The Northern Premier League 2024 season begins delayed one week by the inclement weather through March and early April.
We welcome three new teams to the league, Euxton and Mawdesley promoted from the MHA Palace Shield and Settle from the North West League.
There are now thirteen teams in the league so each week one team will have no game. The team this week is Garstang
Unfortunately the games between Longridge v Settle and Mawdesley v Chorley were postponed and will be played at a future date.
In the four remaining games Champions Kendal lost to Fulwood & Broughton in an exciting match.
There were also wins for Fleetwood and St Annes with Leyland having a winning draw over Euxton
DIVISION ONE:
Blackpool v St Annes
St Annes won the toss at Stanley Park and decided to bat first, Yohan De Silva and Luke Jardine opened and were seperated by Matthew Grindley having Yohan De Silva caught by Josh Boyne for 8 (14 balls), 16-1
Nathan Bolus came in at three but was bowled first ball by William Vause for 0 (1 ball) 28-2, Lukman Vahaluwala was next in but on reaching 6 (13 balls) he was caught by Andrew Needham off Matthew Grindley. 40-3
The new batsman was Nathan Armstrong but he soon lost his partner Luke Jardine caught by Jake Muncaster off Matthew Grindley for 27 (44 balls), 53-4. Matthew Grindley claimed his fourth victim having Joe Davies caught by Arran Lewin for 1 (12 balls), 55-5
Mitch Bolus joined Nathan Armstrong and they dug in and had taken the score past the hundred mark when Josh Boyne bowled Nathan Armstrong for 31 (52 balls), 103-6. Josh Boyne struck again bowling Mitch Bolus for 25 (45 balls), 106-7. Ryan Birkman and James Bradley were the new batsmen, Josh Boyne quickly removed James Bradley bowled for 0 (15 balls), 116-8
Will Trohear came in at ten but withour further addition to the score he lost his partner Ryan Birkman caught by Paul Danson off Steven Mercer for 10 (30 balls) 116-9.
Thomas Bradley was the last man in and with Will Trohear had a vital partnership of 26 runs which was ended by Josh Boyne bowling Thomas Bradley for 19 (37 runs) as St Annes were all out for 142 in 45.4 overs. Will Trohear was 2no (16 balls).
The Blackpool bowling was Josh Boyne 4-10 from 11.4 overs, Matthew Grindley 4-49 off 15, William Vause 1-27 from 4 and Steven Mercer 1-54 off 15
Kasim Munir and Arran Lewin opened for the hosts but both were out with the total on 27, Kasim Munir was the first to go lbw to Lukman Vahaluwala for 15 (27 balls), 27-1. Arran Lewin followed caught behind by James Bradley off Mitch Bolus for 10 (27 balls), 27-2
Josh Boyne and Jameel Stuart were the new batsman and with olny twelve runs added it was a case of deja vu both out on the same score, James Bradley stumped Jameel Stuart off Yohan De Silva for 5 (13 balls), 39-3. Josh Boyne followed lbw to Lukman Vahaluwala for 4 (17 balls), 39-4
Once again there were two new batsmen, Andrew Needham and Jake Muncaster, Lukman Vahaluwala struck again bowling Jake Muncaster for 2 (7 balls), 41-5. Ben Howarth joined Andrew Needham and their partnership was 40 when Howarth fell caught by Luke Jardine off Thomas Bradley for 17 (40 balls), 81-6
Matthew Grindley was next in and with Needham were fighing to get back in the game but once again Lukman Vahaluwala made the vital break through taking two quick wickets, firstly trapping Andrew Needham lbw for 32 (67 balls), 97-7. he then bowled William Vause for 0 (3 balls), 97-8
Steven Mercer came in at ten and with Matthew Grindley were slowly moving towards their target until Mitch Bolus took a hand, he had Steven Mercer caught by Ryan Birkman for 9 (45 balls), 125-9, one run later he won the game for St Annes having Matthew Grindley caught behind by James Bradley for 24 (60 balls), Blackpool were 126 all out in 52.1 overs with Paul Danson 1no (8 balls)
Lukman Vahaluwala took 5-30 from 16 overs, Mitch Bolus 3-42 off 16.1, Yohan De Silva 1-20 from 9, Thomas Bradley 1-24 off 7 and Joe Davies 0-5 from 4
Kendal v Fulwood & Broughton
Fulwood & Broughton won the toss at Shap Road and invited the hosts to bat first, Freddie Fallows and Sam Dutton opened and had taken the score to 27 when Freddie Fallows was caught behind by James McWilliam off Jon Fenton for 9 (20 balls), 20-1.
