The Official North Staffs & South Cheshire Cricket League Weblog

The second round of the Talbot cup, sponsored by The Hanley Economic Building Society took place on Sunday, with some giant killings from the lower league sides to knock out Premier Division opposition.

Weston defeated Burslem by 42 runs. Weston batted first, posting 252-9 with Martin Dawson (50) and Michael Alexander (50) starting well. Raj Kumar scored 73 not out as he topped off a good weekend with the bat. Usman Siddique took 5-59 to dismiss the top order. Burslem could only muster 210 in reply with Michael Rowley (51) and Chris Roberts (42) the mainstays of the innings.

Three wickets a piece from Paul Muchall and Andrew Whitehead helped Whitmore claim a shock win over Little Stoke. Whitmore posted 167-3 with Muchall scoring 72 not out. Little Stoke looked to be cruising over the line at 122-4 but Muchall (3-28) and Whitehead (3-38) had other ideas, helping their side to a six-run win.

Newly promoted Premier Division side Barlaston were dumped out of the cup by Newcastle & Hartshill who chased down a target of 180 with six wickets to spare. Professional Simon Wood finished 55 not out to guide his team home, after Andrew Keates (3-34) and James Hagan (3-22) had helped dismiss the visitors.

Blythe completed a comfortable eight-wicket win over Ashcombe Park. Chris Pearce (56 not out) and Matt Goodwin (42 not out) finished the job. Ashcombe looked to be on for a good total before the last five wickets fell for less than 20 runs, Hayden Simcock (3-4) and Pearce (3-23) doing the damage.

Porthill Park amassed 317-4 batting first against Wedgwood & Stanfields with Matthew Hole (78) and David Cotton (72 not out) striking the ball to all parts. Wedgwood battled in reply but the mammoth total was always going to be too much, as Porthill bowled the visitors out for 161.

Elworth beat Moddershall by five wickets. Moddershall posted 193-7 with Hamza Siddique (48) and Phillip Manning (55 not out) in fine form. But Elworth’s David Toft (61) and Ross Kesteven (48 not out) saw the newly-promoted Premier Division side into the third round.

Meir Heath/Fenton were dealt a battering at the hands of Longton. After scoring 271-6, Longton dismissed the visitors for 81. James Towle top scored with 62 for the home side and the pick of the Longton bowlers was Nigel Davies (4-16).

Over 600 runs were scored in Wood Lane’s game against Silverdale. Batting first Wood Lane hit a monumental 398-4 courtesy of centuries from Shane Wills (138 not out) and Ashar Zaidi (121) - his second ton of the weekend.
Chris Wood (131) hit a century in reply for Silverdale but the total was always too many, Silverdale finishing on 274.

Norton made light work of Alsager cruising to an eight-wicket win. All Norton’s bowlers chipped in to restrict the home side to 176-7. After a delay in play due to adverse weather Norton’s revised target was 121 off 31 overs, which they with six overs to spare.

Cheadle defeated Leycett by seven wickets, after reaching Leycett’s total of 102. Shaun Rashid’s 4-26 did the trick for Cheadle and a gritty 39 from professional David Wheeldon helped knock of the score in the 34th over.

Betley won by one run in a nervy finish against Meir Heath. Nick Locker’s 4-24 help dismiss the home side for 197 but Meir Heath finished the single run short despite a battling 64 from Stuart Sim.

Hem Heath scored 247-3 with Brian Sims carrying his bat on 108 not out. Mick Hall (65) and John Seabridge (53) ably supported Sims. Hanford were 77 all out in reply with Matt Wild (3-7) and Seabridge (2-0) polishing off the result.

Sandyford beat Leek for the second time in as many days with a 35-run victory. Craig Leese (63) top scored for Sandyford helping them post 225-7.
In reply Leek’s professional Mohammad Hussain hit 65 but couldn’t stop Leek being dismissed for 190.

In the other two games Stone beat Rode Park by 104 runs. After posting 188-9 they dismissed Rode Park for 84. Caverswall also beat Stone SP by nine runs.
They hit 237-8, Owen Price top scoring on 65. But Stone SP couldn’t reach the target despite some late hitting from Adam Slade (48), to finish on 228-8.

Daniel Milligan

Premier Division

Porthill Park keep their spot at the top of the Waterworld Premier Division A after clinging onto a draw against Longton. Matthew Hole (40), Neil Ellsmore (43) and Sohail Zaroof (35) were the mainstay of the innings as Porthill hung on at 187-8, following Longton’s 227 all out. Will Purser (93) and Adam Whalley (33) took Longton from 97-7 to 183-8 until Porthill’s Usman Tariq (4-59) polished off the tail.

