Dale need to find form

CLITHEROE v Rochdale

Rochdale slumped to their third consecutive league defeat at Clitheroe on Saturday when they lost by 15 runs in a rain-affected contest.

The weather apart, this game was most similar to recent losses in that Dale were on top in segments of their opponents’ innings but were unable to press home their advantage, ultimately letting them off the hook and then hardly looking like mounting a successful chase.

On this occasion Clitheroe were 110 for 6, then 131 for 8, yet still managed to post 179 for 9 as Dale allowed the later stages of their innings to meander.

Another noble bowling effort from Steve Oddy, 4 for 29 off 13 overs, including the wicket of Clitheroe professional, Pakistani international Fawad Alam, and the first significant haul with the ball from Nick Kelly, 4 for 42 had given Dale hope of limiting the hosts to a manageable total, but Peter Dibb batting with admirable sense chaperoned the tail to a position of respectability.

The game had already been reduced, to 48 overs and three rain interruptions meant the application of Duckworth Lewis, the reduction of Dale’s allocation to 35 overs and the target to 147.

The regular fall of wickets, though, including that of professional Kelly, caught behind , flashing at a wide one, meant that the target was never threatened, although a jolly undefeated last wicket partnership of 23 between Jamie Roche and Chris Hartley got them frustratingly close, and possibly more importantly four bonus batting points.

Despite this dodgy run, Dale still occupy a top half position which is required to be in next year’s Premier Division. But they will need to rediscover some winning form in the last eight games if they are to stay there.

H Lang lbw Oddy 4 J McDowell b Oddy 15 J Dewhurst c Kelly b Oddy 31 F Alam c Chapman b Oddy 0 C Dewhurst b W Avery 20 P Dibb not out 46 S Mulligan lbw Kelly 1 T Lord lbw Kelly 9 K Robinson c Hussain b Kelly 8 S Halstead c Harling b Kelly 9 M Sharp not out 11

Oddy 13 7 29 4; harling 1 0 4 0; Chapman 5 0 21 0; Hartley 4 0 19 0; W Avery 12 0 54 1; Kelly 11 0 42 4.

J Pilling c Lord b Halstead 9 B Chapman lbw Alam 29 N Kelly c Robinson b Halstead 13 A Dawson b Alam 20 H Hussain b Sharp 0 M Harling c McDowell b J Dewhurst 4 T Avery run out 6 J Roche not out 12 W Avery b Alam 0 S Oddy b Alam 0 C Hartley not out 15