J.W. LEES BREWERY LANCASHIRECOUNTY LEAGUE SECRETARY'S REVIEW 2010
WEST BECOMETHIRD TEAM TO COMPLETE DOUBLE
Denton Westfollowed DSL and Prestwich in 2005 and 2007 respectively by winning theLancashire County League double of League and Walkden Cup; an excellent andwell deserved achievement.
They begantheir season with an eight wicket win at home to Stand, whose pro, like manyothers in the same boat (or not as the case may be) had yet to arrive on theseshores. West’s pro, Scott Kirwin, started the season as he meant to go on with4-28 in Stand’s 133-10. Jordan Williams took 4-17 and Stuart Catterall scored33 in Stand’s total. West skipper Gareth Senior scored 55 and Mike Berry andKirwin were both unbeaten on 25.
2008champions Cheetham Hill had a convincing win at Liverpool Road where theyscored 238-10 and then bowled Irlam out for 35 with debutant Usman Janjuataking 7-9. Ali Raza’s first fifty (66) and 65 from Imran Mirza provided thebulk of Hill’s total and Rick Blackman took 5-97 for Irlam.
Prestwich’snew pro Amal Dalugoda scored 66 and Paul Mercer 40 in the home side’s 190-10with Chris Atherton and Doug Sloan both taking 3-31. Atherton followed up with41 and Mike Cassidy 31 as Woodhouses were dismissed for 99 (Oliver Holt 4-31,Chris Humphreys 3-19).
Denton’s156-6 at North Road restricted Glossop to 4 points in their nine wicket win.Steve Wharton scored 53 for Denton and Oliver Kenyon (70) and Bathiya Perera(45) were unbeaten for Glossop. Kenyon’s fifty was his tenth for Glossop.
Woodbankscored 172-9 at Flowery Field but lost by three wickets. Ryan Senior scored 72and Damian Eyre took 5-60 in 17 overs. Field’s new pro Steven Oddy also bowled17 overs, taking 3-39. Mark Dyson scored 40 for Flowery Field and Senior took4-90.
Roe Green proDanny Jones led them to four points, scoring 153 at Thornham in Green’s 253-8.Mohammed Shafiq took 6-69 and then John Willman’s 30th fifty (64)took Thornham to 221-8 and a point. James Beardshaw’s 4-48 was the best for RoeGreen.
Dukinfieldwas another club who were temporarily without a pro and at 142-7 it looked likethey would fall short of DSL’s 212-6 who had Matthew Wake to thank for his 66.However David Gandy (39) and Ben Tighe (39*) saw the home side to a two wicketwin.
KIRWIN CONTINUES GOOD FORM
TheChampions suffered their first defeat of the season when Scott Kirwin scored 69in West’s 212-9d (Modi Ali 5-63) and then took 3-49 as Cheetham Hill was bowledout for 174 (Ali Raza 40).
Prestwichalso had maximum points after Oliver Holt (4-21) and John Walters (3-14) hadbowled Thornham out for 66. Mike Hudson was unbeaten on 39 in Prestwich’s ninewicket win.
Woodbank’sfirst win was at the expense of Roe Green, Ryan Senior taking 4-30 in Green’s135-10 and Mark Hamnett falling one short of his fifty in a four wicket win forthe visitors.
Dukinfieldwere brought down to earth when they lost by three wickets at Medlock Road.Steve Coulding scored 51 in Dukinfield’s 128-10 and then unbeaten knocks of 40by skipper Gareth Tuson and 28 from Doug Sloan saw ‘Houses recover from 89-7.
Stand gotoff the mark when their 103 proved 36 to many for Flowery Field at HamiltonRoad, Carl Sutcliffe taking 6-44.
AndrewNeill (6-45) and Steve Wharton (4-39) bowled Irlam out for 152 but then RickyBlackman’s 8-44 bowled Denton out for 120 and five points.
DSL gotgoing with four points against Glossop with Dave Morrell taking 5-37 in their135-9. Scott Allen scored 66, his fifty coming in 41 balls as DSL won by sixwickets.
ROE GREEN FALL TO DALUGODA
Prestwichhad a scare whilst maintaining their 100% record when they edged past RoeGreen’s 65-10 with two wickets in hand. From 61-4 Prestwich pro Amal Dalugoda’s5-0 spell was crucial but Danny Jones with 5-19 made it a nail biter for thehome side.
Westremained top with a comfortable win against Denton, Mike Berry’s tenth fifty(53) taking them to 197-10 (Colin Parker 4-76). Jason Stringer’s 5-57 followedhis “five for” in 2008 and Jordan Williams took 4-21.
Imran Mirzahit eight sixes in his second “ton” for Cheetham Hill (104*) and Modi Ali was59 not out in Hill’s 220-4d. Ali then returned 4-37 as Flowery Field was bowledout for 143.
Woodhousesmoved up a place to fourth when they took five points at North Road. WillHargreaves took 6-52 as Woodhouses scored 169-10 but Chris Atherton’s all rounddisplay of 68 and 4-29 saw Glossop fall 68 runs short.
DSL movedup to 5th with a three wicket win at Irlam. Saj Ahmed scored 53 inthe home side’s 123-10 with Rash Nadeem continuing his early season form with4-35. Rick Blackman took 4-36 but Matt Wake’s 36 helped steady the DSL innings.
Thornhamwas the big mover from 13th to 8th after scoring 173 atDukinfield. Alec McClure (46) and Steve Grey (40) were the top scorers withSimon Collins taking 5-34. Andrew Yates took 3-12 as Dukinfield were bowled outfor 71.
Woodbankand Stand shared four points at The Kenyons due to wet ground conditionspreventing play.
WEST TRIUMPH IN LOCAL DERBY
The firstSunday match of the League season saw the top four sides take maximum pointswith Denton West remaining top following a comprehensive win at Sycamore Park.Lee Dale scored 47 as the visitors totaled 172-9, Ghulam Abbas taking 4-59.Matt Wake then scored 27 but Scott Kirwin’s 7-31 bowled St. Lawrence out for86.
Prestwichremained on level points with the leaders following Chris Thomas’s first ton ina total of 194-7. Kabeel Akram scored 35 for the visitors but 4-20 from AmalDalugoda and 4-24 from Phil Kyle bowled Dukinfield out for 94.
WayneGriffiths scored an unbeaten 53 (his tenth fifty) and Imran Mirza took 4-26 inWoodbank’s 103 all out and at 44-6 the visitors looked in control. Zubair Ahmedthen scored 36 not out as Hill recovered for a four wicket win.
MikeCassidy followed his fifty in 2008 with a ton (104) this time as Woodhousesreached 201-6d. It was his 50th fifty and his 12th ton inthe League and then Chris Atherton followed up with 7-16, his 25th“five for” as Irlam were bowled out for 104.
Stand movedup to 5th with an eight wicket win after bowling Roe Green out for136 (Stuart Catterall 4-25). O.J. Beirne scored 41 for the visitors.
