders Blackpool |
Croft claimed the vital wicket of Preston professional Bilal Asad, bowled for 24 and then hit eight fours and four sixes in a superb innings of 86 not out, sharing an unbroken second wicket stand of 144 with Luis Reece (56 not out) as Preston's 150 for 9 was comfortably overhauled. Earlier, Blackpool professional Sajeewa Weerakoon claimed four for 43 and a run out as Preston opener Sajid Patel battled through 27 overs for 27.
Preston pro Bilal Asad is bowled by Steven Croft |
Saj Weerakoon catches Preston's Faurquli Saiyed off his own bowling |
Luis Reece hit 56 not out for Blackpool |
Meanwhile just up the coast, Leyland professional Ameer Khan enjoyed a superb all round performance at Broadwater as his side earned the maximum 15 points from an emphatic 99-runs victory over bottom club Fleetwood. Khan hit 107, his second century of the season, including four sixes and seven fours off 130 balls after surviving a dropped catch to Fleetwood pro Nisitha Ripasinghe when on 7. Peter Cummings weighed in with 50 off 52 balls, including three sixes, in Leyland's 202 for 7.
Khan then took five for 30 with his leg-spin as Fleetwood were dismissed for 103 despite a battling 44 from Adam Parker.
Kendal achieved a seven-wicket victory at Lune Road in double-quick time, overhauling Lancaster's 140 for 9 with 26.1 overs in hand. Ben Simm and Stuart Parkin each took three wickets for Kendal and Terry Hunte hit 40, pro Ross McMillan 34 and Oliver Killiner 28 not out off only 13 balls as the visitors romped home.
Chorley gained only two points from a losing draw at Parkside Road when rain cut short the game at 6-09pm. Netherfield's Australian professional Callum Ferguson kept up his pursuit of Ryan Bailey at the top of the league run scoring charts with 115 not out off 102 balls, including six sixes and ten fours while the promising John Huck hit 46 and shared in a fourth-wicket stand of 114. Chasing 219 to win, Chorley were 114 for 4 after 26 overs when the rains came, professional Friedel de Wet making 51.
Morecambe had to be content with a winning draw at Ernest Pass as Barrow hung on with nine wickets down. Opener Vishal Goyal hit 45 and Kiwi professional Bruce Martin 50 in Morecambe's 169 for 7 and despite 35 from opener Jonathan Miles Barrow were never really in the hunt as two overs were lost to the weather. Gareth Pedder took 3 for 31 in 17 overs, Martin 2 for 41 in 19 and Graham Lee 3 for 13 in 7 as Barrow closed 47 runs short.
The Darwen-Carnforth game was abandoned without a ball bowled.
RESULTS
DIVISION ONE:
Barrow v Morecambe
Morecambe (9pts) winning draw; Barrow (3pts)
Morecambe 169 for 7 (B Martin 50, V Goyal 45), Barrow 122 for 9 (G Lee 3 for 13, G Pedder 3 for 31)
Blackpool v Preston
Blackpool (12pts) defeated Preston (1pt) by 9 wickets
Preston 150 for 9 (S Weerakoon 4 for 43), Blackpool 151 for 1 (S Croft 86 not out, L Reece 56 not out)
Darwen v Carnforth
Match abandoned (4pts each)
Fleetwood v Leyland
Leyland (15pts) defeated Fleetwood (2pts) by 99 runs
Leyland 202 for 7 (Ameer Khan 107, P Cummings 50, T Blundell 3 for 50, A Breakall 3 for 55), Fleetwood 103 (A Parker 44, Ameer Khan 5 for 30)
Lancaster v Kendal
Kendal (12pts) defeated Lancaster (1pt) by 7 wickets
Lancaster 140 for 9 (S Parkin 3 for 44, B Simm 3 for 44), Kendal 145 for 3 (T Hunte 40)
Netherfield v Chorley
Netherfield (7pts) winning draw; Chorley (2pts)
Netherfield 218 for 6 (C Ferguson 115 not out, J Huck 46), Chorley 114 for 4
3D SPORTS NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Division One
| Club |
P |
W15 |
W12 |
D4 |
D1 |
L |
NR4 |
BP |
Pts |
| Blackpool |
15 |
4 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
10 |
147 |
| Leyland |
15 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
25 |
141 |
| Kendal |
14 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
21 |
133 |
| St Annes |
14 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
25 |
119 |
| Morecambe |
14 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
25 |
116 |
| CHORLEY |
15 |
0 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
19* |
109 |
| Netherfield |
15 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
29 |
102 |
| Carnforth |
15 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
2 |
26 |
94 |
| Barrow |
15 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
4 |
1 |
31 |
87 |
| Preston |
15 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
8 |
1 |
28 |
86 |
| Lancaster |
15 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
6 |
0 |
40 |
83 |
| Darwen |
15 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
7 |
2 |
28 |
75 |
| Fleetwood |
15 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
11 |
1 |
23 |
44 |
* 4 Points deducted for slow over rate
SECOND DIVISION
Chorley stayed at the top of the second division after Mat Parry took 6 for 25 to bowl them to victory over Netherfield at Windsor Park. Blackpool are 16 points behind in second place after Andy Armstrong took a six-wicket haul at Preston.
