Leek suffer collapse as Meakins close in on the league crown
LEEK were left to rue a major batting collapse which scuppered their chances of potentially inflicting another defeat on the front-runners Meakins.
Wayne White (38) and Greg Cork (23) put on 65 for the first wicket for Leek, but then Matthew Redican and Adnan Rasool took centre stage.
Redican picked up 6-25 and Rasool took 4-27 as Leek fell to 93 all out.
Meakins lost three wickets in chasing down that meagre target, but Staffordshire allrounder Michael Hill struck six fours and three-sixes in his 28-ball 46 not out to ease them across the line.
Hem Heath are staring relegation in the face after their costly defeat at Cheadle.
They are rooted to the foot of the table and are 45 points from safety with just 50 left to play for.
Not even the inclusion of Lancashire and England Lions seamer Tom Bailey in their side could propel Hem Heath to the victory they so desperately needed.
Bailey was run out after facing one ball as Hem Heath tumbled to 40-7.
There was a recovery from their tail, however, as Tom East’s 46, 24 apiece from Dave Leese and Tom Hodson and 22 from Michael Brocklehurst led them to 157 all out.
James Sellers and Matthew Goodwin claimed 3-31 and 3-60 respectively.
Bailey captured 5-38 after tea, but Ali Khan (55) and Austen Crump (31) ensured the Moorlanders won by two wickets.
Second-from-bottom Blythe are 25 points from safety following their home loss to Checkley.
For a part of the afternoon it appeared as though Blythe were on course to secure victory.
They reduced Checkley to 58-7, but Josh Hewitt (43) and Richard Willliams (38) joined forces to front a recovery to 133-8 from their 55 overs. Ben Smith claimed 4-64 for Blythe.
Blythe then slumped to 29-6 in reply and although Babar Khan led the resistance with 28, they were eventually bowled out for 82.
Rizwan Haider (3-9), Jacob Degg (3-15) and Richard Cooper (3-19) did the bulk of the damage.
Moddershall & Oulton and Stone SP served up a thrilling encounter which ended up being tied.
That result seemed to be a long shot as the Modd men made serene progress in reply to Stone SP’S 158-7.
After being reduced to 7-2, they rebuilt and were cruising on 129-2 thanks to Sachithra Serasinghe (85) and skipper Sam Kelsall (32).
But then Serasinghe, who hit 11 fours and one six in his innings, was dismissed to spark a dramatic collapse which had the home side facing the prospect of defeat.
Ollie Perry (5-31) and Matthew Coxon (4-35) instigated that downfall and at 143-9, Stone SP would have fancied their chances of claiming the points.
However, the Modd men managed to draw the scores level before Lewis Moulton was trapped lbw by Perry to ensure that the sides couldn’t be separated. Captain John Cheadle’s 79 not out had earlier underpinned Stone SP’S innings, while James Pokora lent valuable support with 41 as the pair put on 99 for the third wicket.
Serasinghe claimed 4-58 for Moddershall & Oulton, before the drama unfolded in the run chase.
Longton, sitting third-frombottom, gave their chances of survival a huge boost with a crucial home win against Whitmore.
And it was a fairly emphatic one at that as they ran out 111run victors to put them within sight of safety.
Dave Wheeldon hit nine fours in his 78, and there was 34 from Dan Ball, as Longton amassed 184 all out at Ripon Road. Lee Johnson took 4-39 and Zain Abbas claimed 3-61 for Whitmore.
The visitors were then blown away in their innings as Adnan Ghaus, pictured, and Alex Coates proved to be a dynamic pace duo.
Ghaus’ 7-30 and 3-20 from Coates, ensured that Whitmore folded to 73 all out. Muhammad Usman topscored with 22.
The success keeps the leaders 14 points clear of Porthill Park - who also won with the two sides set to meet on the final day.
Porthill Park are not giving up their championship crown without a fight, though, and they won by seven wickets at home against Ashcombe Park.
Craig Barker’s 3-11 was backed up by double strikes from Ben Cotton, Muhammad Azharullah and Adam Ralphs to leave Ashcombe Park all out for 111.
Joe Byrne top-scored with 32.
Porthill Park had few concerns in knocking off the runs and had Louis Allison unbeaten on 43 when they reached their target.