Salesbury and newly-promoted Atherton played out a thrilling tie and Premiership champions Blackrod were beaten during the Anthony Axford North West Cricket League’s opening day on Saturday.
Hosts Salesbury and Atherton finished on 243 and claimed seven points apiece, while Blackrod were bowled out for just 65 chasing 153 against last year’s third-placed finishers Padiham, who secured the full 12 points on offer.
Salesbury posted 243-8 having elected to bat. Liam Parkinson top-scored with a brisk unbeaten 77.
In reply, Atherton’s Bajan pro Shayne Moseley opened with a superb 121 off 122 balls – the innings of the opening round – but he was caught off Callum Boardman with seven to win two balls into the last over, which had started with 11 required and two wickets left.
With two needed off the last ball, last pair Harry Morgan and Jack Fearick could only run a bye, with Atherton ending on 243-9.
The other promoted side from last year, Read, beat Eagley by six wickets, chasing down 229 on home turf. There were also top-flight wins for last year’s runners-up Little Lever, Lostock and Farnworth Social Circle.
In the Championship, Cherry Tree secured a nervy one-wicket win at Ribblesdale Wanderers, chasing 172. New pro Mini Bhada claimed 5-54 to bowl Wanderers out for 171 before new captain and opener Charlie Elwood top-scored with 44 in reply.
But Cherry Tree slipped from 153-5 to 169-9, leaving last pair Kurt Smithson and Andreas Sudnik to get them over the line.
Oswaldtwistle Immanuel claimed an impressive 34-run win at Walkden defending 216 all out, while there was success for Barnoldswick, Astley Bridge and Whalley.
In the Premiership, 2024 winners Blackrod limited visitors Padiham to 152-9 from 45 overs, with Sri Lankan sub professional Dushan Vimukthi (Walsden) claiming 5-42 with his off-spin.
Opener Callum Clarke hit 30 for Padiham, and it proved to be the top score of the match as Blackrod were blown away in reply, securing an 87-run win.
Left-arm spinner Burrows recorded 5-23 from 14.2 overs having taken the new ball. He was supported by three wickets for South African overseas amateur Zander Van Tonder and two for new professional Iftikhar Naseer.
Little Lever’s bid for a second title in three years began with a thumping 114-run win at Tonge, who were bowled out for 103 in pursuit of 218.
New Pakistani pro Muhammad Junaid returned the all-round performance of the day with a fabulous unbeaten 98 off 88 balls from number five in 217-9 and 6-32 from 13.1 overs of left-arm spin as Tonge struggled in response.
Hosts Farnworth Social Circle (262-7) beat Kearsley (146 all out) by 116 runs.
Opener Max Perry posted 53 and Chris Barrow an unbeaten 50 for Social Circle before new signing Basil Sultan, having earlier scored 34 with the bat, completed a memorable debut with 4-6 from 2.3 overs.
Last year’s Championship winners Read were indebted to a fine all-rounder display from Chris Holt, who struck three times in Eagley’s 228-9 before he opened the batting with 58 in a successful reply. South African OA Zadian Muller with four wickets and new Sri Lankan pro Sehan Weerasinghe with 51 not out also contributed.
Lostock were home winners against Farnworth, whose 178-8 meant they fell short in reply to 195-7.
Returning Pakistani pro Akbar ur Rehman top-scored with 79 for Lostock, whose captain James Evans claimed three wickets alongside opening bowler Reece Gray.
In the Championship, Oswaldtwistle secured an eye-catching win at Walkden.
Opener Daniel Hothersall top-scored with 43 in their 216 all out, though last pair Matthew Cook (40 not out) and new captain Dean Martin (27) crucially recovered them from 157-9. Cook and Martin then struck once apiece in defence, but new pro Zohaib Khan took the new ball and claimed four wickets to bowl Walkden out for 182.
Barnoldswick (191-6) were four-wicket winners at Baxenden (188 all out).
Haseeb Mehmood Hanif took the new ball and was excellent for 6-34 from 8.4 overs before OA Deron Greaves from St Vincent and the Grenadines top-scored with a swift 74 from number four in a successful chase.
Astley Bridge won away at Earby by 88 runs. Opener Millen Patel contributed 52 to Bridge’s 214-8, while Nahian Chodhury top-scored with 58 from number four.
In bowling Earby out for 126, new captain Syd De Silva struck four times.
And hosts Whalley beat Brinscall by 64 runs.
Pro Levi Wolfenden top-scored with a well-paced 71 from number four in 255-4 before taking the new ball and returning 4-45 as Brinscall, 160-2, fell to 191 all out.
Blackrod captain Joey Pryle says his side will have to get used to being the hunted rather than the hunters in this season’s Anthony Axford North West Cricket League. But he was far from panicked by Saturday’s opening day home defeat to Padiham.
The Premiership title-holders were beaten by 87 runs, bowled out for 65 in pursuit of 153 against last year’s third-placed side.
Pryle had to field a substitute professional, with Sri Lankan batter Navod Paranavithana not due into the country until this week.
Despite the setback, Pryle was in relaxed mood, saying: “It’s just cricket. We can come back again next week. That’s the nature of it. It won’t change my plans.
“I thought we bowled and fielded alright in restricting them to 152-9. It was chaseable, but we just didn’t bat well enough. That’s the story of it in a nutshell.
“It’s not ideal. We had a great start last year, didn’t we? We won our first 12 games.
“But we did say at the start of the game – we’ve said it as a group for the last couple of weeks, ‘Teams are going to come at us because we won it last year’. We know it’s a different kind of challenge, and we’re confident we can step up to it.”
A good number of Blackrod’s players have been on a pre-season trip to Sri Lanka, including Pryle, and their squad remains largely unchanged from last season, albeit with a new Bajan overseas amateur.
“Yes, we have Renaldo Holder, not Cristiano!” quipped Pryle. “He’s an experienced all-rounder like Antonio Greenidge, who we had last year. He’s been over to England six times before, so he knows the crack.
“Antonio was more of a batting all-rounder, where as Nally, which is his nickname, is more of a bowling all-rounder. He looked the part with the new ball (on Saturday). He was just a bit unlucky to only get the one wicket.
“He’s got an extra yard on him, and there’s more to come. If we have some rain and it spices the wickets up a bit, I think he’ll be a real handful.”
Saturday’s team included a sub pro in Walsden’s Dushan Vimukthi, who claimed five wickets. It also included youngsters Lucas Ashworth and Ben Jones.
“One of them’s 14, the other’s 15, and they’re the future of our club. I’m not afraid of throwing them in at the deep end,” said Pryle.
“I did say to you at the start of last year that there were three trophies to play for and it’d be great if we won one. This season, we’ve got four to go at. But I’m not going to be disappointed if we don’t win any.
“My success is bringing the young players into the team and bringing them on.
“Myself and Tushy (de Zoysa) are getting on a bit. Eventually, we’re going to have to step down. So you want to see these young lads thrown in and get used to playing senior cricket as soon as possible. That’s what I’ll always try and do.”
The four trophies on offer this season, include the league, the Hamer and Birtwistle Cups plus the Lancashire Knockout. The three cup competitions start next month, with Blackrod hosting Cheetham Gladiators in round one of the latter on May 18.
Pryle added: “For me, one of the things that’s good about this season is that we’re back in the Lancs Knockout, and we’ve got a good draw. “That’s one thing I want to try and do well in.
“I was looking at previous results in that, and we’ve never been past the last 16. If we can better that this year, that’s another success for us – try and get to the last eight maybe.”
