The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Town are three wins away from retaining their title
Cricket - City side are still unbeaten this summer
Peterborough Town are three wins away from retaining their Northants Premier Division title.
The city side finished top of the competition’s mini-league withtheonlyunbeatenrecord of the eight competing teams aftercruising to a seven-wicket wininarain-affectedmatch against Geddingtonlastweekend.
Their reward is a home play-off quarter-final against eighth-placed finishers Rushden & HighamatBrettonGate this Saturday (11am).
OundleTownfinishedsecond in the table after smashing Desborough by 10 wickets at Milton Road last Saturday. Theywill host seventh-placed Overstone Park in a last-eight tie this weekend.
“We played well against Geddington,” Town skipper David Clarke said. “But then we’ve played well all season.
“We would have finished further clear, but for tworainruined games when we were well on top. One of those was
against Rushdensoweshould startthisweekend’sgameconfident of victory.”
Rushden have only won one match this summer and that was their first one when Northantsfirst-teamerEmilio GayhelpedthembeatOundle.
Gay is unlikely to be in
volved this weekend and nor will Town’s emerging allrounder Mohammaed Danyaal. Leading seamer Mark Edwards i s conveniently available again after missing the Geddington game which means veteran Richard Kendall will keep his place after
picking up his 800th wicket for the club during a spell of 2-20 in last weekend’s win.
Kendall’s mastery of pace and swing in wet conditions madehimtoughtohandle, but hewasovershadowedbya4-15 burst from off-spinner Lewis Bruce as Geddington folded from 40-0 to 99-9 in a match reduced to 34 overs a side.
“That’s the best I’ve seen Lewis bowl in a couple of years,” Clarke added.
Josh Smith (52) and Chris Milner (31) put on 88 for the first wicket to ensure Town sealed victory on run rate before the heavens opened again. Oundle Openers Dan Robinson ( 61no) and Pete Foster (56no) put on 131 for the first wicket to see off Desborough.
Town seconds finished top of Division Three, but in bizarre circumstances. They were told their final league game at Wellingborough OGs was off because of a waterlogged pitch, but it transpired a burnt out car was blocking access to the ground so Town were awarded the win!
They will have to travel to Rothwell for their first playoff match because of the first team’s use of Bretton Gate.
Josh Smith cracked 103 for Cambs in a one-wicket friendly defeat at the hands of Suffolk at Exning last weekend. David Clarke hit 33 and Mohammed Danyaal took a wicket on his Cambs debut.