Derby victory hands Accy bragging rights

LANCASHIRE LEAGUE CRICKET ROUND-UP BY SHELDAN KEAY

ACCRINGTON claimed bragging rights over local rivals RISHTON after earning an emphatic 190 -run victory at Blackburn Road.

Accrington won the toss and decided to bat first, and Graeme Sneddon and Jonathan Hayhurst led from the front by hitting scores of 65 and 61 respectively to put on 139 for the opening wicket.

Further big totals from Jake Clarke (57 not out), Kieren Grimshaw (50) and professional Janith Liyanage (38) helped Accrington end on an impressive 301-4 after a reduced innings of 46 overs.

Rishton struggled in reply, as professional Mansoor Amjad could only top score with 22.

Only three of his teammates could also manage double figures, as the team were bowled all out for 111, handing Accrington the win.

GREAT HARWOOD suffered a defeat after they lost by five wickets against high-flying Ramsbottom at Acre Bottom.

RAMSBOTTOM won the toss and decided to field first, but Great Harwood got off to a good start and found themselves 104-2 at one stage after good scores from Ashen Silva (58), Matthew Oddie (39) and Matthew Bunn (25).

A collapse soon followed though, with the team then finding themselves 104-5. It looked like the team may have got themselves back on track when Nazakat Hussain hit 31 and helped the side to 172-5, but an even bigger collapse was on the way, as the team lost three more wickets and finished their innings on 172-8 after a reduced 44 overs.

Ramsbottom had a revised target of 108 to reach due to the Duckworth/Lewis method, and despite some tricky moments where they lost five wickets, it was a comfortable chase for Ramsbottom as they finished on 108-5 after 17 overs to condemn Great Harwood to defeat.

There was disappointment for ENFIELD as their match against Burnley at Dill Hall Lane ended in a no result.

Burnley won the toss and decided to field first. Enfield had a reduced innings of 34 overs, and they finished on 101-4 after Shashrika Pussegolla (38) and Lewis Wright (34) top scored for their side.

Burnley responded well and were 51-0 after nine overs when the rain came down, meaning the match had to be abandoned and no result could be achieved.

Elsewhere, RAWTENSTALL came up short in their match after losing by nine wickets against Darwen at Birch Hall.

Darwen won the toss and decided to field first, and Rawtenstall struggled to get going in their innings. Only Tabassum Aziz (33), professional Keegan Petersen (13) and Dylan Walsh (12) managed to reach double figures, and the team were bowled all out for just 97.

Darwen easily chased down the target, as Scott Jackson (34), Jordan Clarke (25) and Scott Friend (19) hitting decent scores to help the team end on 100-1 after just nine overs, condemning Rawtenstall to a big defeat.

HASLINGDEN and Nelson couldn’t complete their game as their match fell victim to the weather and ended in no result.

Haslingden won the toss and decided to bat first, with Graham Knowles top scoring with 35 as he helped the team finish on 143-9 at the end of a reduced 46 overs.

Nelson’s innings was only five wickets old when the rain started, with the match unable to be restarted and no result could be reached.

CHURCH’S game with Middleton also ended in a no result.

Middleton had batted first and were bowled all out for 110, but the rain soon followed and it meant Church’s innings ended after just nine overs while they were 42-1.