By Michael Latham
Brett
Pelser and Chris Parkinson are congratulated by their
Leyland teammates |
Leyland continued their sensational start to the
Furness Building Society Northern Premier Cricket League
(incorporating Readers Cricket Balls) as they defeated
Lancaster by eight wickets at Lune Road to record their sixth
successive win.
Leyland's South African professional Brett
Pelser was the star turn, hitting his maiden Northern League
hundred and finishing unbeaten on 121 as his side overhauled
Lancaster's testing target of 203 for 5. Pelser shared an
unbeaten third wicket stand of 193 with opener Chris Parkinson
who batted with increasing fluency to reach an undefeated 75
as Leyland won with 10.5 overs in hand.
Brett
Pelser hooks Iain Perrieman for
four |
Leyland looked in trouble as they lost Karl
Cross and Luis Reece early in their reply but Pelser survived
two chances in the outfield in the 60s to reach his century
off 97 balls and go on to hit 22 fours off 105 balls in a
masterly display of batting. Having averaged just over 100 in
the last South African domestic season Pelser has quickly
found his feet in England and looks set to spearhead Leyland's
championship challenge. Parkinson hit ten fours and one six
and faced 109 balls.
Jamie
Heywood made 90 for Lancaster |
Jamie Heywood anchored Lancaster's innings with
90 off 128 balls before falling leg before to Cross after
hitting 12 fours and one six. Heywood shared an opening stand
of 101 in 33 overs with skipper Michael Stevens (36) but
Leyland fought tenaciously in the field and Cross, pressed
into service as fourth change bowler, also removed the
dangerous home professional Roy Silva for 15 just as he
threatened to cut loose.
Preston employed 37-year-old Indian all-rounder
Muenoddin Kadri as sub-professional for their derby game at
Windsor Park as they continue to await the return of Pakistan
pro Bilal Asad for a fifth season with the club, but he played
only a minor role in his side's convincing 110 runs victory.
Chorley were without skipper Andy Holdsworth, nursing a broken
hand and so last year's captain Jack Catterall deputised, but
they subsided to 124 all out as Lukman Vahaluwala took four
for 35 and spinner Atul Sachdeva three for 25. Kieran
McCullagh hit a defiant 36.
Earlier former Vernon Carus opener David Fisher
came agonisingly close to his first Northern League hundred,
finishing unbeaten on 99 as he anchored his side's 234 for 2.
Fisher, who hit 16 fours and confirmed his growing prowess in
his second season in the league, shared an opening stand of 90
with Vahaluwala (54) and an unbroken third wicket partnership
of 137 with skipper Adam Parker, whose unbeaten 67 came off
only 59 balls. After finishing runners-up last season Preston
found themselves second bottom going into this game but will
hope the result will kick-start their season.
Kendal entertained reigning champions St Annes
with the visitors still missing skipper Andy Kellett as he
nurses a broken finger. Dinuka Hettiarachchi again underlined
his value, taking six for 51 off 25 overs as Kendal reached
124 off 50 overs. The Sri Lankan spin ace claimed the vital
wicket of Terry Hunte for 3 while teenager Ben Willis took two
for 14 off seven overs, including the prize wicket of Kendal
professional and captain Ross McMillan. Kevin Howarth hit a
superb 57 off 89 balls for Kendal, receiving late order
support from Stu Parkin (24 not out).
St Annes looked to coasting as they reached 74
for 1 in reply, Atiq Uz-Zaman making 37 off 30 balls. But
Kendal fought hard in the field, Nick Lewthwaite claiming
three quick wickets and spinner Chris Miller another two and
St Annes were indebted to Stephen Twist's 27 as they edged
home with three wickets in hand.
Fleetwood looked to build on an encouraging
performance at Netherfield as they played Darwen at Broadwater
but had to be satisfied with a losing draw, hanging on at 145
for 9 after the visitors posted 200. Darwen's consistent
professional Mohammad Zaman Khan hit 61 off 77 balls and Neil
Cordingley made 41 as Fleetwood skipper and professional Matt
Froth took three for 46. Frith was the mainstay of his side's
replay, opening with 49 off 78 balls but Kamran Anwar and
Chris Clarke each took three wickets to bowl their side
agonisingly close to victory.
Former Morecambe favourite Gareth Pedder
returned to Woodhill Lane as Carnforth's professional and
enjoyed a fine performance but still finished on the losing
side after a compelling game. Pedder hit 22 as Carnforth
recovered from 90 for 5 to post a competitive 189 for 8 thanks
to a fluent 49 from Lewis Bradley and a typically hard-hitting
40 from Adam Hornby. Despite struggling with a knee injury
home pro Mandla Mashimbyi took three for 47 while skipper
Tommy Clough bowled 20 overs and took two for 53.
