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.

Rowley’s century gives Burslem a hope after beating top of the league

30th July

Link to report

http://nssc.play-cricket.com/content/view.asp?id=10348218&cid=200
Premier Division

Michael Rowley’s unbeaten century kept Burslem’s title hopes alive against table topping Wood Lane. Rowley who was ably supported by Christopher Lowndes (75no) finished on 120 not out as Burslem chased down Wood Lane’s total of 242-4 for the loss of two wickets. The highlight for Wood Lane was Ryan Hassett’s 110.

Leek beat second place Stone by 34 runs to keep their belief burning that they can finish top. Alex Mellor (119no) and Tom Steele (89no) set the game up for the Highfield side, posting 239-2. In reply Stone had starts throughout the batting lineup but only Richard Harvey (60) went on as they were dismissed for 205 in the 53^rd over. Greg Willott and Paul Hammersley both picked up three wickets.

Sandyford moved out of the relegation zone with a 97 run victory against bottom of the table Little Stoke. Sandyford finished their innings on 201-7, Dave Moors (59) and Sohail Rauf (44) the main contributors. Gareth Morris was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4-58. Morris was then the only resistance against the Sandyford bowling attack facing 98 balls for his 38, as his side were all out for 104, Daniel Roberts claiming 4-18.

Audley beat Longton  by five wickets batting second. Longton were dismissed for 177, Tom Redfern top scoring with 29 while Roger Silence took 3-38. Audley got off to a poor start in reply losing opener Richard Holloway without a run on the board but captain David Fairbanks (74no) guided his side home in the 54^th over.

Mo Hussian’s hundred setup a comfortable 125 run victory against strugglers Barlaston. Hussian (104) was given support by Michael Hall (49) and Ben McGuire (33) as Hem Heath declared on 253-9. Zafar Igbal (6-67) then demolished the Barlaston top order to leave them on 75-7 and Hussian picked up the last three wickets as home side fell for 128.

Nayyar Abbas’s efforts weren’t enough to stop Knypersley from falling into the bottom two. In the first innings he claimed 6-82 as Porthill finished on 200. He then scored 54 as his side was bowled out for 151, Ian Butler claimed his fourth five wicket haul of the season for Porthill.

Division One

Cheadle have strengthened their position at the top of the table after beating title rivals Elworth batting first. Shaun Jenkinson (82) was the main contributor as the home side posted 184-9, Steve Morgan finishing with impressive figures of 6-71. Elworth in their innings had starts all the way down the batting line up, but nothing major and fell 21 runs short on 163.

Checkley moved into second place 18 points behind Cheadle after beating Betley batting first. Checkley declared on 267 after 48 overs, with Sebastian Blaszczyk (70), Nick Hunt (57) and Iain Carr (58no) all hitting half centuries and Andy Carr finishing 47 not out. Betley’s lower order then crumbled with five players failing to make double figures, Tom Blackwood (41) top scored, and Iain Carr (5-48) was impressive with the ball.

Whitmore kept their slight promotion hopes alive after picking up maximum points against Blythe. Matthew Rogalski (84) and Abdul Aqeel (49) helped Whitmore set Blythe 265 to win, Greg Prime and Tom Simcock both picking up three wickets. But the visitors fell 118 runs short Shafiq Ahmed top scoring with 41, Irfan Fazil (4-31) was the pick of the bowlers.

Meir Heath remain level on points with Whitmore, as they also picked up 25 points with an 18 run victory against Norton. Richard Stonier (79) lacked support  at the top of the Meir Heath order, but with late runs from Jason Britton (55) and Iftikhar Asghar (47no) they pushed the total up to 228-9. Asghar then took 5-71, as Norton were all out for 210, despite the efforts of Geeth Alwis (70) and Neil Edwards (51).

Leycett beat strugglers Weston batting second who remain adrift in the relegation zone. Tas Hussain (4-15) and Muhammad Khalil (4-48) took apart the Weston batting line, when they stuttered to 132 all out. The highlight for Weston was Martin Dawson’s 51. In reply Leycett got off to a poor start and collapsed to 55-6, but Hussain (30no) and Khalil (28) rescued the innings and they reached the target with two wickets to spare.