FloweryField moved up four places to 7th with a narrow three wicket win atEgerton Street after bowling Denton out for 89. Damian Eyre took 5-16 and SteveOddy 4-20. Andrew Neill took 3-39 for Denton but unbeaten knocks of 28 fromLeigh Williams and 14 from Gareth Lister saw Flowery recover from 52-7.
Thornhamand Glossop exchanged places following a seven wicket win for the visitors atSlattocks. Mohammed Shakir hit his first fifty (63*) and Steve Grey 38 inThornham’s 162-9 (Will Hargreaves 4-27). Bathiya Perera (45) and Steven Bates(36*) were Glossop’s main run scorers.
PRESTWICH MOVE CLEAR AT TOP
Prestwich 2ndXI Captain Andy Bradley celebrated his elevation back to the 1st XIwith his 20th five wicket haul (5-30) as Glossop scored 116-9 inreply to the visitors 43 over total of 147-7d. It was a tale of two Sri Lankansas Amal Dalugoda scored 51 for Prestwich and Bathiya Perera took 4-57 forGlossop.
This resultopened up a three point gap at the top of the table as West was restricted to apoint against Woodhouses at Windsor Park. Mike Cassidy scored 69 and Doug Sloan41 not out in ‘Houses 205-8d. Chasing a revised target of 192 West scored 157-9with Gareth Senior’s 60th fifty (53) being top score and ChrisAtherton taking 4-49.
Woodhousesmoved up to 3rd and Cheetham Hill dropped to 4thfollowing no play due to bad weather leaving the Stand ground waterlogged.
DSL had anine wicket win at Throstle Bank Street, Rashid Nadeem taking 7-30 as FloweryField recovered from 47-7 to score 112 all out (Leigh Williams 51; his firstfifty). Scott Allen was unbeaten on 65 for DSL.
Thornhammoved up three places to 7th despite being bowled out for 124. RickBlackman’s 5-40 was his 63rd “five for” whilst Justin Thomas’s 5-44was his 1st. Mohammed Shakir took 7-43 as Irlam fell 22 runs short.
Woodbankmoved up a place to 8th despite another drawn game wash out and RoeGreen leapfrogged Irlam with four points at Dukinfield. Kabeel Akram wasunbeaten on 82 and Anil Rideegammanagadera (hereafter referred to as “Ridee”)34 in Dukinfield’s 176-5d. Danny Jones unbeaten 107 was his 20thfifty and 4th ton as Roe Green won by nine wickets, Justin Kenyonalso being not out on 59.
AMAZING WIN FOR WOODHOUSES
Glyn Middletonwith 7-36 helped dump Woodhouses out for 60 at Medlock Road but never say die‘Houses won by one run, Chris Atherton taking an amazing 8-18 from 13.4 overs.
Prestwichremained top after bowling Irlam out for 84 at The Heys. Scott Payne scored 26but Andy Bradley (4-20) and Amal Dalugoda (3-26) starred with the ball forPrestwich. Dalugoda then scored 64 not out in a six wicket win.
In a 42overs a side match at Thornham, Denton West scored 210-8, Paul Turner scoring76 and Mohammed Shakir taking 3-75. Scott Kirwin then took 4-25 as Thornhamscored 120-10 (Alec McClure 39).
Imran Mirzaproduced an excellent all-round performance, scoring 102 not out in CheethamHill’s 215-5d and then taking 6-43 as Roe Green were dismissed for 95. YousufAnwar had earlier scored 55 for ‘Hill.
DSL movedup from 6th to 5th with a ten wicket win againstWoodbank. Rashid Nadeem took 5-18 and Ghulam Abbas 4-15 in Woodbank’s 58 allout before Scott Allen scored an unbeaten 34 for DSL.
In a 35overs a side match, Denton scored 99-9 (Martin Parker 31) with four wicketseach for Carl Sutcliffe and Stand pro Amila Weththasinghe. Andrew Neill thentook 5-26 and Jamie Garde 3-13 as Stand was bowled out for 64.
The game atDukinfield was reduced to 33 overs each, the home side having just three ballsto spare as they passed Glossop’s 92-7 for the loss of six wickets. Imran Dittatook 4-42 for Dukinfield and Ridee scored 33.
TOP OF TABLE CLASH SEES WEST BACK ON TOP
Westentertained Prestwich and moved two points clear at the top following an 8 runwin. Scott Kirwin followed his 34 in West’s 150-10 with 6-46, Steve Orrellbeing the games top scorer with 43 for Prestwich. In the first innings PhilKyle took 4-21 and Andy Bradley 3-14.
Woodhousesmoved level with Prestwich when their 128 proved 30 runs too many for Woodbank.Ryan Senior took 6-46 for Woodbank and followed up with 37 runs. Hemantha Alles(5-26) and Manzoor Ellahi (5-32) both recorded their first “five fors” forWoodhouses.
DSL movedup to 4th at the start of an incredible weekend for Matt Wake whichsaw him score 299 runs. On the Saturday he hit his 11th fifty (and 2ndton), scoring 139 against Stand in a total of 249-7. Steve Dublin hit 49 off 30balls and Stuart Catterall took 4-74 before Stand salvaged a point on 187-9 (DaveTaylor 56, Matt Curphy 43*).
Denton’swin at Catherine Road took them up three places but Cheetham Hill dropped aplace to 5th. Modi Ali took 5-37 as Denton was dismissed for 144(Steve Wharton 35) but Colin Parker with 4-39 and Andrew Neill (3-39) bowledHill out for 123 (Imran Mirza 30).
FloweryField moved into the top half of the table following an exciting game againstThornham. Mark Dyson (42), Lee Knowles (41) and Mark Stringer (32*) allcontributed to a total of 241-8d, but 72 extras made the biggest contribution.Wasim Qasim took 4-79 but Glynn Middleton took 7-55 as Thornham’s last wicketfell on 238. This was a major recovery from 52-6 with Mohammed Shakir’s 2ndfifty stretching to 161 and including 15 sixes and 7 fours.
Glossopalso moved up two places when they defeated Roe Green by six wickets at NorthRoad. Will Hargreaves took 3-25 and Rohan Hughes was on 32 not out as Roe Greenwere bowled out for 132. Bathiya Perera (68) and Adam Wilson (33) were bothunbeaten for Glossop.
Dukinfieldjumped three places to 9th with Ridee having a good day. He took4-43 in Irlam’s 149-10 (Lewis Jackson 50, Tahir Mahmood 56) and then scored his1st fifty (67*) in a seven wicket win with Kabeel Akram also scoring54.
RIDEE TIES UP WEST
There wasno change in the League’s top six teams, but West’s lead was cut to one pointwhen they were held to a tie at Dukinfield. Ridee’s 1st ton (128*)and 55 from Steve Coulding saw the home side to 234-5d with Scott Kirwin taking4-56. Kirwin then scored 86 as West matched their opponents score for the lossof seven wickets, Ridee taking 5-64.
This wasthe only tie of the season and it enabled Prestwich to move within a point whenthey passed Flowery Field’s 190-9d for the loss of six wickets. Mark Stringerscored 50 and Mark Dyson 36 with Oli Holt taking 3-46. In reply Lee Milner took4-53 but 50 from Steve Orrell and 66 from Amal Dalugoda saw Prestwich home.
