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CHAMPIONS START WELL
D.S.L. champions in 2005 and 2006, started with a six wicket win at Woodbank, thanks to Dave Morrell’s fourteenth 5 wicket haul (5-30) and 3-31 for Rashid Nadeem. Woodbank were dismissed for 110 and then Barry Williams scored 30 in their five point win. With Paul Green joining the champions, who would bet against them achieving a hat trick of titles.
Cheetham Hill had also reinforced during the close season, Mo Afzal coming from Irlam as captain and three ex-players, Modi Ali, Ghulam Abbas and Imran Mirza, joining from Denton. They bowled Woodhouses out for 176 at Catherine Road after having them on 76-6. James Clarke (35) and New Zealand overseas player Fraser Quarterman (56) then added 88 with the latter’s 50 coming in 50 balls. Ali with 4-40 and Abbas (3-39) paved the way for Mirza’s 26th fifty (78). Kutty (27) was out with the scores level, but Hill ran out by seven wickets.
Roe Green had replaced pro Paul Green with another ex-player, Danny Jones, signed from Oulton Park along with Stuart Eaton and Paul Berry with Oliver Rowland-Jones, a colleague of Danny’s from Leeds University, also playing. At Throstle Bank Street, Flowery Field were bowled out for 119, Adam Quinn top scoring with 37. Stuart Eaton (3-33) and Gareth Williams (3-21) were the main wicket takers and Roe Green won by 8 wickets with Rowland-Jones scoring 53 and Paul Berry unbeaten on 37.
Other five point winners were Denton West, Irlam and Glossop with West enjoying a 5 wicket win over Stand at Windsor Park. The visitors recovered from 83-8 to post a total of 161 with Lee Chadwick scoring 51 and Paul Duerden 29 in a 64 run partnership. Dave Letven took 4-36 and Kevin Sample 3-19. West were also in trouble at 103-5 (John Skellington 2-25) before Andy O’Brien (33) and Jason Stringer (30) were both unbeaten.
Irlam’s young captain Liam Parkinson scored 61 and Dave Castle 68 as they put on 124 for the first wicket but they were all out for 181 with Chandi Wathukarage taking 7-48. Rick Blackman however, surpassed these figures by taking 7-35 as Thornham were bowled out for 102.
Glossop recorded the narrowest of wins, one wicket, as they passed Denton’s 146 all out. Captain Danny Walker scored 40 but Bhatiya Perera (5-39) and Greg Harwick (3-21) bowled well for the home side. Glossop’s captain Adam Wilson was unbeaten on 34 as he and Will Hargreaves (4*) saw Glossop home. Andrew Neill (5-56) and Danny Rice (4-84) were the Denton bowlers who bowled throughout the innings.
Prestwich were without their injured pro Craig Duxbury for the first few matches of the season and fell just short of Dukinfield’s 184-9d. Dukinfield pro Andrew Gleave scored 85 and put on 97 for the first wicket with Kabal Akram (38), Chris Humphreys taking 3-34. Michael Hudson (34) and Ian Walker (68) put on 109 for Prestwich’s 2nd wicket but Gleave with 6-46 saw the visitors finish on 180-8.
THORNHAM UPSET CHAMPIONS
The big story at the beginning of May was Thornham’s 50 run win over DSL at Sycamore Park. James Maurice-Scott scored 84 and Steve Grey 54 as Thornham scored 256-5d and then four wickets each for Ian Gilbertson and Chandi Wathukarage bowled DSL out for 206 with Matt Hawley (54) recording his first fifty. It was a bit of a turn round to the 2006 result when 8-12 from Jason Bennett bowled Thornham out for 41.
Cheetham Hill moved top with a comprehensive win on Mo Afzal’s return to Liverpool Road. Yousef Anwar scored 75 in Hill’s 221-8d (Gaz Burns 3-8) and then Vilas Kutty (4-38) and Ghulam Abbas (4-17) bowled Irlam out for 75.
Glossop, West and Dukinfield were tied one point behind Hill with Glossop taking four points at Stand after restricting them to 162-9d. Paul Duerden’s unbeaten 29 helped add 34 for the last wicket but the visitors made light work of the target, winning by seven wickets. Bhatiya Perera scored 68 as Glossop recovered from 68-3 (Trent Scott 3-63).
West also took 4 points at Egerton Street. John McAllister (61) and Andy O’Brien (31) helped them to a total of 195-8d despite Andrew Neill’s 7-75 off 25 overs. Denton’s run chase ended 11 runs short with the last pair at the wicket, Janek Patel scoring his maiden fifty (53) and putting on 78 for the 7th wicket with Danny Walker (31). Dave Letven was the pick of the West bowlers with 4-21.
Dukinfield’s first 5 pointer of the season came at Greenleach Lane when they bowled Roe Green out for 94 in reply to 197-8d. Paul Turner followed his top score 39 with 4-16 and Green’s pro Danny Jones followed his 3-51 with a top score 34.
Ghulam Abbas hit four sixes in his 37 as Woodbank were bowled out for 140 at The Heys. Andrew Taylor and Phil Kyle shared six wickets and then Michael Hudson (48) and Steve Orrell (31) posted 80 for the first wicket to set up a six wicket win.
Woodhouses first win was a narrow one wicket margin at home to Flowery Field. Chris Atherton (5-32) recorded his 20th five wicket take as Flowery were bowled out for 137 (Mark Dyson 23). Damien Eyre (5-53) and Glyn Middleton (4-67) reduced the home side to 110-9 before Alan Starmer (18*) and Doug Sloan (9*) saw them to victory.
DSL STEAL A MARCH
Six matches were rain affected draws carrying two points each, but DSL had an easy ten wicket win after bowling Flowery Field out for 107. Esuan Crandon took 4-41 and Dave Morrell 4-20 before Crandon hit 6 sixes in his first fifty (80*), his fifty coming off 39 balls.
Cheetham Hill scored 165-6d in the local derby against Prestwich with Prestwich “old boys” Imran Mirza scoring an unbeaten 75 and Modi Ali 50. The rains came before Prestwich could reply.
The bad weather must have been coming from the East as Woodhouses were 19-0 before the players left the field at Glossop but at Denton West an interesting finish was in prospect as Roe Green were 130-3 in reply to the home side’s 212-7d (Mike Berry 49). Brett Cullen (58) and Stuart Eaton (44) added 120 for Roe Green’s second wicket.
Irlam scored 215-5d at Dukinfield but Kabeel Akram (70*) and Mark Stringer (49*) were going well in reply with Dukinfield on 138-2. Liam Parkinson scored 44 and Karl Taylor 50 not out, his first for Irlam.
Danny Rice scored 92 and Rory Woods 58 not out in Denton’s 201-2d and Thornham were 50-2 when the bad weather came.
Stand’s Trent Scott took 5-65 in Woodbank’s 172-10 with Stand 56-3 in reply.
THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME
The first Sunday League match day was a taste of what was to become a miserable year for weather. Only three matches started, Irlam were 74-6 at Stand (Matthew Curphy 3-9), Denton 22-2 at Woodbank and Thornham 43-9 at home to Flowery Field. Damian Eyre took 6-9 in 12 overs.
WET MAY CONTINUES
Four of the seven league matches were rain affected and at Thornham against Cheetham Hill not a ball was bowled.