Burslem sit second after beating Hem Heath. The visitors to Trentham Lakes posted 217-8 thanks to Chris Lowndes (63) and Alex Bailey (59 not out). Hem Heath’s sub professional Craig Spearman, the former New Zealand international player, took 4-68 and Stephen Atkinson’s 3-64 to help restrict the visitors. In reply, Hem Heath lost early wickets with Samiullah Khan (4-44) as he trapped the dangerous Spearman in front. John Seabridge (37) and Muhammad Jahangir (29 not out) were the main scorers for Hem Heath.

A high scoring affair between Wood Lane and Stone saw Wood Lane professional Ashar Zaidi smash 137 to help the home side post 289, Jonathan McCredie (3-77) and Matt Stupples (4-86) chipped away for Stone. But it was to no avail as James Dawson’s 113 ably supported from all the middle order helped Stone to pull off a superb chase in the last over.

Audley’s suffered their second defeat of the season at the hands of Knypersley. Darren Butler’s 5-43 helped bowl Audley out for 143. In reply, Knypersley’s Jonathon Cumberbatch (50) and Paul Goodwin’s 41 not out helped the home side to a comfortable six-wicket win.

Elworth recorded a winning draw against Little Stoke, with home side scoring 252-3 after winning the toss and electing to bat. Rob Beech carried his bat to finish on 108 not out, and was supported by David Toft (67), Lee Morris (34) and Ataur Rehman (26). Little Stoke held on for the draw despite being in a good position for the win at 160-4. Richard Adams’s 42 and knocks of 36 from Jack Phillips and 31 from Dan Hancock were not enough as the visitors finished on 201-8, Matt Buckley (4-41) was the pick of the Elworth bowlers.

Barlaston chased Moddershall’s total of 195 to record their first win. Scores of over 30 from all the top four helped Barlaston to a six-wicket win. Hamza Siddique had hit 58 and Phillip Manning (42) to help Moddershall post a respectable score. But Ben Grange (43), Ashley Lunn (45) and Muhammad Khan (46) steered Barlaston home.

Division One

Meir Heath head JSW Insurance Division One as they beat Oulton by seven runs. Iftikhar Asghar (41) top scored in Meir Heath’s 145, Harish Patel taking 4-18 for Oulton. Starts from most of the Oulton batsman looked to have seen them over the line but 5-44 from Nick Locker helped Meir Heath record their second win.

Oliver Stark’s 53 helped Stafford post 116 against Cheadle with all the bowlers chipping in, and Cheadle made light work of the chase, winning by nine wickets, mainly thanks to Andrew Shaw’s 60 not out.

Leycett beat Betley by two wickets, chasing their total of 224. Jamie Jervis top scored for Betley with 67 with Robert Heath taking 4-17 for Leycett. An all round batting performance with everyone contributing helped them to their first win of the season.

Chris Pearce scored 35 in Blythe’s total of 143 but Rode Park nervously chased down the total to win by two wickets, Alex Perry top scoring on 50, before being run out. Peter Finch (3-33) and Chris Pearce (3-27) were the pick of the bowlers for Blythe.45

Sandyford completed a convincing 79-run victory over Leek. After posting 204-8 thanks to half century’s from Sohail Rauf (60) and Craig Leese (53) they managed to bowl Leek out for 125 through James Pringle’s (4-23) and Mark Leese ’s(3-16) wickets.

Norton beat Whitmore by two wickets after chasing Whitmore’s total of 145. Mudasa Butt scored 53 to help the home side to a respectable score, but they were undone by a terrific 6-51 from Andrew Marshall. In reply, Adam Garber’s 40 helped steer Norton over the line in the 41st over.

Divsion Two

Alsager went top of the ASC Financial Management Division Two after their five-wicket win over Ashcombe Park. Chasing 207 to win Adrian Myatt’s 82 not out saw his side home after his 4-38 had helped restrict Ashcombe to 206-9, thanks to some late hitting from Atif Sheikh (61 not out).

Silverdale won batting first after bowling Caverswall out for 157. Glynn Moore’s 5-45 spearheaded the attack after his 49 not out providing the needed runs late in their innings. Zoltan Toth (53) started the innings off well for Silverdale and Moore’s all-round performance topped off a good day for Silverdale.

Kidsgrove had a convincing nine-wicket win over Wedgwood & Stanfields. Mitchell Spencer’s 4-21 helped start the rout to bowl Wedgwood out for 108. Nick Atkinson’s 64 not out and David Moors 41 not out polished off the job inside 22 overs.

Meakins’s Ranil Dhammika claimed 5-54 as they bowled Crewe out for 217. But no one could support Dhammika in his 64 not out as Meakins were bowled out for 286 in reply, Asim Naseer taking 5-63 for Crewe.

Checkley beat Newcastle & Hartshill by 33 runs. Checkley posted 126-9 off their 55 overs thanks to a gritty 28 from Nick Hunt. Checkley then dismissed the home side for 93, with Iain Carr taking 5-35 and professional Jason Brown claming 3-24.

