Walkden number 11 Nadeem Patel smashed 37 off nine balls, including taking the lion’s share of 37 off one over, to fire his side to a one-wicket Championship win at home to Anthony Axford North West Cricket League promotion chasers Cherry Tree on Saturday.
Resurgent Walkden were chasing 153 but slipped to 3-3 and 117-9 after their seam-bowling captain Ammad Afzal had earlier taken five wickets in Cherry Tree’s 152 all out.
However, last-wicket pair Moinuddin Saiyed (21) and Patel shared an unbroken 40.
Walkden needed 33 off the last five overs, but Patel finished it in one – hitting Andreas Sudnik for three fours and four sixes, including one off a no ball.
Walkden lost their first eight games but have won six of their last seven to sit safely in mid-table. Cherry Tree, however, missed the chance to capitalise on second-placed Whalley’s defeat at home to Astley Bridge.
They remain third on 115 points, 12 behind second with eight to play.
The battle of the top two teams in the Premiership, Farnworth Social Circle and Read, went the latter’s way. And they now sit top on 139 points having won 12 of 15 games.
They are 11 points clear of Social Circle, who they beat by five wickets chasing 186.
Visitors Social Circle (128 points) were bowled out for 185 as Sri Lankan pro Sehan Weerasinghe struck four times with spin, including getting star man Jameel Stuart for 93.
Opener Chris Holt, who also claimed two wickets, then led a straightforward chase with a measured 71.
Little Lever (108 points) won Sunday’s Hamer Cup final dress rehearsal by 100 runs at home to Padiham, their eighth win moving them up to third in the table and leapfrogging their visitors in the process.
In defence – Padiham 152 all out – Cameron struck twice with the ball, while Adil Nisar claimed five wickets.
Padiham are fourth on 103 points.
While all teams in the Premiership have played 15 games, the Championship is not as uniform in that regard.
Second-tier leaders Ribblesdale Wanderers continued their promotion drive by chasing 114 at home to Earby, winning by five wickets.
Their 11th win in 17 games was achieved as new-ball seamer Ian Britcliffe claimed five wickets in Earby’s 113 all out before wicketkeeper-opener Hammad Amin’s run-a-ball 40 led a reply which was never realistically threatened.
Ribblesdale are sat on 144 points, 17 clear of second-placed Whalley and 29 clear of Astley Bridge and Cherry Tree in third and fourth. The chasing pack do have games in hand, though.
Astley Bridge are now firmly amongst the chasers having won at Whalley by 74 runs. They posted 188-9 and bowled Whalley out for 114, securing win number nine in 15 games.
Bridge captain Syd De Silva impressed with five wickets and 20 with the bat.
Farnworth and Atherton, two teams fighting to avoid relegation from the Premiership, both won.
Farnworth were victorious by 19 runs at home to Blackrod – their fifth win – having posted a 192-6 total which was fashioned by an excellent opening 101 not out off 126 balls from captain Tayler-Jay Heyes.
In defence, Adam Patel claimed four wickets to bowl Blackrod out for 180.
Atherton’s fourth win was achieved by five wickets at Kearsley (144 all out).
Atiq Shah and Zeeshan Aslam claimed three wickets apiece for the visitors before Bajan OA Jamaine Bullen dominated an unbroken 58-run stand for the sixth wicket with Shah and finished unbeaten on 43 after they had been 87-5.
Eagley are bottom on 58 points, Atherton next on 74. Just out of the bottom two are Farnworth on 84.
Three points better off are Lostock, who were beaten at home by mid- Salesbury – a 31-run margin.
Salesbury’s seventh win was achieved on the back of a 199-9 total led by South African pro Garnett Tarr’s superb 100 off 88 balls. His compatriot Connor Nel, their overseas amateur, then struck four times to help bowl Lostock out for 168.
Another mid-table side in Tonge heightened Eagley’s relegation fears, beating them by seven wickets chasing 106 at home.
Tonge’s seventh win was set up by four wickets for seam-bowling captain Connor Lord and three for Sri Lankan pro Hashan Dumindu, bowling bottom-placed Eagley out for 105.
In reply, Dumindu top-scored with a patient unbeaten 54.
From fourth-placed Padiham down to Blackrod in eighth, only 12 points separate them along with Kearsley, Salesbury and Tonge. The top four places secure Lancashire Knockout qualification.
