By Michael Latham
John
Cordingley led from the front with 63 in Darwen's fine
victory |
Furness Building Society Northern Premier
Cricket League (incorporating Readers Cricket Balls) leaders
Leyland soaked up the sun on their traditional mid season tour
of Malta while their nearest challengers St Annes and Darwen
lost ground in the title race on a rain-ruined afternoon with
just two positive results in 12 games in both divisions.
Going into the weekend with a 29-point lead over
defending champions St Annes, Leyland had been given an added
boost with popular South African professional Brett Pelser,
who has hit 559 runs at 55.90 so far this season re-signing
for the 2011 campaign. Pelser celebrated with an unbeaten 49
as sub-pro for Horwich in the Bolton Cricket League in their
victory over Heaton.
Leyland (played 16-186pts) have now a 26-points
lead over St Annes (16-160) with Barrow (16-154) with
Blackpool (17-141) next in line. Darwen (16-130), Morecambe
(16-122) and Lancaster (16-114) are all chasing Lancashire Cup
places.
St Annes visited Birch Hall, scene of their
dramatic last day win last season that secured the title
without the unavailable Charles Boucher and went down to a 58
runs defeat after a dramatic game. Darwen reached 160 in 49.1
overs after being invited to bat by St Annes captain Andy
Kellett on a slow-paced pitch. Darwen captain John Cordingley
grafted to make 63 off 135 balls in a fine captain's innings,
receiving most support from pro Mohammad Zaman Khan who hit 39
off 54 balls before holing out on the long on boundary to give
Dinuka Hettiarachchi one of his five wickets.
Hettiarachchi has taken 62 wickets at 11.03
including ten five wicket hauls this season but his five for
61 was overshadowed by Ben Dowling, who has recently rejoined
St Annes from Clitheroe. Dowling bowled with hostility and
accuracy to take five for 44, all his victims being clean
bowled.
Ben Dowling clean-bowled
five Darwen batsmen |
St Annes' replay began disastrously as teenager
Kamran Anwar again revealed his rich potential, taking five
quick wickets as the defending champions slumped to 18 for 7.
Chris Wade chipped in with the other two wickets as St Annes'
innings was left in tatters. Wicketkeeper Jordan Clarke
claimed three smart dismissals and Khan, Niall Burke and Wade
made fine catches in an impressive display of out cricket.
Darwen's Kamran Anwar
shows his delight at capturing the wicket of St Annes'
Atiq Uz-Zaman
|
But Hettiarachchi and Paul Wilks then dug in
with a battling eighth wicket stand of 66 before Wilks was
adjudged leg before to Khan for 23 off 66 balls. Nick Jones
was also dismissed leg before to the Darwen professional who
then claimed a superb catch in the slips to dismiss last man
Dowling just as heavy rain began to fall at Birch Hall at
half-past-six. Kamran Anwar fittingly claimed the final wicket
as he captured six for 34 leaving Hettiarachchi becalmed on a
fine unbeaten 61 off 106 balls.
St Annes pro Dinuka
Hettiarachchi made 61 not out and took five for 61 but
finished on the losing side
|
Chorley pro JJ Smuts marked his last game by
beating the club batting record for a professional in his
final innings. Smuts soon passed the seven runs he needed to
surpass the 719 runs recorded by Kiwi Stuart Duff in 1987 in
the game at Lancaster. He made 34 off 50 balls before he was
bowled by Lancaster pro Roy Silva. Smuts leaves Chorley early
to take part in a South Africa Emerging Players tour of
Australia having scored 747 league runs at 57.46 and taken 33
wickets at 21.64. Chorley struggled to 126 for 8 off 40 overs
when rain stopped play. James Reynard was unbeaten with 37 off
73 balls with Ben Simm taking three for 30 from 14 overs.
