Match Day 26th July 2008 3D SPORTS NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE BLACKPOOL EARN DERBY WIN AT ST ANNES By Michael Latham Blackpool stay top of the 3D Sports Northern Premier Cricket League but their lead was cut to 11 points by Kendal after a thrilling Saturday's action on the first real summer's afternoon of the season. Paul Danson's men won the local derby at Vernon Road in emphatic style, picking up 12 points after a seven-wicket win. Richard Gleeson and Saj Weerakoon each took four wickets as St Annes were dismissed for 148, Stephen Twist top-scoring with 41. Gleeson picked up the prize wicket of Atiq Uz-Zaman for nought. Luis Reece and Alex Smith, both aged 17, then added 83 for the first wicket with Reece making 59 to set Blackpool on the way while Weerakoon was undefeated on 35 at the close. Kendal, though, picked up the maximum 15 points after defeating Barrow at Shap Road. Terry Hunte hit 111, his 42nd Northern League century, and shared a second wicket partnership of 196 with skipper Ikram Ullah (88) in Kendal's 253 for 3 declared. Despite a brilliant 119 from professional Pasan Wanasinghe Barrow were dismissed for 219, off-spinner Ben Simm collecting 4 for 42. With Leyland inactive, Morecambe took advantage to close the gap by earning a three-wicket win over Chorley in a low-scoring game at Woodhill Lane, Andy Holdsworth top-scoring with 40 in Chorley's 134 for 8 that the home side overhauled for the loss of seven wickets. There was a brilliant century by Netherfield's Australian pro Callum Ferguson in his side's 36 runs win at Lune Road. Ferguson hit 114, including 15 fours off 132 balls, in the visitors' 170 for 9. Chris Parry was next top-scorer with 19 as Tim Barry took 5 for 34. Lancaster were bowled out for 134, Wassem Khan scoring 50 but eclipsed by Scott Clement who took 5 for 29 including a hat-trick. Clement trapped the father and son combination of Jamie and David Heywood lbw before clean bowling Michael Walling for his hat-trick. Darwen picked up 12 points at West Cliff as a mature innings by teenager Kamran Anwar steered them to a two-wicket win over Preston in a low-scoring game. Preston were dismissed for 120, losing their last ten wickets for 80 with opener Sajid Patel top-scoring with 24. Anwar's 28 not out saw Darwen home in a tense finish after Mark Emery had hit the game's highest score of 32. Gareth Cordingley, who took 3 for 21, was lbw to Bilal Asad for 3 and requires a further ten runs for 10,000 in Northern League cricket. Kamran Anwar was Darwen's hero at Preston Gareth Cordingley still needs 10 runs for 10,000 in the league Darwen's Mark Emery is run-out by Javid Hussain at Preston Darwen players congratulate Kamran Anwar after his match winning innings Carnforth secured 12 points after defeating Fleetwood. The visitors were bowled out for 130, Joe Wilson making 32 not out after coming in at no9 after Adam Cowperthwaite took 4 for 63 and also ran out Fleetwood pro Nisitha Rupasinghe with a direct hit. Darren Moore, Adam Hornby and Tom Barnfield all reached the 30-mark as Carnforth got home with 18 overs to spare, pro Ryan Bailey suffering a rare failure being out for 20. RESULTS: DIVISION ONE Carnforth v Fleetwood Carnforth (12pts) defeated Fleetwood (0pts) by 6 wickets Fleetwood 130 (A Cowperthwaite 4 for 63), Carnforth 131 for 4 Kendal v Barrow Kendal (15pts) defeated Barrow (3pts) by 34 runs Kendal 253 for 3 dec (T Hunte 111, Ikram Ullah 88), Barrow 219 (P Wanasinghe 119, B Simm 4 for 42) Lancaster v Netherfield Netherfield (15pts) defeated Lancaster (3pts) by 36 runs Netherfield 170 for 9 (C Ferguson 114, T Barry 5 for 34), Lancaster 134 (Wassem Khan 50, S Clement 5 for 28 including hat-trick) Morecambe v Chorley Morecambe (12pts) defeated Chorley (2pts) by 3 wickets Chorley 134 for 8 (A Holdsworth 40), Morecambe 138 for 7 Preston v Darwen Darwen (12pts) defeated Preston (2pts) by 2 wickets Preston 120, Darwen 121 for 8 St Annes v Blackpool Blackpool (12pts) defeated St Annes (1pt) by 7 wickets St Annes 148 (S Twist 41, R Gleeson 4 for 39, S Weerakoon 4 for 29), Blackpool 149 for 3 (L Reece 59) 3D SPORTS NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE Division One Club P W15 W12 D4 D1 L NR4 BP Pts Blackpool 16 4 7 0 1 3 1 10 159 Kendal 15 5 3 3 0 3 1 21 148 Leyland 15 5 2 3 1 3 1 25 141 Morecambe 15 1 6 2 4 1 1 25 128 St Annes 15 2 4 3 0 5 1 26 120 Netherfield 16 2 3 4 2 4 1 29 117 CHORLEY 16 0 6 3 2 4 1 23* 113 Carnforth 16 2 3 1 2 6 2 26 106 