Morecambe all rounder Chris Willaims, who had
earlier taken two for 32, reached his second successive
Northern League half century, hitting 57 as the home side
recovered from 43 for 3. Pedder bowled superbly to take four
for 58 but teenager Ryan Smith made a composed 40 and
wicketkeeper Lewis Edge and skipper Clough steered Morecambe
past the winning post with an unbroken eighth wicket stand of
21.
Barrow had Australian fast bowling great Jeff
Thomson as guest for a club function at Ernest Pass last
Thursday but failed to take inspiration as Blackpool's Sri
Lankan professional Nimesh Perera steered his improving side
to a seven wickets win, hitting an unbeaten 64 off 73 balls
with ten fours and sharing an unbroken fourth wicket stand of
82 with the consistent Michael Moore (32 not out).
Blackpool moved up to fourth after overhauling
Barrow's 156 in which Iain Kermode, batting at number 8, hit
an unbeaten 39 and shared an eight wicket stand of 47 with
skipper Daryl Wearing (28). Barrow were bowled out for 156,
Andy Hogarth capturing an impressive four wicket haul with the
wickets of pro Pasan Wanasinghe, Jon Miles, Liam Livingstone
and Ian Allington while skipper Paul Danson polished off the
tail with a spell of two for 4.Teenager Michael Tidmas made
the most of his first-team call-up by taking three for 24 off
11 overs and also running out Rob Lightfoot.
The Lune
Road ground at Lancaster in glorious
sunshine |
FIRST DIVISION SCORES
BARROW v BLACKPOOL
Blackpool (12pts) defeated Barrow (1pt) by 7
wickets
Barrow 156 (A Hogarth 4 for 43), Blackpool 160
for 3 (N Perera 64no)
CHORLEY v PRESTON
Preston (15pts) defeated Chorley (0pts) by 110
runs
Preston 234 for 2 (D Fisher 99no, A Parker
67no, L Vahaluwala 54), Chorley 124 (L Vahaluwala 4 for
35)
FLEETWOOD v DARWEN
Darwen (10pts) winning draw; Fleetwood
(5pts)
Darwen 200 (MZ Khan 61), Fleetwood 145 for 9
(M Frith 49)
KENDAL v ST ANNES
St Annes (12pts) defeated Kendal (2pts) by 3
wickets
Kendal 124 (K Howarth 57, D Hettiarachchi 6
for 51), St Annes 125 for 7
LANCASTER v LEYLAND
Leyland (12pts) defeated Lancaster (2pts) by 8
wickets
Lancaster 203 for 5 (J Heywood 90), Leyland
204 for 3 (B Pelser 121 no, C Parkinson 75no)
MORECAMBE v CARNFORTH
Morecambe (12pts) defeated Carnforth (5pts) by
3 wickets
Carnforth 189 for 8 (L Bradley 49, A Hornby 40),
Morecambe 193 for 7 (C Williams 57, R Smith 40, G Pedder 4 for
58)
Netherfield 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 |
6 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
78 |
| St Annes |
6 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
63 |
| Morecambe |
5 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
10 |
53 |
| Blackpool |
6 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
45 |
| Kendal |
6 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
15 |
43 |
| Darwen |
6 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
20 |
40 |
| Lancaster |
6 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
14 |
38 |
| Chorley |
6 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
11 |
37 |
| Barrow |
5 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
8 |
33 |
| Preston |
6 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
12 |
33 |
| Fleetwood |
6 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
11 |
31 |
| Netherfield |
5 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
11 |
28 |
| Carnforth |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
17 |
22 |
| Lancashire Colts |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
9 |
21 |
DIVISION TWO
Leyland close in on Division Two leaders Darwen
Leaders Darwen saw their lead at the top of
Division Two cut to six points as they had the worse of a draw
at home to Fleetwood while Leyland enjoyed an emphatic win
over Lancaster.
Mark Wilkinson top-scored with 62 off 52 balls
and skipper Matt Clark hit 58 off 52 balls as Fleetwood made
257 for 9 at Birch Hall. Skipper Gary Jackson underpinned the
home reply with 62 off 83 balls but Darwen fell well short of
their target, closing on 220 for 7 with Simon Painter making
an invaluable 48.
The match of the day in division two pitted last
season's champions Lancaster against runners-up Leyland at Fox
Lane. Golden oldie Monty Cottam took five for 32 off 15 overs
as the visitors lost their last ten wickets for only 46 runs
after Danny Welbourne had opened with a typically solid 52.
