Wood Lane win Prem by a point

17th September

Link to Report

http://nssc.play-cricket.com/content/view.asp?id=10355341&cid=200

Premier Division

Wood Lane pipped Leek and Hem Heath to become champions as they claimed a winning draw against Burslem. Having started the day in third place, Wood Lane batted first and set managed to reach 224-3 in 44 overs, Mathew Hagan top scored with 79 but was well supported by Jeff Maynard (54) and Richard Hassall (59 no). In reply Burslem finished on 174-8, Steve Norcup taking figures of 4-46.

Leek finished a point behind Wood Lane in second place as they finished the season off with a draw at home against Stone. Leek batted first and Alex Mellor (90 no) led his to side 195-3 from 36.2 overs with Chris Beach striking 52 from 49 balls. In the second innings only 20 overs were managed before the weather intervened, Leek having restricted the away side to 57-4.

Hem Heath started the day top of the table but finished a further two points behind, as they lost to relegated Barlaston. Hem Heath were dismissed for 105, only John Cheadle (49) and Andy Palmer (20) making double figures. Barlaston then passed the required score for the loss of two wickets.

Sandyford were relegated to Division One, when they lost to Little Stoke. The away side restricted Little Stoke to 140 all out, Andrew Barnett claiming 7-58 giving Sandyford a great chance, but in the second innings they were all out for 125, Shaaiq Choudery (5-57) the pick of the bowlers.

Knypersley managed to beat the drop with victory against Porthill Park. Nayyar Abbas took 7-51 as the home side bowled Porthill out for 111. Abbas then smashed 71 not out off 38 balls, as Knypersley passed the target inside 18 overs.

Longton against Audley  was abandoned after the first innings, which Longton finished 194-9 from their allotted 55 overs.

Division One

Checkley have been promoted to the Premier Division after  victory against Betley and champions and local rivals Cheadle beat Elworth. Checkley batted first and were given a real scare when Darren Snape took 9-36 as they were dismissed for 117. Things were even worse for the promotion hopefuls when Betley were 114-8 but captain Gavin Carr took the last two wickets as Betley finished 115 all out, Carr claiming figures of 7-37.

Elworth started the day in second but were unable to chase down 194, which would have secured their place in the top division. Vishal Tripathi (61) and Dave Wheeldon (65) were the main run scorers for Cheadle as they finished on 194-7. Chris Baker (8-30) then did the damage with ball for Cheadle, as Elworth collapsed to 82 all out.

Weston have been relegated with Oulton when they lost by three wickets against Leycett. Weston stuttered to 80 all out batting first and Leycett passed the finishing line in the 24^th over.

Blythe beat the drop even though they were defeated by Whitmore by 60 runs. Blythe restricted the away side to 150 all out, Aqab Ahmed taking 5-57. Blythe struggled with the bat and collapsed to 80 all out Lee Johnson with figures of 8-27.

Ben Cox helped Oulton gain the winning draw, as he hit 86 off 96 balls against Moddershall. Oulton set Moddershall 230 to win, but they finished on 151-2 from 40.2 overs, Craig Grimley (66 no) and Khalid Malik (53) top scorers for Moddershall.

Meir Heath’s game against Norton was abandoned half way through the second innings. Meir Heath batted first and hit 199-9 and Norton were 70-8 when the rain came.

Division Two

The weather was a major player in division two with only two games coming to a close and it cost Ashcombe and Caverswall dearly. Ashcombe were second at the start of the day and they declared on 175-9 after 45 overs against Alsager. When the rain came they had dismissed two Alsager batsmen for 52.

Caverswall were placed fourth and knew they would have to win batting first against Bagnall to stand any chance and they were placed in a good position, when they declared on 218-6 from 40 overs, Rob King striking 63 and Jake Edge (53) led the way. When the rain came Bagnall were 62-1 from 10 overs.

It was Silverdale that managed to secure promotion with when they comfortably beat Rode Park & Lawton by eight wickets. Richie Jervis and Glynn Moore did the damage for Silverdale both taking four wickets as the home side were dismissed for 52. Matt Baker saw his side past the target with 20 not out.

Champions Meakin lost to Stafford by five wickets, when they were unable to defend to 160, Aparajit Singh took 5-58. Richard Brazier then made sure his side gained the win with a run a ball 61 not out.

Newcastle & Hartshill’s game against Crewe was abandoned after 36.4 overs and Kidsgrove versus Bignall End had the same fate.