Barrow 16 2 1 1 6 5 1 34 90 Preston 16 2 1 3 0 9 1 30 88 Darwen 16 0 4 0 3 7 2 28 87 Lancaster 16 1 1 3 4 7 0 43 86 Fleetwood 16 0 1 1 1 12 1 23 44 * 2 Points deducted for slow over rate TO SEE MIKE LATHAM'S PICTURES OF THE DAY Preston v Darwen Click Here SECOND DIVISION Barrow v Kendal Barrow (15pts) defeated Kendal (3pts) by 21 runs Barrow 157, Kendal 136 Blackpool v St Annes St Annes (10pts) winning draw; Blackpool 4pts St Annes 183 for 8 (N Bradley 55), Blackpool 153 for 9 (R Thomas 6 for 44) Chorley v Morecambe Morecambe (9pts) winning draw; Chorley 5 pts Morecambe 265 for 5 (G Maje 87, L Edge 48, R Smith 40) Chorley 237 for 8 (I Mawdsley 82, I Oakes 57, C Millward 42, G Cassidy 6 for 31) Darwen v Preston Darwen (12pts) defeated Preston (4pts) by 2 wickets Preston 161 (C Davies 6 for 52), Darwen 162 for 8 (S Painter 58, N Jackson 53 not out) Fleetwood v Carnforth Fleetwood (12pts) defeated Carnforth (5pts) by 2 wickets Carnforth 195 for 8 (W Tomlinson 57, R Forsyth 50 not out, J Hay 4 for 60), Fleetwood 196 for 8 (A Sharrocks 75) Netherfield v Lancaster Lancaster (15pts) defeated Netherfield (3pts) by 61 runs Lancaster 200 (R Child 57, J Maguire 52, K Moffat 48), Netherfield 139 (S Hyland 58, S Sparks 4 for 48) 3D SPORTS NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE Division Two Club P W15 W12 D4 D1 L NR4 BP Pts Chorley 16 6 5 0 4 0 1 19 177 Blackpool 18 5 3 4 1 4 1 28 160 Barrow 16 3 4 5** 0 2 2 28 150 St Annes 15 2 5 4** 2 1 1 32 145 Lancaster 16 1 7 2 2 4 0 21 130 Morecambe 16 2 3 4 1 4 2 37 128 Netherfield 16 3 3 1 1 5 3 15 113 Darwen 16 0 5 1 2 6 2 27 101 Leyland 15 3 0 2 2 7 1 32 91 Kendal 15 2 0 1 3 7 2 25 70 Fleetwood 17 0 3 0 1 9 4 16 69 Preston 16 2 1 0 1 11 1 21 68 Carnforth 16 0 2 1 3 10 0 25 56 ** Tied Match 5 pionts each Michael Latham's Featured Match of the day Match 1 Preston v Darwen Thrilling win for Darwen at West Cliff After losing so many senior players through the winter, 2008 was always going to be a hard struggle for Darwen. But the experience gained by the younger players given their chance in the first team this year will stand the club in good stead in the future. Proof of that was at West Cliff on Saturday when Andrew Cook's side pulled off a two wicket win over Preston in what the captain described as possibly the best team display of the season so far. Preston struggled after winning the toss and batting on a slow pitch and after an opening stand of 40 between Sajid Patel and pro Bilal Asad lost their last ten wickets for only 80 runs to be bowled out for 120. Preston pro Bilal Asad makes runs down the leg-side Sajid was first to go, not the first or the last batsman to play down the wrong line to Gareth Cordingley, who came on as first change to turn the game in Darwen's favour. Cordingley also accounted for Lukman Vahaluwala and Fayaz Ughradar as he earned figures of 3 for 21 off 11 overs. Gareth Cordingley took three wickets for Darwen With teenagers Michael Clarkson and Kamran Anwar weighing in with vital wickets Preston struggled on a hot day. Clarkson grabbed the prize wicket of Bilal Asad, caught at mid off by Joe Anderson, and followed up by bowling Jonty McDonald. Anwar bowled Munaf Bavla for a stubborn 16 and only Joe Davies with 19 from 49 balls provided much resistance after that. Captain Cook came back into the attack to grab two caught-and-bowleds while pro Atif Ashraf weighed in with the last wicket when Preston captain Glenn Johnstone was stumped by the impressive Jordan Clarke. Darwen captain Andrew Cook completes a catch off his own bowling to dismiss Charlie Williams But Preston fought hard in the field to defend their below par total, reducing Darwen to 4 for 3. Vahaluwala trapped Jordan Clarke and pro Atif lbw for ducks and Gareth Cordingley, ten runs away from the 10,000 runs milestone in the league, was trapped in front by Bilal Asad. John Cordingley and Chris Clarke looked to have repaired the damage until the latter was run out after a mix-up and when the former was caught at cover off Davies Darwen were 48 for 5. Anderson struck a big six before he was caught on the boundary attempting another big shot to give Davies his second wicket. Mark Emery and Kamran Anwar dug in sensibly though and took their side to the verge of victory with a valuable seventh stand of 47. But with Darwen just 12 runs away from their target Emery was run out by Vahaluwala attempting a risky second run and Andrew Brown then bowled by Vahauwala. Mark Emery's fine innings is ended