A win for chasers Farnworth Social Circle and defeat for leaders Read returned some jeopardy to the Anthony Axford North West Cricket League Premiership title race on Saturday.
Star displays from Bajan professional Jameel Stuart with the bat and Lewis Whittle with the new ball – 136 off 106 balls and 6-42 respectively – helped second-placed Social Circle brush aside defending champions Blackrod for a 10th win in 13 games.
Stuart scored his third league century of 2025 and became the first man in either division to pass 900 runs this summer, underpinning 247-9 from 44 overs.
In reply, Whittle was the chief protagonist in bowling hosts Blackrod out for 162, an 85-run win.
Read, meanwhile, lost only their second league game – this at home to mid-table Salesbury, whose sixth win was set up by a more eye-catching century than Stuart’s.
Salesbury’s South African pro Garnett Tarr, batting at number three, crashed 12 sixes in 164 off 104 balls as they posted 263-8 in only 35 overs.
Read, who lost their Hamer Cup semi-final to Padiham last Sunday, were set a revised 198-target in 24 overs but slipped to 50-6 and 123 all out.
Tarr’s outstanding day continued thanks to 5-44 with off-spin.
Mid-table Salesbury’s sixth win – this by 74 runs – means leaders Read (126 points) and Farnworth SC are separated by only 11 points with nine games left.
They play each other a week on Saturday.
The majority of rainy Saturday matches were subject to reduced overs.
But there was only one game which failed to finish – the battle between two teams at the wrong end of the Championship, Earby at home to Brinscall (7-0 after two overs). Both teams took five points apiece.
The Premiership clash between Lostock and Tonge was the only game not reduced.
Lostock won by seven wickets chasing 152, their fifth win in 13.
However, they remain in ninth place. Mid-table visitors Tonge were bowled out for 151 as new-ball seamer Reece Gray picked up three wickets.
Opener Matt Lamb top-scored with a patient 46 in reply.
Like the Premiership title race, the Championship promotion battle is fascinating. The top five teams are separated by only 28 points.
Ribblesdale Wanderers (119, 15 games) are top but were beaten at second-placed Whalley (115, 13) by three wickets.
After limiting Ribblesdale to 117-5 from 26 overs, Whalley chased a revised 128. Despite losing regular wickets, they were always in control. Whalley pro Levi Wolfenden impressed with two wickets and a sharp 50 in win number nine.
Mid-table Baxenden put a spanner in the works of third-placed Cherry Tree’s (101 points, 12 games) progression, claiming a 33-run win on the road in defence of a 145-target in 29 overs.
Baxenden’s seventh win in 14 games came despite being bowled out for 144, including Matthew Austin’s tail-end 33.
Pro Ben Gorton then struck five wickets as Cherry Tree slipped from 59-1 to 111 all out, losing for the fourth time.
Barnoldswick (99, 12) kept themselves in the Championship promotion conversation with a landslide eighth win, this one by 148 runs at Oswaldtwistle Immanuel.
Openers Abdul and Amir Saddique contributed 75 and 62 respectively – the brothers shared a 104-partnership – to a 210-4 total from 31 overs before the former also claimed five wickets in mid-table Oswaldtwistle’s 62 all out.
Overseas amateur Deron Greaves, from St Vincent and the Grenadines, also had a good day for Barnoldswick with 50 and four wickets.
Fifth-placed Astley Bridge (91 points, 13 games) were winners by 73 runs at Walkden in a 42-over game which saw the visitors post a commanding 249-5 thanks largely to Rick Northrop’s fine 97 off 94 balls.
In reply, captain Syd De Silva claimed four wickets with spin as Walkden were bowled out for 176. Bridge won for the seventh time this summer.
Back in the Premiership, third-placed Padiham’s seventh win came by 23 runs at home to Atherton, who dropped into the bottom two as a result.
Padiham’s 195-5 in 29 overs was led by Callum Clarke’s well paced 59 before Atherton, chasing a revised 208 in 26, finished on 184-5. They had been usefully placed at 93-1 in the 14th over, but home captain Toby Burrows spun his way to four wickets.
Padiham have 93 points, 22 adrift of second-placed Farnworth Social Circle and 33 behind leaders Read.
Farnworth (60 points) leapfrogged Atherton (59 points) out of the bottom two to 10th place. They dented Kearsley’s bid for a top-four finish with a 35-run home success, their third win of the summer.
Farnworth posted 150-9 from 37 overs, captain and opener Tayler-Jay Heyes top-scoring with a patient 62. In defence, sub pro Anuk Fernando (Rawtenstall) and new-ball partner Yasir Rashid equally shared eight wickets in Kearsley’s 115 all out.