Division Three

Woore have been promoted with Eccleshall when they beat Stone batting first and Oakamoor could only manage a draw in a rain affected match. Woore batted first against Stone and they smashed 283-8 from 40 with number 9 Anand Buddhdev hitting 91 from 51 balls and number 10 Andrew Kenvyn (53) doing most of the damage late on. Stone were then dismissed for 156.

Oakamoor had to win batting first and finished on 200-1 in 37 overs against Champions Eccleshall, Muhammad Ayub top scored with 106 and was supported by Tom Sherratt (75 no). Eccleshall’s innings only lasted 18 overs because of rain and they were wobbling on 57-4.

Forsbrook finished in fourth place with a draw against Moddershall A. Forsbrook stuttered to 138 all out and in reply Moddershall finished 89-2, Sam Moores top scored with 49.

Adrian Lello took 7-40 as Wedgewood & Stanfields restricted Wootton to 123 all out. Wedgewood then knocked the total off for the loss of three wickets, Mitchell Edwards (62) top scored but it was Andrew Pickerill (41 no) who saw them over the line.

Endon were stopped against Hanford by rain. They set Hanford 228 to win, Kevin Cockerton (105) and Alex Bailey (78 no) scored the majority of the runs for Endon. In reply Hanford were 45-3 when the rain came.

Norton-In-Hales versus Fenton was also abandoned after the first innings, which the home side had scored 162-9, James Ruscoe finishing on 52 not out and Chris Mellor taking 7-40.

Leaders Wood Lane lose at Porthill

6th August 2011

Link to report

Premier Divisionhttp://nssc.play-cricket.com/content/view.asp?id=10350320&cid=200

Premier Division

League leaders Wood Lane lost by three runs when they travelled to Porthill Park. Asad Ali (8-55) reduced the home side to 150 all out, Ian Butler’s 70 not out stabilising the innings. Adam Ralph (5-28) helped to restrict Wood Lane to 147. Porthill move into second and have cut the gap at the top to 25 points.

Bottom of the table Little Stoke beat title chasing Stone batting first. Shaaiq Choudery’s 88 and half centuries from Richard Adams and Daniel Richardson guided Little Stoke to 257-9 declared. Russell Ballard the pick of the bowlers taking 6-64. Despite James Ecclestone (76) best efforts Stone were dismissed for 190 in the 55^th over, Gareth Morris picking up 5-44.

Burslem’s title hopes were dealt a blow again as they lost by four wickets against Hem Heath. Christopher Lowndes (60) supported a stuttering Burslem innings to 118.Mo Hussain then took the attack to the Burslem bowlers striking 41 off 28 balls hitting nine fours as Hem Heath knocked off the total in 18 overs.

Chris Beech guided Leek to a winning draw against Audley. Beach scored 74 not out in the second innings after Audley had set Leek 222 to win, Hamza Siddique (57) top scoring. Leek’s innings was reduced to 38 overs and they managed to reach 153-5.

Sohail Rauf’s century wasn’t enough for Sandyford to gain the winning draw when they travelled to fellow strugglers Knypersley. Rauf finished on 129 not out as Sandyford scored 217 from the 55 overs. In reply Knypersley reached 163-3 in their shortened innings Nayyar Abbas top scored with 77 not out.

Longton got the winning draw at home against Barlaston batting second. William Purser’s 101, well supported by Michael Longmore (64) helped the home side reach 260 all out. Tom Taylor and Suwanji Madanayake, both claiming three wickets. Longmore then took three wickets as Barlaston were restricted to 217 Leigh Matthews (48) was the highlight for the visitors.

Division One

Cheadle came out on top in the local derby against Checkley and extend their lead at the top over their rivals. Cheadle batted first and set Checkley 219 to win, Adam Alcock top scored smashing 63, which included three 4s and five 6s. Checkley were dismissed for 182 in the 58^th over despite the efforts of John Pickles (64).

Elworth moved back into second place after thrashing Blythe by 131 runs. Rob Beech (73) Matthew Winter made Elworth a solid platform with an opening partnership of 91 and they declared on 227-7 after 53 overs. Steve Morgan (6-34) was the main destroyer with the ball in the second innings as Blythe collapsed to 96 all out.

Whitmore picked up maximum points against bottom of the table Oulton. Runs from Josh Cartledge (70) and Matthew Rogalski (66) at the top of the order and Abdul Aqeel’s 45 not out, helped Whitmore post 265-7. In reply Oulton were dismissed for 202 in the 52^nd over Rob Spruce top scoring with 39.

Weston closed the gap on Blythe in the relegation battle after they beat Meir Heath batting second. Phillip Stockton (5-32) picked up his best bowling figures for the season as Meir Heath were restricted to 196. Michael Alexander then smashed an unbeaten 106 as Weston knocked the target off for the loss of one wicket. Martin Dawson (27) and Raj Kumar (55) both giving valuable support.