The Kendal number three was Max Winskill, Jon Fenton claimed his second wicket bowling Sam Dutton for 17 (24 balls), 29-2. New man Evan Williams quickly lost his partner Max Winskill bowled by Jon Fenton for 4 (13 balls), 32-3. Bradley Earl joined Evan Williams but became Jon Fenton's fourth victim caught by Chris Brookes for 3 (7 balls), 38-4
Finlay Richardson was next in but was run out by James McWilliam for 4 (21 balls), 45-5. Lewis Richardson replaced Finlay Richardson and with Evan Williams fought to turn the innings round, however Dom Jackson had other ideas and bowled Evan Williams for 8 (35 balls), 59-6. Sam Shrap was Lewis Richardson's new partner and he dug in and they were making steady progress until Lewis Richardson was out caught and bowled by Dom Jackson for 17 (31 balls) , 74-5.
New batsman Paul Dodds did not last long lbw to Simon Kerrigan for 0 (3 balls), 75-8. Chris Miller came in and battled with Sharp, Brendan Morris was the man to make the breakthrough bowling Sam Sharp for 22 (49 balls), 97-9. Jon Fenton came back and closed the Kendal innings by bowling Louis Backhouse for 1 (6 balls) with the hosts 102 all out in 40.3 overs with Chris Miller 8no (35 balls).
Jon Fenton lead the way with 5-33 from 13.3 overs supported by Dom Jackson 2-23 off 9, Brendan Morris 1-11 from 4, Simon Kerrigan 1-13 off 7 and Chris Brookes 0-14 from 7
Ben Parkinson and Matthew Smith were the openers for the visitors and they were both out early, Ben Parkinson went first bowled by Louis Backhouse for 1 (10 balls), 1-1, Matthew Smith soon followed caught by Bradley Earl off Sam Sharp for 2 (3 balls), 3-2. The new batsmen were Brendan Morris and Simon Kerrigan, Sam Sharp claimed his second wicket Brendan Morris caught by Evan Williams for 2 (6 balls), 7-3
James McWilliam came in at five. Sam Sharp continued his demolition of the visitors top order with two more wickets, Simon Kerrigan was trapped lbw for 1 (24 balls), 15-4, next he bowled James McWilliam for for 12 (22 balls),22-5.
Muhammad Zaid and Jon Fenton were given the task to turn the game around, Louis Backhouse soon removed Muhammad Zaid lbw for 4 (7 balls), 26-6. Mark Smith replaced Zaid and dug in, his partner had made 5 (25 balls) when he was caught by Evan Williams off Freddie Fallow, 33-7. things did not improve for the visitors when James Lupton was caught behind by Finlay Richardson off Sam Sharp for 9 (21 balls), 48-8
Dom Jackson became Mark Smith's next partner but was out lbw to Max Winskill for 5 (17 balls), 63-9. The visitors last man was Chris Brookes and with Mark Smith they slowly began the fight back with a match winning partnership of 42 to win the match closing on 105-9 in 55.5 overs. Mark Smith was 35no (120 balls) and Chris Brookes 16no (82 balls).
The Kendal bowling was Sam Sharp 5-35 from 16.5 overs, Louis Backhouse 2-17 off 14, Max Winskill 1-19 from 4, Freddie Fallows 1-20 off 18 and Evan Williams 0-9 from 3
Leyland v Euxton
Leyland entertained newcomers Euxton to The Stanning Memorial ground, Euxton won the toss and put the hosts into bat, Karl Cross and James Critchley were the opening pair, Karl Cross was the first to go caught by Max Harper off Joseph Bowden for 3 (21 balls), 14-1.
Jacob Wright came in at three, their partnership was 36 when Jacob Wright was caught by Joseph Bowden off Joseph Barker for 11 (35 balls), 50-2. Next in was Kutis Watson who lost his partner James Critchley caught by Dave McCabe off James Bone for 40 (58 balls), 65-3
Ross Bretherton joined Kurtis Watson and they took control of the innings with a partnership of 88 broken by Jack Shovelton bowling Ross Bretherton for 26 (86 balls), 153-4. New batsman Andrew Makinson 10no (9 balls) and Kurtis Watson 56no (91 balls) saw the hosts close on 174-4 in their 50 overs
The Euxton bowling was Joseph Bowden 1-12 from 7 overs, Joseph Barker 1-17 off 3, James Bone 1-30 from 7, Jack Shovelton 1-32 off 10 and Aneeq Hassan 0-40 from 15
The opening batsmen for Euxton were Max Harper and Chris Pearson, Their opening partnership was 25 broken when Chris Pearson was caught behind by Adan Sexton off Kurtis Watson for 16 (38 balls).
