Lukey hits 166 for Preston
Iain Critchley was one of Chorley's bowling heroes |
Resurgent Chorley continued their revival with a stunning victory over leaders St Annes in the Furness Building society Northern premier Cricket League (incorporating readers Cricket Balls).
Andy Holdsworth's side finished bottom of the table last season apart from Lancashire Colts who played only 13 games; but they are now challenging for the title after earning their fifth win batting first of the season. As the second half of the season started on a beautiful, sunny afternoon Chorley have already well surpassed last season's meagre points tally of 103; their 117 runs victory took them to 128pts.
After winning the toss and electing to bat Chorley were indebted to a superb innings by Will Moulton who took on St Annes pro Dinuka Hettiarachchi almost single-handedly at the start. While Hettiarachchi wreaked havoc on his way to stunning figures of 8/56 off 24 overs Moulton, who benefitted from a drop in the outfield on 7, batted serenely. He made 90 off 93 balls with nine fours and five sixes before he was bowled by Ben Willis's third ball having looked odds-on for a century.
Will Moulton on his way to 90 for Chorley |
Hettiarachchi claimed five leg before decisions, bowled two and Duncan Whalley pulled off a smart stumping to dismiss Alex Weetman. Jack Bentham (29) and Weetman (18) had batted sensibly to take Chorley from 131/7 after Moulton's dismissal to 185.
Dinuka Hettiarachchi bowls to Chorley's Jack Catterall |
St Annes' opener Atiq Uz-Zaman hit the first 29 of his side's reply before falling to a superb caught-and-bowled by Iain Critchley. The Chorley left arm spinner bowled superbly to take 4/31 from 15 overs after opening the bowling with Billy Smith who took 2/14. Pro Gaurav Dhar weighed in with 3/22 as Chorley's razor-sharp fielding supported their bowlers' efforts. St Annes subsided to 68 all out, Jimmy Lee claiming the final wicket with his first ball. Opener Nathesh Kiruparan battled through 68 balls for 20 until he was eighth man out..
Kendal won a low-scoring game at Woodhill Lane despite being bowled out for 111 by Morecambe. The in-form Jono Gates took 5/35, pro Anwar Ali 2/44 and Chris Williams 3/24 to seemingly set up a straightforward home win. Terry Hunte made 32 off 54 balls and Nick Lewthwaite (19) and Stu Parkin (22) made vital late order runs in a ninth wicket stand of 35.
Parkin and skipper Chris Miller then bowled Kendal to victory as Morecambe were dismissed for 75. Off-spinner Miller opened the bowling and bowled unchanged to take 5/32 off 13.5 overs with Parkin weighing in with 4/17 after Jack White had pinned Phil Dennison leg before.
Netherfield's Australian pro Ben Laughlin took 6/33 to skittle Barrow for 91 at Parkside Road and set up a maximum points haul for his side. Laughlin set the ball rolling by having prolific Barrow pro Pieter Malan caught behind for 2. Shane Dixon deputised for the injured John Huck as wicketkeeper and claimed four catches.
Earlier Laughlin hit 42 off 46 balls and with Ben Haddrick (36), Alex Atkinson (32) and Ben Barrow (37 not out) all contributing the home side made 200/8, Graham Dawson taking 3/46.
Defending champions Leyland were frustrated by the last pair as Fleetwood fought hard to salvage a draw in a high-scoring game at fox Lane. Scott Richardson and Kieran McGann survived a total of 63 balls as the visitors closed on 210/9 in reply to Leyland's 280/4.
Adam Coates and pro Brett Pelser shared a third wicket stand of 150 for Leyland, wicketkeeper Coates making 100 off 107 balls with 15 fours and Pelser an unbeaten 104 off 91 balls with eight fours and four sixes. Fleetwood pro Ryan Smith blasted 65 off 51 balls in his side's reply, Adam Parker making 43 as Leyland skipper David Makinson took 5/42.
Blackpool defeated Lancaster by six wickets at Stanley Park, Lancashire's Steven Croft taking 3/25 and Steven Mercer 4/31 as the visitors were dismissed for 160. Tim Barry made 42 and skipper Michael Stevens 37. Blackpool pro Con de Lange hit 60 off 57 balls and Alex Smith (35no) and Michael Moore (33no) saw Blackpool safely past their target.
Preston captain Lukman Vahaluwala hit the highest score of the day, a magnificent 166 at Lodge Quarry against Carnforth. He hit 22 fours and two sixes and was just short of surpassing Bilal Asad's club record made on the same ground in 2007. Preston made 293/9 but the home side comfortably salvaged a draw, closing on 215/6 with half-centuries by the consistent Ryan Nelson and his uncle Darren.
