By Michael Latham
Just ten points separate the top four clubs in the 3D Sports Northern Premier Cricket League with four games to go after Netherfield and Morecambe extended the pressure on Blackpool and Kendal.
Netherfield have amassed 72 points in their last five games and are the team in form with Australian professional Callum Ferguson again proving his worth with bat and ball. Ferguson set a new Netherfield professional batting record on his way to 46 after openers Craig Walmsley and Simon Little had put on 79 against leaders Blackpool at Parkside Road. Sri Lankan professional Saj Weerakoon collected 4 for 95 for the visitors.
Netherfield's imposing total of 200 for 7 always looked beyond Blackpool despite a fighting 34 from skipper Paul Danson. Ferguson collected 5 for 42 and leg-spinner Marc Hadwin an amazing 4 for 0 as the visitors subsided to 103 all out. Ferguson has now scored 1,196 runs at a shade under 100 and taken 38 wickets at 17.
Morecambe skittled hapless Carnforth for just 45 to seal another 15-pts win. Kiwi professional Bruce Martin took 5 for 9 with his left arm spin as Ryan Bailey's last game as Carnforth professional ended dismally. Bailey was bowled by Jono Gates for 1 and returns to South Africa with a record of 859 league runs at 78. Vishal Goyal earlier made 54 in Morecambe's 194 for 7, veteran off-spinner John Denwood taking 4 for 67.
Kendal were frustrated by St Annes' Russ Bradley as they failed by one wicket to seal maximum points. Bradley batted 21 overs for 33 not out to save the draw, seeing out the last five-and-a-half overs with last man Luke O'Dea. St Annes closed on 125 for 9, well short of Kendal's 193 for 8 that featured 61 from Terry Hunte and 69 from opener Gareth Ashburner. Kendal professional Ross McMillan took his league wickets tally to 64, ten ahead of Martin, with a haul of 5 for 30.
Fading Leyland suffered a four wickets home defeat by Preston, after being bowled out for 106 at Fox Lane. Preston professional Bilal Asad took 5 for 15 but home skipper David Makinson hit 28 not out to steer his side from 64 for 8 into three figures. Lukman Vahaluwalla's undefeated 35 and stand-in skipper Joe Davies's quick-fire 14 saw Preston home despite a break for rain.
The Darwen-Barrow game was ruined by the weather that took off 14 overs after the visitors were 106 for 3 chasing 185 to win. When the players returned Barrow lost four wickets in as many overs and closed on 131 for 7, Stuart Hampson taking three wickets.
Barrow opening batsman Liam Livingstone is bowled by Stuart Hampson |
Earlier, departing Darwen professional Atif Ashraf hit 92 and shared a fourth-wicket stand of 117 with Chris Clarke (60 not out) as Barrow professional Pasan Wanasinghe returned figures of 3 for 43 from 21 overs.
Darwen's John Cordingley is LBW to Barrow pro Pasan Wansinghe |
Darwen pro Atif Ashraf on his way to 92 against Barrow |
Chris Clarke hit an undefeated 60 for Darwen against Barrow |
Adam Parker enjoyed one of those days to remember as bottom club Fleetwood earned a double success over Lancaster at Broadwater. Parker took 7 for 29 as Lancaster subsided to 94 all out and then hit an undefeated 53 to see his side through to a welcome victory.
RESULTS
DIVISION ONE
Carnforth v Morecambe
Morecambe (15pts) defeated Carnforth (2pts) by 149 runs
Morecambe 194 for 7 (V Goyal 54, J Denwood 4 for 67), Carnforth 45 (B Martin 5 for 9)
Darwen v Barrow
Darwen (9pts) winning draw; Barrow (1pt)
Darwen 184 for 4 (Atif Ashraf 92, Chris Clarke 60 not out), Barrow 131 for 7
Fleetwood v Lancaster
Fleetwood (12pts) defeated Lancaster (0pts) by 7 wickets
Lancaster 94 (A Parker 7 for 29), Fleetwood 97 for 3 (A Parker 53 not out)
Kendal v St Annes
Kendal (10pts) winning draw; St Annes (3pts)
Kendal 193 for 8 (G Ashburner 69, T Hunte 61), St Annes 125 for 9 (R McMillasn 5 for 30)
Leyland v Preston
Preston (12pts) defeated Leyland (1pt) by 4 wickets
Leyland 106 (Bilal Asad 5 for 15), Preston 107 for 6
Netherfield v Blackpool
Netherfield (15pts) defeated Blackpool (2pts) by 97 runs
Netherfield 200 for 7 (C Walmsley 46, C Ferguson 46, S Weerakoon 4 for 95), Blackpool 103 (C Ferguson 5 for 42, M Hadwin 4 for 0)
3D SPORTS NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Division One
| Club |
P |
W15 |
W12 |
D4 |
D1 |
L |
NR4 |
BP |
Pts |
| Blackpool |
20 |
4 |
8 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
15 |
184 |
| Kendal |
20 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
33 |
181 |
| Morecambe |
20 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
28 |
180 |
| Netherfield |
20 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
29 |
174 |
| Leyland |
20 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
33 |
157 |
| CHORLEY |
20 |
0 |
8 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
28* |
147 |
| St Annes |
20 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
40 |
147 |
| Preston |
21 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
10 |
2 |
30 |
131 |
| Barrow |
21 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
8 |
5 |
2 |
44 |
122 |
| Carnforth |
20 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
8 |
3 |
30 |
114 |
| Lancaster |
21 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
9 |
1 |
45 |
108 |
| Darwen |
20 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
8 |
3 |
38 |
106 |
| Fleetwood |
21 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
15 |
2 |
28 |
65 |
* 2 Points deducted for slow over rate