Farnworth also jumped above Eagley, who fell to bottom of the table despite a thrilling win at mid-table Little Lever, by two runs defending a revised target of 147 in 27 overs.
Harvey Seigne’s brisk middle order 52 underpinned Eagley’s 146-5 before Little Lever moved to the verge of victory, needing nine to win off the last two overs at 138-5 with Pakistani pro Muhammad Junaid unbeaten on 86.
But Junaid fell for 87 to James Richards in the penultimate, and Seigne then defended six off the last over as the hosts finished on 144-7. Eagley won for the fourth time in 13 and have 58 points.
Saturday July 26 – Premiership: Blackrod v Kearsley, Eagley v Lostock, Farnworth Social Circle v Atherton, Padiham v Read, Salesbury v Little Lever, Tonge v Farnworth. Championship: Astley Bridge v Oswaldtwistle Immanuel, Baxenden v Ribblesdale Wanderers, Brinscall v Whalley, Cherry Tree v Earby, Walkden v Barnoldswick.
By Graham Hardcastle
Matt Cavanagh is confident his Barnoldswick side can achieve promotion from the Championship division of the Anthony Axford North West Cricket League – although the sports mad captain won’t be there to see them achieve it.
Cavanagh is a busy man. Added to his leadership duties with Barnoldswick, he’s also the manager at Northern Premier League East football club Silsden AFC.
With the crossover between the cricket and football seasons on the horizon, Cavanagh will swap the crease for the touchline midway through next month.
Even though he won’t be able to finish the job off, he is determined to strengthen their position in what’s currently a five-horse race.
On Saturday, Barnoldswick hammered Oswaldtwistle Immanuel by 148 runs, posting 210-4 from 31 overs and bowling their hosts out for just 62 in reply.
Barnoldswick are fourth in the table, pursuing a top-two finish for promotion. They have won eight of 12 matches so far and have 10 still to play.
Ribblesdale Wanderers are top with 119 points from 15 games, Whalley second with 115 from 13, Cherry Tree third on 101 from 12, Barnoldswick fourth with 99 from 12 and Astley Bridge fifth on 91 from 13.
“At the end of the day, you’ve just got to take it one game at a time, starting this weekend,” said Cavanagh. “But, if we turn up and all fulfil our potential, there’s no reason why we can’t win games and achieve that top-two finish.
“If we turn up, we know we’re a match for anyone in this league.
“We’ve got a lot more depth than we ever have as a squad.
“Last year, we really struggled. This year, we’ve probably attracted a couple of lads who have been at the club and come back, and we’ve done really well.”
On Saturday, Barnoldswick’s cause was advanced by 62 and 75 from opening batters Amir and Abdul Saddique, the latter also starring with 5-24 from six overs of seam.
St Vincent and the Grenadines overseas amateur Deron Greaves also impressed with a middle order 50 and four wickets.
Cavanagh reflected: “I always say to lads, ‘If we can put a score on the board, we’ve got a really good bowling attack. That’s what we’ve done there.
“Amir and Abdul put on a really good partnership, and then Deron chipped away at the end. Then, the bowling attack, we started a little bit slow. But then we took some key wickets and got on top of them.
“Amir and Abdul are brothers. They’ve both played at the club for a while but had a break. This year, they’ve come back to us and improved us as a team.
“What I would say about Deron, and our professional Trent Riddell from Australia, is that they’ve both been great around the club and have contributed massively off the pitch as well as what they’ve done on it.
“They play a big part with the seniors at training, but also the juniors, who love them. They’ve both really bought into how we’re trying to develop the club in that sense.
“There’s a long way to go at the cricket club.
“We’ve got a junior system that’s growing, and there’s a lot of people behind the scenes putting a lot of effort in.
“There’s a big transition within that. A couple of years ago, I felt we were falling behind, but now there’s a lot of people who deserve a lot of credit for getting us on the right track.”
So, what’s easier. Captaining a cricket team or managing a non-league football club?
“A cricket club’s a lot easier, to be honest,” chuckled Cavanagh.
“I do this for fun, and Jonathan Beech as my vice captain does a lot of the leg work.
“He’s a really good lad, who I’m very grateful to. The lads as well. They’re all committed and know how I work. So it’s quite an easy role for myself.
“With the football, that’s a bit of a different kettle of fish to be honest with the level that we’re at now.”
Following promotion last season for Yorkshire club Silsden, Cavanagh describes them as “a smaller fish in a bigger pond” and says he loves the variety of leadership roles he takes on.
“I’m not so sure my partner would say that!” he said. “Since I was a youngster, I’ve always played football, I’ve always played cricket. I follow a rugby team as well. That’s just who I am. I love it.”
And on Barnoldswick’s progression, he added: “Everything’s positive.
“The club’s in a good place, and hopefully we can keep building it and build towards next year.”
