By Michael Latham
The 3D Sports Northern Premier ECB League reached an exciting conclusion as Netherfield were crowned champions after a dramatic final day's action.
The day began with four teams still in contention for the title, Netherfield leading the table by three points from Blackpool with Morecambe a further two points behind. Fourth-placed Kendal were six points off the top.
Netherfield timed their run superbly, hitting top-spot for the first time this season after their 15-points victory at Carnforth a fortnight ago.
And Chris Parry's side remained in pole position after securing a tense four-wicket win at Morecambe.
The Woodhill Lane ground had been under water earlier in the week but a match reduced to 40 overs per side commenced 70 minutes late with shortened boundaries. Morecambe reached 125 for 7 thanks largely to a fighting unbeaten 45 from Gareth Pedder as Scott Clement bowled unchanged to take 3 for 56 and Marc Hadwin collected 3 for 40.
Netherfield's Australian professional Callum Ferguson then batted superbly to hit 74 and lead his side to victory. Ferguson broke Terry Hunte's all-time Northern League batting record of 1,351 runs set in 1994 and finished with an aggregate of 1,381 runs at an average of 106.23.
Ferguson survived a caught-and-bowled chance off Graham Lee when 20 and went on to hit the next four balls he received from the hapless bowler for six. His 74 came off 62 balls and contained seven sixes, six off Lee's bowling, and two fours.
Jonathan Gates earned three late innings lbw dismissals but Netherfield got home with over 13 overs to spare and then had an anxious wait for the result of the Blackpool- Chorley game at Stanley Park.
Blackpool, batting first in a match reduced to 35 overs per-side made 127 for 7 with Luis Reece hitting 54 and Michael Moore 38 as Chorley's deputy professional Roy Silva took 3 for 35. A victory for the home side would have taken them level on points with Netherfield but would have earned them the title having won more games.
But Chorley held out for a tense draw, closing on 100 for 8 despite Richard Gleeson and professional Sajeewa Weerakoon each taking four wickets for Blackpool. Netherfield's players had gathered in the Morecambe pavilion and listened to commentary from Stanley Park on mobile telephones before commencing their celebrations as league secretary John Cooper journeyed from Blackpool with the trophy.
Callum Ferguson hits Graham Lee for one of his seven sixes |
Callum Ferguson celebrates breaking Terry Hunte's league record |
Callum Ferguson set a new league batting record with 1381 runs |
Netherfield Champions 2008 |
Kendal also began the day with a chance of the title and moved up to second after defeating Preston at Shap Road. Preston were bowled out for 104, losing their last ten wickets for only 49 runs including three run-outs. Ben Simm, who began the day level with Lee in the battle to become the leading amateur wicket-taker, collected 4 for 29.
Simm took 46 wickets at an average of 15.15 and finished ahead of Clement (43), Lee (42) and Gleeson (41). Kendal professional Ross McMillan was wicket-less but finished as the season's leading wicket-taker with 66 victims, three ahead of St Annes professional Mansoor Ahmed.
Kendal got home by six wickets with 14 balls to spare thanks largely to an uncharacteristically pedestrian innings from outgoing league record-holder Hunte, whose 35 came off 74 balls.
Leyland's home game with Lancaster was a victim of the wet weather so outgoing champions St Annes took advantage, moving up to fifth after a tense three-wickets win at Carnforth. In another rain-reduced match Carnforth were bowled out for 79, Mansoor Ahmed turning the ball square at times in his final game as St Annes professional. The Pakistani leg-spinner took 5 for 18 with only captain Adam Hornby making much headway with 27.
St Annes' former Carnforth batsman Atiq Uz-Zaman then reached 1,000 runs for the season during his innings of 26 as the visitors edged home by three wickets to give outgoing captain Duncan Whalley a last-day success. Atiq was the league's leading amateur run-maker, finishing with 1,005 runs at an average of 55.83. John Denwood took three for 22 for Carnforth.
Darwen finished their season in style with a 15-points win at Fleetwood and moved up to eighth. Outgoing professional Atif Ashraf was run out for 95 as they made 169 for 6 in a 45-overs contest at Broadwater, Mike Clinning taking 4 for 37. The promising Kamran Anwar then took 4 for 33 and skipper Andrew Cook 4 for 6 as Fleetwood collapsed from 84 without loss to 122 all out, despite a fine 50 from Adam Parker.
