Raza plays leading role for Ashcombe in victory at home
ASHCOMBE Park also made home advantage count as they saw off the challenge of Cheadle to make sure they will be playing Premier Division cricket again next season
Cheadle were restricted to 153-9, in which Ali Khan made 40 and Jake Mills struck 32.
Anis Raza was the leading light with the ball for Ashcombe Park as he reaped 6-38.
And if the man-of-the-match award wasn’t already in the bag, it certainly was once Raza showcased his batting prowess.
He made 75, hitting 15 fours, to set Ashcombe Park on the road to glory. And Josh Johnson made 25 not out to put the finishing touches to a four-wicket win.
Austen Crump picked up 3-25 for Cheadle, but it was in vain.
Checkley enjoyed a productive home outing as they demolished Leek by nine wickets.
Leek had made a decent start to their innings at Four Trees as openers Wayne White (43) and Greg Cork (27) impressed at the top of the order. But the innings soon unravelled once spinner Richard Williams (4-10) and seamer Rizwan Haider (4-39) hit their stride and Leek fell to 133 all out.
Checkley had few concerns in knocking off the runs.
Michael Allen produced an entertaining innings of 83, while Matthew Taylor (30no) dropped anchor to steer Checkley to a nine-wicket win.
Blythe and Hem Heath were both relegated from the division.
Blythe’s fate was sealed in miserable fashion as they were thumped on their visit to Stone SP.
There was to be no last-gasp push for survival and Blythe were routed for a mere 55, thanks to Matthew Coxon’s superb 7-27.
George Hawbrook then blazed 41 not out - featuring six fours and a six - to power Stone SP to a 10-wicket win.
Hem Heath are also contemplating life in the second tier next summer after being comfortably beaten on their visit to Moddershall & Oulton.
It’s been a season of struggle for Hem Heath and they were dismissed for 127 on their road trip.
Dave Leese’s 29 not out and 26 from Callum Leese were the only two noteworthy contributors to the visitors’ below-par tally.
Lewis Moulton (4-24) and Daniel Colclough (3-29) did the bulk of the damage.
Hertfordshire all-rounder Tanweer Sikandar, playing for the Modd men as a sub pro, was then at the heart of their successful run chase.
He helped himself to 55 not out, and along with Staffordshire batsman Sam Kelsall (33no) eased Moddershall & Oulton to an eight-wicket triumph.
Meanwhile, the division is heading for a final-day title showdown after contenders Meakins and Porthill Park both won their penultimate games of the season.
Meakins will now take a 14-point advantage to Porthill Park on Saturday in what promises to be a thrilling end to the top-flight season.
Meakins kept their rivals at arm’s length with victory over Longton, but Porthill Park are not ready to give up their crown just yet and sealing the points at Whitmore gives them a fighting chance heading in to the last weekend of the summer’s action.
The table-toppers overcame some stubborn Longton resistance to keep their lead at the top.
Longton were in dire straits on 60-7 as they chased down Meakins’ 215-9 declared.
However, skipper Ed Jones and Adnan Ghaus joined forces to compile an eighthwicket stand of 106 to revive the visitors’ hopes of success.
But Matthew Redican bowled Ghaus for 42 before Michael Hill wrapped up the Longton innings for 173. Jones was left unbeaten on 62, which contained four fours and five sixes.
Meakins’ impressive total had been built around Peter Wilshaw’s 78. He struck eight fours and a couple of sixes, while James Menzies played a captain’s innings with 30.
Ben Mcguire added 27 late in the day, while Alex Coates and Ghaus claimed 3-31 and 3-58 respectively.
Longton made a nightmare start to their reply and despite their fightback, Adnan Rasool’s 5-50 ultimately settled the deal.
Porthill Park won by seven wickets on a potentially tricky assignment at Whitmore.
The defending champions had their bowlers to thank for setting up the victory - and most notably Muhammad Azharullah and Craig Barker.
Azharullah took 5-36 and Barker snaffled 3-38 to dismiss Whitmore for 145. Taimar Ahmad top-scored with 54.
Ahmad (3-34) then picked up three wickets for the home side, but they were the only successes as Jack Beech compiled 55 not out and had Dan Hancock (30no) for company.