Hancock hits the ton trail as Porthill Park power past Audley
JOHN Hancock showcased some impressive earlyseason form with a superb century to guide his Porthill Park side into the next round of the Talbot Cup at Audley’s expense.
Skipper Hancock blasted a rapid century as the Premier Division outfit piled up 253-3 from their 40 overs at the Old County Ground.
That target was always going to be too many for their Division One visitors, who were restricted to 1568 in reply.
Hancock faced just 107 balls for his 125, hitting 10 fours and six sixes, in a batting masterclass. He shared a third-wicket stand of 114 with Thomas Longworth, who finished on 55 not out. He struck six fours and one six.
After tea, Willoughby
Happe (42), Jack Redman (22) and Will Rhodes (20) made starts, but no Audley batsman could truly come to terms with Porthill
Park’s attack.
Harry Bailey led the way with 3-39, while Dan Gibbs chipped in with a couple of scalps.
Leek safely came through a potentially tricky tie at Norton in Hales in Saturday’s first round.
The Moorlanders, who only preserved their Premier Division status on the final day of last season, would have been wary of the threat posed by upwardlymobile Norton in Hales.
The Tractor Boys have climbed up the league ladder and now find themselves in Division One - and will have taken heart from their performance against their top-flight opponents.
Leek amassed 213-4 from their allocation, with firm foundations provided by opening pair Alex Mellor and Rory Jackson.
They constructed a 110-run stand, with Mellor making 32 and Jackson striking 65, which featured nine fours and one six.
Mahaaz Ahmed, a winter signing from Ashcombe Park, put his foot down late in the innings to finish on 69 not out, off 51 balls. He blazed six fours and four sixes.
Joe Wagg (28) and Eddie Warrington (25) handed Norton in Hales a decent start to their reply, but
Leek always seemed to be in control of the contest. Evergreen performer Darren Long hit five fours and three sixes in a breezy 49, although the home side were eventually dismissed for 181.
Sam Slater was the pick of the Leek attack, taking 3-38, while Ahmed and
Rob Haydon shared four wickets.
Stone SP thrashed Barlaston by 10 wickets in their meeting.
Barlaston were bundled out for a paltry 70 - Rob Aked top-scoring with 16 - as Jacob Degg and Ben Motley inflicted the bulk of the damage.
Degg claimed 5-11 and Motley added 3-6 to virtually settle the destination of the tie by the halfway point.
And the gulf in quality was made even more apparent as Stone SP needed just 11.4 overs to overhaul the visitors following the break for sandwiches.
George Hawbrook and Sam Graham dealt with business efficiently to finish on 39 not out and 32 not out respectively.
Premier Division Bagnall Norton had too much for third-tier Bignall End in their first-round encounter. Division Two Bignall End were quickly in trouble on 4-4 on home turf... and the afternoon didn’t improve greatly for them.
They fell to 34-8 before Adrian Lello Junior’s unbeaten 30 saw them to 83 all out.
Pakistan paceman Bilawal Bhatti (4-7) proved to be too hot to handle, while Greg Willott, Nyle Broadhurst and Morgan Murray-williams shared the other wickets to fall.
Josh Cartledge (34no) and Danyal Hussain (27) soon had Bagnall Norton celebrating a nine-wicket win.
Knypersley produced a polished performance to win by seven wickets at Leycett.
Leycett posted a respectable 153-9 from their allocation, fronted by 50 from former Derbyshire and Leicestershire man
Dan Redfern.
Redfern hit seven fours and one six in his innings, while there were two wickets apiece for Liam Hopkins, Joe Dutton and Louis Washington.
James Abbotts (50no) replied with a half-century of his own, and with Sam Wilcox (41) and Arsalan Arshad Mir (25) also impressing, Knype knocked off the runs with four overs to spare.