Woodhousesremained in 3rd place despite defeat at home to Stand. ChrisAtherton took 6-57 in Stand’s 135-10 but 4-38 by Carl Sutcliffe and 5-58 byAmila Weththasinghe (his 1st five for) bowled the home side out for105.
DSL movedto within a point of Woodhouses in the second part of the “Wake end”. He passed500 runs for the season in scoring 160 in the Saints 291-8d, but then awhirlwind 145 in 69 balls by Cheetham Hill pro Humayun Farhat saw the visitorsreach 253-10. Michael Batty and Rashid Nadeem both took three wickets for DSL.
Glossop’seight wicket win against Irlam moved them out of the bottom half, David Toft andSteven Bates both being unbeaten on 97 and 63 respectively in Glossop’s 172-2.Earlier Jason Quinn’s 1st fifty (53) was the highlight of Irlam’s170.
Thornham’syo-yoing continued when they moved up three places to 8th with a winover Woodbank. Alec McClure scored 124 and Steve Grey 61 in Thornham’s 243-10(Ryan Senior 4-89) but then 5-76 by Wasim Qasim helped bowl Woodbank out for209 (Steve Loster 59). McClure’s ton (his 2nd) followed his firstagainst the same opposition in 2008.
Another topall-round performance by Roe Green pro Danny Jones saw them to four pointsagainst Denton. He took 5-40 in 25 overs to restrict Denton to 126-7 and wasthen not out on 64 as Green won by six wickets.
WEST BEAT WEATHER
Intoflaming June and with three games washed out, West smashed 200-6 in a Twenty/20match against Glossop to take advantage and stretch their lead to three points.John Foreman (32), Mike Berry (40), and captain Gareth Senior (40*) scoredquickly with Will Hargreaves taking 3-52 for Glossop. Scott Kirwin then took5-52 as Glossop closed on 113-7 (Bathiya Perera 47*).
Prestwich(at Woodbank), Thornham (at Stand) and Roe Green (at Irlam) all fell foul ofthe weather and a five point win for DSL moved them to within two points ofPrestwich. Rashid Nadeem took 6-28 and then Adam Hawley with 36 saw DSL to60-2.
In a 31overs a side match, Cheetham Hill took four points to Woodhouses one. ImranMirza took 5-46 as Woodhouses scored 95-8 in reply to Hill’s 124-8d (YousufAnwar 41).
FloweryField and Dukinfield swapped places following a 37 overs a side match which sawthe home side take four points. Damian Eyre and Glynn Middleton shared thewickets in Dukinfield’s 130-6 and then 43 from Mark Dyson and 33 from MarkStringer helped Flowery to a six wicket win (Ridee 4-42).
DÉJÀ VU – ALL OVER AGAIN
On a leagueprogramme day which saw four of the seven fixtures in 2008 washed out, thethree that were played had a familiar ring to them. Ryan Senior scored 73 forWoodbank against Dukinfield following his 114 the previous year, Bathiya Pererascored 46 for Glossop against Flowery Field following his 51 and David Taylorscored 51 for Stand against Prestwich following his 66.
Woodbankmoved up three places to 10th when they amassed 277-8d with GarethWilde also contributing 65 not out and Ridee taking 5-89. Ridee followed upwith 54 but Dukinfield were bowled out for 181.
InGlossop’s 193-8, which moved them up to 6th, Perera’s knock wassurpassed by Adam Wilson (50) and Will Hargreaves (48*) and then Hargreavesfollowed up with 6-40 as Flowery Field was bowled out for 132 (Matt Hawley58*).
Two ofDavid Taylor’s eight fifties have come against local rivals Prestwich and hisknock helped Stand to 160-10. Steve Orrell (58) and Amal Dalugoda (38*) gavePrestwich an eight wicket win.
Denton Westremained in pole position after scoring 299-8d at Irlam. Scott Kirwin scored 68and Mike Berry’s 50 ball fifty (71) was surpassed by Paul Turner’s 38 ballfifty (63). Rick Blackman took four wickets and Kirwin and Turner matched this asIrlam were bowled out for 180 (Lewis Jackson 74).
DSL stayed3rd following five points at Greenleach Lane. Justin Kenyon scored45 in Green’s 107-10 with Michael Batty taking 4-26 and then 48 from JamesMaurice-Scott and an unbeaten 38 from Adam Hawley gave the Saints a five wicketwin.
JamesClarke (64) and Gareth Tuson (40) were the main scorers in Woodhouses 245-9d(Andrew Neill 6-102) and then Hemantha Alles’ 1st five for (6-41)saw Denton bowled out for 124 (Janak Patel 37).
Imran Mirzamade sure Cheetham Hill stayed 5th when he took 7-43 in a total of160-10. John Willman (53) had top scoredfor Thornham and then Atif Riaz ended on 39 not out in Hill’s four wicket win.
DENTON WEST WIDEN GAP
FollowingPrestwich’s 8 run defeat at West, their second defeat was by 5 runs at CheethamHill, when they failed to pass the home side’s 137-10. Yousuf Anwar scored 37for Hill and Amal Dalugoda took 4-32. Chris Thomas (58) and Oli Holt (35)rescued Prestwich from 53-8 but Imran Mirza took 7-53 against his old team tobowl them out for 132. This followed his 6-29 in 2008.
In a 23overs per side match, West scored 141-4 with Scott Kirwin not out on 71 andthen 4-20 from Jason Stringer and 3-13 from Jordan Williams bowled Roe Greenout for 108.
Another tenwicket win for DSL moved them up to 2nd, five points behind DentonWest. Woodhouses were the latest victims after Rashid Nadeem’s 5-34 bowled themout for 76 (Gareth Tuson 31*). Adam Hawley (53*) took just 38 balls to reachhis fifty.
Glossopstayed in 6th position scoring 115-1 in reply to Woodbank’s 111-10.Mark Usher, Will Hargreaves and Oliver Kenyon all took three wickets and thenDavid Toft (43) and Bathiya Perera (30) were not out following David Wilde’s35.
At Hamilton Road, Stand bowled Dukinfield out for 75, Amila Weththasinghetaking 7-19 in 18.2 overs. Stand lost four wickets before reaching their totaland five points.
Glynn Middleton’s 4-39 saw Irlam bowled out for 101 and then Mark Dyson’s25th fifty (56*) came in 45 balls as Flowery Field won by ninewickets.
In a Twenty/20 match at Egerton Street Thornham’s captain Steve Greyscored 54 not out, his fifty coming in 30 balls in a total of 140-5. Dentonfinished six wickets down and ten runs behind as they gained a point.
ALLROUND PERFORMERS DOMINATE
Denton Westremained top despite an all-round performance of 5-69 followed by 60 runs byDamian Eyre. John McAllister scored 57 and Paul Turner 45 in West’s 230-8d andthen Lee Milner’s 48 helped Eyre stage a recovery as Flowery moved from 27-6 toreach 148-10. Scott Kirwin took 6-19 for the home side.
