By Michael Latham
Blackpool opener Alex Smith is caught behind |
St Annes extended their lead at the top of the Furness Building Society Northern Premier League (in association with 3D Sports) to 18 points as they cantered to a nine-wickets win over a weakened Barrow side at Vernon Road.
But Preston celebrated their annual Vice Presidents Day by earning maximum points against Carnforth in a low-scoring game at West Cliff and moving above Chorley into second place.
Chorley's game at Kendal was affected by rain just as the home side looked to have built a winning position.
Elsewhere Blackpool and Netherfield also gained the maximum 15 points by coming out on top in low-scoring games while resurgent Fleetwood had the better of a draw at Morecambe despite some sensational hitting from home professional Mandla Mashimbyi.
St Annes were held up by a superb innings by Barrow's stand-in captain and wicket-keeper Chris D'Leny who made 110 out of his side's 155 for 6 in a game reduced to 43 overs per side. The Cumberland county player hit seven fours and six sixes until he was out to the final ball of the innings. St Annes professional Dinuka Hettiarachchi bowled unchanged to take 3 for 54.
Home skipper Andy Kellett and the prolific Atiq Uz-Zaman then posted 121 for the first wicket before the latter was run out for 63. Kellett saw his side home without further loss with an undefeated 64 off 99 balls.
Preston were indebted to a patient innings by Adam Parker as they compiled what proved to be a winning score of 140 for 8 in 49 overs against a Carnforth side without flu victim Darren Moore, the club captain. Parker batted through 116 balls for an undefeated 66 with Aziz Shaheen providing invaluable support with 30 off 34 balls.
Carnforth professional Gareth Pedder bowled unchanged to take four for 50 off 25 overs and spinner Warren Quinn took 3 for 47.
Carnforth struggled from the start losing wickets on a regular basis and were bowled out for 64 with Lukman Vahaluwala taking five for 14. Professional Bilal Asad and Darren Nelson each took two wickets and Andrew Starkie weighed in with the remainder.
The rain came at Shap Road with Kendal requiring 44 runs to defeat Chorley, who began the day in second place, with seven wickets and 13.3 overs remaining.
Chorley were indebted to Michael Critchley who hit an undefeated 73 off 129 balls including seven fours and one six. Professional Chris Hartley (39), Ian Oakes (22) and deputy captain Andrew Holdsworth (26 not out) all helped the visitors post 178 for 5 after they had lost both openers cheaply.
With 42 from Kevin Howarth and 33 from Terry Hunte setting the platform Kendal appeared on top with professional and captain Ross McMillan 29 not out when the weather intervened.
Fleetwood piled up the day's highest score, 241 for 7 at Woodhill Lane with half centuries from Chesney Hughes (63) and South African professional Hendrik van der Dussen (69) the main contributions. The promising Tom Wilson hit 41 as Morecambe pro Mashimbyi and captain Tommy Clough each took three wickets.
Morecambe appeared to be falling short until Mashimbyi entered the fray at number five, hitting an astonishing 80 off 39 balls. The South African hit five successive sixes, including four in succession off Michael Clinning, until he perished on the boundary attempting a sixth, caught by Adam Sharrocks.
Phil Dennison and Alex Thistlethwaite then batted out the last seven overs to salvage a draw.
Reigning champions Netherfield came out on top as 20 wickets fell for 199 runs at Lune Road. Ben Haddrick's 22 and Scott Clement's 20 enabled Chris Parry's side to scramble over the 100-mark after Lancaster professional Mario Olivier took four for 33 before being banned from bowling for the remainder of the innings.
Teenager Charlie Swarbrick took the prize wickets of captain Chris Parry and pro Glen Batticciotto and spinner BV Rhagavendra continued his fine form with three for 26.
Stuart Nixon came up trumps for Netherfield with a match-winning spell of five for 15 as Lancaster were bowled out for 95 in reply to go down by just nine runs.Tim Barry (27) and Olivier (17) were two of only four batsmen to reach double figures in the match.
