By Michael Latham
Darwen's new professional David Wiese hit 88 on debut |
St Annes and Chorley opened up daylight at the top of the Furness Building Society Northern Premier Cricket League (in association with 3D Sports) with maximum 15-points wins as the wet weather of the previous week helped produce several low-scoring games.
St Annes took a depleted side to Shap Road but still returned victorious despite being bowled out for just 102. Stand-in captain Duncan Whalley, deputising for Andy Kellett, was the only batsman in the game to ever look settled and hit a match-winning 50 as Kendal off-spinner Ben Simm, last season's leading amateur wicket-taker, took 5 for 54. In reply Kendal, again playing without a professional as they await the return of Ross McMillan, were bowled out for 52. St Annes professional Dinuka Hettiarachchi collected 4 for 11 and promising seam bowler Nick Jones wrapped up the tail to finish with 4 for 13.
But Chorley's laudable policy of pursuing an all-amateur bowling attack again came up trumps as they earned an exciting 12 runs win at Woodhill Lane over Morecambe. Ian Oakes, the only registered bat-maker in Lancashire, was Chorley's hero with bat and ball, hitting 53 in his side's 166 for 8 and then taking 6 for 32 with his occasional leg-spin as Morecambe subsided to 154 all-out with an over to spare. Morecambe opener Mark Woodhead carried his bat for the first time in his long Northern League career with an undefeated 68.
Blackpool and Leyland are now in joint-third position after both sides picked up victories batting second in low-scoring games. Leyland captain David Makinson admitted going against his principles as he invited Barrow to bat at Fox Lane as he was uncertain how the wicket would play after a week of rain. In the event bottom-placed Barrow, despite welcoming back professional Pasan Wanasinghe, collapsed to 62 all out as medium-pacer Peter Cummings claimed the incredible analysis of four wickets for no runs from 31 balls. Despite Karl Cross and professional Ameer Khan falling victim to run outs, Leyland cruised to a seven wickets win in less than three-and-a-half hours playing time.
Barrow opener Ian Allington is bowled by Leyland's Andrew Makinson |
Peter Cummings took 4 for 0 in Leyland's victory |
Leyland CC 2009 |
Blackpool's victory at West Cliff was down to a superb bowling performance from highly-rated opening bowler Richard Gleeson who returned figures of 6 for 35 as Preston were dismissed for 117. Gleeson took 5 for 15 in an opening 12-over spell but Preston's professional and captain Bilal Asad defied the visitors with an outstanding innings of 72 off 96 balls that included four sixes. Bilal's innings was described by one observer as one of the finest he had ever witnessed in half-a-century of Northern League cricket. Blackpool's Sri Lankan professional Sajeewa Weerakoon, who had supported Gleeson with 3 for 31 then hit 49 and his fifth wicket stand of 65 with vice-captain and wicket-keeper James Smith (29) provided the backbone of the visitors' reply as they got home with four wickets intact.
Darwen's new South African professional David Wiese showed why he is regarded as one of his country's brightest all-round talents with a stand-out debut but his side had to settle for a losing draw against reigning champions Netherfield. In a match reduced to 46 overs per-side Netherfield amassed 208 for 6 with skipper Chris Parry batting throughout the innings for an unbeaten 75. Aussie pro Glen Batticciotto hit 65 and shared in a second wicket stand of 113 with his skipper. The 24-year-old Wiese took 3 for 78 off 20 overs for Darwen and then hit a superb 88 off 77 balls including six sixes and six fours in reply after surviving a difficult chance in the field off his first ball. But Wiese's dismissal, bowled by Batticciotto left Darwen 151 for 4 in the 37th over and the home side eventually hung on for a draw with eight wickets down.
Fleetwood's new professional, 20-year-old South African Hendrik van der Dussen, a 20-year-old right-handed batsman and leg-spin bowler made his debut in a winning draw against Lancaster at Broadwater. Van der Dussen was run out for 6 but West Indies U19s star Chesney Hughes hit 70 off 67 balls and stand-in captain Adam Sharrocks an unbeaten 58 off 49 balls as Fleetwood made 173 for 5 in a match reduced to 40 overs-per-side. In reply Lancaster, playing without a professional, showed no ambition in attempting to go for the target and they batted out to close on 97 for 2 in the dullest of stalemates.
