Super six from Dhapola is catalyst for Checkley’s easy NSSCL Premier A victory. The North Staffs South Cheshire results highlight yet another impressive performance.
CREDIT: Chris Travers Deputy Sports Editor/Cricket Writer @ Stoke Sentinel
Checkley cruise to win at Meakins in North Staffs and South Cheshire League Premier A, while there are victories for Audley, Bagnall Norton, Longton, Leek and Stone SP
Deepak Dhapola claimed a six-wicket haul as Checkley crushed Meakins in their NSSCL Premier A meeting. It had been an indifferent start for both sides heading into Saturday’s encounter at Ivy House Road.
But it was visitors Checkley who were left with the feel-good factor after Dhapola ran riot in Meakins’ innings.
The home side were set 248 to win from their 45 overs, but folded to 53 all out in just 20.4 as Dhapola captured 6-23. Nils Priestley weighed in with a couple of scalps, while Pete Wilshaw (10) was the only Meakins batsman to reach double figures.
Checkley had earlier amassed 247-9 from their allocation, centred around a 115-run third-wicket stand between Josh Hewitt and James Kettleborough.
Hewitt hit seven fours in his 60, with Kettleborough’s 52 including four boundaries.
Priestley followed their lead with 47 to power Checkley to their total, with Elliot Boardwell (19) and James Abbotts (17) also chipping in.
Jalat Khan and Amaan Tariq scooped 3-26 and 3-52 respectively for Meakins, but their batting then failed as they slumped to the bottom of the table after a fourth defeat in five outings.
Longton made it back-to-back wins as they saw off Moddershall & Oulton in a thrilling, low-scoring match at Ripon Road.
Lee Ridgway’s side had ended their run of three straight defeats by winning at Porthill Park the previous weekend.
And they proved that wasn’t a flash in the pan as they held their nerve to clinch a four-run success on Saturday.
That didn’t look likely at the halfway point of the contest after Longton were dismissed for just 95.
Alex Thorley (26) and Matheesha Perera (17) made the biggest impressions with the bat, but the hosts collapsed from 67-2.
That was down to Joseph Walley’s 4-20, Danushka Sandaruwan’s 3-0 and a couple of victims for skipper Sam Kelsall.
However, Longton weren’t about to throw in the towel, despite having such a meagre score to defend.
Sam Atkinson (15), Walley (13) and Arjun Annamalai (10) made starts for the Modd men, but Longton kept chipping away at their line-up.
They found themselves 91-9 before Longton’s Nipun Lamahewage (4-23) dismissed Sandaruwan for 23 to clinch the points.
Tom Hope also played his part with the ball for the home side, finishing with 4-38. Ben Green took the other two wickets to fall.
Leek are in second place after banking a fourth win in five with victory at Newcastle & Hartshill.
Hosts Castle were in all sorts of trouble early on as they slumped to 20-6.
Sachithra Perera led the resistance with 24, but the damage had been done and Castle were eventually bowled out for 63.
It was Leek’s seamers who made merry as Rory Haydon (4-20), Lewis Moulton (3-15) and a couple of strikes from Josh Hudson did the damage.
Perera helped himself to 3-29 on the resumption, but Leek were soon celebrating a six-wicket triumph thanks to 21 from Matthew Campbell and 17 apiece from Tom Moulton and captain Alex Mellor.
Audley remain top of the tree after they beat defending champions Hem Heath in a rain-affected match.
Audley looked to be on course for a big score after Steve Stolk (45), Oliver Wilde (43), Jack Redman (26) and Freddie Doorbar (18) had orchestrated their progress to 130-2.
But Hem Heath fought back and four wickets apiece from Greg Prime (4-17) and Callum Leese (4-21) instigated the hosts’ downfall to 167 all out. EJ Laverty took the other two wickets.
Hem Heath’s run chase ran into trouble, though, as they found themselves 31-5.
Zephryn Hunte dug in for the visitors to make 33, but Hem Heath were then reduced to 71-6 after he had fallen.
And the weather then closed in to prevent any more play, which left Hem Heath well short of the 115-run target they needed to be at.