DSL again beat the weather to jump four places and sit on top of the table. They bowled Dukinfield out for 89 at Sycamore Park with Andrew Eastwood (42) helping the visitors recover from 4-6. Esuan Crandon (4-49) and Rashid Nadeem (3-20) did the damage and then Crandon scored 49 in a nine wicket win.
Glossop remained in third place, being on 84-2 in reply to West’s 208-9d (Scott Kirwin 49, William Hargreaves 4-42). West had the same number of points as Glossop.
Prestwich’s game against Flowery Field was interestingly poised with Flowery on 99-6 in reply to the home side’s 137-10. Damian Eyre took 8-54 off 23 overs and Chris Humphreys took 3-47 for Prestwich.
Oliver Rowland-Jones’ first “five for” (6-54) put Irlam out for 174 and Roe Green were 37-1 in reply when the rain came.
Andrew Neill and Danny Rice shared all ten wickets as they bowled Stand out for 72, but Denton lost six wickets before they passed Stand’s total (Trent Scott 5-14).
Steve Loster scored 54 out of Woodbank’s 118 and this proved 22 too many for Woodhouses, only Mike Cassidy’s 43 resisting Sajid Shah (6-32) and Saeed Wasif (4-36).
CHEETHAM HILL GO TOP
Cheetham Hill replaced DSL at the top with a 7 wicket win against the champions at Catherine Road. Esuan Crandon (67) and Steve Dublin (51*) took the Saints to 205-8d but good contributions from Yousef Anwer (54), Imran Mirza (63*) and Modi Ali (44) gave 4 points to the home side.
Dukinfield reached their highest position of the season with a nine wicket win over Thornham that took them to second place. James Maurice-Scott’s 47 top scored in Thornham’s 118-10 (Paul Turner 5-32, Andrew Eastwood 4-17 off 18 overs) but after losing their first wicket on 23, Andrew Gleave (63*) and Mark Roberts (34*) added an unbeaten 100 to win the game.
Prestwich moved up to fourth with a fine bowling display against Denton. The home side were 13-7 and 25-8 before finally reaching 71, Prestwich winning by seven wickets with 33 from Michael Hudson. Earlier Chris Humphreys had taken 5-24.
Glossop dropped two places to fifth when they had to be content with one point at Roe Green, finishing on 172-8 (Bhatiya Perera 67) in reply to Green’s 208-8d. Perera took 4-51 and Sean Flegg’s 74 was his tenth fifty in the League.
West also dropped two places when they suffered a similar fate at Flowery Field. Stuart Dolan (77), Adam Quinn (45) and David Dickin (41*) all contributed in the home side’s 257-6d and then Damian Eyre (4-62) and Simon Woods (3-43) had West on 197-9 at the close (Lee Dale 48).
Woodhouses (8th) and Woodbank (9th) both moved up three places with 5 pointers at Stand and Irlam respectively. Daniel Britton scored 41 in ‘Houses 194-8d (Trent Scott 5-68) and then 5-40 from Chris Atherton and 3-26 from Fraser Quarterman bowled Stand out for 122.
Woodbank could muster only 102 at Irlam (Rick Blackman 4-33, Gaz Burns 4-41) but Saj Shah with 6-24 put Irlam to the sword, dismissing them for 71.
GREEN AND DUBLIN TAKE SAINTS TOP
As we moved into June it was very tight at the top with six teams being separated by 2 points. Paul Green took 7-49 as Irlam were bowled out for 144 and then he followed this with 53* as he and Steve Dublin (57*) added an unbeaten 100 for the 3rd wicket in an eight wicket win for St. Lawrence.
Prestwich moved up to 2nd on the same points as they repeated the margin of victory over Stand by nine wickets. Matthew Curphy scored 40 of Stand’s 98 (Peter Walters 3-17, Andrew Taylor 3-20) and Craig Duxbury (39) and Ian Walker (47) were unbeaten in the Prestwich reply.
Glossop racked up 278-6d at North Road with Dale Pennington scoring 111 and adding 134 for the 3rd wicket with Bhatiya Perera (73). Perera had a day to remember as he followed up with 7-52 as Dukinfield were dismissed for 170 (Andrew Gleave 50).
Denton West moved up to 4th after scoring 248-8d against Thornham (Mike Berry 57, Scott Kirwin 42) and in reply Steve Grey scored 43 but Thornham were bowled out for 169.
Cheetham Hill’s spectacular defeat at Woodbank dropped them four places to 5th. Neil Ridehaugh hit an unbeaten 90 in Woodbank’s 191-9d (Modi Ali 6-60) and this was followed by Sajid Shah (4-48) and Saeed Wasif (4-16) bowling Hill out for 75.
Roe Green moved up to 6th with a narrow three run win against Woodhouses after scoring 204-6d. Brett Cullen scored 52 and Danny Jones 76, his fifty coming in 48 balls, before Stuart Eaton’s first five wicket haul (for 54) saw Woodhouses bowled out for 201. Daniel Britton’s 90 was the twelfth time he had passed fifty.
Flowery Field were the big movers, up three places to 10th, when Damian Eyre’s 7-49 bowled Denton out for 139. He followed this with a top score 36 not out as Flowery recovered from 85-7 to win by three wickets.
DENTON’S DERBY WIN SENDS PRESTWICH TOP
The following day, DSL traveled the short distance to Egerton Street and Andrew Neill showed his all round ability with a top score 42 in Denton’s 170 all out. Martin Leech scored 40 and Dave Morrell took 4-44. Neill followed with 4-41 and Martin Parker recorded his first “five-for” (6-70) as DSL were dismissed for 113 (Barry Williams 26).
Prestwich meanwhile moved to the top of the League when they bowled Irlam out for 157 at Liverpool Road (Gaz Burns 41, Karl Taylor 38). Peter Walters was hitting form prior to the following week’s Inter-League match against the Bolton League with 3-6 and Gareth Barnes added two stumpings to his two catches. Craig Duxbury’s 81 secured a six wicket win for Prestwich.
Glossop remained on their coat tails with a seven wicket win against Flowery Field. Chris Hemmings took 4-23 and Bhatiya Perera 3-28 as Flowery scored 119 and Perera followed up with an unbeaten 43 in a seven wicket win (Oliver Kenyon 41).
Cheetham Hill moved up from 5th to 3rd, albeit by the skin of their teeth in chasing Stand’s 187-10. Matthew Holt scored 39 and Ghulam Abbas took 4-44 but it was Hill keeper Zubair Ahmed who took the eye with seven victims behind the stumps. Abbas followed with 60 and Vilas Kutty added to his “ton” in the 2006 fixture with a 47 ball fifty (52) as the home side reached 191 for a one wicket win.
West’s four points against Dukinfield kept them in 4th place. Kabeel Akram’s 61 steered the visitors to 221-7d and the home side then struggled to 101-6 before Andy O’Brien (52*) and Kevin Sample (68*) saw West to victory with no further alarms.
Woodbank moved up two places to 5th after Neil Ridehaugh’s 69 took them to 185-9d (Stuart Eaton 5-73). Eaton then scored 40 but Sajid Shah produced the best figures of the season with 9-41 as Roe Green were bowled out for 135.