Stephen Pallett, who last season passed the 500 wickets mark
in Northern League cricket weighed in with four for 44.
Leyland romped to victory just before five o'clock with
openers Wes Royle (57 not out) and Ian Farrington (44 not out)
passing the target in a shade over 20 overs.
There was a thrilling finish at West Cliff where
Preston emerged with a winning draw after their game with
Chorley ended with the scores level. Javaid Hussain hit 54 and
skipper Moshin Patel 35 in the home side's 166 for 8, Louis
Sweeney taking five for 24. Chorley skipper Ian Mawdsley hit
77 but was bowled by Zubar Patel in the last over and David
Catterall finished 51 not out as Chorley closed on 166 for
4.
Morecambe's Nick Milner and Michael Fisher
shared an unbroken third wicket stand of 148 to ease their
side to victory at Lodge Quarry, Milner hitting an unbeaten 82
off 72 balls (11 fours and two sixes) while Fisher was not out
84 off 75 balls (eight fours and five sixes). Earlier Robert
Horsfall rescued Carnforth from 76 for 8 and steered them
towards a respectable 186 with 65 off only 46 balls, sharing a
ninth wicket stand of 83 with vice-captain Alex Benson (27).
Milner took four for 62 and Graeme Cassidy three for 54.
Over 450 runs were scored at Stanley Park as
Blackpool emerged two wicket winners over Barrow after a
thrilling game. Josh Tweddle hit 96 and Jordan Nicholson 44
not out in the visitors' imposing 225 for 7, the pair sharing
a sixth wicket stand of 85. Tweddle's knock included 14 fours
and three sixes. But Blackpool knocked off the target thanks
to consistent batting down the order, despite Anish Patel
taking four wickets, Craig Outram top-scoring with 56 (eight
fours and two sixes). 14-year-old Ashley Morgan marked his
second team debut with a crucial unbeaten 16 as he saw his
side home in an unbroken ninth wicket stand of 25 with skipper
Kevin Reid.
St Annes defeated Kendal by five wickets at
Vernon Road, Russ Bradley steering the home side past the
visitors' 181 for 4 with an unbeaten 67 off 73 balls despite
Adrian Potts taking four for 34. Earlier Donovan Du Plessis,
opening the Kendal innings, was run out for a superb 101 off
147 balls including 11 fours and two sixes.
SECOND DIVISION SCORES
BLACKPOOL v BARROW
Blackpool (12pts) defeated Barrow (5pts) by 2
wickets
Barrow 225 for 7 (J Tweddle 96, J Nicholson
44no), Blackpool 226 for 8 (C Outram 56, A Patel 4 for 39)
CARNFORTH v MORECAMBE
Morecambe (12pts) defeated Carnforth (3pts) by
8 wickets
Carnforth 185 (R Horsfall 65, N Milner 4 for
62), Morecambe 187 for 2 (M Fisher 84no, N Milner 82no)
DARWEN v FLEETWOOD
Fleetwood (9pts) winning draw; Darwen
(7pts)
Fleetwood 257 for 9 (M Wilkinson 62, M Clark
58), Darwen 220 for 7 (G Jackson 62, S Painter 48)
LEYLAND v LANCASTER
Leyland (12pts) defeated Lancaster (0pts) by
10 wickets
Lancaster 107 (D Welbourne 52, M Cottam 5 for
32), Leyland 108 for 0 (W Royle 57no, I Farrington 44no)
PRESTON v CHORLEY
Preston (6pts) winning draw; Chorley (5pts)-
scores levelM
Preston 166 for 8 (J Hussain 54, L Sweeney 5
for 24), Chorley 166 for 4 (I Mawdesley 77)
ST ANNES v KENDAL
St Annes (12pts) defeated Kendal (4pts) by 5
wickets
Kendal 181 for 4 (D Du Plessis 101), St Annes
184 for 5 (R Bradley 67, A Potts 4 for 34)
Netherfield 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 |
| Darwen |
6 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
67 |
| Leyland |
5 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
61 |
| Chorley |
6 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
18 |
52 |
| Lancaster |
6 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
48 |
| St Annes |
5 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
8 |
48 |
| Blackpool |
5 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
47 |
| Preston |
6 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
12 |
44 |
| Fleetwood |
5 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
11 |
39 |
| Kendal |
6 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
15 |
35 |
| Morecambe |
5 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
28 |
| Netherfield |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
8 |
23 |
| Barrow |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
8 |
20 |
| Carnforth |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
7 |
7 |
