By Michael Latham
Rex Purnell and Billy Smith were Chorley's batting heroes |
St Annes stretched their lead at the top of the Furness Building Society Northern Premier League (in association with 3D Sports) to ten points on a day of dramatic action.
After suffering successive defeats last weekend Andy Kellett's table-topping side responded positively to defeat Kendal by five wickets at Vernon Road.
They were indebted to Neil Bradley's unbeaten 46 to see them home in partnership with Nick Jones (17 not out) in an unbroken partnership of 54. Bradley, the Second XI captain hit eight fours in his match-winning innings off 55 balls after pro Dinuka Hettiarachchi, going in at number three, made 42 off 46 balls.
Terry Hunte top-scored with 38 in Kendal's 163 for 9, with professional and captain Ross McMillan making 35. Hettiarachchi bowled unchanged to take three for 76 and fellow left arm spinner Michael Baer collected three for 39.
At the start of play leaders St Annes led the way by six points from Preston and Morecambe in joint second place. Preston had to settle for a winning draw at Stanley Park against a Blackpool side playing without a professional.
Bilal Asad hit 77 off 59 balls and former Blackpool player Adam Parker 76 off 115 balls to help Preston reach 228 for 6 off 46 overs before the declaration came, the pair adding 90 for the third wicket in 16 overs.
Former Fylde CC captain Andy Furniss bowled well for Blackpool, taking three for 52 off 16 overs.
Blackpool, while never looking likely to challenge Preston's score, fought doggedly with Preston born opener John Mounsey defying the pain of a broken toe to battle to 52 off 133 balls. With John Caunce (34), Prahant Aga (35) and skipper Paul Danson (28 not out) providing invaluable support the home side salvaged a draw with some comfort.
Morecambe's unbeaten run of eleven games, meanwhile, came to a halt when they went down by three wickets in a thriller at Chorley, who re-ignited their title challenge.
Morecambe pro Mandla Mashimbyi looked in prime form, hitting 45 off 58 balls before he was leg before to Rex Purnell in the Chorley spinner's first over.
Morecambe 'keeper Lewis Edge is stumped by Chris Hartley |
Purnell went on to capture four for 17 as the visitors were dismissed for 164. Phil Dennison, batting unusually low at number eight provided valuable late resistance with 34 off 44 balls including three huge sixes while Andy Armstrong made 25. Opener Ikram Ullah had looked set for a big score until he was caught by Adam Peacock off Matt Parry for 27.
Parry took two for 37 and leg-spinner Ian Oakes two for 8.
Rex Purnell took four wickets for Chorley |
Chorley looked set for a comfortable win after Josh Tolley and Australian pro Chris Hartley added 85 for the second wicket after the early loss of Peacock.
But panic set in after Hartley was bowled by Jono Gates for 45 and Tolley caught at mid off by Mashimbyi off Gates for a beautifully compiled 55. Gates took three for 48 off 15 overs.
Mashimbyi took four wickets for 58 off 21 overs as Chorley slumped to 138 for 7 before an unbroken eight-wicket stand of 29 between Purnell (11 not out) and Billy Smith (14 not out) took their side home with nine balls to spare.
Chorley are now just 16 points off the lead.
Chorley opener Josh Tolley hoists a boundary against Morecambe |
Another side with outside title hopes are reigning champions Netherfield who beat Darwen in a high-scoring thriller at Parkside Road.
Opener Craig Walmsley hit 88 off 98 balls and pro Glen Batticciotto 79 off 107 balls in the home side's imposing 252 for 5 declared off 48 overs.
England U15s star Alex Davies hit an eye-catching 43 opening the innings before being run out as Darwen fell 19 runs short. Several visiting batsmen made starts but Cris Clarke's 42 was also ended by a run out and Scott Clement claimed his fourth wicket to end the match by bowling Yakub Bhamji with 15 balls remaining.
Netherfield trail St Annes by 34 points.