Chorley's Billy Smith bowls to Atiq Uz-Zaman |
FIRST DIVISION SCORES
Balckpool v Lancaster
Blackpool (12 pts) beat Lancaster by 6 wickets
Lancaster 160 (T Barry 42, S Mercer 4-34), Blackpool 161 - 4 (C De Lange 60)
Carnforth v Preston
Preston (8pts) winning draw; Carnforth (7pts)
Preston 293/9 (L Vahaluwala 166), Carnforth 215/6 (R Nelson 65, D Nelson 51no)
Chorley v St Annes
Chorley (15 pts) beat St Annes (3 pts) by 111runs
Chorley 185 (W Moulton 90, D Hettiarachchi 8-56), St Annes 69 (I Critchley 4-31)
Leyland v Fleetwood
Leyland (10 pts) wiining draw over Fleetwood (4 pts)
Leyland 280 - 4 (B Pelser 104*, A Coates 100), Fleetwood 210 - 9 (R Smith 65, A Parker 43, D Makinson 5-42)
Morecambe v Kendal
Kendal (15 pts) beat Morecambe (3 pts) by 36 runs
Kendal 111 (J Gates 5-35), Morecambe 75 (C Miller 5-32, S Parkin 4-17)
Netherfield v Barrow
Netherfield (15 pts) beat Barrow (2 pts) by 109 runs
Netherfield 200 - 8 (B Laughlin 42), Barrow 91 (B Laughlin 6-33)
FURNESS BUILDING SOCIETY
( INCORPORATIN READERS CRICKET
BALLS )
NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Division One
| Club |
P |
W15 |
W12 |
D4 |
D1 |
L |
NR4 |
BP |
Pts |
| St Annes |
14 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
14 |
143 |
| Chorley |
13 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
27 |
128 |
| Leyland |
14 |
1 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
26 |
127 |
| Morecambe |
13 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
17** |
118 |
| Netherfield |
14 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
20 |
115 |
| Kendal |
14 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
0 |
26 |
105 |
| Darwen |
12 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
21 |
91 |
| Barrow |
14 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
6 |
0 |
35 |
88 |
| Blackpool |
13 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
26 |
86 |
| Lancaster |
13 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
0 |
16 |
74 |
| Preston |
14 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
34 |
73 |
| Carnforth |
13 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
6 |
1 |
29 |
67 |
| Fleetwood |
14 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
9 |
0 |
33 |
60 |
| Lancashire Colts |
7 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
58 |
** 2 points deducted for slow over rate
Division Two (2nd XI)
Defending champions Leyland recovered from a poor start to earn 15pts from their trip to Broadwater. Liam Hurt made 38 and Mat Watkinson 25 as Leyland reached 175, Tom Clarke bowling unchanged to take 6/78. Fleetwood were bowled out for 69 in reply, Neil Jackson making 40 of those. Danny Lamb and Steven Pallett each took four wickets.
Chorley stayed on Leyland's tails at the top after winning by six wickets at Vernon Road. Greg Whitehead hit an unbeaten 58 in St Annes' 180/8, Ian Oakes taking 4/49. David Catterall hit an unbeaten 64 and Adam Peacock 41 in Chorley's reply.
Preston earned maximum points from their home game with Carnforth despite being dismissed for 100, Mark Bradley taking 5/31 and Brad Hoyle 4/16. Carnforth were all out for 57 in reply, Afsal Kapadia taking 4/22 and Andrew Starkie 3/20.
Adrian Darlington made 95 in Blackpool's 76 runs win over Lancaster at Lune Road. Iain Parkinson carried his bat for a valiant undefeated 77 out of Lancaster's 123 in reply, Ross Parker and Nathan Bird each taking three wickets.
Stuart Nelson's fine all round display took Kendal home against Morecambe. Nelson hit 44 not out in his side's 155/9, captain Paul Dodds making 41. Nelson then took 6/57 and Andrew Dugdale 3/34 as Morecambe were all out for 136. For the visitors Club Chairman Nick Milner, who has missed much of the season through injury hit 56 and took 3/39 off 21 overs.
Netherfield earned maximum points from their trip to Ernest Pass, scoring 216/9 despite Paul Riley taking six wickets. Matthew Clinton and Stuart Dixon each took three wickets as Barrow were dismissed for 74.
SECOND DIVISION SCORES
Barrow v Netherfield
Netherfield 9 (15 pts) beat Barrow (3 pts) by 142 runs
Netherfield 216 - 9 (S Jones 45, N Dixon 40, P Riley 6/49), Barrow 74
Fleetwood v Leyland
Leyland (15 pts) beat Fleetwood (3 pts) by 106 runs
Leyland 175 (T Clarke 6-78), Fleetwood 69 (N Jackson 40, S Pallett 4-19, D Lamb 4-8)
Kendal v Morecambe
Kendal (15 pts) beat Morecmabe (3 pts) by 19 runs
Kendal 155 - 9 (S Nelson 44no, P Dodds 41), Morecambe 136 (N Milner 56, J Law 41, S Nelson 6/57)
Lancaster v Blackpool
Blackpool (15 pts) beat Lancaster by 73 runs
Blackpool 199 - 8 dec (A Darlington 95), Lancaster 123 (I Parkinson 77no)
Preston v Carnforth
Preston (15 pts) beat Carnforth (3 pts) by 43 runs
Preston 100 (M Bradley 5/31, B Hoyle 4/16), Carnforth 57 (A Kapadia 4/22)
St Annes v Chorley
Chorley (12 pts) beat St Annes (3 pts) by 6 wickets
St Annes 180 - 8 (G Whitehead 58no, I Oakes 4/49), Chorley 184/4 (D Catterall 64no, A Peacock 41)
FURNESS BUILDING SOCIETY
( INCORPORATING READERS
CRICKET BALLS )
NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Division Two
| Club |
P |
W15 |
W12 |
D4 |
D1 |
L |
NR4 |
BP |
Pts |
| Leyland |
13 |
9 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
164 |
| Chorley |
13 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
10 |
141 |
| Blackpool |
13 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
19 |
121 |
| Netherfield |
13 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
3++ |
110 |
| Darwen |
12 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
14 |
104 |
| Barrow |
13 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
34 |
93 |
| Kendal |
13 |
2 |
1 |
2*** |
0 |
6 |
2 |
23 |
82 |
| Morecambe |
13 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
0 |
21 |
81 |
| Carnforth |
13 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
7 |
1 |
29 |
74 |
| Preston |
13 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
1 |
19 |
68 |
| Fleetwood |
13 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
3 |
16 |
67 |
| St Annes |
13 |
0 |
3 |
2*** |
2 |
4 |
2 |
10++ |
65 |
| Lancaster |
13 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
8 |
0 |
15 |
51 |
++ 15points deducted
*** Tied match 5 points