There was a dramatic finish to the second division title as overnight and long-time leaders Chorley were pipped at the post by St Annes.
St Annes, who started the day seven points behind Chorley, earned a comfortable 15-points victory over bottom placed Carnforth at Vernon Road.
Captain Andy Kellett hit 71 in his side's 191 for 3 in 39 overs, with Neil Bradley remaining unbeaten on 50. Kellett, who will replace Whalley as First XI captain next season, was the leading run- maker in division two with 724 at an average of 40.22.
Carnforth were dismissed for 64 in reply.
Chorley entertained Blackpool at Windsor Park and dismissed the visitors for 146, left-arm seamer Richard Flood taking 5 for 32. Chorley were then all-out for 130 in reply despite late innings resistance from Flood (21) and Jim Lee (20 not out). Chris Taylor took 4 for 19 for Blackpool, bowling Flood in a tense finale.
Christian Davies took 58 second division wickets for Darwen- a new club record- while Blackpool's Andy Armstrong also passed the half century with 51.
RESULTS:
DIVISION ONE
Blackpool v Chorley
Blackpool (6pts) winning draw; Chorley (3pts)
Blackpool 127 for 7 (L Reece 54), Chorley 100 for 8 (R Gleeson 4 for 31, S Weerakoon 4 for 38)
Carnforth v St Annes
St Annes (12pts) defeated Carnforth (2pts) by 3 wickets
Carnforth 79 (Mansoor Ahmed 5 for 18), St Annes 82 for 7
Kendal v Preston
Kendal (12pts) defeated Preston (0pts) by 6 wickets
Preston 104 (B Simm 4 for 29), Kendal 108 for 4
Fleetwood v Darwen
Darwen (15pts) defeated Fleetwood (1pt) by 47 runs
Darwen 169 for 6 (Atif Ashraf 95, M Clinning 4 for 37), Fleetwood 122 (A Parker 50, A Cook 4 for 6, Kamran Anwar 4 for 37)
Leyland v Lancaster
Match abandoned (4pts each)
Morecambe v Netherfield
Netherfield (12pts) defeated Morecambe (1pt) by 4 wickets
Morecambe 125 for 7 (G Pedder 45 not out), Netherfield 129 for 6 (C Ferguson 74)
3D SPORTS NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Division One
| Club |
P |
W15 |
W12 |
D4 |
D1 |
L |
NR4 |
BP |
Pts |
| Netherfield |
24 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
29 |
209 |
| Kendal |
24 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
4 |
35 |
203 |
| Blackpool |
24 |
4 |
8 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
19 |
200 |
| Morecambe |
24 |
3 |
6 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
32 |
193 |
| St Annes |
24 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
6 |
4 |
40 |
182 |
| Leyland |
24 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
6 |
5 |
33 |
181 |
| CHORLEY |
24 |
0 |
9 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
35* |
175 |
| Darwen |
24 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
9 |
4 |
38 |
140 |
| Barrow |
24 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
9 |
5 |
3 |
52 |
139 |
| Preston |
24 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
12 |
3 |
30 |
135 |
| Carnforth |
24 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
10 |
4 |
36 |
125 |
| Lancaster |
24 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
10 |
3 |
48 |
119 |
| Fleetwood |
24 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
16 |
3 |
29 |
85 |
* 2 Points deducted for slow over rate
DIVISION TWO
St Annes claim second division title
Kellett's men overhaul long-time leaders Chorley
St Annes clinched the Second Division championship in dramatic fashion on the final day of the season.
Vernon Road was the scene of a dramatic final afternoon |
We are indebted to St Annes captain Andy Kellett for his report on the final day's action:
St Annes claimed their third 2nd X1 championship in the last six seasons in dramatic fashion on the last day of the season. With long term leaders Chorley seven points ahead going into the last round of games St Annes' best hope of taking the title seemed to rest with the hope of a rained-off game in Chorley and playing on the coast at St Annes.