Woodhouses visited Thornham and recorded the highest score of the year with 340-3d. Mike Cassidy (78) and Chris Atherton (60) paved the way with an opening stand of 144 before an 81 ball ton (109*) by James Clarke and a quick fire 58* (30 ball fifty) from Fraser Quarterman put on 141 for the fourth wicket. Steve Grey made 32 in reply but Thornham were bowled out for 159, to move Woodhouses up a place to 8th.
TOP TWO CLASH LEAVES PRESTWICH IN POLE POSITION
Batting first at The Heys, Chris Thomas scored an unbeaten 64 (his first fifty) and Peter Walters 47 in a Prestwich total of 210-7d (Greg Harwick 4-58) and Glossop picked up a point in replying with 178-8 (Andrew Taylor 3-38).
Cheetham Hill’s five pointer at home to West moved them to within a point of Prestwich. Modi Ali’s 58 in a total of 278-4d was followed by 112 from Imran Mirza and an unbeaten 67 from Vilas Kutty (40 ball fifty). Mirza’s innings was his 29th over fifty, but the first time he had carried on to three figures. Scott Kirwin (49) and Jason Stringer (43*) top scored in a Denton West total of 197 with Ghulam Abbas taking 5-43.
Woodbank, a further point behind, moved up to 3rd despite scoring only 157 against Thornham. James Maurice-Scott (3-12) and brother Danny (3-21) did most damage for Thornham and John Lord top scored with 36 for Woodbank. James followed with 48 and Zain Khan 34* but that man Shah (7-33) starred again as Thornham were bowled out for 122.
DSL got back to winning ways and moved up to 4th after Paul Green’s 61 took them to 208-6d. Esuan Crandon’s 6-44 was his first “five for” and at one stage Stand were 27-8 before Chris Holt (33) and Alex Beirne (40) took the total to 101-9 and finally 118 all out.
Ashley Williams and Steve Heaton rescued Roe Green from 106-7 to record a three wicket win chasing Denton’s 148-10. Stuart Eaton took 6-62, his best figures, and Rob Prill scored 41 for the home side.
Woodhouses had to settle for two points against Irlam when they closed on 232-4 in a rain affected game chasing a total of 241-9d. Andy Ruddy scored 79 and Karl Taylor a 33 ball fifty with Chris Atherton taking 4-53. Atherton followed this with 79 and James Clarke 62* in Woodhouses’ reply.
Dukinfield and Flowery Field also shared four points in the local derby with Flowery 165-8 chasing Dukinfield’s 191-7d. Andrew Gleave (68) and David Gandy (53) were the top scorers for the home side.
DUXBURY EXTENDS PRESTWICH LEAD
Denton West performed the double over Prestwich in 2006 but the home side made amends in this match with a nine wicket win after West were dismissed for 105. Chris Humphreys took 3-30 and pro Craig Duxbury 4-23 before scoring an unbeaten 43 as he and Ian Walker (38*) saw Prestwich home.
DSL moved back to 2nd with Paul Green’s 79* in a total of 176-8d being his 125th score of fifty or over. Fraser Quarterman took 4-42 and James Clarke took six catches for Woodhouses. Daniel Britton (53*) top scored for them but 4-50 from Esuan Crandon and 5-42 for Steve Hampson bowled Woodhouses out for 123.
Glossop’s 4 points against Woodbank left them a point behind DSL in 3rd place. William Hargreaves took 5-60 in Woodbank’s 180-8d (Neil Ridehaugh 65*, Sajid Shah 56) and then 90 from Bhatiya Perera saw Glossop win by five wickets.
Cheetham Hill dropped to 4th when they were bowled out for 87 at Denton, Andrew Neill taking 4-35 and Martin Parker 5-23. Captain Danny Walker’s unbeaten 28 took Denton to a four wicket win despite 2-17 in 15 overs from Ghulam Abbas and 2-11 off 9 by Manny Khan.
Roe Green stayed 6th after piling up 284-4d at home to Thornham. Sean Flegg (120) and Paul Berry (107*) added 153 for the second wicket and then Danny Jones took 6-74 as Thornham earned a point, closing on 222-8 (Chandi Wathukarage 65).
Stand’s first win of the season came at Dukinfield’s expense who scored 158-8d (Paul Turner 37). Paul Duerden’s maiden fifty and 43 from Matthew Curphy realised 104 for the third wicket as Stand won by three wickets (Andrew Gleave 4-39).
Irlam and Flowery Field exchanged places with Flowery batting first and scoring 201-9d. A 42 ball fifty from Steve Chambers (79*) was countered by 7-77 from Rick Blackman. David Dickin took 4-33 for Flowery but a third wicket stand of 102 by Saj Ahmed (76) and Andy Ruddy (54) gave Irlam a three wicket win.
KYLE KNOCKS ‘HOUSES DOWN
Prestwich’s Phil Kyle won the 2nd XI bowling averages in 2006 and rightly booked himself into the 1st XI at the start of the season. He had picked up vital wickets but this was his first “five for” as he took Woodhouses’ last seven wickets for 13 in 9.5 overs to bowl them out for 120. Michael Hudson (53) and Craig Duxbury (45) had earlier taken Prestwich to 174-6d (Darryl Sloan 4-28).
DSL were staring defeat in the face at 103-9 in reply to Roe Green’s 113 but they scored the 11 more they needed despite 5-44 from Danny Jones. In the first innings Paul Berry scored 30 and the wicket takers for DSL were Esuan Crandon (4-53) and Steve Hampson (6-15). This was Hampson’s 20th five wickets in an innings.
Glossop remained in 3rd place even though they were limited to four points at Thornham. James Maurice-Scott hit his second “ton” (118*) in 76 balls as the home side scored 233-7d but Glossop recorded a six wicket win thanks to Dale Pennington (55), Bhatiya Perera (62) and Imran Zaman (50*). Zaman’s fifty came in 50 balls but Perera bettered this, his coming in 39.
Cheetham Hill remained 4th, but they too had to settle for four points at Dukinfield. Mark Stringer scored 51 but Dukinfield were restricted to 128-9d with Ghulam Abbas taking 6-40. Andrew Gleave (4-40) and Simon Collins (3-33) made sure Hill didn’t have it all their own way, but 52 from the prolific Imran Mirza (his 30th) took them to a two wicket win.
West moved up two places to 5th after bowling Woodbank out for 131 at Windsor Park. Dave Letven took 6-43 and Michael Batty 3-19. West lost five wickets as they reached their target with Sajid Shah taking them all for 48 runs.
Andrew Neill (again) took five wickets (for 66) at Irlam who totaled 190-9d and then 56* from Andrew Leech (his tenth) and 40 from Danny Walker gave Denton a three wicket win (Rick Blackman 4-75 off 25 overs).
Flowery Field leapfrogged Irlam with four points against Stand who compiled 127-9d, Damian Eyre taking 7-55. Flowery won by six wickets, Steve Chambers scoring an unbeaten 32.
TABLE TOP CLASH A WASH OUT
Prestwich were hoping for a repeat of their 2006 game with DSL when Humphreys and Bradley shared the wickets in bowling them out for 88, but not this time, their match, together with the other six matches, was washed out without a ball being bowled.