Moddershall beat Norton batting second by five wickets. Khalid Malik was the man of the moment for Moddershall claiming his first five wicket haul of the season as Norton managed to score 188-9, he then finished on 63 not out with the bat as Moddershall reached the target in the 54^th over.

Betley hung on for the draw against Leycett, but stay in touching distance of the bottom two. Jason Jinks (68)Haroon Mahmood (52) were main run scorers for Leycett as they set Betley 188 to win. Muhammad Khalil then took 5-44 as Betley were reduced to 122-9, but fought their way to 144-9 from 48 overs.

Division Two

Meakin’s maintained their momentum after beating Kidsgrove batting second. Kidsgrove looked to be in deep trouble but with Elliott Maginnis’s 58 at number eight they managed to reach 171 all out. Matthew Redican was the pick of the bowlers claiming 4-37. Meakin reached the target for the loss of three wickets, Qasim Sheikh (67no) and Haydon Simcock (46no) saw the league leaders over the line.

With Meakin’s only picking up 20 points Ashcombe closed the gap to four points at the top after picking up the victory against Caverswall batting first. Ahmed Hayat Gondal’s 67 rescued the Ashcombe innings as they were dismissed for 143. In reply Caverswall slumped to 93 all out, Josh Johnson took 5-12 from his 10 overs.

Bottom of the table Bagnall’s charge for safety continues with their third victory in four games against promotion hopefuls Newcastle & Hartshill. Batting first Bagnall were dismissed for 173, Simon Gordon (51) being the main support of the innings. Kashif Daud (5-26) and Colin Wilkinson (3-20) then picked up wickets at regular intervals as Newcastle & Hartshill collapsed to 85 all out.

Alsager gained a comprehensive 108 run victory against Rode Park & Lawton. Adrian Myatt (77) and Chris Hampshire (53) helped Alsager post 217-5. The highlight for Rode Park was Adam Taylor’s 4-75. They then were dismissed for 109 Hampshire claiming 5-55.

Mitchell Stokes’s 95 led Silverdale to a five wicket victory against Stafford. Joe Askey (100 no) looked to have put Stafford in a healthy position after 55 overs when Silverdale finished on 221-5. But Stokes and Stephen Jones (51) got Silverdale within sight of victory and Glynn Moore (20 no) and Matt Myatt (6no) saw them over the line in the 53^rd over.

Bignall End claimed the winning draw against fellow strugglers Crewe. Yasser Tariq (110) helped Crewe post 232-8, but Bignall End made it to 195-3 from 45 overs. Kim Barnett top scored with 77 for the visitors.

Division Three

Eccleshall extended their lead at the top beating second place Forsbrook by 28 runs. Eccleshall posted a modest total of 141 all out, Andrew Jones, Grant Ridgway and Matt Wild all picking up three wickets.  In reply Forsbrook could only manage 113 all out, Cameron Sinclair (5-56) and Paul Cox (4-21) doing the damage. The gap at the top is now 48 points.

Oakamoor title hopes took a knock when they lost by 119 runs against Stone SP. Steven Aston’s 61 was well supported by Jack Thorley (45) and Neil Podmore (42no) as Stone set third place Oakamoor 220 to win. Muhammad Ayub was the pick of the bowlers with his fourth five wicket haul of the season. Oakamoor  were 70-3 but then collapsed to 100 all out, Stone’s bowlers sharing the wickets.

Bottom of the table Wootton managed to hold onto to the win by three runs. Wootton at home posted 172 in an innings which consisted of 25 extras. Josh Stevens top scored before he was run out on 38. In reply Woore had three people reach the 40s but no-one could go on and win the game and they were dismissed for 169.

Endon’s promotion hopes were dealt a setback when they were unable to defend 229 at home against Norton-In-Hales. Jordan Weaver (83) again hit runs and Phil Rowley (37no) was in at the end when his team were all out. Norton-In-Hales made a poor start and found themselves 57-4 but Simon Ellwell (66) and John Caulkin (55no) saw their side over the line in the 52^nd over.

Fenton beat Moddershall A batting second by one wicket. Moddershall set the home side 155 to win, Dave Stupples top scoring with 45 and Chris Mellor was the pick of the bowlers with 5-46. Phil Hall (48no) batted through the innings and Fenton reached their target after 62 overs.

Wedgewood beat Hanford batting second despite Roger Davies’ century.  Davies helped Hanford to a healthy 200 from their 55 overs, but Oliver Holland (60no) and Josh Clayton (50) secured victory for Wedgewood.