By Michael Latham
Barrow pro Pasan Wanasinghe (right) took a seven wicket haul |
Preston leapfrogged St Annes and went to the top of the Furness Building Society Northern Premier League (in association with 3D Sports) by a single point on a day when the weather intervened to some effect.
Overnight leaders St Annes were worst affected as their game at Parkside Road against defending champions Netherfield was the only one in the top division to be abandoned. Heavy morning rain left the ground unfit and the game was called off in early afternoon.
Elsewhere five definite results were achieved despite late starts and disruptions due to afternoon showers.
At West Cliff Preston struggled to 120 for 8 in 39 overs against Kendal, Adam Parker top-scoring with 30 and captain/professional Bilal Asad making 24. Jack White took three for 21 for the visitors.
Kevin Howarth, who had taken three catches and recorded figures of two for 38 then batted superbly to make 58 in Kendal's reply after two rain interruptions. But when Howarth was caught and bowled by Lukman Vahaluwala, Preston spied their chance.
None of the other Kendal batsmen reached double figures as Vahaluwala (five for 27) and Bilal Asad (four for 17) ran through the rest of the visitors line-up, the last seven wickets falling for the addition of 26 runs as Preston won by 20 runs with 15 balls remaining.
Bilal Asad has now taken 49 wickets for Preston this season and is second to St Annes pro Dinuka Hettiarachchi who leads the way with 65.
Chorley lost ground after going down by 33 runs in a dramatic, low-scoring game at Stanley Park. They are now 19 points off the top together with Morecambe, who were inactive.
The visitors were hampered when their wicket-keeping professional Chris Hartley was called up at short notice to play for Australia in the tour match and were unable to recruit a substitute professional.
In a game that began late as a 48-overs contest and was then further reduced by rain to one of 30 overs, Blackpool toiled to 76 for 8, opener John Mounsey top-scoring with 23. Matt Parry took four for 15 for Chorley.The Blackpool innings contained just four boundaries.
But Chorley then collapsed in the wake of superb seam bowling by Richard Gleeson and Andy Furniss to just 43 all out, Jack Bentham (11) hitting two of the innings three fours and being the only visiting player to reach double figures. Gleeson claimed six for 21 off 9.2 overs and has now taken 47 wickets this season while Furniss had figures of four for 17.
Gleeson bowled three Chorley batsmen and had another leg before while wicket-keeper James Smith collected three catches and kept superbly.
Darwen's South African pro David Wiese was in top form as his side beat the weather to record an eight wickets win at Fox Lane. Wiese claimed five for 35 as Leyland subsided to 99 all out despite late resistance from skipper David Makinson (20) and James Rounding (21 not out). Kamran Anwar underlined his promise with an opening spell of three for 16 and wicket-keeper Jordan Clarke had four catches.
After a frustrating rain delay Darwen then knocked off their target in 20.2 overs with Wiese undefeated on 59 and opener Nathan Jackson making 32.
Barrow continued their fine recent form with an emphatic nine wickets win over Fleetwood at Ernest Pass. In a game reduced to one of 44 overs-per-side Fleetwood were bowled out for 101 despite a battling 33 from opener Nick Coultas.
Barrow skipper Daryl Wearing claimed the key wickets of Coultas, Derbyshire Second Eleven player Chesney Hughes and professional Rassie van der Dussen before Sri Lankan professional Pasan Wanasinghe took over.
Barrow's Chris D'Leny claimed four catches |
Wanasinghe, who has been awarded a benefit game next Friday evening, bowled superbly to take seven for 45 with Cumberland county wicket-keeper Chris D'Leny claiming four catches in an impressive display behind the timbers. D'Leny has 29 victims for the season and trails St Annes stumper Duncan Whalley by just two.
Jon Miles led Barrow's victory charge |
Ian Allington set Barrow on the way with an aggressive 22 and Cumberland county batsman Jon Miles (46 not out) and 15-year-old Lancashire Academy player Liam Livingstone (29 not out) completed the job just before six o'clock.
Liam Livingstone batted impressively for Barrow |
Carnforth professional Gareth Pedder continued his fine recent form with an impressive all-round display at Lune Road. The visitors completed their second successive win and their third of the season all away from home by defeating Lancaster by 37 runs.
Pedder rescued his side from the depths of 30 for 5 with a fine innings of 40, receiving late order support from Tom Barnfield (15) and Adam Cowperthwaite (27). Lancaster's sub-pro Roy Silva, the Accrington CC professional, took six for 65.
Pedder then quickly accounted for openers Michael Stevens and Jamie Heywood and went on to claim four for 25, adding a run out assist as Lancaster were bowled out for 83 despite a battling unbeaten 35 from David Heywood. Left-arm spinner Warren Quinn weighed in with three for 25 and now has 44 wickets for the season.