2nd Division Champions St Annes |
However, with Chorley starting on time against Blackpool, it meant St Annes needed to bat first, go for 15 points and hope thatChorley slipped up. Luckily St Annes won the toss and elected to bat against bottom club Carnforth. Blackpool batted first at Chorley. With usual Blackpool number 11 Andy Armstrong opening the batting for Blackpool, St Annes definately feared the worst.
St Annes made 191 for 3 before declaring with 11 overs to spare. Carnforth, playing the game in the correct spirit, never had intentions of playing for a draw and played their shots to try and get past the St Annes total. However, excellent bowling meant that Carnforth were bowled out for 79 and St Annes collected their 15 points.
This meant that Chorley had to get the 12 points to take the title. Andy Armstrong justified his opening slot with 30 and returning skipper Andy Griffiths also made a useful contribution in a total of 145 for Blackpool. As St Annes were finishing off their game, all different scores were coming out of Chorley and it was only when the St Annes and Chorley chairmen spoke to one another that St Annes could be sure the correct scores were coming through. 50 for 4 was the Chorley score as St Annes left the field.
An anxious wait was ahead. Eventually Chorley got to 90 for 9 and St Annes thought that they could get the champagne ready.
However, there was another twist as the Chorley numbers 10 and 11 began to score some runs. With the score at 130 for 9 the tension grew at St Annes.
I'm sure it was even more tense at Chorley. Chris Taylor took the final wicket which saw the celebrations begin at St Annes. Credit must given to Blackpool and Carnforth for the playing their last games in a good spirit.
Credit also to Chorley who have had a magnificent season. They have been on top of the table all season and Saturday's defeat was their first defeat of the season.
St Annes deserve their championship however, young players such as Paul Wilks, Luke O'Dea, Ben Willis, Ashley Ward and Seve Hurst have all had excellent seasons and hopefully these players will go on to be first team cricketers in the future.
Saturday's events were a great advert for the Northern League and for second team cricket.
St Annes won 10, lost one, drew nine, tied one and had had three games abandoned. With 50 bonus points they reached 229 points.
Chorley's tally of 224 featured 13 wins, one defeat, six draws and four abandonments with 25 bonus points.
St Annes pose after winning the League |
St Annes supporters with the team |
DIVISION TWO
Chorley v Blackpool
Blackpool (15pts) defeated Chorley (3pts) by 15 runs
Blackpool 145 (R Flood 5 for 32), Chorley 130 (C Taylor 4 for 19)
Darwen v Fleetwood
Darwen (7pts) winning draw; Fleetwood (2pts)
Darwen 140 for 5 (S Jackson 57), Fleetwood 64 for 7
Lancaster v Leyland
Match abandoned (4pts each)
Netherfield v Morecambe
Match abandoned (4pts each)
Preston v Kendal
Match abandoned (4pts each)
St Annes v Carnforth
St Annes (15pts) defeated Carnforth (0pts) by 127 runs
St Annes 191 for 3 (A Kellett 71, N Bradley 50 not out), Carnforth 64
3D SPORTS NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Division Two
| Club |
P |
W15 |
W12 |
D4 |
D1 |
L |
NR4 |
BP |
Pts |
| St Annes |
24 |
5 |
5 |
7** |
3 |
1 |
3 |
50 |
229 |
| Chorley |
24 |
7 |
6 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
4 |
25 |
224 |
| Blackpool |
24 |
7 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
28 |
206 |
| Lancaster |
24 |
3 |
8 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
33 |
201 |
| Barrow |
24 |
4 |
5 |
5** |
1 |
5 |
4 |
35 |
193 |
| Morecambe |
24 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
1 |
5 |
6 |
42 |
172 |
| Netherfield |
24 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
7 |
25 |
154 |
| Darwen |
24 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
6 |
5 |
39 |
150 |
| Leyland |
24 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
8 |
4 |
45 |
149 |
| Preston |
24 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
12 |
4 |
30 |
118 |
| Kendal |
24 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
9 |
8 |
30 |
103 |
| Fleetwood |
24 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
12 |
6 |
21 |
95 |
| Carnforth |
24 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
15 |
3 |
32 |
75 |
** Tied Match 5 pionts each
