Church’s batsmen rescue big win
LANCASHIRE LEAGUE CRICKET ROUND-UP SHELDAN KEAY
CHURCH Cricket Club picked up a big win against neighbours GREAT HARWOOD after a nine wicket victory at Cliffe Park.
Great Harwood were put into bat first after Church won the toss, and an average start left them 50-6 at one stage.
Hamim Miah (62) and Paul Houldsworth (41 not out) put on 100 for the next wicket though, as they helped their team eventually finish on 171-9 at the end of their 50 overs.
Despite the late flurry, it wasn’t enough for Great Harwood as Church comfortably chased down their target.
Zain Abbas hit 64, while Josh Scully scored 58 not out alongside him to help earn their team the nine wicket win with 15 overs to spare.
Church are in 11th place in the Lancashire League table after their triumph, with Great Harwood currently in 15th.
ACCRINGTON suffered a straightforward defeat after they lost to Darwen by seven wickets at Thorneyholme Road.
Accrington won the toss and decided to bat first, but only opener Graham Sneddon (23) and final batsmen David Ormerod (10 not out) were able to reach double figures.
The rest of the batsmen managed just 26 runs between them as Accrington were bowled all out for 64.
Darwen eased to their target in 15 overs, losing just three wickets along the way to condemn Accrington to defeat.
Accrington now find themselves in 13th place after coming up short, while Darwen remain top of the table.
RISHTON were also beaten in their league game after they lost by five wickets against Todmorden at Centre Vale.
Todmorden won the toss and decided to field first, with professional Saeed Anwar top scoring for Rishton with 119 from 132 balls.
Jack Hilton (30 not out) also contributed, with Rishton finishing on 214-7 at the end of their 50 overs.
Todmorden responded well thanks to the likes of Ben Pearson (79), professional Kelly Smuts (38) and Simon Newbitt (27), but it was clear it would be a nail-biting finish.
It went down to the wire, but Todmorden managed to secure the win with just two balls to spare, condemning Rishton to a tough five wicket defeat.
Rishton are in 14th place following their loss, with Todmorden in fourth place after their 10th win of the season.
Elsewhere in the Lancashire League, Haslingden claimed bragging rights against local rivals Rawtenstall after an extremely dominant 271 run win at Bentgate.
Rawtenstall won the toss and decided to field first, but it didn’t pay off as Haslingden put on 174 for their opening wicket.
The first wicket fell when Graham Knowles was eventually dismissed for 75, but fellow opener Chris Cook-Martin went on to finish on 156 from 144 balls, including 22 fours and three sixes.
Lewis McIntosh also chipped in with 32, as Haslingden finished on 303-6 at the end of their 50 overs.
Rawtenstall’s response was a disaster, with not one single batsmen managing to reach double figures.
Five Rawtenstall batsmen went for ducks, and it meant that they were bowled all out for just 32 runs in 13 overs
Nick Benton was the pick of the bowlers for Haslingden, finishing with very impressive figures of 6-9, while McIntosh ended on 4-19.
The victory for Haslingden leaves them in ninth place in the Lancashire League table, while Rawtenstall stay bottom having won
just one of their 15 matches this season.
Bacup were victorious in their match after a comfortable eight wicket win against Colne at Lanehead.
Colne were put into bat first by their opponents, and they lost wickets early on after good bowling from Bacup.
Professional Unmukt Chand top scored for Colne with 39, but none of his teammates could provide anything significant alongside him and it meant that Colne were bowled all out for 110.
Ernest Kemm was the pick of the bowlers for Bacup, ending with figures of 4-25, with Matthew Ramshead (3-33) and Matthew Aspinall (2-44) also taking multiple wickets.
Bacup eased to victory in response, with openers Tim Farragher and Kemm leading from the front for their side. Farragher went on to make 44 before he was dismissed, while Kemm went for 30.
An unbeaten 17 from Cameron Holder helped see the team over the line though to earn Bacup the win inside 20 overs. Bacup are up to 10th place after the victory, with Colne second bottom.
Ramsbottom came up short in their match after they were beaten by three wickets against Clitheroe at Chatburn Road.
Clitheroe won the toss and decided to field first, and it looked to be a good decision when Ramsbottom found themselves 21-3 at one stage.
Callum Kay came in and helped his team along though, passing his half century and finishing on 63 before he was dismissed.
His effort meant his team went on to end on 173-8 at the end of their 50 overs.
Clitheroe got off to a good start, and it looked like they were well on course for victory when they were 164-3 at one stage.
Wickets then began to tumble though after good bowling from Dale Gabriel, with the team moving to 167-7.
It looked like it would be a nervy end, but Clitheroe managed to keep any further wickets intact and went on to reach their target with 7 balls to spare to condemn Ramsbottom to defeat.
Ramsbottom are now in seventh place after the defeat, while Clitheroe find themselves in third.