Raj Kumar’s 107 not out helped Weston claim a winning draw to Moddershall A. Kumar was supported by Martin Dawson (55) and Phillip Stockton (63) to post 270-7 declared. Moddershall A gave the chase a good go with 44 from Alex Thorley and Benjamin Myatt’s 42, but they held on to finish 216-8.

Division Three

Bagnall lead Little Gym Division Three after scoring 196-5 to claim a five-wicket win over Eccleshall. Tom Hibbert (54) and Richie Gallichan (62) helped Eccleshall to 194 all out. Andy Rowson took 5-49 in Bagnall’s pick of the bowlers. In reply Simon Gordon and Mohammad Hanif both scored 57 to see Bagnall over the line.

Kim Barnett hit 100 in Bignall End’s total of 211-5 as they beat Hem Heath/Forsbrook. The visitors could only muster 98 in reply with three wickets a piece from Matthew Saive and Kieran Peake and 4-32 from Simon Howle.

Meir Heath/Fenton knocked off Endon’s total of 91, to record a five-wicket win. Eddie Plant’s 5-7 and Chris Mellor’s 3-17 skittled the home side, before Mellor and Chris Taylor both scored 30 to see their side home.

Oakamaoor beat Wootton by 31 runs. Having posted 170 thanks to Matthew Carnwell (62) and Matt Wolff (55) and thhey finished off a good all-round performance in the field, with Aqueel Ulfat taking 5-28 and Edward Brookes 3-22 with only Wootton’s Peter Carr’s 34 providing any resistance.

Stone SP had a comfortable nine-wicket win over Hanford, with the visitors chasing down Hanford’s total of 105. George Hawbrook claimed 4-17 and was pick of the Stone SP bowlers. Ashley Forrester (35) top scored for Hanford as he made the home side’s score respectable. Neil Podmore played a captain innings in his 57 not out, as the visitors won in under 25 overs.

Daniel Milligan

Captain Brian Simcox’s 124 in Betley’s 246 -9 wasn’t sufficient to earn them victory in the Sentinel Talbot Shield first round tie as Alsager reached their target with their last pair at the wicket. Paul Adams and Alan Stancliffe both hit 63 before Joe Newbould, batting at number ten, smashed an unbeaten44 to steer his side to an improbable victory.

Caverswall’s 209 was far to many for Crewe who stumbled to 84 all out in response thanks mainly to 5-19 from Andrew Barker.

Bagnall earned the bragging rights in their local derby against Endon who were dismissed for just 113. Andrew Moran’s 40 not out steered Bagnall to a four wicket success.

Meir Heath Fenton progressed by a narrow six run margin after restricting Porthill Park “A” to 142-7 in reply to their 148 all out. Veteran Fred Brown claimed two wickets for the victors.

Newcastle & Hartshill were indebted to Joe Kettle’s 86 in posting a score of 222-7. In reply Kidsgrove could only muster 142 all out.

Woore’s 139 all out was passed by Checkley for the loss of six wickets aided by an unbeaten 59 from Chris Bassett. A five wicket haul from Khalid Yosofzai was in vain.

61 from opener David Hughes was the foundation for Norton’s 205-7. Andy Marshall with 3-13 and Dave Evans 3-29 then helped dismiss visitors Weston for 103.

Ian Baker and Richard Redman with three wickets each helped dismiss Cheadle for 154 after Silverdale had posted a score of 165-8 helped by 39 from Zoltan Toth.

Dave Cooper’s 4-28 saw Oulton dismissed for just 91; a total passed by Meakins for the loss of four wickets with Neil Harrison undefeated on 41.

After posting a score of 191-6 Bignall End easily disposed of Stone SP who were tumbled out for 76 with Kieran Peake taking 5-12.

An amazing 88 extras, including 67 wides, helped Moddershall “A” reach 242. In reply Wootton crashed to 65 all out as Dave Tooth claimed 3-7.

47 from Jason Britton and Neil Crump’s 44 not out enabled Meir Heath reach 200-5. Stafford could only stutter to 124 all out in reply, helped by 43 from Dave Cartlidge.

Hem Heath Forsbrook scraped home with the last pair putting on 19 runs to edge out Oakamoor who had earlier scored 131 all out. Alan Whitehurst was in good form with the ball for the winners taking 5-21.

Wedgwood Stanfield were comfortable 73 run victors over Eccleshall who were bowled out for 128 helped by 4-26 from Martyn Foster. Chris Holland struck 67 and Oliver Holland 52 for the winners,

Despite 6-57 from Nathan Kingsbury, Ashcombe Park hit 224 aided by 49 from Dave Goodwin. Blythe were then dismissed for 85 with Grant Roberts taking the last four wickets for just three runs.

The Hanford v Sandyford match was called off as Hanford were unable to field a side giving Sandyford passage into round two.

ALLAN SMITH