Back in the Championship, a fabulous all-round display from Abdul Saddique kept Barnoldswick in the promotion race courtesy of victory at Oswaldtwistle Immanuel, by eight wickets chasing 154.
Their ninth win in 14 was achieved on the back of Saddique’s 7-38 from 15 overs of spin.
He took the new ball and bowled Oswaldtwistle out for 153. He then opened the batting and top-scored with a patient 66 in reply.
Fourth-placed Barnoldswick (112 points) are 15 behind Whalley in second with a game in hand.
A stunning 7-37 from 13 overs for new-ball seamer Matthew Austin inspired mid-table Baxenden to victory at bottom-side Brinscall, who were bowled out for 88.
Baxenden’s eighth win in 16 was then secured by Kasim Masood’s unbeaten 25 from number seven, recovering the visitors from 39-6. He shared an unbroken 49 partnership with Ben Hall, who contributed a crucial 21.
Saturday August 9 – Premiership: Atherton v Blackrod, Eagley v Farnworth, Farnworth Social Circle v Little Lever, Kearsley v Read, Padiham v Lostock, Salesbury v Tonge. Championship: Astley Bridge v Earby, Barnoldswick v Baxenden, Brinscall v Whalley, Oswaldtwistle Immanuel v Cherry Tree, Ribblesdale Wanderers v Walkden, Cherry Tree v Barnoldswick (Sunday 10).
By Graham Hardcastle
Read captain Will Wrathall is predicting the blow-for-blow Premiership title race with Farnworth Social Circle will go down to the wire in the Anthony Axford North West Cricket League after his side won Saturday’s battle of the top two teams.
Read returned to the top of the table with a five-wicket home win against Social Circle chasing 186 inside 42 of the 45 overs.
With seven games remaining, Read are 11 points clear – 12 available for a maximum points win. Having won 12 of 15 games, they have 139 points to 128.
Sri Lankan professional Sehan Weerasinghe claimed 4-85 from 12 overs of spin to bowl Social Circle out for 185. South African overseas amateur Zadian Muller added three wickets and Chris Holt two.
The latter then led a confident chase with an opening 71 off 98 balls, Joe Marshall also posting 43. They shared a second-wicket partnership of 79 from 32-1.
“There’s still seven rounds of the season to go,” said opening batter Wrathall.
“I don’t expect Read to go seven games undefeated, and I don’t expect Farnworth Social to go seven undefeated. So I think it will go right down to the wire. We’ve just got to be ready for whatever’s thrown at us.
“I would rather win it with three or four weeks to go, but it’s so close and good for the neutrals.
“That’s credit to the league, to be fair, because I feel like everyone’s grown in strength and it’s a lot more competitive now.”
Read batted first on Saturday and survived a 60-ball 93 from on-song Bajan professional Jameel Stuart. Weerasinghe got him, caught by Wrathall at long-off, leaving the score at 167-8.
“When a catch goes up, everyone’s speaking around the ground. On its way down, it all goes quiet,” said Wrathall. “We had a few on because it was a big game – about 2-300. And there was certainly a big roar when I took it because we knew the importance.
“Had you said to me before the game that Jameel was going to get 90-odd on Read, I’d have shaken your hand and said, ‘Thanks very much’.
“It’s such a good wicket and a small ground, you feel like you could chase anything. If you bat first and get 300, you’ve still got a lot of work to do with the ball.
“So when they got 180, we all thought we were winning at half-time.
“It was a really good game, actually.
“It got a bit closer than we’d have liked in terms of overs remaining than wickets left. But we bowled really well and fielded well. We always thought they were a bit behind schedule with the bat.”
Holt continues to contribute for Read. He has now scored 345 runs in the league added to 28 wickets.
“He’s such a big character,” said Wrathall. “He’s obviously an ex-professional. That’s no secret. His ideas and his skills, everything about him is just class.
“Even though he’s getting on a bit in age – and I don’t mind you putting that in your article – he’s still performing under pressure. He’s so good to have around, and he’s obviously won us the game.”
This win caps a strange old month in Read’s season. Since the start of July, they have won three and lost two of five league games, they lost in the Hamer Cup semi-final to Padiham but beat Little Lever to win the Birtwistle Cup T20 title.
“We say we’ve had a bad couple of weeks, which we have to be fair,” added Wrathall, whose side travel to Kearsley on Saturday.
“But we’ve recently been crowned T20 champions. It’s been a bad couple of weeks from our standards, but we’re in a good position.”