Alex Coates took four wickets for Audley in their North Staffs and South Cheshire League Premier A victory over Hem Heath. (Image: Malcolm Hart www.mhartpics.com)
Paceman Alex Coates was the bowling star for Audley as he finished his nine-over stint with 4-31.
Stone SP were in excellent form to beat Porthill Park.
Porthill Park made the road trip having won two of their opening four games, and managed to reach 196-7 from their 45 overs.
A third-wicket partnership of 111 between Tom Steele and skipper Louis Allison was key to the visitors posting that total.
Steele fell for 99, having struck six fours and two sixes, with Allison’s 50 containing two fours and the same number of maximums.
Ben Cotton added 19, but it was a day for the Batchelor brothers with the ball as Ed scooped 4-31 and Jack picked up 3-42.
Stone SP then broke the back of their target thanks to George Hawbrook’s swashbuckling innings.
Hawbrook blasted 11 fours and five sixes in his 56-ball 89 to set the home side on their way to the points.
Once he fell, Jack Batchelor (34no) and Kasun Abeysinghe (32no) dealt with batting business to complete a six-wicket win with more than 10 overs to spare to leave them in third place in the early standings.
Experienced seamer Craig Barker took a couple of wickets for Porthill Park.
Bagnall Norton banked the points at home against newly-promoted Alsager, who have now lost four out of five.
It was Alsager who took first use and they managed to make their way to 213 all out in the opening half of the contest.
Asif Raza’s 65 fronted their batting bid, his innings featuring seven fours and two sixes.
Aqeel Ahmed chipped in with 39 and Manraj Johal struck 25 for the visitors.
Anuj Tiwari (4-39) was the pick of the Bagnall Norton attack, backed up by two wickets apiece for Morgan Murray-Williams and Scott Winnington.
Matthew Kenvyn played a key role in Bagnall Norton’s reply as he compiled 60, which contained seven boundaries and two sixes.
There were other healthy contributions from Matthew Arnold (44), Justin Mould (32), Tiwari (29) and Murray-Williams (20) as Bagnall Norton always had the chase under control.
And with the scores level heading to the final ball, Winnington (13no) finished matters in style with a six to seal a three-wicket success.
Johal claimed 3-41 for Alsager, while Raza snared two scalps, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the home side from securing victory.
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PREMIER B
Cheadle on the rise after they beat Norton in Hales in NSSCL Premier B
There are also wins for Ashcombe Park, Eccleshall, Hem Heath, Bignall End and Wood Lane in North Staffs and South Cheshire League Premier B
Cheadle climbed up to third place in NSSCL Premier B with a resounding victory over bottom-of-the table Norton in Hales.
The Moorlanders, who dropped out of the top flight at the end of last season, made light work of their target to inflict a fourth defeat in five games on their rivals.
Cheadle were set 179 to win – and raced to a nine-wicket triumph in just 32 overs.
They lost Ali Khan early in their pursuit of victory, but Craig Smith and Sam Cliffe then compiled an unbroken second-wicket stand of 164 to steer the home side to the points.
Smith hit 15 fours in his unbeaten 80, with Cliffe’s 70 not out including 11 boundaries.
Norton in Hales had earlier stuck 178-8 on the board from their 45 overs, an innings which saw plenty of batsmen make starts but none go on to make a sizeable score.
Ronan Farnell and Jamie Evans both made 33 apiece, Jack Furnival and James Pringle each made 20, with Rameez Alam (18) and Luke Taylor (17no) also contributing.
James Sellers took the bowling plaudits for Cheadle with 3-38, while Matthew Goodwin and Craig Grimley shared four wickets.
Ben Rogerson and Andrew Calvert both hit centuries as Eccleshall were ahead of the game to beat Elworth in a rain-affected encounter.
Eccleshall piled up 289-4 from their allocation, with Rogerson and Calvert stealing the show.
Ben Rogerson made 105 as Eccleshall beat Elworth in a rain-affected North Staffs and South Cheshire League Premier B encounter. (Image: Malcolm Hart 07577061208)
They put on 177 for the second wicket to provide excellent foundations with Rogerson top-scoring with 105. His knock featured eight fours and five sixes, but Calvert wasn’t too far behind, his 102 including nine boundaries and half-a-dozen maximums.