Barrow openers Jonathan Miles and Greg Platten
both passed 500 runs for the season before their game at
Netherfield was abandoned. Miles was 45 not out while Platten
hit 38 as Barrow made 87 for 2 after 17 overs. Netherfield
captain Marc Hadwin captured the two wickets to fall, bowling
both Platten and Barrow pro Pasan Wanasinghe. Miles has now
made 535 runs at 48.64 and Platten 528 at 48.00. Miles holds
the club record for an amateur with 545 at 32.06 in 2009.
Just 29 overs were possible at Lodge Quarry as
Carnforth made 86 for 2 against Blackpool before play was
abandoned. Blackpool's Mike Tidmas took both wickets to fall,
claiming leg before decisions against Rehman Shah and
Carnforth skipper Darren Moore. Ryan Nelson (39 not out) and
Tom Barnfield (33 not out) helped rescue Carnforth from 23 for
2.
Ross McMillan's fine display of seam bowling
went unrewarded as Kendal's game at Broadwater was abandoned
after Fleetwood had been dismissed for 93 in 39 overs. Kendal
captain and professional McMillan took six for 21 in 13 overs
with Fleetwood pro Matt Frith top-scoring with a battling 33
off 89 balls.
Lukman Vahaluwala took over the Preston
captaincy and took three for 33 off 14 overs as Morecambe were
dismissed for 84 at West Cliff. Professional Bilal Asad took
three for 28 with Ryan Smith top-scoring with 26. Preston were
15 for one in replay when play was abandoned.
A reminder that next weekend (Sat 31 July, Sun 1
Aug) sees a double programme of league games.
This Sunday Preston defend their Twenty20 Cup
when they host Finals Day in the Latham Baxendale Twenty20 Cup
competition.
Preston play Blackpool in the first semi-final
at West Cliff (11am) with Netherfield, last season's beaten
finalists playing Lancaster in the second semi-final at
2pm.
The final is scheduled for 5pm.
A 12-page colour programme has been produced for
the event priced £1 and admission is £2 adults and £1
concessions.
League President Brian Standing will present
the cup and there will be medals for the winning team's
players and runners-up and a Man of the Match award for the
final.
FIRST DIVISION SCORES
CARNFORTH v BLACKPOOL
Match abandoned (4pts
each)
Carnforth 86 for 2 Blackpool did not bat
DARWEN v ST ANNES
Darwen (15pts) defeated St Annes (3pts) by 58
runs
Darwen 160 (J Cordingley 63, B Dowling 5 for 44,
D Hettiarachchi 5 for 61), St Annes 102 (D Hettiarachchi 61no,
K Anwar 6 for 34)
FLEETWOOD v KENDAL
Match abandoned (4pts each)
Fleetwood 93 (R McMillan 6 for 21) Kendal did
not bat
LANCASTER v CHORLEY
Match abandoned (4pts each)
Chorley 126 for 8 Lancaster did not bat
NETHERFIELD v BARROW
Match abandoned (4pts each)
Barrow 87 for 2 (J Miles 45no) Netherfield did
not bat
PRESTON v MORECAMBE
Match abandoned (4pts each)
Morecambe 84 Preston 15 for 1
Leyland no game
FURNESS BUILDING SOCIETY
( INCORPORATIN READERS CRICKET
BALLS )
NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Division One
| Club |
P |
W15 |
W12 |
D4 |
D1 |
L |
NR4 |
BP |
Pts |
| Leyland |
16 |
4 |
9 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
10 |
186 |
| St Annes |
16 |
2 |
9 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
10 |
160 |
| Barrow |
17 |
4 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
13 |
154 |
| Blackpool |
17 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
3 |
17 |
141 |
| Darwen |
16 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
32 |
130 |
| Morecambe |
16 |
1 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
3 |
19 |
122 |
| Lancaster |
17 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
5 |
5 |
23 |
114 |
| Netherfield |
16 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
4 |
18 |
102 |
| Kendal |
17 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
4 |
42 |
95 |
| Preston |
17 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
7 |
3 |
24 |
85 |
| Chorley |
17 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
9 |
2 |
29 |
79 |
| Carnforth |
16 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
10 |
2 |
34 |
74 |
| Fleetwood |
16 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
10 |
2 |
37 |
69 |
| Lancashire Colts |
9 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
2 |
18 |
57 |
SECOND DIVISION
In Division Two Blackpool were the only team to
force a positive result, just beating the rain with a six
wickets win over Carnforth at Stanley Park. Seam bowler Ross
Parker took six wickets as the visitors were dismissed for 81
and then Craig Outram hit a brisk 40 as Blackpool hurried to
their target after one brief interruption for rain.