Blackpool's Andy Hogarth is nearly run out against Leyland |
Blackpool's Richard Gleeson produced an outstanding second spell of bowling to take four for 18 and spearhead his side's 52 runs win at Fox Lane. Andy Hogarth weighed in with three for 27 and Alex Smith took two wickets in his first over as Leyland mustered just 82 in reply to Blackpool's 134 for 9.
Blackpool's Richard Gleeson celebrates bowling Leyland captain David Makinson |
John Mounsey was fifth man out for a patient 30 out of 71 for 5 as the visitors struggled and skipper Paul Danson's unbeaten 25 off 68 balls and Hogarth's 23 off 32 balls enabled Blackpool to set a competitive score.Tom Foster took three for 13 for Leyland with Luis Reece and David Makinson each taking two wickets.
Blackpool opener John Mounsey escapes with an edge |
But the game was marred by boorish behaviour from some players from both sides and the unwelcome intervention of a male streaker from a wedding reception from the adjoining Fox Lane club. The league chairman Norman Poole was present and an investigation will be launched into the events surrounding the game after receipt of the umpires reports.
FIRST DIVISION SCORES:
KENDAL v CHORLEY
Chorley (6pts) winning draw; Kendal (2pts)
Chorley 178 for 5 (M Critchley 73no), Kendal 134 for 3 (K Howarth 42)
LANCASTER v NETHERFIELD
Netherfield (15pts) defeated Lancaster (3pts) by 9 runs
Netherfield 104 (M Olivier 4 for 33), Lancaster 95 (S Nixon 5 for 15)
LEYLAND v BLACKPOOL
Blackpool (15pts) defeated Leyland (3pts) by 52 runs
Blackpool 134 for 9, Leyland 82 (R Gleeson 4 for 18)
MORECAMBE v FLEETWOOD
Fleetwood (8pts) winning draw; Morecambe (6pts)
Fleetwood 241 for 7 (H van der Dussen 69, C Hughes 63, T Wilson 41), Morecambe 197 for 6 (M Mashimbyi 80)
PRESTON v CARNFORTH
Preston (15pts) defeated Carnforth (2pts) by 76 runs
Preston 140 for 8 (A Parker 66no, G Pedder 4 for 50), Carnforth 64 (L Vahaluwala 5 for 14)
ST ANNES v BARROW
St Annes (12pts) defeated Barrow (1pt) by 9 wickets
Barrow 155 for 6 (C D'Leny 110), St Annes 159 for 1 (A Kellett 64no, Atiq Uz-Zaman 63)
Darwen no game
FURNESS BUILDING SOCIETY
( INCORPORATING 3D SPORTS )
NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Division One
| Club |
P |
W15 |
W12 |
D4 |
D1 |
L |
NR4 |
BP |
Pts |
| St Annes |
15 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
16 |
142 |
| Preston |
15 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
12* |
124 |
| Chorley |
15 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
24 |
121 |
| Morecambe |
15 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
24 |
108 |
| Blackpool |
15 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
25 |
106 |
| Netherfield |
14 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
36 |
101 |
| Leyland |
15 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
28 |
93 |
| Fleetwood |
15 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
25 |
91 |
| Kendal |
15 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
30 |
91 |
| Darwen |
14 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
20* |
79 |
| Barrow |
14 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
3 |
14 |
78 |
| Lancaster |
15 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
3 |
14 |
71 |
| Carnforth |
15 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
7 |
3 |
30 |
70 |
* 2 points deducted for slow over rate
Divison Two
Sensational all round performance by Kieran McCullagh
In Division Two leaders Lancaster went down to a 31 runs defeat at Parkside Road, falling short of Netherfield's 189 despite 62 from Craig Atkinson. Shane Hyland and Nathan Chambers hit half centuries for the home side and Tom Barton then took five wickets to bowl them to victory.
