By Michael Latham
Lancaster's Brendan Hetherington is bowled by Adam Cowperthwaite |
Furness Building Society Northern Premier Cricket League (in association with 3D Sports)
Leaders Chorley stretched their lead at the top of the Furness Building Society Northern Premier Cricket League (in association with 3D Sports) to 16 points after securing a maximum points-haul from their home game with Blackpool.
Jack Catterall's side made light of missing several key players, including opening batsman Josh Tolley with an injured wrist and bowlers Kieran McCullagh, Rex Purnell and Ian Oakes to defeat Blackpool by 55 runs at Windsor Park.
The key to Chorley's success so far this season has been the ability of their amateur bowlers to come up with match-winning performances in turn. This time promising seamer Jim Lee came up trumps with an inspired spell of 6 for 42 as Blackpool were bowled out for 130. Only opener John Mounsey, adapting well to Northern League cricket after switching from the Palace Shield this season, provided prolonged resistance, batting through 110 balls for a fine innings of 70 that included 14 fours.
The wicket-keeping of Chorley's Queensland professional Chris Hartley was a feature and the popular Australian made a superb catch to dismiss Richard Gleeson off Lee and wrap up the victory with 3.1 overs in hand.
Earlier Hartley (57) and Michael Critchley (50) had batted well in a third wicket stand of 101 in 91 minutes that provided the backbone of Chorley's 185 as Blackpool pro Saj Weerakoon took 4 for 51 with his left arm spin.
Second placed St Annes had the worse of a drawn game against defending champions Netherfield at Vernon Road after looking well placed for a win batting second at one stage. The visitors posted 207 for 7 with talented teenager Alez Atkinson top-scoring with 53 and wicket-keeper Shane Dixon adding an unbeaten 39. St Annes pro Dinuka Hettiarachchi and Stephen Twist each took three wickets.
St Annes opener Atiq Uz-Zaman, the league's leading amateur batsman in 2008, batted superbly to hit 69 off 68 balls including 12 fours but the home side lost three wickets in six balls after the drinks interval to leave them 113 for 5 and clung on for a draw with nine wickets down, Paul Wilks providing vital late resistance as leg-spinner Marc Hadwin took 4 for 32.
Preston are third after a thrilling ten runs victory at Shap Road where Kendal welcomed back their South African professional and captain Ross McMillan for his first game of the season. The introduction of spinner David Fisher into the Preston attack with 16 overs to go proved an inspired move by captain Bilal Asad.
Kendal's last seven wickets fell for 40 runs as Fisher, in his first season in the Northern League after playing in the Palace Shield, collected 5 for 30 from his seven overs.
A Kendal side missing wicket-keeper Ikram Ullah (Paul Dowker taking over) were bowled out for 162, Terry Hunte top-scoring with 33.
Opener Sajid Patel had hit 59 before being run out for Preston as Kevin Howarth's spell of 4 for 44 helped restrict the visitors to 172 for 9.
Darwen's explosive South African all rounder David Wiese inspired his side to a resounding eight wickets win over Leyland at Birch Hall. Wiese hit an unbeaten 89 with six fours and four sixes and shared an unbroken third wicket partnership of 143 with Gareth Cordingley as Leyland's total of 164 was passed in only 29. 2 overs.
Wiese had earlier taken three for 48 after Leyland professional Ameer Khan hit seven fours and two sixes in his innings of 71. Khan shared a second wicket partnership of 99 with Luis Reece (39). Darwen captain Andrew Cook had showed inspired leadership skills by giving Cris Clarke his first prolonged bowl in the league.
The talented Clarke, best known as an opening batsman, responded with 2 for 35 in ten overs of off-spin, taking the wickets of both Reece and Khan.
Barrow's resurgence continued as they earned their second win in a row to move off the bottom. Veteran Sri Lankan pro Pasan Wanasinghe took 5 for 35 and then hit an unbeaten 34 in a low-scoring game at Broadwater.
Fleetwood were bowled out for just 83 after winning the toss as Matty Studt (2 for 13) and skipper Daryl Wearing (3 for 31) supported their professional in a superb effort in the field. Liam Livingstone's unbeaten 20 helped Wanasinghe steer the visitors home to a seven wickets win after talented young all-rounder Tom Wilson had taken three wickets for Fleetwood.
Lancaster CC 2009 |
Carnforth slipped to the bottom spot after they lost by 40 runs to Lancaster at Lodge Quarry. Lancaster captain Tim Barry had provided the backbone of his side's 177 for 6, hitting an unbeaten 72 off 123 balls including ten boundaries. Cumberland county player Adam Cowperthwaite bowled superbly for the home side, recording figures of 5 for 71 including victims four clean-bowled.
Lancaster's 15-year-old Charlie Swarbrick bowled Robert Parker and Ben Harrison is his opening over and went to take 3 for 21 off 8 overs as Carnforth were bowled out for 137 despite late resistance from Tom Barnfield (40) as the last two wickets added 59 runs. Barnfield was out to a brilliant left-handed catch by teenager Alex Metcalfe at square leg just as he looked capable of taking Carnforth to an unlikely win.
Lancaster's new South African professional Mario Olivier, who hit a brisk 25 with the bat after his long-awaited arrival following visa delays, took his first wicket for the club by bowling last man John Denwood to secure a welcome 15 points for Barry's men. Spinners Ian Burstow with 3 for 18 off 11 overs and BV Rhagavendra with 2 for 20 off 15 overs helped impose a mid-innings stranglehold.