SAINTS CUT PRESTWICH LEAD IN HALF
Prestwich again suffered due to the wet weather when their match at Thornham didn’t get underway because of the wet wicket. Matches were played at every other ground, albeit some being reduced overs and in a 35 overs game at DSL, Glossop were restricted to 115-9d. Bhatiya Perera’s 43 gave him over 500 runs for the season and Esuan Crandon (4-54) and Steve Hampson (3-27) did the damage with the ball. Scott Allen (50) and Steve Dublin (40*) gave St. Lawrence a six wicket win.
Cheetham Hill took advantage and swapped places with Glossop after bowling Flowery Field out for 87. Vilas Kutty took 3-36 and Modi Ali 4-8 off 8 overs before Imran Mirza (40) and Mohsin Saleem (39*) gave Hill a seven wicket win.
Woodbank moved up to 5th, level on points with Roe Green and Denton West. Sajid Shah’s 5-20 took him to 50 wickets as Dukinfield were bowled out for 51 and then David McCheyne steered Woodbank to a seven wicket victory.
Roe Green’s victory over Stand was even more comfortable with Danny Jones reaching his ton in 90 balls on his way to 135*. It was his first century and Paul Berry scored 78 before retiring hurt in Roe Green’s 250-3d. Jones then took 4-10 and Stuart Eaton 6-27 as Gary Penchion’s 8 was Stand’s top score in an all out total of 43.
Denton West dropped two places to 7th despite four points against Irlam, with Dave Letven taking 5-54 in a total of 118-7d. Glen Bullock (35*) and Andy O’Brien (29) took West from 57-5 to 105-6 before victory with no further alarms.
Woodhouses exchanged places with Denton despite scoring only 120 at Egerton Street. Danny Rice took 6-40 and at one stage ‘Houses were 70-8. Danny Walker scored 34 but four wickets each for Fraser Quarterman and Chris Atherton put Denton out for 93.
NO CHANGE AT TOP
The season moved into its second half with leaders Prestwich entertaining Dukinfield at The Heys. Phil Kyle took 5-20 in Dukinfield’s 83 all out and then a 43 ball fifty from Ian Walker gave Prestwich a seven wicket win.
In a 33 over match at DSL, the home side scored 191-7d with Matthew Wake scoring 50* and Steve Dublin 45. Sajid Shah took 4-77 but Esuan Crandon eclipsed this with 7-24 as Woodbank could muster only 43 (Steve Hampson 2-0)
F. Sheazad’s first 5 for (for 62) bowled Woodhouses out for 136 (Phill Sutcliffe 40) and then 51 from Yusef Anwar and an unbeaten 39 from Vilas Kutty gave Cheetham Hill a six wicket win after being 86-4.
West moved up three places to 4th when they passed Stand’s 132-8d for the loss of five wickets. Trent Scott scored 53 and Michael Batty took four Stand wickets for 31 before Lee Dale’s 48 ball fifty and an unbeaten 38 from Andy O’Brien saw West home.
Glossop missed out at Denton when from 93-7 chasing the home side’s 103, they scored only another single. Andrew Neill continued his excellent season with his 5-43 being his 40th five wicket take. Denton were previously in trouble at 39-5 before mounting a recovery.
David Williams (48) and Lee Knowles (42*) helped Flowery Field to 171-8d at Greenleach Lane before Damian Eyre’s 5-51, and 50 wickets for the season, bowled Roe Green out for 122 (Mo Malik 40).
Thornham’s win at Irlam exchanged their places with the home side scoring 135-9d (Saj Ahmed 65). James Maurice-Scott took 4-15 and followed this up with 58* in Thornham’s five wicket win (Chandi Wathukarage 57).
ANOTHER WASH OUT, NOW THERE’S A SURPRISE!!
The horrendous wet weather meant another two points for all teams with only Woodhouses getting to the wicket, reaching 77-2 at Flowery Field before the elements intervened. I have been involved in club cricket for more years than I care to remember and I have never experienced such a wet season before. I didn’t realise that global warming meant that the rain wasn’t as cold as before!!
NO GAMES RAINED OFF
The “double header” came at the end of July and there were 14 results from 14 matches with not a single game rained off. Any more of this and we’ll get spoilt!!
Prestwich extended their lead to seven points after a nail biting finish against Cheetham Hill at The Heys. The Prestwich total of 220-5d was spread between Peter Walters (50* with four sixes), Craig Duxbury (43), Steve Orrell (46) and Ian Walker (37) and at 134-7 it looked all over for Hill. Atif Bajwa then hit four sixes in a quick fire 39 following Vilas Kutty’s 54 as their last wicket fell on 211.
Matthew Wake scored an undefeated 38 but DSL were bowled out for 72 against Flowery Field (Damien Eyre 6-29, Glyn Middleton 4-38). Previously Mark Dyson had top scored with 36 in Flowery’s 141 all out, Crandon, Nadeem and Dublin taking three wickets each.
Denton West stayed 4th with a win at Roe Green with Gareth Senior scoring 105 and Scott Kirwin 41 in a total of 233-7d. Danny Jones followed his three wickets with a top score 48 but Green were bowled out for 146.
Glossop’s win at Woodhouses kept them in 5th position with Bhatiya Perera scoring 71 in Glossop’s 217-8d (Fraser Quarterman 4-67). Will Hargreaves then took 6-43 as Woodhouses were bowled out for 150 (Phill Sutcliffe 58, Mike Cassidy 41).
Woodbank could score only 142 at Hamilton Road but then 6-36 from Saj Shah (his 10th 5 for) and 4-20 from Saeed Wasif left Stand 18 runs short.
Denton moved into the top half of the table when Janek Patel’s 50 helped them from 30-5 to 110-6 before finally totaling 132-7d. Stephen Wharton and Danny Rice shared six wickets as Thornham were bowled out for 97.
Dukinfield moved up a place thanks to Mark Stringer’s fiftieth 50 (75*) in a total of 195-5d (Rick Blackman 4-56). Andrew Eastwood with 5-21 and Simon Collins (3-35) bowled Irlam out for 99 (Saj Ahmed 33).
CRANDON AND MORELL SHATTER WEST
DSL scored 266-8d at Windsor Park and pulled a point back on Prestwich when they bowled West out for 85 in the local derby. Adam Hawley’s 55 paved the way for Esuan Crandon’s first century (117*). His fifty came in 42 balls and he reached 100 in only another 19 with 7 sixes. Michael Batty’s 16 was top score in the home side’s 85 as Dave Morrell’s 15th “5 for” gave him the impressive figures of 9-37.
Prestwich dropped a point at Roe Green, but it would have been 5 lost but for Peter Walters brilliant unbeaten 70. Craig Duxbury took 4-25 off 20 overs as Roe Green scored 119-9d but with Danny Jones and Julian Bentley hitting the pads regularly to take seven wickets between them, Prestwich were reduced to 90-9. Farming the bowling and relying on Phil Kyle’s forward defence (0*) Walters’ third fifty for Prestwich was one of, if not the, best knocks I have seen in the League and he carried Prestwich to a one wicket win.
Imran Mirza’s unbeaten 40 against Glossop took Cheetham Hill to a seven wicket win and him past 500 runs for the season. In Glossop’s 158-9d Joe Moss scored 36 and Ghulam Abbas took 4-48.