DIVISION TWO
Barrow v Darwen
Darwen (7pts) winning draw; Barrow (2pts)
Darwen 196 for 6 (G Jackson 89), Barrow 75 for 3
Lancaster v Fleetwood
Lancaster (12pts) defeated Fleetwood (0pts) by 6 wickets
Fleetwood 37 (L Moffat 6 for 24), Lancaster 38 for 4
Morecambe v Carnforth
Morecambe (15pts) defeated Carnforth (1pt) by 146 runs
Morecambe 218 for 6 (R Smith 68), Carnforth 72 (N Milner 5 for 16, G Maartins 5 for 29)
Preston v Leyland
Leyland (8pts) winning draw; Preston (3pts)
Leyland 168 for 8, Preston 81 for 8
St Annes v Kendal
Kendal (6pts) winning draw; St Annes (4pts)
Kendal 118 (N Jones 6 for 19), St Annes 107 for 8
Chorley, Blackpool and Netherfield no game
TABLE:
Chorley 201; St Annes 193; Blackpool 187; Lancaster 184; Barrow 177; Morecambe 160; Darwen 131; Netherfield 127; Leyland 126; Preston 106; Kendal 91; Fleetwood 89; Carnforth 68
3D SPORTS NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Division Two
| Club |
P |
W15 |
W12 |
D4 |
D1 |
L |
NR4 |
BP |
Pts |
| Chorley |
20 |
7 |
5 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
2 |
22 |
201 |
| St Annes |
20 |
4 |
5 |
5** |
3 |
1 |
2 |
41 |
193 |
| Blackpool |
22 |
6 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
28 |
187 |
| Lancaster |
21 |
3 |
8 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
25 |
184 |
| Barrow |
21 |
4 |
4 |
5** |
1 |
4 |
3 |
35 |
177 |
| Morecambe |
21 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
5 |
4 |
42 |
160 |
| Darwen |
20 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
6 |
3 |
33 |
131 |
| Netherfield |
20 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
4 |
25 |
127 |
| Leyland |
20 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
8 |
2 |
43 |
126 |
| Preston |
21 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
12 |
2 |
27 |
106 |
| Kendal |
20 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
8 |
5 |
30 |
91 |
| Fleetwood |
22 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
12 |
5 |
20 |
89 |
| Carnforth |
20 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
12 |
2 |
29 |
68 |
** Tied Match 5 pionts each
Michael Latham's Featured Match of the day
Netherfield v Blackpool
Blackpool coach Mike Moore has kindly provided a match report of his side's game at Netherfield on Saturday:
Needing to pick up a decent number of points to retain a comfortable lead at the top from this crucial fixture, Blackpool turned in one of their most disappointing performances of the season, allowing themselves to be steamrolled by an in-form Netherfield side, who now have their sites firmly on the NPCL Championship title.
It was almost as if Danno`s boys had forgotten that they are in a title chase as they surrendered to a far superior and more powerful opposition on the day. I do not have the scorebook to hand so match stats are a bit sketchy, but Netherfield`s teatime score of 200 for 7 was always going to be a challenging total for the visitors, who once again, for the 2nd week running looked lacklustre and at times jaded in the field.
Missed chances and some poor ground fielding, meant that The Seasiders allowed a confident Netherfield line-up about 20 - 30 runs more than they actually deserved.
For the 1st time this season pro Saj Weerakoon was not allowed to tie up one end, being surprisingly expensive (4 for 92) as The Parksiders paid his reputation scant respect. Most of the home team batsmen produced useful runs with pro Ferguson top- scoring on 46 before falling to a very fine caught & bowled effort from Sajee. Ferguson is now just 4 runs short of an amazing 1200 league tally with 4 games still to play.
Miller weighed in at the end of the innings with 30, including 3 sixes off Weerakoon, as skipper Danson could do little to halt Netherfield`s progress. Andy Hogarth, back from holiday, was Blackpool`s best bowler with a return of 2 for 18 in 6 tight overs . He recieved good support from Alex Smith & Mike Taylor & between them these three bowlers conceded only 58 runs in their combined 22 overs out of the home side total of 200 in 50.
Keeper James Smith produced another fine performance claiming 3 more victims , bringing his league tally to 31 so far.
Despite Danno`s rallying calls at the interval, Blackpool were simply unable to respond positively in the 2nd half as Tommy Prime`s bowlers gradually gained a stranglehold on the game.
Pro Ferguson bowled extremely well for his four wickets & Mark Hadwin blew away Blackpool`s clueless lower order snatching 4 wickets without conceding a run! Unbelievable!
The only real resistance came from captain Paul Danson who showed a bit of fight with his spirited 34, but his colleagues let him down badly on a day when they feally needed to be on song.
From my side of the boundary line it appeared that Netherfield wanted the points from today`s game much more than Blackpool did & they will need to show a greater determination and much more application if they are to remain serious Championship contenders.
Fleetwood will have to feel the backlash on Monday if we are to get ourselves back on track, but beware" the old enemy ", fellers, you`ll get no favours from them! They always pick their game up against us and will be desperate to avenge their defeat at Stanley Park earlier this year. C`mon guys, get your act together and show some of that fighting spirit which has put you where you are in the league. Only just, but still top - show `em you mean business, guys! Mick