Thornhamwas DSL’s latest ten wicket victims, Andrew Micklethwaite top scoring on 32 inThornham’s 131-10. Adam Hawley (53) and Scott Allen (56) saw the Saints tovictory.
Prestwich’sgood early season form was evaporating and chasing a revised target they couldmanage only a point at home to Denton. The visitors scored 215-4d with 44 fromSteve Wharton, 73 not out by Martin Leach and 67 not out by Janak Patel. PhilKyle took 3-66 and then Amal Dalugoda was unbeaten on 32 as Prestwich reached142-6 (Andrew Neill 4-44).
Woodhousesmoved up to 4th ahead of Cheetham Hill following an eight wicket winat Roe Green. Ashley Prescott took 5-13, his 1st “five for” as Greenwas bowled out for 99. James Clarke (41) and Chris Atherton (38) were the notout Woodhouses batsmen.
Anotherall-round performance from Ridee gave Dukinfield four points to Cheetham Hill’snone. He stretched his 4th fifty to a total of 160 passing 500 runson the way and with 62 from Kabeel Akram, Dukinfield reached 285-4d. Ridee thentook 5-50 in Hill’s 168-8 (Atif Riaz 41, Imran Mirza 35).
BathiyaPerera was another all-rounder to shine, taking 7-37 as Stand were bowled outfor 103 and then being unbeaten on 36 and also passing 500 runs in Glossop’seight wicket win. Earlier Perera’s countryman Amila Weththasinghe had scored 51for Stand.
Ryan Seniorcompleted a day for the all-rounder when he scored 68 in Woodbank’s 218-8d andthen taking 5-59 as Irlam was bowled out for 162. Steve Loster had scored 49for Woodbank and for Irlam, Rick Blackman took 4-68 and Lewis Jackson scored68.
DSL MOVE LEVEL WITH WEST
The 4th July and Denton West was no longerindependent at the top of the table, being joined by rivals DSL as the Leaguereached the half way point. After restricting West to 131-8 at The Kenyons,Woodbank chasing a revised target of 91 reached 95-3 with Ryan Senior scoring40 and Wayne Griffiths 37. John McAllister had scored 48 for West and StuartCarr took 4-21.
DSL joinedthem on 53 points after doing a demolition job on Prestwich. JamesMaurice-Scott scored 65 and Steve Dublin 48 in a total of 273-7d and then DaveMorrell took 6-37 as Prestwich were bowled out for 137 (Andy Bradley 37).
Woodhousesmoved over Prestwich into 3rd place after taking five points offThornham. Mohammed Shakior took 6-50 for Thornham in Woodhouses’ total of 150and chasing a revised total of 141 Ashley Prescott took 4-17 as they werebowled out for 115.
CheethamHill stayed 5th taking four points to Glossop’s one. Imran Mirza’s58 took him past 500 runs with Mark Usher taking 4-32. Mirza’s tenth “five for”(5-37) then restricted Glossop to 121-9 chasing a revised target of 135.
AmilaWeththasinghe scored his 1st ton (105*) to keep Stand in the tophalf. They scored 207-9d and he then took 6-40 as Irlam fell well short oftheir revised 185 target, being bowled out for 81.
Dukinfieldmoved up two places to 9th after bowling Denton out for 124 (Ridee4-33). Andrew Neill and Martin Parker took three wickets each but 35 from MarkRoberts ensured that Dukinfield reached a revised target of 119 for the loss ofeight wickets.
Followingvictory at Flowery Field, Roe Green moved ahead of Denton. Danny Jones scored36 in Green’s 128-10 (Steven Oddy 4-52, Damian Eyre 3-11) and then took 4-36 asFlowery was bowled out for 77. Gareth Williams returned the best figures forRoe Green with 6-34.
DUKINFIELD DOUBLE OPENS GAP FOR WEST
In bowlingDSL out for 67, Dukinfield completed the double and created a five cushion for Denton West at the top.Ridee with 5-20 and Kamran Aziz with 5-41 bowled through the DSL innings andthen Dukinfield reached their target with six wickets in hand (Mark Roberts33*). Rashid Nadeem’s 2-12 took him to 50 wickets.
Denton Westscored 174 with Lee Dale scoring 60 and Amila Weththasinghe taking 5-68 forStand. Scott Kirwin then took 5-36 as Stand was dismissed for 92.
Prestwichwas in all sorts of trouble at 40-6 against Woodhouses before recovering to161-8d. Mike Hudson scored 43 and Andy Bradley 49 not out with Hemantha Allestaking 4-69 and Chris Atherton 3-29. Bradley followed up with 3-38 but 55 fromMike Cassidy saw Woodhouses to a four wicket win.
CheethamHill moved up to 4th place at Prestwich’s expense following a sevenwicket win against Irlam. Lewis Jackson scored 47 in Irlam’s 146-10 with ImranMirza’s 6-52 taking him to 50 wickets. Mirza then scored 40 not out and AliRaza 57 not out for Cheetham Hill.
Glossop oldboy Dale Pennington scored 44 in Denton’s 170-9d (David Rogers 4-14) but 88from Bathiya Perera and 41* from Steven Bates gave Glossop a seven wicket win.
FloweryField moved ahead of Woodbank following a five point win. Ryan Senior took 8-31and Steve Oddy was unbeaten on 32 as Flowery was bowled out for 126. In replyWoodbank was 68 all out with three wickets each for Oddy and Glynn Middletonand 4-9 from Damian Eyre.
Anothergood day for Danny Jones saw Roe Green and Thornham exchange places. His fiftycame in 47 balls as he progressed to 65 and 500 runs for the season, with RoeGreen ending on 221-9d. Robbie Colemanscored 40 as Wasim Qasim took 6-98. In reply Thornham was bowled out for 157with Andrew Micklethwaite scoring 64 not out, his 1st fifty andJones taking 6-48.
LOSSES FOR TOP THREE
With DentonWest losing at home to Cheetham Hill, neither DSL or Woodhouses couldcapitalize as they lost respectively to Glossop and Dukinfield. Yousuf Anwarscored 50 in Hill’s 206-8 with PaulTurner taking 5-84. Syed Wasif then took 7-61 as West was bowled out for 175(Jason Stringer 56, Andy O’Brien 57).
In their 33overs Glossop scored 141-5 with Adam Wilson contributing 45 and Ghulam Abbastaking 3-41. Scott Allen scored 46 out of DSL’s 106 but it was Will Hargreaves’7-43 that tipped the balance.
MikeCassidy took 4-27 as Dukinfield scored 143-9 and then scored 36 with JamesClarke scoring 40 in ‘Houses total which ended on 140-9 and one point. Rideestarred with the ball again, taking 4-45.
Prestwichgot back to winning ways when they scored 216-8d at home to Thornham. AmalDalugoda scored 70 not out with Mohammed Shakir taking 4-69 and Mike Hampson3-17. Steve Schofield looked in good touch whilst scoring 40 but 4-27 from AndyBradley helped to bowl the visitors out for 97.