Bottom of the table Oulton got the winning draw against mid table Moddershall. Oulton posted 254-7, Tom Spruce (57) top scored but there were runs throughout the innings, Khalid Malik picked up figures of 5-75. Oulton then restricted Moddershall to 230-9 from their 55 overs, Rob Spruce taking 4-66.

Division Two

Ashcombe closed the gap on Meakins at the top after beating Alsager  by six wickets batting second.  A 90 from Paul Pickford, who was supported by Sean Price (61) and Chris Hampshire (63no) helped Alsager set a target of 245 for the visitors to win. Adam Wilson’s 90 went a long way to passing the total but it was Phillip Clowes (53no) who guided his side home.

League leaders Meakins could only manage a draw against promotion chasing Stafford. Having been restricted to 244, Meakins were unable to find all 10 wickets needed for victory. At the end of play Stafford held on to finish 173-8.

Newcastle & Hartshill stayed within touching distance of the top two with a comfortable win against strugglers Crewe. Newcastle & Hartshill reduced Crewe to 106 all out with Muhammad Fayaz collecting superb figures of 4-8. They then knocked the runs of for the loss of two wickets.

Mark Brazier gave Bagnall’s survival hopes a new life when his 72 not out helped to beat Caverswall. Brazier’s lower order runs progressed Bagnall’s score to 211 all out. Kasif Daud (5-53) then did the damage with the ball early on and Colin Wilkinson finished it off with 3-9.

 Mohammed Ishtiaq century wasn’t enough to stop his side feeling the pain of defeat against Bignall End who move further away from the drop zone. Ishtiaq hit 110 in the first innings to help Kidsgrove record 215-8, Kim Barnett picked up figures of 5-53.  Bignall End made a poor start at 64-5 but a 111 run partnership between Harry Jones (66) and Tom Berrisford (57) got them to the brink of victory. Ian Lewis (14no) and Haroon Shah (12no) saw them over the line with two wickets to spare.

Rode Park & Lawton picked up maximum points against Silverdale. The visitors posted 191 all out, Jonathon Gallimore (52) top scored and Richie Jervis (6-53) was the pick of the bowlers. Silverdale were then dismissed for 114 in the 32^nd over.

Division Three

Oakamoor gained a winning draw in the top of the table clash against Ecchleshall. Muhammad Ayub hit a superb 172 not out as Oakamoor posted 277-5. In reply Ecchleshall had to hold on for the draw finishing on 148-9, the wickets were shared between the Oakamoor bowlers.

With the top two drawing Forsbrook and Endon had the chance to close the gap on them and they made sure they did.

Forsbrook beat Moddershall A batting first by 42 runs. Having made 239, Forsbrook restricted Moddershall to 197 all out.  Matt Wild picked up his first five wicket haul of the season for the visitors, while the only highlight for Moddershall was Hareesh Reddy’s 5-103.

Endon also won comfortably batting first against Hanford batting first by 110 runs. Michael Dawson (41) top scored for Endon as they set Hanford 200 to win. Kevin Cockerton (6-28) and Dawson (4-24) dismantled the Hanford batting line when they collapsed for 89.

Mitchell Edwards’ unbeaten 155 led Wedgewood & Stanfields on their way to picking up maximum points against rock bottom Wootton. Edwards was supported by Christopher Holland (57) and Michael Perry (60no), before they declared on 291-1 from 48 overs. In reply Wootton were all out for 93, only Tom Leese offering any  resistance, finishing on 41, as Simon Smith claimed figures of 4-20.

Woore narrowly beat Stone SP by one wicket, after they chased down 205. Nicholas Cooper (57no) helped Stone post their score, but Woore reached the target with four balls left, with late runs from Andrew Kenvyn (64no).

Craig Ruscoe’s efforts with the ball helped Norton-In-Hales pick up the 25 points against Fenton. Ruscoe took 6-37 as Fenton were dismissed for 119, chasing 170, after Martin Rowley (45) top scored for Norton-In-Hales.