The performance of the day came from Chorley's Kieran McCullagh, whose season looked to be over due to a knee injury. Playing as a batsman in the second team McCullagh, who if fit would be the First XI opening bowler, batted beautifully to make 119 in Chorley's 251 for 6. Josh Tolley made his return from a broken wrist and hit 22 while skipper John Hotham was run out for 42.
McCullagh then turned his talents to left arm spin and took the first seven Kendal wickets to fall.He finished with seven for 38 off 20overs as Kendal escaped with a draw on 184 for 8, Nick Phillips leading the resistance with 50.
The game of the day was at Stanley Park where third-placed Blackpool edged past second-placed Leyland's modest 100 with their last pair of Andy Armstrong and Brad Parker at the crease. Earlier Andrew Makinson hit 65 for the visitors.
On a day of exciting finishes Morecambe beat Fleetwood by just one run at Broadwater despite Alex Laird taking seven wickets for the home side. Gulam Maje and Graeme Cassidy each took five wickets for Morecambe as Fleetwood fell just short on 137 all out.
Opener Adam Taylor's 43 proved vital as St Annes came out on top at Ernest Pass, defeating Barrow by 12 runs. Greg Whitehead took five for 21 as Barrow were bowled out for 131 despite Tom Penney's 41.
Finally Murtza Hussain hit 61 as Preston's total of 174 at Lodge Quarry proved far too many for Carnforth, Javaid Hussain taking a five wicket haul as the home side subsided to 58 all out.
SECOND DIVISION SCORES:
BARROW v ST ANNES
St Annes (15pts) defeated Barrow (3pts) by 12 runs
St Annes 143 (A Taylor 43), Barrow 131 (T Penney 41, G Whitehead 5 for 21)
BLACKPOOL v LEYLAND
Blackpool (12pts) defeated Leyland (3pts) by 1 wicket
Leyland 100 (A Makinson 58), Blackpool 101 for 9
CARNFORTH v PRESTON
Preston (15pts) defeated Carnforth (3pts) by 116 runs
Preston 174 (Murtaza Hussain 61, L Barnes 6 for 52), Carnforth 58 (J Hussain 5 for 14)
CHORLEY v KENDAL
Chorley (9pts) winning draw; Kendal (5pts)
Chorley 251 for 6 (K McCullagh 119, J Hotham 42), Kendal 184 for 8 (N Phillips 50, K McCullagh 7 for 38)
FLEETWOOD v MORECAMBE
Morecambe (15pts) defeated Fleetwood (3pts) by 1 run
Morecambe 138 (A Laird 7 for 56), Fleetwood 137 (G Cassidy 5 for 29, G Maje 5 for 45)
NETHERFIELD v LANCASTER
Netherfield (15pts) defeated Lancaster (4pts) by 31 runs
Netherfield 189 (N Chambers 55, S Hyland 52, P Sparrow 4 for 83), Lancaster 158 (C Atkinson 62, T Barton 5 for 45)
Darwen no game
FURNESS BUILDING SOCIETY
( INCORPORATING 3D SPORTS)
NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Division Two
| Club |
P |
W15 |
W12 |
D4 |
D1 |
L |
NR4 |
BP |
Pts |
| Lancaster |
15 |
2 |
6 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
24 |
142 |
| Leyland |
15 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
19 |
136 |
| Blackpool |
15 |
3 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
10 |
135 |
| Morecambe |
15 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
22 |
110 |
| Chorley |
15 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
17 |
106 |
| Netherfield |
14 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
23 |
102 |
| Darwen |
14 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
24 |
99 |
| St Annes |
15 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
2 |
19 |
96 |
| Preston |
15 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
12 |
84 |
| Fleetwood |
15 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
2 |
18 |
79 |
| Kendal |
15 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
9 |
1 |
15 |
74 |
| Carnforth |
15 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
7 |
3 |
23 |
65 |
| Barrow |
14 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
3 |
24 |
65 |