FloweryField’s win took them a point ahead of opponents Stand. Steve Oddy’s 1stfive wicket haul (for 21) and 3-16 from Damian Eyre bowled Stand out for i99and then 25 from David Dickin gave Field a three wicket win. AmilaWeththasinghe took all seven Field wickets for 52.
Groundconditions again prevented any play for Woodbank against Roe Green and Denton’ssix wicket at Irlam saw a 14 point gap develop between the bottom two teams.Andrew Neill took 7-41 in Irlam’s 139-9 (Lewis Jackson 32) and then 35 each forJohn McIlwaine and Steve Wharton (not out) gave Denton four points.
BOWLERS DOMINATE
Denton Westwon the local derby at Denton to maintain their five point lead. Scott Kirwin(72) and Mike Berry (60) were the top scorers in West’s 209-5 and then PaulTurner took 4-24 in Denton’s 125-10 (John McIlwaine 56; his 1st fifty).
GhulamAbbas with 5-14 set up another ten wicket win for DSL. Adam Hawley’s 58 not outwas his 20th fifty and Scott Allen’s 44 took him past 500 runs.Irlam had previously bee bowled out for 101.
WithWoodhouses and Cheetham Hill losing, Prestwich jumped back into 3rdplace. Chris Reeves 31 was top score in Woodhouses’ 111-10 with Mark Usher andWill Hargreaves taking three wickets each. Bathiya Perera (34) and David Toft(48*) saw Glossop to an eight wicket win.
Steven Oddyfollowed up his 1st “five for” with even better figures for Flowery,taking 7-9 as Cheetham Hill were bowled out for 45. Syed Wasif took 3-17 forHill but Flowery got home by six wickets.
Prestwichpro Amal Dalugoda had figures of 7-5 as Roe Green’s 74 was bettered byPrestwich for the loss of three wickets.
Stand movedup to 8th when, after scoring 154, they bowled Woodbank out for 45.Jack Bond scored 44 not out and Andrew Sharpe 44 as Stand recovered from 75-9and Ryan Senior took 9-63 for Woodbank. Amila Weththasinghe then took 8-30 andreached 50 wickets for the season.
A blockedculvert and heavy rain contributed to Thornham’s match against Dukinfield beingabandoned with no play.
TWO POINTS ALL ROUND
Thefollowing day rain again put paid to any play between Woodbank and CheethamHill and whilst the other six matches started, none was finished.
In the topof the table clash Adam Hawley’s unbeaten 88 took him beyond 500 runs with PaulTurner taking 4-95 in DSL’s 205-8.
SteveOrrell was 70 not out as Prestwich reached 113-1 before the rain arrived atDukinfield.
Woodhouseswas 62-3 in reply to Irlam’s 126-8d with Pervez Shah having scored 46 not outand Nick Hardman taking 4-41.
Glossopdidn’t get to bat after putting Thornham out for 124. Mohammad Shakir scored 44and Mark Usher took 4-9.
SteveWharton scored 64 out of Denton’s 118=10 and then that man Oddy again took 7-27for Flowery Field.
Roe Greenhad Stand 113-3 when the rain arrived at Hamilton Road.
TOTAL WASH OUT
Augustarrived with a bang, rain putting paid to all matches without a ball beingbowled in anger.
WEST HAS SIX POINT BUFFER
WithWoodbank limiting DSL to four points, West took their chance to move six pointsclear at the top of the table. Steve Loster scored 48 in Woodbank’s 172-8(Ghulam Abbas 4-49) and then Matt Wake’s third ton of the season (101) saw DSLto a nine wicket win.
West scored296-6 with Gareth Senior (77), Lee Dale (60) and Mike Berry (54) all scoringwell and then Scott Kirwin (4-40) and Jason Stringer (3-2) bowled Thornham outfor 89.
Mike Hudsonwas unbeaten on 47 as Prestwich won by eight wickets at Irlam following AmalDalugoda’s 5-13 in Irlam’s 80 all out.
CheethamHill’s seven wicket win at home to Roe Green moved them up a place to 4thwith Modi Ali scoring 32. Rob Prill scored 39 but 4-31 from Usman Janjua and5-39 from Imran Mirza bowled Roe Green out for 82. Mirza’s wickets took himpast 60 and it was his 7th five wickets of the season.
Glossop’sfour points took them ahead of Woodhouses. Ridee (3-72) and Roger Mingham(3-55) were Dukinfield’s main bowlers but 59 from Oliver Kenyon and 38 from JoeMoss took Glossop to 183-8. Earlier Dukinfield’s first innings score was 179-7with 54 for Imran Zaman and 35 for Ridee.
StevenOddy’s three wickets took him to 50 for the season and with a further three forGlynn Middleton, Woodhouses reached a total of 171-8 (Gareth Tuson 36). MatthewHawley was not out on 78 as Flowery reached 174-8 (Hemantha Alles 4-68).
Stand movedlevel on points with Flowery, O.J. Beirne scoring 47 of their 175-9d. SteveWharton’s 5-29 was his 1st “five for”, but Amila Weththasinghe(4-57) and Carl Sutcliffe (3-29) had too much fire power, bowling Denton outfor 107 (Martin Neill 34).
ANOTHER TOP DAY FOR RIDEE
Prestwich’s lack of adventure saw them struggle to 120-6, albeit in areduced overs match with Chris Thomas unbeaten on 34 and Mike Hudson scoring35. Jason Stringer took 4-44 and West lost only two wickets chasing a revisedtotal of 72.
DSL closed the gap by a point when, after being dismissed for 142, theybowled out Stand for 117. Steve Dublin’s 20th fifty was his first ofthe season and Ghulam Abbas scored 38, with Carl Sutcliffe taking 4-45. Abbasfollowed up with 6-21 to reach 50 wickets for the season.
Glossop moved up two places by virtue of a nine wicket win at Roe Green.Joe Moss took 5-20 in Green’s 55-10 and then Adam Wilson (26) and Bathiya Perera (29) saw Glossop tovictory.
Cheetham Hill dropped a place after a nine wicket defeat at Denton. ImranRather’s 1st fifty (58) and 49 from Imran Mirza helped Hill to 163-7.Jamie Garde’s 6-52 was his 1st “five for” and then 80 not out fromDale Pennington and 63 from Janak Patel saw Denton to victory.
Woodhouses also had a nine wicket win chasing Woodbank’s 173-10. MarkHamnett’s 1st fifty was matched by Nick Hardman’s 1stfive wicket haul (8-51). It was a day of firsts as Hemantha Alles’ first fiftystretched to 106 not out.
Flowery Field moved ahead of Stand when they reached their revised targetof 53 for the loss of five wickets. Mohammad Shakir took 4-26 for Thornhamafter Glynn Middleton (6-58) and Steve Oddy (4-36_ bowled throughout theThornham innings of 96.
Ridee had another good day for Dukinfield, scoring 86 out of 241-4 (ImranZaman 49*, Kamran Aziz 36*) and then taking 8-36 as Irlam was bowled out for107 for a five point Dukinfield win. Mohammad Tahir scored 47 for Irlam.