Lancaster's new pro Mario Olivier |
Lancaster captain Tim Barry hits out at Lodge Quarry |
FIRST DIVISION SCORES:
CARNFORTH v LANCASTER
Lancaster (15pts) defeated Carnforth (1pt) by 40 runs
Lancaster 177 for 6 (T Barry 72no, A Cowperthwaite 5 for 71), Carnforth 137 (T Barnfield 40)
CHORLEY v BLACKPOOL
Chorley (15pts) defeated Blackpool (3pts) by 55 runs
Chorley 185 (C Hartley 57, M Critchley 50, S Weerakoon 4 for 51), Blackpool 130 (J Mounsey 70, J Lee 6 for 42)
DARWEN v LEYLAND
Darwen (12pts) defeated Leyland (2pts) by 8 wickets
Leyland 164 (Ameer Khan 71), Darwen 165 for 2 (D Weiese 89no, G Cordingley 50no)
FLEETWOOD v BARROW
Barrow (12pts) defeated Fleetwood (0pts) by 7 wickets
Fleetwood 83 (P Wanasinghe 5 for 35), Barrow 86 for 3
KENDAL v PRESTON
Preston (15pts) defeated Kendal (5pts) by 10 runs
Preston 172 for 9 (Sajid Patel 59, K Howarth 4 for 44), Kendal 162 (D Fisher 5 for 30)
ST ANNES v NETHERFIELD
Netherfield (10pts) winning draw; St Annes (6pts)
Netherfield 207 for 7 (A Atkinson 53), St Annes 184 for 9 (Atiq Uz-Zaman 69, M Hadwin 4 for 32)
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 |
| Chorley |
9 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
7 |
95 |
| St Annes |
8 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
9 |
79 |
| Preston |
9 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
8 |
73 |
| Blackpool |
9 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
19 |
63 |
| Leyland |
8 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
14 |
58 |
| Netherfield |
8 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
19 |
52 |
| Darwen |
8 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
10 |
51 |
| Lancaster |
8 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
10 |
47 |
| Morecambe |
8 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
12 |
44 |
| Kendal |
8 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
14 |
43 |
| Barrow |
8 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
9 |
41 |
| Fleetwood |
9 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
16 |
39 |
| Carnforth |
8 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
2 |
17 |
33 |
Divison Two
Lancaster stretch lead in division two
Lancaster are 12 points clear at the top of division two after their resounding 69 runs victory over Carnforth at Lune Road. Craig Atkinson hit an unbeaten 115 as the home side declared on the day's highest total, 238 for 6. Patrick Cantley took four wickets for Carnforth. Despite a late innings flurry led by Gareth Denwood's 40 Carnforth were bowled out for 169, Tim Lambert taking four for 41.
Blackpool are second after John Caunce (70) and Prasant Aga (72 not out) steered them to an eights wicket win over Chorley at Stanley Park.
Defending champions St Annes enjoyed a five wickets win at Parkside Road, Neil Bradley's unbeaten 52 and Paul Williams' 46 helping them defeat Netherfield. Ryan Wilson hit 44 for the home side as Richard Thomas took five for 59.
Kendal were surprisingly defeated at West Cliff as Preston's Aber Abbas bowled his side to a 17 runs success with five for 11. Sam Cooper and Andy Dugdale had each taken four wickets for the visitors in Preston's 119.
Darwen hung on for a draw at Fox Lane against Leyland with eight wickets down while Fleetwood's Mark Wilkinson hit an undefeated 72 to steer his side to a four wickets win at Barrow, ably supported by wicket-keeper Lee Jones with an undefeated 42. Neil Gregson had taken four wickets for Fleetwood to help restrict the home side to 151 for 9.
SECOND DIVISION SCORES:
BARROW v FLEETWOOD
Fleetwood (12pts) defeated Barrow (2pts) by 4 wickets
Barrow 151 for 9 (N Gregson 4 for 46), Fleetwood 152 for 6 (M Wilkinson 72no, L Jones 42no)
BLACKPOOL v CHORLEY
Blackpool (12pts) defeated Chorley (2pts) by 8 wickets
Chorley 165 for 6 (I Mawdsley 40no), Blackpool 168 for 2 (P Aga 72no, J Caunce 70)
LANCASTER v CARNFORTH
Lancaster (15pts) defeated Carnforth (3pts) by 69 runs
Lancaster 238 for 6 dec (C Atkinson 115no, P Cantley 4 for 46), Carnforth 169 (G Denwood 40, T Lambert 4 for 41)
LEYLAND v DARWEN
Leyland (8pts) winning draw; Darwen (3pts)
Leyland 168 for 8 (S Parker 44, G Ainsley 5 for 36), Darwen 96 for 8
NETHERFIELD v ST ANNES
St Annes (12pts) defeated Netherfield (4pts) by 5 wickets
Netherfield 191 (R Wilson 44, R Thomas 5 for 59), St Annes 193 for 5 (N Bradley 52no, P Williams 46)
PRESTON v KENDAL
Preston (15pts) defeated Kendal (3pts) by 17 runs
Preston 119 (A Dugdale 4 for 20, S Cooper 4 for 29), Kendal 102 (S Nelson 48), A Abbas 5 for 11)
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 |
8 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
92 |
| Blackpool |
9 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
80 |
| Chorley |
9 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
7 |
75 |
| Kendal |
8 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
7 |
65 |
| St Annes |
8 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
8 |
56 |
| Leyland |
8 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
16 |
55 |
| Morecambe |
8 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
9 |
49 |
| Preston |
9 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
6 |
46 |
| Darwen |
8 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
11 |
46 |
| Netherfield |
8 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
11 |
42 |
| Fleetwood |
9 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
9 |
38 |
| Barrow |
8 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
2 |
13 |
37 |
| Carnforth |
8 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
14 |
36 |
