Rammy’s cruise At Redbrook
IN the JW Lees Senior Division 1, Ramsbottom enjoyed a comfortable 102-run victory over Rochdale at Redbrook.
The home side won the toss and chose to field first.
After a slow start in which Rammy found themselves 17-2, Senuran Muthusamy settled in and struck 79 off 118 deliveries, bettered by Harry Caton’s knock of 90 from 74, the duo instrumental in carrying the visitors to a total of 242-6 off their 50 overs.
Mohammad Khan topscored in Rochdale’s reply with 40 but he lacked sufficient support as wickets fell regularly, Daniel Pyke grabbing 3-22 off five overs for Rammy, who rose above their opponents at the bottom end of the table.
Haslingden were beaten in a tight game on a tricky wicket at Lowerhouse, losing out by four runs.
The home side won the toss and elected to bat, and at 59-8 things looked promising for the visitors, the Lowerhouse top order having struggled to cope with Gary Sudworth’s bowling as he claimed 6-34.
However, eighth man in, Chris Bleazard, put together a gritty innings of 20 off 59 balls while Toqir Hussain, listed at ten, struck 32 off 48 deliveries to carry the home side to 109 off their allotted overs.
Hussain then starred with the ball, taking 4-18 while Patrick Martin claimed 3-45 as Haslingden’s top four batsmen all failed to get into double figures.
Leighton Friend (19), Lewis McIntosh (23) and Joe Sipocz (21) offered some resistance, but the visitors were all out for 105 in the 39th over.
Division 1 newcomers Greenmount remain bottom of the table after a home loss against Norden.
Some probing new ball bowling from Scott Butterworth and Usama Malik kept things tight early on after skipper Hashum Malik had chosen to bowl first and it was Malik who got the breakthrough when Jack Harrison chipped to Greg Butterworth at mid-off.
Home professional Chesney Hughes was uncharacteristically subdued early on and, after being dropped on 1, he struggled his way to 14 from 47 balls before falling to an inside edge from an excellent delivery from Sami Waheed and an even better catch from Lee Crabtree.
Waheed’s spell of 2 for 14 from 7 overs was excellent and there was no letup from the visiting attack.
Andrew Kerr was the leading light in the Greenmount batting performance but he didn’t manage to find any real support and wickets continued to fall regularly.
There were three for Greg Butterworth, two for Ashar Zaidi and Scott Butterworth came back and picked up one for himself, the least he deserved for two good spells.
Kerr was the ninth man out for a classy 81 but 163 all-out felt well below par on a such a small ground.
Clitheroe pulled clear the top following their seven-wicket home win against Middleton.
The visitors had won the toss and batted first, making 189-9 off their 50 overs, Rehan Udwadia top-scoring with 30 as Clitheroe’s sub pro Samit Patel claimed 4-54.
Thomas Lord’s unbeaten century underpinned the run chase and he was ably assisted by
Jack Dewhurst (64) as the hosts comfortably eased to their target in the 30th over, losing just three wickets in the process.
Darwen also enjoyed a seven-wicket home win, beating Burnley to move up to fourth.
Again, it was the visiting side who won the toss and opted to bat, J Marshall looking in good touch as he and Lee Bedford took the score to 51 before Marshall fell. After that,
Burnley struggled and were dismissed for a poor total of 115. D Bowden with 4-32 and J Davies with 3-33 proved their chief tormentors.
Darwen’s reply opened poorly, and at 6-2 Burnley’s hopes were lifted. However, J Cordingley’s unbeaten 55 and S Lad’s 41 saw them home with wickets to spare.
Todmorden picked up the 12 points for a surprise home win against Walsden, who had won the toss at Centre Vale and elected to field.
Todmorden opener Andrew Sutcliffe struck a patient 60 off 122 balls while lower down the order, Harry Rickard hit 61 off 81 balls in helping the home side set a total of 187. Best with the ball for Walsden was Jamie Shackleton, who claimed an impressive 6-39 off 11 overs.
Walsden never quite got to grips with the bat, however, Nick Barker (38) and Cameron Hanson (23) the only ones to look like setting themselves up for a big score.
It wasn’t to be, Walsden all out for 130 in the 42nd over the game. Amar Ullah (3-42) and pro Will Bosisto (3-32) best with the ball for Todmorden.