Woodbank stayed 6th even though they were bowled out for 65 at Denton. Saj Shah top scored with 24 as C. Parker took 7-11 in 13 overs, his first “5 for” and what figures! Shah then took 4-13 in 17 overs with 12 maidens but Denton lost no more wickets in their victory chase to join Woodbank on 43 points.
Flowery Field chalked up 273 against Thornham with League XI captain Mark Dyson falling one short of his century. Steve Chambers fifty came in 36 balls with 6 sixes on his way to 81 as they took the score from 107-5 to 209-6. M. Imran took 4-72 for Thornham and followed this with 46* in their reply of 214-7. Danny Maurice-Scott scored 46 and brother James went past 600 runs for the season with Damian Eyre taking 4-71.
Woodhouses went ahead of Dukinfield following their away win with Fraser Quarterman scoring 60 in a total of 167-8d. Joe Wolfenden took 5-27 as Dukinfield were bowled out for 104 (Andrew Gleave 37).
Irlam kept Stand at the foot of the table after scoring 208 at Liverpool Road. Saj Ahmed (96) and Chris Hilton (79) added 168 for the second wicket and Carl Sutcliffe took 5-56 for Stand. Ahmed completed an excellent day with 5-33 and Gaz Burns took 3-42 as Stand were bowled out for 114.
DUXBURY KEEPS PRESTWICH TOP
The top three teams all dropped a point to leave it “as you were” with Prestwich batting first at Flowery Field to score 250-3d. Mike Hudson (75) and Craig Duxbury (77) had 120 on the board for the first wicket and then a quick fire unbeaten 53 from Peter Walters in 34 balls posted a useful score. Duxbury then took 5-47 (his 15th five for) but 64 from Adam Quinn (his first 50) and 30* from David Williams saw Flowery to 193-9 and a point.
Dukinfield lost eight wickets for 146 against DSL with Andrew Gleave’s 39 taking him past 500 runs and Esuan Crandon taking 5-76. Scott Allen’s unbeaten 75 and Barry Williams with 30 ensured a five wicket win for St. Lawrence.
Thornham batted first against Cheetham Hill and 44 from M. Imran took them to 186-7d (Modi Ali 4-57). Imran Mirza’s marvelous season continued with an undefeated 85 in Cheetham Hill’s six wicket win.
Glossop moved up to 4th at West’s expense with Will Hargreaves taking 3-51 as West scored 155 (Mike Berry 60). An unbeaten 53 from Bhatiya Perera gave Glossop a seven wicket winning margin.
Woodbank stayed 6th when their match against Woodhouses was abandoned due to rain. Gareth Wild scored his first fifty (59) in a total of 155-5d and Saj Shah had taken 4-34 when the rains came at 103-6 (Dan Britton 45).
Stand recorded their first 5 pointer of the season when they scored 169 against Denton. Trent Scott scored 46 and Chris Holt went one better with Danny Rice taking 7-59 off 24.2 overs. Scott then got cracking with the ball, taking 5-20 as he and Carl Sutcliffe (5-14) bowled Denton out for 56.
Irlam moved up a place with a 26 run win at Roe Green. Gaz Burns (45) and Liam Parkinson (37) helped them to 178 (Sean Flegg 5-24) and then Rick Blackman’s 7-43 gave Irlam the points.
ALL ROUND CLASS FROM GLOSSOP’S PRO
Glossop stayed in 4th place but moved to within two points of Cheetham Hill with a seven wicket win at North Road against Roe Green. Bhatiya Perera’s 5-32 was his 38th “5 for” in Roe Green’s 112 and he followed up with an unbeaten 59 (his 48th half century). In 2006 he also had an unbeaten 50 and 5 wickets in another seven wicket win. It was like déjà vu all over again Harry!
Prestwich’s Ian Walker passed 500 runs in his 72 against Denton and Michael Hudson’s 63 took their total to 230-7d. Oliver Holt’s first 5 for (6-29) restricted Denton to 158 with Steven Wharton scoring 49 and Denton’s last pair denying Prestwich the full 5 points.
No problems for DSL though as they closed the gap at the top to 5 points by taking that many off Cheetham Hill. Imran Mirza scored yet another fifty in Hill’s 178-10 (Nadeem and Crandon 3 wickets each) but 76 not out by Paul Green and 42 from Scott Allen gave them a five wicket win with two overs to spare (Modi Ali 3-55).
Woodbank moved back into the Lancashire Cup slots with a comfortable home win against Irlam. Rick Blackman’s 6-46 off 25 overs included his 50th for the season and it was his 55th “5 for”, but Woodbank reached 179-8d thanks to Sajid Shah (44) and Neil Ridehaugh (41). Shah then took 4-39 and Saeed Wasif 3-22 as Irlam were dismissed for 119.
Denton West swapped places with Woodbank when they suffered a narrow one wicket defeat at home to Flowery Field. Lee Dale top scored with 37 in West’s 154 with Damian Eyre taking 5-66 off 23 overs. Michael Batty responded with his first five wicket haul (for 40) but 45 from Adam Quinn gave Flowery the win.
Woodhouses moved up a place to 9th with Chris Reeves taking 5-36 in Stand’s 148-10. Phill Sutcliffe (68) and Gareth Tuson (55*) combined to give ‘Houses a seven wicket win.
Thornham moved to within a point of opponents Dukinfield with Ian Gilbertson’s 4-47 helping dismiss them for 182. This was in response to Thornham’s 201 with Chandi Wathukarage scoring 53 and Simon Collins taking 5-86.
EARLY WASH OUTS
The third week in August and the 12:30 starts meant that most games were called off in plenty of time for everybody to go shopping! Only Flowery Field (22-2 at Denton), Roe Green (40-0 at Woodhouses) and Dukinfield (19-1 against Glossop) got any play at all on yet another wet Saturday. The unlucky teams so far with most abandoned matches (7) were Cheetham Hill, Irlam, Prestwich, Thornham and Woodhouses.
TOP TWO MARCH ON
The following day and Cheetham Hill’s championship hopes suffered a blow as their match at Stand was abandoned without a ball bowled. The same fate befell Roe Green (v. Woodbank) and Woodhouses (v. Thornham), but Prestwich worked hard to get their ground fit and then dismissed Irlam for 83. Liam Parkinson scored 35 but 4-22 from Craig Duxbury and 2-0 from Phil Kyle did the damage. From 59-1 (Hudson 27), Saj Ahmed (3-11) brought Irlam back into contention until a big six by Olly Holt off Rick Blackman gave Prestwich a tight two wicket win.
DSL scored 91-9 in a T/20 against Denton with Paul Green on 37 countering Danny Rice (5-33) and C. Parker (4-57). Esuan Crandon (4-23) and Steve Dublin (4-41) then bowled Denton out for 65.
Glossop’s four points at Flowery Field took them level with Cheetham Hill with Bhatiya Perera (84*) and Chris Hemmings (30*) adding an unbeaten 102 in a total of 166-2d in a 27 over game. Perera then took 3-36 in Field’s 89-6.
Dukinfield went ahead of Irlam with a six wicket win against West who totaled 149-8d. Lee Dale passed 500 runs with 57 and Mike Berry scored 42. Andrew Gleave’s 20th fifty and 31 from Mark Stringer saw Dukinfield to victory.