Chorley's Stu Naden edged closer to Bob
Dickinson's Second XI club record of 721 runs set in 1993,
with 43 to take his seasonal tally to 657 but rain ruined a
fascinating game against defending champions Lancaster. Danny
Welbourne hit 87 off 106 balls in Lancaster's 206 for 5 from
41 overs. Chorley were 110 for 2 off 19 overs in reply,
wicketkeeper Rowan Mitcham unbeaten on 48 when play was
abandoned.
Aiden Cotton hit 110 off 81 balls with 12 fours
and five sixes as St Annes reached 242 for 6 against Darwen,
who were 51 for 2 in replay when play at Vernon Road was
abandoned.
Kendal reached 76 for 2 against Fleetwood when
the weather closed in at Shap Road and half centuries by Ben
Harrison and Yasin Patel were in vain as the game at Woodhill
Lane was abandoned after visitors Preston made 171 for 4 from
44 overs against Morecambe.
There was no play at all in the game between
Barrow and Netherfield at Ernest Pass.
Chorley (16-149) lead the way in Division Two
from Leyland (14-143), Blackpool (15-143) and Darwen
(16-135).
SECOND DIVISION SCORES
BARROW v NETHERFIELD
Match abandoned (4pts each)
No play due to rain
BLACKPOOL v CARNFORTH
Blackpool (12pts) defeated Carnforth (0pts) by
6 wickets
Carnforth 81 (R Parker 6 for 23), Blackpool 83
for 4 (C Outram 40)
CHORLEY v LANCASTER
Match abandoned (4pts each)
Lancaster 206 for 5 (D Welbourne 87, I Parkinson
42no, O Carter 41), Chorley 110 for 2 (R Mitcham 48, S Naden
43)
KENDAL v FLEETWOOD
Match abandoned (4pts each)
Kendal 76 for 2 Fleetwood did not bat
MORECAMBE v PRESTON
Match abandoned (4pts each)
Preston 171 for 4 (Y Patel 55no, B Harrison
50) Morecambe did not bat
ST ANNES v DARWEN
Match abandoned (4pts each)
St Annes 242 for 6 (A Cotton 110, S Bickerdike
49), Darwen 51 for 2
Leyland no game
FURNESS BUILDING SOCIETY
( INCORPORATING READERS
CRICKET BALLS)
NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Division Two
| Club |
P |
W15 |
W12 |
D4 |
D1 |
l |
NR4 |
BP |
Pts |
| Chorley |
16 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
25 |
149 |
| Blackpool |
15 |
4 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
11 |
143 |
| Leyland |
14 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
18 |
143 |
| Darwen |
16 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
20 |
135 |
| Lancaster |
16 |
2 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
3 |
9 |
123 |
| Preston |
16 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
19 |
121 |
| St Annes |
14 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
27 |
99 |
| Morecambe |
15 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
3 |
14 |
96 |
| Netherfield |
16 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
3 |
21 |
90 |
| Barrow |
14 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
4 |
17 |
85 |
| Fleetwood |
14 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
2 |
23 |
83 |
| Kendal |
15 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
4 |
22 |
55 |
| Carnforth |
15 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
2 |
21 |
29 |
