HAMIDI AND JOHNSON ARE THE STAR TURNS AS WHITMORE SECURE VICTORY
KHALID Hamidi and Lee Johnson proved to be a dynamic duo with the ball as Whitmore beat Sandyford in their NSSCL Division One meeting.
Sandyford, who find themselves in the relegation zone at the halfway point of the season, were chasing 131 for victory on their road trip.
However, they never managed to get close as new-ball duo Hamidi and Johnson went to work on their batting line-up.
Hamidi claimed 5-16 and Johnson scooped 4-12 as Sandyford folded to 47 all out.
Earlier in the day, Hamidi had top-scored with 29 - and there were decent contributions from Mohammad Aqeeb (27) and Jonathan Mcall (26) - as Whitmore posted 130 all out.
Paul Wookey was the main man with the ball for Sandyford, taking 4-47, while Joe Warrilow (3-16) and Muhammad Naveed (3-36) also impressed.
Blythe gave themselves some breathing space at the bottom end of the table after winning on their visit to Sandbach.
Blythe, in 10th, are now 19 points clear of trouble following their second success of the league campaign.
They put themselves in a strong position after amassing 216-6 from their 55 overs.
That was centred around a thirdwicket stand of 132 between Eranga Dissanagge and Ather Abid, who both compiled half-centuries.
Dissanagge just missed out on a ton, making 95, which included 13 fours and one six. Abid, meanwhile, hit nine fours and two maximums in his 76.
Ryan Jones (3-30) starred with the ball for Sandbach, with Conah Macfarlane adding a couple of wickets.
Sandbach gave the run chase a good go after the interval as Jack Kesteven fronted their bid with 68.
He struck three fours and four sixes, with fine support coming from Gareth Lennon (40), Jack Taylor (29) and Dane Tinsley (25).
But their efforts were ultimately in vain as Scott Degg’s 4-35 and Dissanagge’s 3-42 left them all out for 190.
Norton in Hales romped to a nine-wicket home victory over
Wood Lane.
Three wickets apiece from Jack Furnival (3-1), Chris Dyer (3-17) and Kashif Ali Moon (3-22) saw Wood Lane routed for 64.
Ash Porter top-scored with
17 for the visitors, but it was a disappointing afternoon with the bat for the Megacre men.
Norton in Hales required just 12.2 overs to wrap up the points as Eddie Warrington made an unbeaten 32 and Alex Thorley added 20 not out.
Second-placed Eccleshall are now just 10 points off the top following their 21-run home win against Newcastle & Hartshill.
Eccleshall were in a spot of bother early on as they slipped to 53-6.
However, they dug deep as Fida Hussain’s 41 was backed up Tom Hibbert’s 33, 24 from Alistair Hunt
and 14 not out from Ben Thomas as they eventually made their way to 165 all out.
Joe Thorne and Andy Whitehead claimed 4-58 and 3-34 respectively.
Asif Raza (41) led the Castle reply, but they fell short as they were bowled out for 144.
The damage was done by Hussain (3-16), Adnan Ghaus (3-32) and a couple of wickets from Scott Winnington.
Leaders Audley were held to a draw at bottom-of-the-table Endon - and weren’t far off suffering a shock defeat.
All looked rosy in the Audley garden as they motored to 241-8 declared from 53 overs, with Faizan Riaz and Richard Holloway both making half-centuries.
Riaz hit seven fours and one six in his 63, while Holloway’s 50 contained seven boundaries and two over the ropes.
Oliver Wilde (34), Josh Rhodes (26) and Dean Bamsey (21) were also in good touch, while Andrew Johnson (20no) added late impetus to proceedings.
Jack Chell (3-63) was the pick of the Endon attack.
The home side have struggled for runs so far this season, but found their batting form to give them a chance of completing a surprise success.
A first-wicket stand of 118 between Andrew Sibley and Oliver Rogerson put them on the right path.
Sibley made 71 and Rogerson weighed in with 50 before Endon found themselves in a highlypromising position of 198-3.
But with overs running out, Endon lost wickets and eventually drew stumps on 229-9 as Riaz picked up 3-57.
Harvey Ault’s 48 had kept Endon in the hunt before that late flurry of wickets scuppered their chances.
Knypersley and Ashcombe Park played out a draw in their encounter.
Visitors Ashcombe Park had Kashif Bhatti’s unbeaten 77 to thank for seeing them to 184-7 from their 55 overs.
Bhatti’s knock included seven fours and one six, while Irfan Khan (33) and Haroon Mahmood (30) also shone. Jacob Cumberbatch captured 4-24 for Knype.
In reply, Arsalan Arshad Mir (52), and 31 apiece from Paul Goodwin and Usama Mir, drove Knypersley forward.
But Bhatti and Anis Raza took 3-13 and 3-25 respectively to limit the home side to 172-9 at the close.