Barrow moved joint-third with the inactive St Annes after Paul Wilcock hit 52 in their victory at Morecambe. Bootom club Carnforth chased down Darwen's 169 for 7 thanks to valuable contributions from Ben Hornby and Richard Forsyth.
The game between Kendal and Lancaster was ruined by rain and Leyland's home fixture against Fleetwood was abandoned.
Carnforth v Darwen
Carnforth (12pts) defeated Darwen (2pts) by 6 wickets
Darwen 169 for 7 (S Painter 76), Carnforth 170 for 4 (B Hornby 55, R Forsyth 40 not out)
Chorley v Netherfield
Chorley (15pts) defeated Netherfield (1pt) by 66 runs
Chorley 158 for 6 (M Richardson 44), Netherfield 92 (M Parry 6 for 25)
Kendal v Lancaster
Lancaster (5pts) winning draw; Kendal (4pts)
Lancaster 146 (S Sparks 44), Kendal 70 for 4 (L Moffat 4 for 27)
Leyland v Fleetwood
Match abandoned (4 points each)
Morecambe v Barrow
Barrow (12pts) defeated Morecambe (0pts) by 6 wickets
Morecambe 124, Barrow 125 for 3 (P Wilcock 52, R Lightfoot 42)
Preston v Blackpool
Blackpool (15pts) defeated Preston (0pts) by 108 runs
Blackpool 187 for 3 (C Taylor 72 not out, S Mercer 57), Preston 79 (A Armstrong 6 for 30)
3D SPORTS NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Division Two
| Club |
P |
W15 |
W12 |
D4 |
D1 |
L |
NR4 |
BP |
Pts |
| Chorley |
15 |
6 |
5 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
15 |
172 |
| Blackpool |
17 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
25 |
156 |
| St Annes |
14 |
2 |
5 |
3** |
2 |
1 |
1 |
26 |
135 |
| Barrow |
15 |
2 |
4 |
5** |
0 |
2 |
2 |
28 |
135 |
| Morecambe |
15 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
32 |
119 |
| Lancaster |
15 |
0 |
7 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
21 |
115 |
| Netherfield |
15 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
12 |
110 |
| Leyland |
15 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
1 |
32 |
91 |
| Darwen |
15 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
2 |
27 |
89 |
| Kendal |
14 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
22 |
67 |
| Preston |
15 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
10 |
1 |
17 |
64 |
| Fleetwood |
16 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
9 |
4 |
16 |
57 |
| Carnforth |
15 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
9 |
0 |
20 |
51 |
** Tied Match 5 pionts each
Michael Latham's Featured Match
Blackpool v Preston
Croft returns to his roots
Blackpool CC coach Mike Moore has kindly supplied a match report in his own inimitable fashion of the victory over Preston on Saturday that maintained Blackpool's position at the top:
On a day when the weather again threatened to dominate proceedings, Captain Paul Danson invited Preston to bat on what was probably one of the best batting tracks of the season so far. Target 12 points.
As it turned out the home side completely demolished the visitors from West Cliff, burying them by 9 wickets, with nearly 15 overs to spare to retain pole position in the NPCL, with 147 points, 6 clear of Leyland, who bagged the full 15 up the road at Fleetwood.
Preston started off at a brisk pace & after 14 overs were handily placed at 48 for 1, with pro Bilal Asad ( 24 ) & opener Patel ( 27 ) going well. Paceman Richard Gleeson ( 1 - 22 ) had earlier dismissed Ugradar for only 4 in his 3rd over. When Steven Croft removed Bilal at that score ( 48 for 2 ), wickets continued to fall with monotonous regularity, courtesy of Saj Weerakoon, who finished with 4 for 43 off 21 overs, 4 maidens.