The most exciting finish of the day was at Ernest Pass where Barrow defeated Leyland by one run. The visitors lost two wickets in the final over and James Rounding was caught on the boundary by Liam Livingstone off Barrow skipper Daryl Wearing from the penultimate ball.
Wearing, one of thee Barrow players selected for Cumberland had superb figures of seven for 77 with pro Pasan Wanasinghe returning three for 45.
Brothers Luis Reece (75) and Tom Reece (63) had added 129 for Leyland's fifth wicket to rescue a disastrous start chasing Barrow's 212 for 8 before both fell victim to Wearing.
Earlier Jon Miles hit 68 and Wanasinghe 56 for the home side with Chris D'Leny weighing in with a quick-fire 33. Vice-captain Peter Cummings took six for 68 off 12 overs for Leyland.
Fleetwood pro Rassie van der Dussen hit an unbeaten 79 off 110 balls to steer his side to a six wickets win at Lune Road in partnership with Adam Sharrocks (50 not out). Derbyshire Second XI player Chyesney Hughes continued his fine debut season with the club by making 54.
Lancaster, another side playing without a professional, had amassed a challenging 206 for 7 thanks largely to a superb 108 by opener Michael Stevens. The former Middlesex Second XI player faced 139 balls and hit 13 fours and one six and shared an opening stand of 75 with Jamie Heywood (35).
Hughes entered the attack late and took four for 11 off three overs.
FIRST DIVISION SCORES:
BARROW v LEYLAND
Barrow (15pts) defeated Leyland (5pts) by one run
Barrow 212 for 8 (J Miles 68, P Wanasinghe 56, P Cummings 6 for 68), Leyland 211 (L Reece 73, T Reece 63, D Wearing 7 for 77)
BLACKPOOL v PRESTON
Preston (8pts) winning draw; Blackpool (4pts)
Preston 228 for 6dec (Bilal Asad 77, A Parker 76), Blackpool 169 for 5 (J Mounsey 52)
CHORLEY v MORECAMBE
Chorley (12pts) defeated Morecambe (4pts) by 3 wickets
Morecambe 164 (M Mashimbyi 45, R Purnell 4 for 17), Chorley 167 for 7 (J Tolley 55, C Hartley 45, M Mashimbyi 4 for 58)
LANCASTER v FLEETWOOD
Fleetwood (12pts) defeated Lancaster (3pts) by 6 wickets
Lancaster 206 for 7 (M Stevens 108, C Hughes 4 for 11), Fleetwood 210 for 4 (H van der Dussen 79no, C Hughes 54, A Sharrocks 50no)
NETHERFIELD v DARWEN
Netherfield (15pts) defeated Darwen (4pts) by 19 runs
Netherfield 252 for 5dec (C Walmsley 88, G Batticciotto 79), Darwen 233 (A Davies 43, S Clement 4 for 64)
ST ANNES v KENDAL
St Annes (12pts) defeated Kendal (3pts) by 5 wickets
Kendal 163 for 9, St Annes 165 for 5 (N Bradley 46no, D Hettiarachchi 42)
Carnforth 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 |
19 |
3 |
7 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
21 |
171 |
| Preston |
19 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
25* |
161 |
| Morecambe |
19 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
28 |
157 |
| Chorley |
19 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
29 |
155 |
| Netherfield |
18 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
41 |
137 |
| Blackpool |
19 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
38 |
124 |
| Kendal |
18 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
3 |
33 |
121 |
| Barrow |
18 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
3 |
21 |
120 |
| Fleetwood |
19 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
7 |
1 |
31 |
110 |
| Leyland |
18 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
7 |
3 |
37 |
102 |
| Darwen |
18 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
33* |
97 |
| Carnforth |
18 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
8 |
4 |
33 |
89 |
| Lancaster |
18 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
7 |
3 |
25 |
84 |
* 2 points deducted for slow over rate
Divison Two
Lancaster edge home at Broadwater in division two
Division Two leaders Lancaster edged home with their last pair at the crease in a low-scoring game at Broadwater. Luke Phillips was Lancaster's hero with an undefeated 55 as his side just overhauled Fleetwood's modest 94. Opener Mark Emsley hit an outstanding 63 for the home side as Scott Sparks took four for 29.
