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Sunday, May 17th, 2009
PREMIER DIVISION REVIEW 16th MAY 2009
On a rain-affected day,
A remarkable early finish at Porthill saw
Opening bowler Akbar was once again in outstanding form and returned the superb figures of 6-19 whilst Atkins proved more than useful support at the other end, his 4- 29 ensuring the home side were left with an easy run chase for victory.
Porthill took just 16.4 overs to knock of the required runs for the loss of two wickets to gain 20 valuable points and to move out of the relegation places to fourth from bottom.
High-flying Burslem almost snatched an unlikely win at Highfields, as host club Leek were left hanging on for a draw in a game reduced to 82 overs. Batting first, Burslem declared on a useful 180-5 after 48 overs, mainly thanks to an excellent sixth wicket partnership between professional Samullah Khan (80 not out) and Andrew Hurd (31 not out).
In reply, Jmie Cullerton’s side lost wickets at regular intervals and were left claiming just a solitary batting point after staggering to 85-7 from 34 overs. Spinner Ant Sheeran was the pick of the bowlers with 3-6 and Burslem’s 10 point haul sees them in second position and only one point behind leaders Knypersely, who had a losing draw away to Longton in an early-season top of the table clash.
Batting first, veteran Ross Salmon hit a superb 84 not out, and he was backed up by in-form Staffordshire and Knypersley captain Paul Goodwin (36) in allowing the visitors to declare on a commanding 201-8 from 58 overs.
Longton scored at a brisk pace throughout their reply and in their allotted 31 overs reached a commendable 145-5, with captain Pete Wilshaw leading the way with a powerful and boundary-laden 77, backed by professional Roger Silence with a fluent 42. Longton’s 9 points see them just now just 2 points behind the leaders at the top of a very tight Premier Division, with Kynpersley leading the division by a single point.
Leycett remain at the foot of the table, but had the better of their shortened game at home to visiting Stone. Ian Boulton’s men were left only 37 runs adrift of their target with five wickets still in hand in a game reduced to 97 overs. Stone found runs difficult to come by and were eventually bowled out for 159 in their final over, this after being 54-6. Russ Ballard and John McCreadie sharing a partnership of 79 to give Stone something to bowl at.
Despite having almost 20 overs less than their opponents due to the weather, Leycett made good progress towards their target with Richard Walker making an unbeaten 41, but had to eventually settle for closing on 113-5. Their 9 point haul takes them only 1 point adrift of Hem Heath and closes the gap on those hovering above the relegation zone. It’s now as tight at the bottom of the table as it is at the top.
The redoubtable Mo Hussain made light of the bedlam and noise emanating from the nearby Britannia Stadium in another excellent showing from the Hem Heath professional. After inserting visitors Little Stoke, Hussain proved as difficult to get away as ever and his 3-35 was scant reward for another excellent bowling performance as Little Stoke struggled hard for runs at
The visitors total owed much to the work of the in-form Dan Hancock who made a well-constructed 60 on a slow-paced wicket, and he was ably backed by veteran seamer Nick Bratt who made 30.
In reply, Hussain was also in good nick with the bat and made a brisk 52, but ‘Double H’ closed at 102-5 in 35 overs after another tight spell from Nick Bratt had kept the run rate down. The game was evenly poised, with the home side needing around 4 runs an over and with the in-form Darren Sanders next in to bat, and the visitors requiring five more wickets for victory. Hem Heath picked up a welcome 7 points and Richard Harvey’s men pocketed a handful of points and remain in mid-table.
Audley’s Richard Holloway was the star batting performer on a bowler-dominated day in the Premier Division. Holloway was the only player in the top division to hit a century, and his superb 108 was the mainstay of Audley’s 219-5 declared against visiting champions Moddershall. Useful backup was provided by Rangana Herath with 38.
The reigning champions’ reply was shortened to 31 overs and in that time reached 131-5 to gain a winning draw. U Govender was the pick of the home attack with 3-50.