TURNER KEEPS WEST TOP
Playingagainst his old club, Dukinfield, Paul Turner scored 53 and then took 7-33 asDenton West picked up five points. Lee Dale also scored 58 in West’s 206-8 withRidee taking 5-82. Dukinfield was bowled out for 117 and Turner’s all-roundfeats saw his 47th fifty take him past 500 runs and his 54th“five for” took him past 50 wickets for the season.
DSL kept upthe pressure on their rivals when they beat Cheetham Hill by 39 runs atCatherine Road. Steve Dublin scored 37 in DSL’s 151-10 (Modi Ali’s 5-43 was the10th time he had taken five wickets or more in a match) and thenMichael Batty and Ghulam Abbas took three wickets each as Cheetham Hill wasbowled out for 112 (Imran Mirza 39).
Glossoptook a comfortable five points at Irlam with an eight wicket win chasing 152.Mohammad Tahir scored 47 and Pervez Shah 38 as Bathiya Perera (5-29) and WillHargreaves (3-42) bowled Irlam out for 152. Perera then scored an unbeaten 74,passing 800 runs in the process.
Prestwichstayed 4th with a surprisingly comfortable 100 run win at The Heys,Amal Dalugoda’s 86 was his 8th fifty of the season with Steve Oddytaking 3-48 and Damian Eyre 3-73. Oli Holt took 4-33 as Flowery was bowled outfor 93.
Woodhousesleapfrogged Cheetham Hill to go 5th with Hemantha Alles scoring 87in a total of 220-7. Mike Cassidy and James Clarke both reached 500 runs andCarl Sutcliffe took 5-73 for Stand. Nick Hardman took 4-43 but Matty Holt’s 1stfifty (54) meant that the home side took a point on 179-9.
Woodbankhad a five point win over Thornham with the main run scorers in their 218-3being Ryan Senior (72), David McCheyne (44*) and Martin Kay (37*). Zeb Quereshihad earlier taken 4-32 in Thornham’s 214 with Alec McCheyne top scoring on 40.
Denton’swin moved them above opponents Roe Green with Andrew Neill’s 4-25 taking himover the 50 wicket mark and Steve Wharton chipping in with 3-36. DalePennington (49) and John McIlwaine (44) saw Denton to a four wicket win withthree wickets each for Danny Jones and James Beardshaw .
KIRWIN HURTS GLOSSOP
With DSLbeing unable to bowl Denton out, the other team in the triumvirate, West,stretched their lead to six points again. Pro Scott Kirwin took 5-28 as Glossopwere bowled out for 134 and was then unbeaten on 58 (his 20th fifty)as West won by eight wickets.
GhulamAbbas with 6-54 hit the 60 wicket mark as Denton reached 167-9 and despiteSteve Wharton’s 5-44, DSL scraped home by two wickets. Scott Allen’s 57 was his10th fifty and Matt Wake’s 44 took him past 900 runs.
Prestwichmoved up to 3rd with Amal Dalugoda (84) and Chris Thomas (83*)putting on 169 for the third wicket in a total of 265-4. Ryan Senior scored 38but 4-12 from Chris Humphreys, 3-58 from Oli Holt and 2-4 by Andy Bradleybowled Woodbank out for 80.
Woodhousesmade the most of Glossop’s defeat to move up to 4th with a home winagainst Cheetham Hill. Mike Cassidy’s conversion rate proved far better than the Euro as his 53rdfifty resulted in his 13th ton (114). With Hemantha Alles (48) andSteven Clarke (38) chipping in, ‘Houses reached 234-6 with the wickets beingshared by Modi Ali and Mohammad Niaz. Imran Mirza scored 43 but Calum Megram(3-12) and Nick Hardman (3-22) resulted in Hill being bowled over for 116.
Stand movedback above Flowery Field when they took five points at Thornham. AmilaWeththasinghe scored 68 out of Stand’s 222 with Tom Grey taking 4-65. KabeelAkram scored 39 but four wickets for Carl Sutcliffe and Matt Curphy bowledThornham out for 137.
Dukinfieldmoved to within two points of Flowery following a four point win. MatthewHawley and Mark Stringer were unbeaten on 92 and 55 respectively in a total of216-4 but 86 from David Gandy, 65 from Kabeel Akram (his 10th fifty)and 45 not out from Ridee saw Dukinfield to an eight wicket win.
Roe Greenmoved ahead of Denton with four points to Irlam’s one. Justin Kenyon (47) andDanny Jones (33) top scored in Green’s 180-5 and then 5-57 from James Beardshawsaw Irlam end up on 138-8. Danny Jones 3-48 took him to 50 wickets.
TITLE RESTS BETWEEN WEST AND SAINTS
Five pointseach for the top two teams meant that only they were in a position to lift theChampionship. From 40-5 West reached 202 all out with 79 for Lee Dale and 32for Johnny Powers. Manny Khan and Rick Blackman took four wickets each and thenSaj Ahmed scored 40. Scott Kirwin with 7-34 proved to be a thorn in Irlam’sside as they finished on 99 all out.
Danny Jones(5-44) and James Brierley (4-59) bowled DSL out for 164 but four wickets eachfor Rashid Nadeem and Michael Batty saw Green fall 36 runs short (Jones 35).
Woodhouses scored 153 against Denton with Gareth Tuson’s 32 being topscore. Andrew Neill took 5-48 and Steve Wharton 5-81 for the home side. ChrisAtherton (4-19) and Nick Hardman (3-14) saw Denton bowled out for 70.
In a 30 overs a side match at Stand, Prestwich had to settle for a pointon 114-7 in reply to Stand’s 136-6. The difference was Amila Weththasinghe witha rapid 73, his fifty coming in 47 balls. Stuart Catterall took three Prestwichwickets for 13.
Glossop suffered defeat at Throstle Bank Street after Flowery had scored177-10. Matthew Hawley scored 53 and Will Hargreaves took 4-47. Old boy DamianEyre took 5-8 in 7.2 overs and Steven Oddy 3-53 as Glossop was all out for 108.
Imran Mirza (93) scored his 40th half century and Modi Alichipped in with 39 in Cheetham Hill’s 175-6. Mahammad Niaz (6-33) took hisfirst “five for” as Thornham was all out for 114 (Steve Schofield 39).
The match at Woodbank against Dukinfield was again rain affected and bothteams received two points each with no play at all.
NEAR WASHOUT AS SEPTEMBER ARRIVES
Only twomatches had any play at all with Glossop having an early finish as they beatWoodbank by ten wickets. Mark Usher took 6-18 and Koe Moss 3-9 as Woodbank wasbowled out for 27.
GlynnMiddleton took 4-25 as Irlam was all out for 71 before Flowery won by sixwickets.
TITLE CHASE GOES TO FINAL DAY
DSL tookfour points off Thornham and with Flowery Field putting the cat amongst thepigeons with a win over Denton West, the gap at the top was down to two pointswith one game left.
Lee Dalescored 66 in West’s 150-10 with Damian Eyre taking 7-30. Flowery’s David Dickinscored 39 out of a total of 156-9, Jason Stringer having the best return of4-42.
