DAZZLER DODD KEEPS LITTLETOWN ON A HIGH
JOE’S SUPER SEVEN-WICKET HAUL INSPIRES 10TH SUCCESS OF THE SEASON FOR LEADERS
Division Two leaders Littletown won again to move 23 points clear in pole position.
Murton were the villagers’ 10th victims in 15 league games this term, with experienced Joe Dodd’s brilliant 7-23 leading the way against his former club and limiting the home side to just 89.
Murton batted out only 19.5 overs as Dodd held sway, backed by three wickets from Shashikant Kadam. Chris Winn hit 45 in vain for Murton,withJordanVoutthe only other batsman to reach double figures.
Dan Pearson stroked 39 to ease Littletown home by six wickets in 20.3 overs, with Gregg Arundel unbeaten on 20 at the close. Murton bowler Phumzile Yiba plundered 3-27 in eight overs.
Peterlee are now 23 points behind the leaders, and they perhaps batted on too long at home to Evenwood.
The home side racked up 269-8 declared with a brilliant century from Aaron Shellie (131) and 32 not out from Shrey Sanjiva Bhatt, but Evenwood held on for the draw with a decent 2099, with Mairaj Khan (55) and Daniel Wallace (60) keeping the Peterlee attack at bay.
Ryhope in third, had a massive 207-run home win over lowly Houghton, who only had nine men. Adrian Hedley hit 16 fours and six sixes in his 54-ball knock of 110 and fellow opener Paul Jenkin hit 14 fours and six sixes in 109 not out. The pair put on 146 for the first wicket, with Dan Douglas’s unbeaten 41, with seven fours and a six, taking them to 269-1 declared after 27 overs.
Sagar Udeshi claimed 7-16, including a hat-trick, as Houghton were bowled out on 62-8 for an easy win. Gandhawar Bhatawadekar topscored with 29 for Houghton.
Whiteleas are now 32 points behind the leaders, following their derby loss at Marsden.
They batted first and made only 135, mainly thanks largely to Scott Oliver’s 49 not out. Sura Malinga (4-29) and Andrew Ainsley (3-16) had them in all sorts of bother.
The home side then knocked off the runs for the loss of six wickets, Elliott (60) and Malinga (33) steered them home.
Silksworth went down by five wickets to Boldon CA.
Michael Waterson topscored with 39 for the bottom club as they were bowled out for 150 in 38 overs, as Dominic Slater had a day to savour, grabbing 6-20
Openers David Jones (40) and David Johnston (47) set up Boldon CA’s success, clinched by Adam Slater’s unbeaten 42. Stuart Middlemiss took 3-32 in vain for Silksworth.
Ushaw Moor had a convincing 118-run win at home to Langley Park.
In Division One, Seaham Park are now in freefall and haven’t won since early June.
They now sit fourth-bottom after their shock home defeat by Hylton, which gives the visitors a tiny bit of hope in their unlikely survival chances.
Sherwin Campbell’s unbeaten 101 was the main reason for the Castletown outfit’s surprise win, knocking off the 204 runs with only two wickets lost, with fellow opener Liam Foster adding 57. Kevin Mustard was unbeaten on 31.
Earlier, Kit Allan (46), Michael Walker (57) and Siddharth Chitnis, with 44 not out, had batted well for the hosts.StevenLeeMerrington struck twice for Hylton.
Castle Eden were relieved to win their game against a decent Horden side to pick up vital points in their relegation battle.
Batting first, they made 177-9, with opener Tebogo Mokwena scoring a vital 40 and Jonathan Brown 32 not out, with Adam Dixon taking 3-42.
Horden lost early wickets and only Wayne Birks, with 42, made any inroads to Eden’s bowling attack. Richard Ede, Daniel Baldwin, Ryan Ball and Robbie McGlasham each took two wickets, to seal victory by 33 runs.
Bill Quay relied on their tail wagging, thanks to Chris Malley (39no) and Will Gardner (38no), to claim nine points,forholdingonathome to second-top Easington.
Ryan Higgins hit 55 for Easington to top 500 league runsfortheseasonbuthewas outshone by the brilliance of Sujit Nayak, with the Indian pro making an unforgettable 153, with 10 sixes and 13 fours, as Easington reached 296-5, Robbie Atherton adding an unbeaten 63.
Alan Mustard’s 39 proved crucial for Quay, who ended on 180-7, with Nayak starring again, taking 4-28 and Gary Ward 2-38.
Lowly Crook Town dug in for eight points, thanks to Steven Chapman (3-46 and 40), at home to Durham City.
City made 237-6 declared, led by Jake McCann’s fine knock of 86. Jonny Harding added 45 and Nick Howe 33. Danni Hazell bagged 3-41 when Crook responded with 160-6, while Andrew Hutchinson struck twice.
Burnopfield edged closer to the title with a 91-run win at Philadelphia, who are third.
Gareth Breese (64) and Neil Killeen (48) led Burnopfield to 180-9 declared, with Amarjeet Singh (3-17), Stevie Wright (2-46) and Peter Greenwell (2-15) the pick of the bowlers.
Phili were then skittled for 89, Lewis Carney topscoring with just 14 as Stuart Atkinson ran riot to take 6-38. Killeen plundered 3-24.
Dawdon had an exciting one-wicket win over Esh Winning.
Esh posted 157, thanks to Jibran Khan (66) and Michael Oughton (48), with Michael Ewart and Bilal Patel each taking three wickets.
Nathan Newton scored 71 to spark Dawdon and then James Dent fired a crucial 30 not out to get them over the line – just.