The new batsman was James Bone and with only twelve runs added Ross Bretherton bowled Max Harper for 11 (49 balls), 37-2, Iain Critchley quickly removed incoming batsman Aneeq Hassan lbw for 2 (9 balls), 44-3. Zane Gilder joined James Bone and were doing well until Kurtis Waston struck having James Bone caught by Karl Cross for 35 (67 balls), 87-4
Jack Shovelton was Zane Gilder's new partner but soon became Kurtis Watson's third victim caught by Benjamin Baker for 2 (9 balls), 95-5. Dave McCabe came to the wicket and with Gilder looked to be moving into a good position only for Andrew Jacques to break the partnership having Dave McCabe caught by James Critchley for 10 (16 balls), 132-6. Ross Bretherton quickly accounted for new batsman Joseph Barker bowling him for 0 (7 balls), 139-7
Four more runs were added when Andrew Jacques removed any chance of a visitors victory with the wicket of Zane Gilder caught by James Critchley for 58 (86 balls), 143-8. Thomas Wilcock 0no (11 balls) and Danny Curtis 3no (23 balls) saw the remaing few overs out as Euxton closed on 146-8 in their 50 overs
The bowling figures for the hosts was Kurtis Watson 3-31 from 11 overs, Ross Bretherton 2-30 off 15, Andrew Jacques 2-35 from 10, Iain Critchley 1-28 off 10 and Benjamin Baker 0-20 from 4
Longridge v Settle
Match postponed to be played by 4th August
Mawdesley v Chorley
Match postponed to be played by 4th August
Netherfield v Fleetwood
Fleetwood won the toss at Parkside Road and invited the hosts to bat first, The Nethefield opening pair were Josh Dixon and Reece Irving, Josh Dixon was the first man out caught by Adam Sharrocks off Declan Clerkin for 8 (26 balls), 17-1.
Number three was Ben Barrow who lost his partner Reece Irving bowled by Declan Clerkin for 12 (26 balls), 28-2. New man in was John Huck who quickly became Declan Clerkin's third wicket caught by Andy Drake for 0 (6 balls), 30-3.
Lewis Edge joined Ben Barrow but he fell lbw to Matthew Siddall for 8 (17 balls), 44-4. Will Beeden was Ben Barrow's next partner and they began to rebuild the innings, Ben Barrow had to leave the field and was replaced by Oli Wileman who fell lbw to Matthew Siddall for 1 (6 balls) 80-5
Isaac Medhurst was the new batsman and with Will Beeden continued the good progress until he was stumped by Harry McAleer off Vathsal Govind for 15 (36 balls), 113-6. Ben Barrow returned and carried on were he had left off. Matthew Siddall was the partnership breaker bowling Ben Barrow for 45 (77 balls), 134-7
Samuel Medhurst was next in but on reaching 2 (5 balls) he was caught by Declan Clerkin off Jeremy Davies, 138-8. Josh Wills 10no (9 balls) joined Will Beeden 55 (94 balls) and the took the score to 159-9 in their 50 overs with Will Beeden being run out on the last ball of the innings.
All the Fleetwood bowers took a wicket lead by Declan Clerkin 3-34 from 10 overs, Matthew Siddall 3-53 off 15, Jeremy Davies 1-30 from 10 and Vathsal Govind 1-42 off 15
The Fleetwood openers were Tomas King and Andy Drake, they gave the visitors a good start with an opening partnership of 42 broken when Tomas King was caught by Reece Irving off Josh Wills for 33 (23 balls), 42-1,
The introduction of Isaac Medhurst into the attack saw him claim two quick wickets, first Andy Drake was bowled for 6 (18 balls) 49-2 quickly followed by Vathsal Govind bowled for 7 (19 balls), 50-3. Adam Sharrocks and Jeremy Davies were the new batsmen and had added 28 when Oli Wileman trapped Jeremy Davies lbw for 17 (29 balls), 78-4.
Harry McAleer joined Adam Sharrocks and with McAleer scoring at more than a run a ball took the visitors to victory reaching 160-4 in 33.3 overs, Harry McAleer was 50no(43 balls) with Adam Sharrocks 28no (78 balls).
The Netherfield bowling was Isaac Medhurst 2-23 from 9.3 overs, Oli Wileman 1-13 off 3, Josh Wills 1-19 from 7, Reece Irving 0-12 off 2, Matt Jackson 0-18 from 5 and Samuel Medhurst 0-63 off 7
FIRST DIVISION SCORES
Blackpool v St Annes
St Annes (15 pts) defeated Blackpool (5pts) by 16 runs
St Annes 142 (Josh Boyne 4-10, Matthew Grindley 4-49), Blackpool 126 (Lukman Vahaluwala 5-30)
Kendal v Fulwood & Broughton
Fulwood & Broughton (15 pts) defeated Kendal (3 pts) by 3 runs
Fulwood & Broughton 105-9 (Sam Sharp 5-35), Kendal 102 (Jon Fenton 5-33)
Leyland v Euxton
Leyland (9pts) winning draw Euxton (2 pts)
Leyland 174-4 (Kurtis Watson 56no, James Critchley 40), Euxton 146-8 (Zane Gilder 58)
Longridge v Settle
Match Postponed
Mawdesley v Chorley
Match postponed
Netherfield v Fleetwood
Fleetwood (15 pts) defeated Netherfield (1 pt) by 6 wickets
Netherfield 159-9 (Will Beeden 55, Ben Barrow 45), Fleetwood 160-4 (Harry McAleer 50no)