Greg Clark (44) was also in fine fettle as Elworth’s attack was put to the sword.
In reply, Alex Banks (49no), Chris Regan (26) and Daniel Cooper (20) kept the scoreboard ticking over.
However, when the rain put paid to any further play after 22.3 overs, they were 119-3, short of the Duckworth/Lewis score of 138.
Leaders Wood Lane made it five successive victories as they won on their trip to Whitmore.
It was another weather-affected clash, but Danny Brierley’s table-toppers were ahead of the game when the players left the field for the final time.
Whitmore had taken first use and amassed an impressive 243 all out, led by Caleb Mierkalns’ early big hitting.
Mierkalns faced just 57 balls to compile 82 – hitting 10 fours and five sixes in the process – to hand the home side a flying start.
Muhammad Imran (51) also struck a half-century, which included four fours and three sixes, with Matt McAll chipping in with 45.
Martin Dawson captured 5-32 for Wood Lane to mop up the tail, with Thomas Mason grabbing a couple of scalps.
Ben McGuire was also quick out of the blocks in Wood Lane’s run chase.
He blasted 10 fours and one six in a 34-ball 53 to give the visitors the ideal start.
Brierley and Dawson then added 23 not out and 18 not out respectively to leave Wood Lane 133-3 after 24.4 overs when the rain arrived – ahead of their required score of 117.
Hem Heath seconds made home advantage count to beat Burslem in their meeting.
Yohan Liyanage (29), Ben Pugh (23), Nazakat Ali (18) and Ben Lucas (17) also chipped in as Hem Heath reached 131 all out in the first half.
Matthew Morris (3-26) and Dilesh Gunarathne (3-35) took three wickets apiece for Burslem, with Sam Waterhouse adding a double.
Shoaib Akhtar made 15 at the top of Burslem’s reply, but they slid to 69-8 as Hem Heath took control.
Mohammed Uwais Mukhtar (23) offered a glimmer of hope for the visitors, but they were eventually bowled out for 99.
Lucas (4-14) and Ali (4-27) did the bulk of the damage to earn Hem Heath the spoils.
Ashcombe Park had the edge over Knypersley at Basford Bridge Lane.
It was hosts Ashcombe Park who ventured to the crease first and they impressed to make 227-7 from their 45 overs.
Experienced campaigner David Proffitt led the way with 68, which contained nine fours.
And his example was followed by Chris Jenkins (35), Phil Clowes (34), Max Hill (26) and Charlie Knott (22).
Daniyal Hussain Rajput took 3-39 for Knypersley.
Knype’s response got off to a poor start as they found themselves 3-2 in the early stages.
However, they were put back on track by a 115-run third-wicket stand between Cameron Allen and Rajput.
Allen made 56, which featured eight boundaries, while Rajput struck four fours and one six in his 52.
Ahmed Abbasi (44) looked to keep his side in contention, but Ashcombe Park were always ahead of matters and dismissed their opponents for 186.
Riecko Parker-Cole helped himself to 5-42 to seal the success, with Hill taking a couple of wickets.
Bignall End prevailed on their visit to Leycett in a rain-shortened clash.
Bignall End made a wobbly start to the encounter as they were reduced to 42-4.
But they showed plenty of spirit to recover to 225-9 at the end of their innings.
Irfan Khan was in excellent form to make 65, which contained five fours and one six, with support forthcoming from Ben Dixon (38), Rohan Hesketh (33) and Aunn Shah (27no).
Jaidel Richardson and Tom Warburton claimed 4-18 and 3-54 respectively for the home side. Isaac McDonald also grabbed a couple of scalps.
After tea, Leycett made their way to 65-3 from 12 overs before the players headed off to the pavilion.
Reece White was unbeaten on 37 and Dan Redfern added 16, but Shah’s double strike ensured that Leycett were adrift of the D/L score of 77.
CREDIT: Chris Travers Deputy Sports Editor/Cricket Writer @ Stoke Sentinel