Lancaster lead Blackpool by seven points after the latter defeated Preston by 35 runs at West Cliff. Batting at number nine Ross Parker hit a superb 51 for the visitors in their total of 138 and Kevin Reid then took five for 25 as Preston were dismissed for 103.
Chorley remain in the hunt after also collecting maximum points. Skipper John Hotham hit 90 and Jack Bentham an undefeated 63 in their 264 for 4 declared at Woodhill Lane. Morecambe were then bowled out for 207 with left arm seamer Richard Flood taking four for 31.Gert Maartens made 82 for Morecambe.
Leyland got back to winning ways in a low-scoring game at Fox Lane, defending a modest total of 134 against Barrow. Ryan Gilmour took six for 48 and skipper Ray Mowat four for 26 for the visitors who then succumbed to 83 all out as leg-spinner Tom Coxhead took five for 21.
Teenager Greg Whitehead, batting number seven, hit an unbeaten 77 as St Annes earned a 24 runs win over Kendal at Shap Road. Adrian Potts took five for 34 for the home side but despite 45 from opener Mark Phillips they were all out for 132, Ben Willis claiming four for 25.
Darwen came out on top in another game dominated by the bowlers. Joe Anderson's 38 was the cornerstone of their modest 111 as Nathan Chambers and Josh Stafford each took three wickets for Netherfield at Birch Hall. But Christian Davies then wheeled away to take six for 17 with his left-arm spin as the visitors were dismissed for 84.
SECOND DIVISION SCORES:
DARWEN v NETHERFIELD
Darwen (15pts) defeated Netherfield (3pts) by 27 runs
Darwen 111, Netherfield 84 (C Davies 6 for 37)
FLEETWOOD v LANCASTER
Lancaster (12pts) defeated Fleetwood (3pts) by one wicket
Fleetwood 94 (M Emsley 63, S Sparks 4 for 29), Lancaster 96 for 9 (L Phillips 55no)
Kendal v St Annes
St Annes (15pts) defeated Kendal (2pts) by 24 runs
St Annes 156 for 8 (G Whitehead 77no, A Potts 5 for 34), Kendal 132 (M Phillips 45, B Willis 4 for 25)
LEYLAND v BARROW
Leyland (15pts) defeated Barrow (3pts) by 51 runs
Leyland 134 (R Gilmore 6 for 48, R Mowat 4 for 26), Barrow 83 (T Coxhead 6 for 21)
MORECAMBE v CHORLEY
Chorley (15pts) defeated Morecambe (3pts) by 57 runs
Chorley 264 for 4 declared (J Hotham 90, J Bentham 63no), Morecambe 207 (G Maartens 82, R Flood 4 for 31)
PRESTON v BLACKPOOL
Blackpool (15pts) defeated Preston (3pts) by 35 runs
Blackpool 138 (R Parker 51), Preston 103 (K Reid 5 for 25)
Carnforth 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 |
18 |
2 |
9 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
24 |
178 |
| Blackpool |
19 |
5 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
16 |
171 |
| Chorley |
19 |
7 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
17 |
163 |
| Leyland |
18 |
4 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
25 |
157 |
| Darwen |
18 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
24 |
153 |
| St Annes |
19 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
2 |
24 |
147 |
| Morecambe |
19 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
32 |
134 |
| Netherfield |
18 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
34 |
133 |
| Kendal |
18 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
11 |
1 |
18 |
92 |
| Preston |
19 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
9 |
2 |
20 |
92 |
| Fleetwood |
19 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
11 |
2 |
26 |
87 |
| Carnforth |
18 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
8 |
3 |
24 |
79 |
| Barrow |
18 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
11 |
3 |
33 |
74 |