THREE LEFT IN THE RACE
Prestwich’s hard fought win at Glossop in front of the magnificent new Clubhouse meant that the men from Derbyshire could no longer win the League; only their victors, DSL and Cheetham Hill could now be champions. Prestwich’s 138-9d on a big turner of a wicket saw Michael Hudson’s 33 take him past 500 runs. William Hargreaves took 4-59 bowling right through the innings and Bhatiya Perera took 4-45. However, Prestwich have their own spin twins in Duxbury and Walters and it was the professional who took 4-34 off 23 overs, Phil Kyle chipping in with 3-8. Joe Moss and Stephen Bate took Glossop from 43-6 to 104-7 before they were finally bowled out for 112.
Steve Hampson’s 6-24 bowled Stand out for 168 with three balls of the fifty overs remaining and then 75 from Scott Allen gave Saints a five wicket win (Chris Holt 3-9).
Cheetham Hill kept their outside hopes alive with a nine wicket win at Windsor Park after bowling West out for 81. F. Sheazad took 6-38 and then Yousef Anwar scored 51 for Hill, putting 80 on for the opening wicket.
Woodbank stayed 5th with four points at Thornham after Sajid Shahs’ first ton (113*) took them to 216-10. Chandi Wathukarage took 5-58 and James Burke followed this with 57 as Thornham closed on 190-7 and a point.
Woodhouses jumped two places to 6th with a ten wicket win at Irlam. Liam Parkinson scored 39 but Fraser Quarterman’s 4-44 saw Irlam bowled out for 124 before Mike Cassidy’s 53 and Daniel Britton’s 56 gave Woodhouses victory.
Roe Green also moved up two places and Denton went two in the opposite direction when they met at Egerton Street. Janek Patel scored 52 in the home side’s 165-7d with Stuart Eaton taking 4-65. Danny Jones tenth fifty (76) and Paul Berry (49*) put on 116 for the third wicket as Roe Green won by seven wickets.
Andrew Gleave scored 62 against his old club as Dukinfield scored 149-9d at Throstle Bank Street with David Dickin taking 4-26. Flowery were on target at 142-8 but were bowled out for 144 (Dickin 33, Andrew Eastwood 3-36).
AND THEN THERE WERE TWO
Cheetham Hill’s comprehensive win against Denton was tinged with disappointment because Prestwich’s win at West meant that they could no longer win the League. Vilas Kutty’s second ton (108*) took Hill to 235-7d and then three wickets each for spin twins Ali and Abbas bowled their previous club out for 133.
Prestwich avenged their 2006 defeat at West after Ian Walker’s 75th fifty (67) took them to 200-4d. Lee Dale batted beautifully for his 72, timing the ball sweetly as West raced to 111-2, but three wickets each for Peter Walters, Chris Humphreys and Andrew Taylor bowled them out for 166
DSL continued to match their results when they scored 230-4d at Medlock Road. Steve Dublin hit 7 sixes in his 67 not out, Matthew Wake 47 and Paul Green 48 and only Mike Cassidy (38) had any answer to Steve Hampson (4-26) as Woodhouses were bowled out for 122.
Glossop got back to winning ways at Woodbank, winning by five wickets. Bhatiya Perera took 5-23 in Woodbank’s 107 (Sajid Shah 43) and then 42 from Imran Zaman set up Glossop’s victory (Shah 3-57).
Thornham recorded a rare win at home to Roe Green with Chandi Wathukarage’s second ton (105*) taking the home side to a five wicket win. His fifty took 32 balls and his ton a further 36. This was after Richard Jackson took 5-55 in Roe Green’s 154 (Stuart Eaton 34).
Andrew Eastwood (15) and Simon Collins (11) were both unbeaten as they helped Dukinfield recover from 96-8 to record a two wicket win chasing Stand’s 114.
Saj Ahmed had a day to remember against Flowery Field as he scored 79 in Irlam’s 200-7d. It was his 25th fifty as Damian Eyre took 4-80, and he followed this with 6-57 as Flowery were bowled out for 124.
DSL CUT LEAD TO 4 POINTS
Phill Sutcliffe scored 35 in Woodhouses’ 167 at The Heys, and crucially they were only seven wickets down as Prestwich’s eight wicket win restricted them to four points. Michael Hudson continued his excellent form with 60 and Ian Walker and Steve Orrell were both not out on 45.
DSL took five points at Roe Green when the home side were bowled out for 92. Esuan Crandon (4-36) and the in-form Steve Hampson (4-14) did the damage and then 37 from Steve Dublin and an unbeaten 36 from former pro Paul Green gave the Saints a five wicket win.
Cheetham Hill and Glossop guaranteed themselves a 2008 Lancashire Cup place with Hill scoring 223-8d against Dukinfield. Imran Mirza top scored again with 40 and Modi Ali followed with 5-21 as Dukinfield were bowled out for 97.
Bhatiya Perera’s 50th fifty (91*) in an unbeaten stand of 117 with Steven Bates (21*), followed his 40th “5 for” (5-30) as Thornham scored 77 in reply to Glossop’s 197-9d.
Denton West got to within four points of Woodbank after a close game at the Kenyons. Sajid Shah took 5-49 but Gareth Senior’s 71 saw West to 219-10 and then four wickets each for Jason Stringer and Gary Leigh gave West a 15 run win after the home side were 184-5 (Neil Ridehaugh 48).
Denton moved into the top half, scoring 167 against Irlam. Janek Patel top scored with 39 with Rick Blackman (5-73) and Saj Ahmed (4-70) taking the wickets. Andrew Neill (7-43) again starred for Denton, bowling Irlam out for 102.
There was a tight finish at Stand, who scored 142, with Damian Eyre taking 7-58. This was Eyre’s 110th five wickets or more but Trent Scott’s 5-63 reduced Flowery Field to 133-9 before they won by one wicket.
PRESTWICH LOSE TOP SPOT
Following defeat against rivals DSL, Prestwich were knocked off top spot for the first time since 2nd June. Ex skipper Steve Orrell scored 44 but it was new skipper Steven Lorenzini’s unbeaten 29 that took Prestwich to 125, but crucially, they were not bowled out and so DSL could collect no more than four points should they win. This they did, Paul Green being not out on 46 as the Saints won by three wickets, with Matthew Wake scoring a quick 45 and Chris Humphreys and Olly Holt sharing six wickets. DSL went top with more outright wins than Prestwich.
Cheetham Hill continued their winning ways when they scored 167-3 after Roe Green scored 158-8d. Danny Jones scored 52 for Green but Atif Riaz (87) and Modi Ali (50*) took Hill to four points.
Following a tie in 2006, Glossop scored 197-9d at Liverpool Road with Steven Bates (42) and Joe Moss (41) top scoring. Chris Hemmings’ first “five for” (5-40) bowled Irlam out for 77.
Denton West moved up a place to 5th at Woodbank’s expense, when they beat Woodhouses. Andy O’Brien scored 41 in West’s 207 and then Woodhouses collapsed from 183-4 to 192 all out. Phill Sutcliffe scored 94 and Scott Kirwin took 4-43.
Woodbank were beaten surprisingly easily at Flowery Field when Mark Dyson’s 70 (his 20th fifty) saw them reach 220 (Sajid Shah 4-32). Damian Eyre’s tenth “5 for” of the season (7-31) bowled Woodbank out for 89.