Another notable performance from our Sri Lankan "Spinmeister". Luis Reece chipped in with 1 for 16 with the Preston batsmen contributing to their own downfall via two shabby run outs. The only other partnership of any merit was 34 between F. Saiyed & Charlie Williams, the visitors finishing on 150 for 9 from their allotted overs.
Blackpool pro Saj Weerakoon safly pouches a caught abd bowled |
Blackpool`s reply began poorly when U.17 skipper Alex Smith was adjudged LBW for 3 to pro Asad ( 8o. 3m. 15r.1w ) B`pool 7 for 1. This brought the Seasiders` Lancashire star Steven Croft to the crease to join opener Reece. The pair produced an undefeated partnership of 144, with Croft scoring 86 n.o. & his junior partner 56 n. o.
Steven Croft hits one of his 4 sixes |
Crofty finished the job by belting one through mid-wicket for 4 to reach the required target. These two do bat well together when they are paired up in the middle and young Reece will again have benefitted from time at the crease with Crofty, who seems to relish returning to the club where he forged his talents.
It was a pleasure to watch the master at work, building his innings with a mixture of patience, experience & sheer aggression. His brilliant knock included 8 fours & 4 huge sixes, one of which would have gone straight through the dressing room window had it not been for the safe hands of Captain Fantastic who snaffled it with ease to prevent any serious damage! You just cannot keep this guy out of the game! Young Luis batted with an assured confidence, rattling several well struck boundaries in another half century, taking his tally this season so far to 402. Well done, Luis. Danno must have been well pleased with his boys to-day - another very professional performance.
Michael Latham's Featured 2nd Divison Match
Preston v Blackpool
Blackpool beat local rivals at West Cliff
Blackpool's stand-in captain Steve Mercer has kindly provided a tongue-in-cheek review of his side's win at Preston last Saturday:
Steven Mercer captain for Blackpool 2nds |
Blackpool travelled the short distance to Preston looking to close on leaders Chorley and pull away from the chasing pack. We were greeted by the usual green, moist wicket and Mr Tasty Bites doing a roaring trade to the locals. Preston won the toss and put Blackpool in to bat.
Newton and Chris Taylor, promoted after last weeks efforts, got off to a steady start keeping out Starkie's military mediums and Big Roger Kaye's seamers until Newton (14) played a lazy shot to Starkie and was caught at gully.
Mercer, captain for the day in the absence of The Grinder, came to the crease and survived an early LBW appeal to Roger Kaye. Blackpool went along nicely and were handily placed at the half way mark at 81-1.
Not many boundaries were hit due to the slow nature of the pitch and very slow outfield but Blackpool were happy to pick up the 1's and 2's and pushed the score over 100 with ease. Mercer took advantage of the bowling changes and got to 50 with a 6 over long on and Chris Taylor followed soon after.
With 10 overs left and after being dropped 3 times after reaching 50, Mercer (57) was run out and Bracewell came to the crease and played a cameo 21 before falling to Starkie,
Mike Taylor came in to join his brother and they eased the score past 180 for maximum batting points. With 2 overs to go Mercer called them in to give the bowlers another 2 overs if required at Preston. Chris Taylor carried his bat for a well made 72 not out and Mike finished on 8 not out.
Blackpool finished on 188-3 off 48 overs; a good performance on a wet track, helped by a very poor fielding performance by Preston.
The Preston reply began well with Dipesh Patel, the young opener who had earlier bowled a nice spell of off spin, cut Army through the offside for 4, unfortunately (for him!) 2 balls later his off stump was cart-wheeling, 4-1. Ross Kemp could smell another haul of wickets to add to his 38 already this season. After a few wafts and nailing one to gully only for a bump ball to be given Zorro holed out predictably to mid off for Army's second.
Mike Taylor (6 overs 1 for 7) got in on the act after finding his line to bowl Jeffries and it was 20-3. Wickets fell at regular intervals with Army picking up another 2 and Luke the Karate Kid impressing again (6 overs 1 for 7) the other. Preston were 35-6 and staring defeat in the face but Ralph Cairns and Big Roger Kaye put up some resistance until Mercer (6 overs 2 for 14) came on and removed them both in consecutive overs.
Booth toiled away for 5 overs without success so Army (12 overs 6 for 30) was brought back to finish off the tail which he did within 2 overs to leave Preston 78 all out off 39 overs.
Another much needed 15 points to take into next week's local derby with St Annes.
A great effort from Chris Taylor who has taken his chance well with 120 runs in 2 knocks opening and a superb effort from Ross Kemp to take his tally to 44 league wickets for the season.
Andrew Armstrong added to his wickets tally |