RashidNadeem took 4-45 to restrict Thornham to 162-9 (Steve Schofield 82) and then 61from Adam Hawley and an unbeaten 58 from Steve Dublin gave the Saints a sevenwicket win. Hawley’s knock followed his 153* in 2008.
Glossopmoved up two places to 3rd following Bathiya Perera’s brilliant 158not out in a total of 218-5d. It was his 60th fifty and 13thcentury. Chasing a revised target of 202, Stand was bowled out for 180 withWill Hargreaves taking 4-72 and Amila Weththasinghe scoring 87.
Woodhousesdropped to 4th when Danny Jones’ 6-22 bowled them out for 78 atMedlock Road. He then hit a 47 ball fifty as he reached an unbeaten 65 out of83-3.
Prestwichalso suffered at Denton, being bowled out for 94 in reply to Denton’s 139-9.Janak Patel scored 40 for the home side with Andy Bradley taking 5-24. AmalDalugoda scored 39 for Prestwich but Andrew Neill’s best figures for Denton(9-35) put paid to the visitors.
Ali Raza(76) and Imran Mirza (70*) saw Cheetham Hill to 221-5 and then 5-49 by Modi Aliand 3-32 by Mohammad Niaz put Dukinfield out for 143 (Ridee 41, Steve Coulding46).
Frustrationagain at Woodbank where ground conditions prevented any play against Irlam.
WEST WIN FIFTH TITLE
Denton Westcompleted the double and won their first title since 2003 with a convincing winat home to Woodbank. Scott Kirwin scored 91 and Mike Berry 67 in a total of245-7 and Kirwin followed up with 6-22, his 10th “five for”, asWoodbank were all out for 78 (Paul Turner 3-29).
DSL endedup in 2nd place again on 96 points, two points behind the Champions,with five points at The Heys. Chris Humphreys, Oli Holt and Phil Kyle each tookthree wickets with Ghulam Abbas scoring 28 not out in DSL’s 111-10. ChrisThomas scored 45 but 3-28 from Abbas and 4-10 including a hat trick from DaveMorrell put Prestwich out for 94.
Woodhousesmoved up to 3rd with a win at Thornham. Batting first Mike Cassidyscored 76 in ‘Houses 148-10 with Andy Field (5-41) and Steve Schofield’s 1stfive wicket bag (5-50) doing the damage for Thornham. The home side was thenbowled out for 91 with Doug Sloan taking an incredible 4-0 in 7 balls.
Glossopslipped to 4th and Cheetham Hill moved up to 5th and thelast Lancashire Cup slot in 2010 when they won by 7 runs at North Road. ImranMirza (45) and Yousuf Anwar (44) top scored in a total of 206-7 with WillHargreaves taking 3-56. Bathiya Perera scored 59 but 4-88 from Modi Ali helpedbowl Glossop out for 199.
FloweryField remained in the top half of the table after bowling Roe Green out for 117and then easing home by six wickets with David Williams scoring 46. EarlierSteven Oddy with 4-18 off 18 overs and Damian Eyre with 4-22 off 17 had donethe damage for Flowery.
StuartCatterall took 4-32 in Irlam’s 142-10 and Stand then won by seven wickets withAmila Weththasinghe becoming a member of the 99 club.
Dukinfieldtook four points to Denton’s one but it was a vital point for Denton as itmoved them up 2 places to 10th. Ridee converted his 6thfifty to 108 in a total of 201-6 (Richard Leech 3-19) and then 73 from DalePennington meant that Denton closed on 155-9 (Simon Collins 3-47).
The LeagueChairman, Ian Pickles, was on hand at Windsor Park to present Denton West withthe Championship Trophy.
WEST WIN WALKDEN CUP FOR SECOND TIME
Havingbeaten Denton in 1998, Denton West beat rivals DSL in the 2009 final.
Theirtoughest game came in the first round at the end of May when, after scoring145-6, they reduced Dukinfield to 25-5 and 47-7 before a recovery led by SteveChambers (43) and Simon Collins (31) took Dukinfield to 128. Jason Stringertook 4-17 and Scott Kirwin 4-22.
Their Finalopponents DSL also had a close game, moving past Flowery Field’s 174-10 withjust two wickets to spare. Gareth Lister (47*) top scored for Flowery withRashid Nadeem taking 3-35. In reply Matt Wake’s 10th fifty (54) waskey for DSL with David Dickin taking 3-36.
Following acomfortable win the day before against the same opponents Irlam, ChrisHumphreys with 43 was largely instrumental in Prestwich reaching 112 (RickBlackman 3-19). Oli Holt then took 3-22 as Irlam was bowled out for 88.
DefendingCup holders Stand scored 174-9 at Woodbank with Stuart Catterall scoring 63.Martin Kay took 3-38 and Zubair Quereshi took 5-39, his 1st “fivefor”. Catterall then continued his love affair with the Walkden Cup, followinghis excellent form in 2008, with 3-10.
Modi Alitook 4-30 as Roe Green was dismissed for 108 and then unbeaten knocks from AliRaza (37) and Imran Mirza (32) took Hill to an eight wicket win.
Dentonsuffered a ten wicket defeat at the hands of Glossop, being bowled out for 37(David Toft 3-12, Mark Usher 2-4, Bathiya Perera 2-3 and Adam Coates 2-6 doingthe damage).
In theQuarter Finals, Glossop didn’t enjoy quite the same success as West totaled264-9. Lee Dale’s 10th fifty (84) and 70 from Mike Berry were thetop run getters and Bathiya Perera returned excellent figures of 4-19. He thenstroked an unbeaten 93, but Glossop’s last wicket fell on 212. Steven Batesscored 54 and Paul Turner (5-43) took the bulk of the wickets for West. ScottKirwin’s 3-28 took him to 50 wickets for the season.
Following a1st Round bye, Thornham scored 171 against DSL with Steve Schofieldnotching 60 to counter Rashid Nadeem’s 5-34. DSL coasted to a nine wicket winthanks to Scott Allen’s 80 not out and an unbeaten 55 from Matthew Wake.
Woodhouses,also benefiting from a bye scored 207-7 in Round 2 with James Clarke’s 86 beinghis 10th fifty and with Chris Atherton contributing 54. DespiteImran Mirza’s 50, Cheetham Hill was bowled out for 100 with 3-29 from AshleyPrescott and 3-12 in 10 overs from Douggie Sloan.
SteveOrrell past 10,000 runs for Prestwich as he (52), mike Hudson (52) and AmalDalugoda (68) scored well in the home side’s 215-8. John Walters then foundjust the right amount of movement as he picked up 6-24 in Stand’s 84 all out.
TheSemi-Finals saw Denton West travel to Woodhouses and chase a total of 220-8following 46 from Phill Sutcliffe and 58 not out from Chris Atherton. ScottKirwin’s 86 took him over 500 runs as West won by five wickets.
It was acloser affair at Sycamore Park with DSL beating Prestwich off the last ball ofthe match. Amal Dalugoda’s 84 took him past 500 runs and with 44 from GarethBarnes, Prestwich closed on 237-7 (John Remers 4-56). Adam Hawley (58) andJames Maurice-Scott (55) took the Saints to victory with two wickets to spare.