by a run out But Anwar batted with great maturity and finished with an unbeaten 28 off 79 balls to guide his side home with two wickets to spare in the company of Captain Cook. Michael Latham's Featured Match of the day Match 2 St Annes v Blackpool LOCAL YOUNGSTERS SHINE AS BLACKPOOL POLISH OFF ST. ANNES Blackpool coach Mike Moore has kindly provided a match report of his side's game at St Annes on Saturday: In the game which would decide who had the latest bragging rights in the NPCL, Danno took his triumphant young Blackpool side to St. Annes for the top fixture of the day. True to form, the Seasiders came out well in front in what proved to be a somewhat one-sided match, to register their 12th League win of the season. First success, Danno won the toss and inserted the home side on a pitch short of moisture, which offered some assistance to the visitors` rampant bowling attack. Immediately, they took a hold on the game. Rick Gleeson, bowling better and faster this season than at any other time upset the St, Annes` applecart by firstly removing the prolific Atiq Uz-Zaman clean bowled for a duckand then ripping out opener Adam Taylor, again bowled, for 7, leaving St Annes wobbling on 9 for 2. This is the 2nd occasion this season that Rick has bagged the Pakistani Test star for no score and is testimony to the quality of this young man`s pace bowling, surely one of the best amateur bowlers in the NPCL. This hastened the arrival of the in-form Stephen Twist to the wicket and he showed positive intent from ball one, putting on 50 for the 3rd wicket with local law enforcement officer Gareth Evans ( 19 ). Fortunate to survive a simple chance to backward point off the bowling of the hapless Luis Reece, Twist stamped his mark on the home team`s innings with an otherwise chanceless 42 before being fourth man out ( 72 - 4 ). He was caught - behind off the immaculate left arm spin of pro. Saj Weerakoon. Russ Bradley ( 27 n.o. ) & pro Mansoor Ahmed ( 18 ) were the only other batsmen to put up any real resistance to this rampant Blackpool attack., once again well marshalled by Captain Fantastic, Paul Danson. Gleeson returned for a second spell to help clean up the lower order with figures of 9 overs 0 maidens 39 runs 4 wickets, whilst a near perfect performance from Sri Lankan Saj Weerakoon produced a return of 4 for 29 in 16 overs with 2 maidens. A wicket apiece went to the accurate Andy Hogarth and reliable Alex Smith to round off a thoroughly professional performance by Blackpool. Richard Gleeson was again amongst the wickets for Blackpool Rick Gleeson now has 35 wickets this season, with pro Saj just in front on 37. St. Annes were bowled out for 148 in 42 overs, leaving Blackpool 58 overs to chase the target down. Tea must have tasted extra especially good for the Blackpool boys after such a tremendous first half effort and spirits were high when openers Luis Reece and Alex Smith strode out to the middle. The youngest opening pair in the Northern League, both 17 years old, then proceeded to set about the St. Annes attack with obvious relish and put on the highest opening partnership of the season (83), before Alex`s accomplished innings of 30 came to a premature end. Promoted Chris Taylor was adjudged caught at slip for 2, which brought pro Weerakoon back into the game to quash any hopes of a St Annes` revival that those two wickets might have sparked. Weerakoon (35 n. o.) & Luis (60) then took Blackpool to the brink of victory before Reece was out caught off pro. Ahmed with the scores level. Former St. Annes` batsman, Adrian Darlington then strode out to a standing ovation from the crowd, both Blackpool and St. Annes supporters alike & a "gaurd of honour" from the opposition's players. Adrian Darlington got a standing ovation from both sets of players and supporters This showed the respect for & the popularity of Darlo, who has played more seasons in the Northern League than he may care to remember. He survived two raucous appeals for LBW to finish 0 not out, before Saj pushed the winning run to give Blackpool an extremely convincing win by 7 wickets with 23 overs to spare! Brilliant performance, fellers. Every credit to Danno & his boys, who now have a day off next Saturday and then play current second placed Kendal, 11 points behind us on 148 points. There will be no easy games now for our Table Toppers & next Sunday`s away fixture to Kendal will be one of the toughest.

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