David Ashworth (28) and Simon Collins (25*) helped Dukinfield recover from 48-8 to 105 all out. Andrew Neill and Danny Rice shared the wickets before Denton won by five wickets.
Although not affecting the positions at the foot of the table, Stand’s improved form earned them their second five point win of the season at Thornham. Trent Scott scored 126* and with Carl Sutcliffe (62) he put on 119 for the first wicket as Stand reached 287-9d (Chandi Wathukarage 5-70). Scott followed up with his tenth five wicket take (6-82) and James Maurice-Scott scored 89 as Thornham were bowled out for 227.
PRESTWICH COMPLETE DOUBLE
Well, Simon Lowndes starred again when he compiled the fixture list for 2007. Another championship decided on the last day with Prestwich’s five points against Thornham giving them the title by one point over DSL who were unable to bowl out the obdurate Glossop batsmen at North Road.
Pro Craig Duxbury’s first century of the season came at the right time when he scored an unbeaten 136 in a total of 248-3d. It was the 17th time he had converted one of his 53 fifties into a century and was fitting in this, his last innings as Prestwich pro. He put on 110 for the second wicket with Ian Walker (48). Chris Humphreys then took 6-48 including a hat trick, Steve Grey top scoring with 46 in Thornham’s 133 all out.
Matthew Wake’s first ton (122) together with 85 from Paul Green took DSL to 238-6d and despite 4-53 from Steve Hampson, Glossop lost only six wickets in scoring 166 and restricted DSL to four points (Dale Pennington 35, Steven Bates 35*).
Cheetham Hill racked up 273-8d against Flowery Field with Vilas Kutty scoring 65 and Yousef Anwar 144 (his first century). It was the highest individual score of the season and included 13 sixes. Howard Lyon took 4-62 and followed with a top score of 23* as Flowery were bowled out for 101 (Ghulam Abbas 4-27, F. Sheazad 4-36). This was a bit of a turn round from the 2006 game which resulted in a tie, 210 each.
Denton West and Woodbank both got five points and it was West who cemented the last Lancashire Cup spot by one point. However it was touch and go at Irlam where West were 106-9 chasing the home side’s 115 before Michael Batty and Gary Leigh saw them home. Leigh and Jason Stringer had previously shared eight wickets and Liam Parkinson top scored with 48 for Irlam. Gaz Burns took eight of West’s nine wickets for 38 runs with Parkinson taking four catches.
Woodbank’s win was a lot easier when they passed Dukinfield’s 214 for the loss of two wickets. Paul Turner’s fifty included five sixes and Sajid Shah took 7-30, his 12th five for. Neil Ridehaugh was unbeaten on 82 and Ghulam Abbas was on 68, his fifty coming in 36 balls, the pair adding 120 for the second wicket.
Denton just stayed in the top half, on the same points as Woodhouses who beat them by nine wickets. Chris Atherton took 4-48 in Denton’s 143 and then an unbeaten 70 from Mike Cassidy took ‘Houses home.
Stand made it two wins in a row in scoring 204-9d at home to Roe Green. Chris Holt scored 84 with Danny Jones and Stuart Eaton sharing eight wickets. Jones then scored 58 but Trent Scott’s 5-66 bowled Roe Green out for 161.
PRESTWICH WIN WALKDEN CUP
With Prestwich and Woodhouses being the only clubs to win the Walkden Cup twice, one of them was going to set a record when they met at The Heys in a repeat of the 2006 final when Chris Atherton steered Woodhouses to victory.
Batting first, Prestwich scored 202-8d with Michael Hudson’s 52 being his 10th fifty. With Chris Thomas scoring 37, Prestwich recovered from 112-6, Mike Cassidy taking 2-17 in 9 overs and Darryl Sloan 2-29 off 10.
Despite a nasty crack on the leg whilst fielding, Phill Sutcliffe returned to bat and score 41 for Woodhouses, taking the score from 24-4 to 113-5 with Fraser Quarterman (44). The main men for Prestwich with the ball were Andrew Taylor (3-19) and Phil Kyle (3-28) as Woodhouses last five wickets fell for 20 runs.
The first round of the competition at the end of May had seen Prestwich play at Cheetham Hill with five Prestwich bowlers each taking two wickets to bowl Hill out for 93. An unbeaten 55 from Craig Duxbury gave the visitors an eight wicket win.
Woodhouses entertained Dukinfield who batted first and scored 179-8d. The in-form Dukinfield pro Andrew Gleave scored 95 and Fraser Quarterman took 3-39 in Dukinfield’s innings. Gleave then took 2-42 but unbeaten knocks of 41 from James Clarke and 38 from Quarterman carried Woodhouses from 120-5 past their target with no further losses.
Top score of the day was 294-7 from Denton West with Lee Dale’s 133 being his first century and containing 12 sixes. Gareth Senior scored 78 and Paul Green took 3-37 followed by 40 with the bat as DSL were bowled out for 197. They had been on 118-8 before 44 from Dave Morrell, Kevin Sample taking 3-36.
Flowery Field also scored well despite Andrew Neill’s 4-19. Stuart Dolan scored 74 and David Dickin 67, putting on 131 for the 4th wicket before reaching 242-10. Janek Patel scored 43 but three wickets each for Lee Riley and Dickin left Denton on 119 all out.
David Castle scored 56 for Irlam out of 186 before 86* by Sean Flegg and 39 from Mo Malik gave Roe Green a six wicket win.
Steve Grey scored 84 of Thornham’s 200-8d and then Danny Maurice-Scott’s first five for (5-32) bowled Woodbank out for 147.
Glossop and Stand both received byes, but didn’t progress past the next round with defeat by Thornham and Flowery Field respectively. Thornham scored 233-7 with John Willman scoring 52 and Chandi Wathukarage 83*, his fifty coming in 37 balls. Will Hargreaves took 4-33 but Ian Gilbertson’s 5-39 was instrumental in bowling Glossop out for 212. Greg Harwick scored 79 for Glossop, their ninth wicket adding 58 runs.
Matthew Curphy’s 37 was Stand’s top score in their 107 with Glyn Middleton taking 3-19 and Damian Eyre 1-9 off 9 overs. Flowery Field scored 111-8 but with the bad weather resulting in several re-visits, their last man was absent, so in effect the last pair were at the wicket when Flowery Field won. Matthew Holt took 4-12 and Steve Chambers (37) and Stuart Dolan (36) top scored for Flowery.
Woodhouses made sure of no repeat run spree by West, bowling them out for 128, Archie Moore scoring 30 and Chris Atherton (4-26) and Darryl Sloan (3-16) taking most wickets. Mike Cassidy (38) and Daniel Britton (42*) saw ‘Houses to an eight wicket win.
Prestwich eventually played their 24 June quarter final at Roe Green on 10 and 11 July. From 72-5 Roe Green were bowled out for 85 (Danny Jones 33) with Chris Humphreys taking 4-11 and then unbeaten knocks of 30 by Steve Orrell and 32 by Peter Walters took them to an eight wicket win.
The Semi-Finals were due four days later on 15 July but in this terrible year for weather, Prestwich eventually played Flowery Field on 22 and 23 July. Another four wickets for Humphreys (for 23) and three each for Duxbury and Kyle bowled Flowery out for 120 and then 58 from Ian Walker and 41 from Peter Walters ensured a six wicket win after being 2-3, Glyn Middleton taking 2-15 off 10 overs.