FIRST DIVISION SCORES:
BARROW v FLEETWOOD
Barrow (12pts) defeated Fleetwood (0pts) by 9 wickets
Fleetwood 101 (P Wanasinghe 7 for 45), Barrow 102 for 1 (J Miles 46no)
BLACKPOOL v CHORLEY
Blackpool (15pts) defeated Chorley (2pts) by 33 runs
Blackpool 76 for 8 (M Parry 4 for 15), Chorley 43 (R Gleeson 6 for 21, A Furniss 4 for 17)
LANCASTER v CARNFORTH
Carnforth (15pts) defeated Lancaster (3pts) by 37 runs
Carnforth 120 for 9 (G Pedder 40, R Silva 6 for 65), Lancaster 83 (G Pedder 4 for 25)
LEYLAND v DARWEN
Darwen (12pts) defeated Leyland (0pts) by 8 wickets
Leyland 99 (D Wiese 5 for 35), Darwen 100 for 2 (D Wiese 59no)
NETHERFIELD v ST ANNES
Match abandoned (4pts each)
PRESTON v KENDAL
Preston (15pts) defeated Kendal (2pts) by 20 runs
Preston 120 for 8, Kendal 100 (K Howarth 58, L Vahaluwala 5 for 27, Bilal Asad 4 for 17)
Morecambe no game
FURNESS BUILDING SOCIETY
( INCORPORATING 3D SPORTS )
NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Division One
| Club |
P |
W15 |
W12 |
D4 |
D1 |
L |
NR4 |
BP |
Pts |
| Preston |
20 |
6 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
25* |
176 |
| St Annes |
20 |
3 |
7 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
21 |
175 |
| Chorley |
20 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
31 |
157 |
| Morecambe |
19 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
28 |
157 |
| Netherfield |
19 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
41 |
141 |
| Blackpool |
20 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
38 |
139 |
| Barrow |
19 |
2 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
3 |
21 |
132 |
| Kendal |
19 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
3 |
35 |
123 |
| Fleetwood |
20 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
8 |
1 |
31 |
110 |
| Darwen |
19 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
33* |
109 |
| Carnforth |
19 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
8 |
4 |
33 |
104 |
| Leyland |
19 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
8 |
3 |
37 |
102 |
| Lancaster |
19 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
8 |
3 |
28 |
87 |
* 2 points deducted for slow over rate
Divison Two
Lancaster 2nds win again
Division Two leaders Lancaster earned maximum points again after a 74 runs victory at Lodge Quarry while Blackpool emerged as their nearest challengers after completing a 72 runs victory at third-placed Chorley.
Skipper Craig Atkinson's 59 bolstered Lancaster's total of 176, Luke Phillips making 38, as Robert Parker bowled unchanged and collected five wickets for Carnforth, who were then dismissed for 102. Jason Cornthwaite made 36 for Carnforth as Atkinson, Rob Child and Tom Whitehouse each took three wickets.
In the meeting of the second and third clubs, opener Nicky Wall hit 67 in Blackpool's 166 at Windsor Park as Kieran McCullagh took four for 35 with his left arm spin. Chorley subsided to a disappointing 94 in reply, Ross Parker hastening their demise with four for 13 after earlier making an invaluable 29. McCullagh was Chorley's top scorer with 33.
Lancaster lead Blackpool by seven points with a game in hand. Chorley in third, are 27 points off the top. With Leyland's game at Birch Hall abandoned after they had reached 93 for 9, last season's champions St Annes made up ground. In a 38 overs game, they defeated Netherfield by five wickets at Vernon Road, Paul Wilks making 50 and Paul Williams an undefeated 41 as the home side overhauled a target of 172 with eleven balls to spare. Oliver Hill hit an undefeated 71 for the visitors.
Fleetwood and Preston both gained maximum points with convincing wins. Fleetwood rolled over Barrow for 58 at Broadwater, Alex Laird taking five for 11 and Neil Gregson two for none to win by 98 runs. And Preston dismissed Kendal for just 44 at Shap Road, Mudassar Hussein (six for 13) and Javaid Hussain (four for 27) doing the damage after Dipesh Patel's 48 underpinned their total of 140 for 7. Adrian Potts collected four wickets for Kendal.
SECOND DIVISION SCORES:
CARNFORTH v LANCASTER
Lancaster (15pts) defeated Carnforth (3pts) by 74 runs
Lancaster 176 (C Atkinson 59, R Parker 5 for 78), Carnforth 102
CHORLEY v BLACKPOOL
Blackpool (15pts) defeated Chorley (3pts) by 72 runs
Blackpool 166 (N Wall 67, K McCullagh 4 for 35), Chorley 94 (R Parker 4 for 13)
DARWEN v LEYLAND
Match abandoned (4pts each)
Leyland 93 for 9
FLEETWOOD v BARROW
Fleetwood (15pts) defeated Barrow (2pts) by 98 runs
Fleetwood 156 for 7, Barrow 58 (A Laird 5 for 11)
KENDAL v PRESTON
Preston (15pts) defeated Kendal (2pts) by 96 runs
Preston 140 for 7 (D Patel 48, A Potts 4 for 37), Kendal 44 (M Hussein 6 for 13, J Hussein 4 for 27)
ST ANNES v NETHERFIELD
St Annes (12pts) defeated Netherfield (3pts) by 5 wickets
Netherfield 171 for 5 (O Hill 71no), St Annes 177 for 5 (P Wilks 50, P Williams 41no)
Morecambe 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 |
19 |
3 |
9 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
24 |
193 |
| Blackpool |
20 |
6 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
16 |
186 |
| Chorley |
20 |
7 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
3 |
20 |
166 |
| Leyland |
19 |
4 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
6 |
2 |
25 |
161 |
| St Annes |
20 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
2 |
24 |
159 |
| Darwen |
19 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
24 |
157 |
| Netherfield |
19 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
7 |
2 |
37 |
136 |
| Morecambe |
19 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
32 |
134 |
| Preston |
20 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
9 |
2 |
20 |
107 |
| Fleetwood |
20 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
11 |
2 |
26 |
102 |
| Kendal |
19 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
12 |
1 |
20 |
94 |
| Carnforth |
19 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
9 |
3 |
27 |
82 |
| Barrow |
19 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
12 |
3 |
35 |
76 |
