Checkley in three-way tie at top of Premier Division
THERE’S a three-way tie at the top of the NSSCL Premier Division after two weeks with Checkley, Longton and Stone SP all having 36 points after backing up their opening weekend wins.
Checkley overcame Moddershall & Oulton – Porthill Park’s conquerors on the first Saturday – by 23 runs at Four Trees.
Hosts Checkley amassed 230-6 from their 45-over allocation.
Openers Tom Moulton (56) and James Kettleborough (42) laid firm foundations, before Simon Guy (34), Scott Elstone (28), Brendan Lovatt (24) and Michael Allen (21) kept the scoreboard ticking over to good effect.
Lewis Moulton and Sam Kelsall took a couple of wickets apiece for the Modd Men.
Moddershall & Oulton replied positively with Kelsall and opening partner Callum Hawkins both making 31.
Sri Lankan substitute pro Sachithra Serasinghe backed up his opening week 98 not out with 66 – hitting nine fours and one six – to maintain the visitors’ charge.
However, Tom Moulton’s 3-29, plus a double strike from new-ball exponent Clark Haddrell, left the Modd men on 207-9 when time was called.
Longton secured a four-wicket home victory over Leek after rain had forced them to chase a revised target.
Leek had reached 159-8 from their 45 overs on the back of 40 from skipper Alex Mellor and 35 not out from Loedolff Potgieter. Rory Haydon added a late 29 for the Moorlanders.
There were two wickets apiece for Tom Hope, Richard Williams and Ed Jones.
The elements intervened to a degree and left Longton – victors over Cheadle on week one – requiring 140 from 36 overs.
And they managed to overhaul their new target with five balls remaining.
Tom Steele’s 38 at the top of the order was a highlight, but at 83-5, the home side still had plenty of work to do.
Hope and Joseph Abbotts teamed up, though, compiling 39 and 32 not out respectively to steer Longton across the line. Craig Melrose and Rory Corden took a couple of wickets apiece.
Stone SP were also left celebrating another win – this time on the road at Whitmore.
Whitmore collapsed from 31-0 to 70 all out to hand Stone SP a relatively easy chase.
Usman Tariq (17) and Danyal Hussain (14) had led Whitmore to a decent start, but the wheels then fell off in dramatic style.
Left-arm spinner George Harding scooped 4-12 and Mark Hulbert grabbed 3-16 to instigate their demise.
Northamptonshire spinner Graeme White picked up a couple of wickets in reply, but Stone SP were never in serious danger.
Captain Sam Graham struck 35 and Hulbert made 25 not out to secure a six-wicket win.
Bagnall Norton produced a superb display to secure their first win of the season at Meakins’ expense.
The top-flight encounter saw Meakins slip to their second successive loss – and it turned out to be a one-sided affair.
Bagnall Norton completed a 10-wicket triumph after seizing the initiative in the early stages and never letting their visitors back into the match.
Meakins, who were beaten by Whitmore on the opening weekend, were under pressure from the word go as veteran swing king Greg Willott picked up a couple of wickets to reduce them to 20-3.
There was some hope of a comeback as Staffordshire batsman Michael Hill and Hamaiz Mahmood compiled a fourth-wicket stand of 86.
Mahmood made 30, while Hill top-scored with 56, which included five fours and three sixes.
However, from a position of 116-4, Meakins tumbled to 154 all out as Mohammed Ahmed and Freddie Doorbar claimed 4-31 and 3-13 respectively.
It was still a potentially tricky chase for Bagnall Norton, but they showed no such concerns and swept to their target.
In fact, so comprehensive was their win that openers Ahmed and Josh Cartledge walked out for the chase... and didn’t return until the job was completed.
Ahmed finished on 80 not out, which contained 13 fours, while Cartledge crafted an unbeaten 64, which featured nine fours and one six.
The defeat leaves Meakins bottom of the early standings... and they are surprisingly joined in the lower reaches by champions Porthill Park, who lost for the second successive weekend as well.
Porthill Park were beaten at home by Cheadle – and paid the price for penalty runs imposed by the umpires.
Louis Allison’s 70 and 34 from Ben Cotton
had enabled Porthill Park to reach 200 all out. William Dobbie scooped 3-42.
Cheadle were set a new target of 166 off 31 overs after a rain delay... and a tight finish appeared to be on the cards when they needed 38 off the last five.
But Porthill Park were then hit by a 24-run penalty for a slow over-rate, which reduced the equation to 14 off five overs for Cheadle.
And skipper Matthew Goodwin ensured his side achieved a five-wicket win with an unbeaten 50.
Burslem were also victorious on the road as they returned from Ashcombe Park with the points.
Burslem made a poor start, slipping to 133, which included the first-ball dismissal of Staffordshire batsman Zen Malik.
But Saad Qureshi and captain Josh Tittensor steadied the ship to take the sting out of the home side’s attack.
Qureshi hit six fours and three sixes in his 79, with Tittensor adding 40 to set them on course for a decent total. Alex Gilson weighed in with a late 34 not out, and although Nathan Ball and Max Hill took two wickets apiece, Burslem still managed to post 218-8.
Ashcombe Park made a similarly dodgy start, falling to 18-3 in reply – but they never recovered.
Philip Clowes and Amer Siddique struck 37 and 30 respectively, although the Basford Bridge Lane outfit were bundled out for 121. Michael Brown’s 3-8 and Callum Harrison’s 3-28 did the bulk of the damage.