James Maurice-Scott (122) took Thornham to 232-9 at Woodhouses, his fifty coming in 44 balls and his ton following 31 balls later. He hit nine sixes and passed 500 runs for the season. Gareth Halley took 5-45, his first five wicket haul and Woodhouses slipped to 99-5 before losing their 6th wicket on 194. They eventually won a hard fought game by two wickets with Fraser Quarterman scoring 49 and Alan Starmer 37.
LEAGUE WIN INAUGURAL JW LEES TROPHY
Following 19 years excellent sponsorship of the Lancashire Inter-League Knockout Competition, the Manchester Evening News stood down in 2007 and the mantle was taken up by our League sponsors JW Lees (Brewers) Ltd. It was fitting therefore that the League defeated the Manchester and District Cricket Association in the Final at Wythenshawe to record our second victory, having beaten the Northern League at Thornham in 2000.
Prior to the final, the League had done things the hard way, winning away in the first round against the Bolton League and in the semi-final against the Ribblesdale League in Clitheroe at Ribblesdale Wanderers C.C.
The first round at Horwich got off to a bad start with captain Mark Dyson being caught for a duck but 60 from Lee Dale and 49 from Paul Green took the score to 103 before the second wicket fell. From 179-6 Peter Walters (43*) and Dave Morrell then took the score to 225-6d after 45 overs. Morrell then conceded only 28 runs in his nine overs and with three wickets for Ghulam Abbas and four for Man of the Match Walters, the Bolton League ended up 11 runs short on 214. This was the first time in five attempts that the League had got the better of the Bolton League, with five players making their debuts, Lee Dale, William Hargreaves, James Maurice-Scott, Matthew Wake and Peter Walters.
The captain bounced back to form in the semi-final with a Man of the Match 52 in the League’s total of 205. Imran Mirza scored 53 in a match which gave further debuts to Liam Parkinson and Andrew Taylor.
The local experts seemed to think that 205 was an excellent score on the Wanderers wicket and so it proved, the home side being bowled out for 119. Glyn Middleton took 3-28 and Peter Walters 3-36 with Taylor conceding only 13 runs off his seven overs with one wicket.
In the Final, Glyn Middleton was the miserly bowler, taking 1-11 off 9 overs as the Manchester and District Association scored 195-9. In the second innings the weather intervened and when play resumed Paul Green upped the tempo with Matthew Wake to guide the League to a five wicket win with 11 balls remaining. Green was unbeaten on 60 and opening bat Liam Parkinson was named Man of the Match for his 60.
This was an excellent competition for a very young side, well led by Flowery Field’s Mark Dyson.
In the Colts Competition it was a frustrating time for Gary O’Brien’s team. In the first Group match at Dukinfield the North Lancashire and Cumbria League scored a massive 290-4 and the League’s run chase ended just two runs short on 288-10 with a century for Lee Dale. The second Group match against the Bolton Association at Prestwich was abandoned without a ball being bowled and in the final Group match at Settle, they lost by six wickets to the Ribblesdale League with Luke O’Brien top scoring with 40.
2007 WINNERS
Cheetham Hill’s Imran Mirza was voted as Player’s Player of the Year by his peers and he also won the batting averages with 737 runs at an average of 49.13. Ian Walker (Prestwich) was second with 704 runs at 46.93 and Glossop’s Bhatiya Perera won the pro’s batting with 930 at an average of 62.00.
Steve Hampson (DSL) won the 1st XI bowling averages with 36 wickets at an average of 6.25 ahead of Ghulam Abbas (Cheetham Hill) with 47 at 9.91. Last years 2nd XI winner Phil Kyle (Prestwich) was third with 37 wickets at 10.65 and Irlam’s Rick Blackman had most wickets by an amateur in the 1st XI’s with 65. Sajid Shah (Woodbank) won the pro’s bowling with 94 wickets at 8.94 with Damian Eyre two wickets behind him. Matthew Wake (DSL) had most wicketkeeping victims (36) and Denton captain Danny Walker won the fielding with 20 catches.
The aggregate trophies for most runs, wickets and sixes by amateur players in league matches were won by John Foreman (Denton West) with 806 runs, Rick Blackman (Irlam) with 65 wickets and James Maurice-Scott (Thornham) with 34 sixes.
DSL won the 1st XI Last Six Competition for the first time with 28 points, two ahead of Cheetham Hill
Prestwich 2nd XI, after winning the championship in 2006, retained it with a record 101 points, 25 ahead of Denton. Their strength was in the bowling department with captain Andy Bradley, Matthew Walsh and Peter Lorenzini finishing 2nd, 3rd and 7th in the league averages with 177 wickets between them. Denton’s David Smith won the bowling averages with 31 wickets at 8.52 and John Foreman won the batting with 863 runs at an average of 71.92. Jamie Williams (Denton West) won the wicketkeeping with 28 victims and Peter Jones (Woodhouses) the fielding with 15 catches. Matthew Walsh was voted 2nd XI Player’s Player of the Year.
After losing their first Hulme Trophy match since 2001 in the 2006 final, Prestwich 2nd XI bounced back to make it five wins in six years by beating Denton West at Windsor Park. Captain Andy Bradley’s fifty and five wickets made the Man of the Match award a formality as Prestwich scored 184-8d before bowling West out for 55. In the first round they had defeated Cheetham Hill, scoring 193 and bowling Hill out for 129. In the quarter finals they won by nine wickets chasing Irlam’s 128 and in the semi finals at Egerton Street they lost two wickets after bowling Denton out for 33.
Denton won the 2nd XI’s Last Six Competition for the second time in three years with 29 points out of a possible 30.
Prestwich won the T. Saville-Whittle Bowl for the third time on the trot with 196 points, six points more than their 2005 record and 42 more than runners-up Cheetham Hil. Because of their exceptional season winning the 1st and 2nd XI “doubles” as well as junior championships at U-17, U-15 and U-13 levels, Prestwich Cricket Club were named as the first “Club of the Year” rather than Team of the Year, as in the past.
John Harwick’s League U-15’s, having been runners-up in the Lancashire & Cheshire Inter-League Trophy Knockout Competition in 2006, went one better to defeat the Central Lancashire League in the Final. The CLL scored 129 with Alex Coates taking 3-12 and Kate Oliver 2-15 in five overs and the U-15’s knocked the runs off with five wickets down.
2008 is a notable year for the “W” clubs, Woodbank and Woodhouses both reaching their centenaries and I wish them well in their celebrations.
It is also the 15th year of excellent sponsorship from JW Lees and we are ever grateful for their involvement in Lancashire cricket in general and to our League in particular. Any Clubs considering a change of beer should contact Dean Redfern on 0161 643 2487.
My thanks once more to a hard working set of Officials and League Management Committee and a special thanks to our President Tony Crook who has retired as Chairman. He has been Chairman since the inception of the League and he remains Chairman of the Lancashire Cricket Board. He will be remembered for his brave decision to be the driving force in the formation of the Lancashire County League and I couldn’t have enjoyed a better Chairman to help me as Secretary.
This concludes my 21st season as League Secretary and my 15th report for the Lancashire County League.
R.I. Hinchliffe (Hon. Secretary)
February 2008
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