FIRST DIVISION SCORES:
DARWEN v NETHERFIELD
Netherfield (9pts) winning draw; Darwen (5pts)
Netherfield 208 for 6 (C Parry 75, G Batticciotto 65), Darwen 189 for 8 (D Wiese 88)
FLEETWOOD v LANCASTER
Fleetwood (6pts) winning draw; Lancaster (2pts)
Fleetwood 173 for 5 (C Hughes 70, A Sharrocks 58no), Lancaster 97 for 2
KENDAL v ST ANNES
St Annes (15pts) defeated Kendal (3pts) by 50 runs
St Annes 102 (D Whalley 50, B Simm 5 for 54), Kendal 52 (D Hettiarachchi 4 for 11, N Jones 4 for 13)
LEYLAND v BARROW
Leyland (12pts) defeated Barrow (0pts) by 7 wickets
Barrow 62 (P Cummings 4 for 0), Leyland 64 for 3
MORECAMBE v CHORLEY
Chorley(15pts) defeated Morecambe (3pts) by 12 runs
Chorley 166 for 8 (I Oakes 53, M Mashimbyi 4 for 48), Morecambe 154 (M Woodhead 68no, I Oakes 6 for 32)
PRESTON v BLACKPOOL
Blackpool (12pts) defeated Preston (1pt) by 4 wickets
Preston 117 (Bilal Asad 72, R Gleeson 6 for 35), Blackpool 120 for 6 (S Weerakoon 49)
FURNESS BUILDING SOCIETY
( INCORPORATING 3D SPORTS )
NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Division One
| Club |
P |
W15 |
W12 |
D4 |
D1 |
L |
NR4 |
BP |
Pts |
| St Annes |
7 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
73 |
| Chorley |
7 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
7 |
68 |
| Leyland |
6 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
9 |
52 |
| Blackpool |
7 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
12 |
52 |
| Preston |
7 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
51 |
| Morecambe |
7 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
9 |
40 |
| Darwen |
6 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
10 |
39 |
| Kendal |
6 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
9 |
38 |
| Fleetwood |
7 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
13 |
35 |
| Netherfield |
6 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
13 |
30 |
| Carnforth |
6 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
13 |
29 |
| Lancaster |
6 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
24 |
| Barrow |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
9 |
14 |
Divison Two
Thomas takes nine wickets for St Annes in Division Two
Lancaster have a seven-point lead over Chorley at the top of division two after both sides recorded maximum 15-points victories.
Lancaster defeated Fleetwood by 70 runs at Lune Road, Rikil Katyal top-scoring with 52 in their 183 for 6, John Whalley returning 3 for 10 from 8 overs. In reply the visitors were dismissed for 113 with just one over remaining, Ben Thorne taking three wickets.
Chorley, last seasons runners-up, defeated Morecambe by 51 runs at Windsor Park, Graeme Cassidy and Nick Milner each collecting four wickets. Chorley's left-arm seamer Richard Flood then took 4 for 7 as Morecambe were dismissed for 101 in reply despite Michael Fisher's fighting 42. Chorley's Matthew Critchley contributed 3 for 28 on his debut for the second team.
Darwen edged to a three-wicket win at Parkside Road in a low-scoring encounter, opener Niall Burke taking 6 for 39 as the home side were bowled out for 112 despite Shane Hyland's fighting 49.
Defending champions St Annes romped to an eight wickets win against Kendal as Richard Thomas produced a devastating bowling spell of 9 for 25 from 20 overs as the visitors were dismissed for 89, N Armstrong making four catches on his debut at this level. Third team captain Paul Williams hit 50 off 47 balls to dominate St Annes' reply.
Blackpool captain Steven Mercer's four-wicket haul helped secure a convincing victory over Preston at Stanley Park. Mercer took 4 for 10 and 15-year-old leg-spinner Nathan Bird 3 for 3 in 5 overs as Preston collapsed to 43 all out in reply to Blackpool's 127. Bird, batting no9, had made 33 with Andrew Starkie taking 4 for 33.
Tom Reece's unbeaten 57 steered Leyland to a six wickets win at Ernest Pass after James Rounding's four wicket-haul restricted hosts Barrow to 108 despite Greg Reynolds' fighting 43.
SECOND DIVISION SCORES:
BARROW v LEYLAND
Leyland (12pts) defeated Barrow (0pts) by 6 wickets
Barrow 108 (G Reynolds 43, J Rounding 4 for 28), Leyland 109 for 4 (T Reece 57no)
BLACKPOOL v PRESTON
Blackpool (15pts) defeated Preston (3pts) by 84 runs
Blackpool 127 (A Starkie 4 for 33), Preston 43 (S Mercer 4 for 10)
CHORLEY v MORECAMBE
Chorley (15pts) defeated Morecambe (3pts) by 51 runs
Chorley 152 ( N Milner 4 for 36, G Cassidy 4 for 81), Morecambe 101 (M Fisher 42, R Flood 4 for 7)
LANCASTER v FLEETWOOD
Lancaster (15pts) defeated Fleetwood (1pt) by 70 runs
Lancaster 183 for 6 (R Katyal 52), Fleetwood 113
NETHERFIELD v DARWEN
Darwen (12pts) defeated Netherfield (2pts) by 3 wickets
Netherfield 112 (S Hyland 49, N Burke 6 for 39), Darwen 116 for 7
ST ANNES v KENDAL
St Annes (12pts) defeated Kendal (0pts) by 8 wickets
Kendal 89 (R Thomas 9 for 25), St Annes 90 for 2 (P Williams 50)
FURNESS BUILDING SOCIETY
( INCORPORATING 3D SPORTS )
NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Division Two
| Club |
P |
W15 |
W12 |
D4 |
D1 |
L |
NR4 |
BP |
Pts |
| Lancaster |
6 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
65 |
| Chorley |
7 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
58 |
| Blackpool |
7 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
56 |
| Morecambe |
7 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
8 |
48 |
| Kendal |
6 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
47 |
| St Annes |
7 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
8 |
44 |
| Darwen |
6 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
40 |
| Leyland |
6 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
37 |
| Netherfield |
6 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
35 |
| Preston |
7 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
29 |
| Carnforth |
6 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
8 |
29 |
| Barrow |
6 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
25 |
| Fleetwood |
7 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
6 |
23 |