The Finalat DSL resulted in West making the highest score in a Walkden Cup Final whenthey reached 345-6. Lee Dale was named as Man of the Match for his 123 and MikeBerry chipped in with 59. Paul Turner (4-50) and Andy O’Brien (4-30) were themain wicket takers for West as DSL was all out for 239 (Matthew Wake 66, AdamHawley 46).
J.W. LEES INTER-LEAGUE TROPHY
The Seniorssuffered a first round knockout at Barnoldswick against the Ribblesdale League.On a good wicket the Ribblesdale League batted first and scored 252 with ImranMirza taking 4-53. In reply the Lancashire County League started off like atrain with captain Mark Dyson (43) and Mirza (59) leading the charge. After afall of wickets, Modi Ali and Jason Stringer took the score to 186 before thelast wicket fell on 203 in 39.1 overs.
It was sadthat shortly after, skipper Dyson should decide to take a break from cricket atboth league and club level. Not only was he good to watch at the top of theorder, but he was well respected as captain by his team and was a pleasure toknow on selection.
The Coltshad two of their three group games at home but lost their first at Prestwichagainst the North Lancashire & Cumbria League by six wickets after scoring205-8.
Their Julymatch was at Denton West where they defeated the Saddleworth League in a repeatof the 2008 final. The LCL scored 224-9 and in reply the Saddleworth Leaguescored 195-6. Prestwich’s Sam Holden followed his 65 with 3-34 to take the Manof the Match award and Nick Bridgford (Roe Green) took 2-29.
There was achance that they might still reach the Final but the Bolton League completelyput paid to that idea with a resounding ten wicket win.
Weatherprevented any play in the final between the Central Lancashire and BoltonLeaguers and it is hoped that this will be played early in 2010.
U-15’S WIN MICHAEL ROCHE TROPHY
League Under 15’s Manager Dave Jackson reported that the League wassuccessful in winning the Michael Roche Inter-League Knockout Trophy.
With an abundance of extremely talented players in this age group, teamselection would not be easy and with four County players at our disposal expectationsfor success were rightly high. However to give everybody a fair chance to makethe team, clubs were asked to nominate their players and a trial could be heldto select the final 12 players. However with nearly 30 nominations received atrial match was duly held at Irlam C.C. and soon after the squad was selectedto play in the Quarter Finals against Salford and Manchester Association.
Very disappointingly Salford and Manchester failed to produce a team andpulled out a week before the game was due to be played. This gave us a bye intothe Semi Finals and a home fixture against the Bolton Association. Boltonbatted first and was quickly pegged back by the keen LCL attack, eventuallybeing bowled out for 119, Jason Ebbrell (Hyde) 3-17 and Ollie Ryder (Roe Green)3-22 doing most of the damage. The LCL batsmen comfortably made the 120required, losing only four wickets with eight overs to spare. Lewis Jackson(Irlam) finished on 40 not out and James Wharmby (Prestwich) made 36.
We all knew the final against the Central Lancashire League would be amuch sterner test and it certainly proved to be. On a good track at Middletonthe CLL won the toss and elected to bat. At the halfway point of the innings,the CLL was well positioned at 91-1 and a big score looked imminent. Theirinnings finished on 193-4 and effective tight bowling from James Vast (RoeGreen) 3-33 and Aaron Nixon (Irlam) 1-25 meant that we were left to chase agettable score rather than 250 that at one stage looked on the cards.
However, it would still require a big team effort all the way down to getus a result. The lads certainly didn’t disappoint and good knocks from JamesWharmby (24), Nick Doyle (Woodhouses) 36 and Patrick Collinson (Roe Green) 28put us in a good position. With the run rate approaching seven an over, a significant innings would be required.Enter George Hill (Denton West) with a heroic knock of 39 not out, being ablysupported by Jason Ebbrell 17 not out as we crossed the line with four balls tospare in a very exciting conclusion to a great match.
Thanks to Irlam C.C. for staging the Semi final. Also the scorers Mrs.Wharmby and Steve Higham, Harry Lewis for umpiring and finally to Colin Rookfor assisting in team selection and organisation. Most importantly thanks toall the players particularly those who played in the trial match at Irlam.
2009 WINNERS
DSL’sMatthew Wake was voted as Player’s Player of the Year and he was second in thebatting averages with 910 runs at an average of 45.50. He was pipped for firstplace by Cheetham Hill’s Imran Mirza who scored 979 runs at 51.53. BathiyaPerera won the pro’s batting averages with 1,052 at an average of 70.13 butDenton West’s Scott Kirwin won the bowling with 95 wickets at 10.36.
The 1stXI bowling averages was won by Chris Atherton with 56 wickets at an average of10.34 ahead of Andrew Neill (Denton ) whose 59 wickets won the aggregate trophyfor most league wickets. Mirza’s 897 runs was the most in the league and DentonWest’s John Foreman had most sixes with 45. Wake won the 1st XIwicketkeeping with 23 stumpings in his 39 victims and Glossop skipper AdamWilson won the fielding with 19 catches.
DSL wonboth the 1st and 2nd XI Last Six Competitions, the 1stteam winning it for the second occasion.
After beingrunners-up in 2008 Flowery Field went one better by winning the 2ndXI Championship for the first time ahead of Denton. Alan Carter led the waywith 788 runs and he was joined in the averages by Stuart Dolan and AndrewLyon. Bevon Blackwood retained the 2nd XI batting averages and theGlossop skipper scored 830 runs at an average of 59.29. This was enough toensure his retention of the Players Player of the Year Award for 2ndteam players. Howard Lyon won the 2nd XI bowling with 53 wickets at7.07 and he was ably supported at Flowery by Mark Phillips and Alan Carter whofinished 4th and 6th respectively. Lee Riley alsoqualified with 45 wickets and it was their attack more than anything that wonthem the title.
Phil Harveywon the wicketkeeping with 34 victims and Andrew Leech (Denton) won the fieldingwith 13 catches.
Stand 2ndXI won the Hulme Trophy for the first time when they defeated Woodhouses atHamilton Road, Dave Foreman being named as Man of the Match for his fourwickets. On their way to the final they defeated Woodbank, Prestwich and FloweryField.
FloweryField won the T. Saville-Whittle Aggregate Trophy for the first time with 177points, 8 ahead of Denton West.
Denton West1st XI was voted “Team of the Year” for 2009 for winning the double.It was a record 4th time that they had won the award.
It was amemorable year for “Mr. Irlam”, Geoff Yates, as he was one of only 1,000 peopleto receive a medal from the ICC, distributed worldwide for services withincricket. It was to commemorate the ICC’s Centenary Year and only 50 were madeavailable to the UK.
2010 is the17th year of JW Lees sponsorship and is one of the longest cricketsponsorships in the country. Any Club considering a change of beer shouldcontact Dean Redfern on 0161 643 2487.
Once morethanks go to the hard working set of Officials and League Management Committee.
Thisconcludes my 23rd season as League Secretary and my 17th report forthe Lancashire County League.
R.I.Hinchliffe (Hon. Secretary)
December2009
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