Prestwich 195-7 (0) v Cheetham Hill 198-5 (4)
Prestwich 244ao v Darwen 271-3
LCL Division One & National Club Championship Group 6 Quarter Final at Heys Road, Prestwich
5th & 6th June 2010
Sam Holden’s superb 96 gave Prestwich hope of getting past Darwen’s 271 but it was to no avail as the Heys Road side were dumped out of the National Knock Out by just 27 runs.
There was not much cheer the day before either as visitors Cheetham Hill eased past the home side’s 195 dropping them down one place to 10th in the Lancashire County League First Division.
REPORT – Prestwich find themselves on the slippery slope after a gripping weekend left them with nothing to show.
Local rivals Cheetham Hill put the Heys side to the sword last Saturday with a five-wicket victory before Northern League hotshots Darwen won by 27 runs in a high-scoring spectacular 24 hours later.
But both games displayed signs that Prestwich are not far from turning the corner with 18-year-old Sam Holden leading the individual plaudits, hitting a magnificent 96 on Sunday.
However, it appears when the batting is in full flow, the bowling fails to flourish, and when the bowling is on song, the batting is off key. Throw in some below-par fielding performances and the side is searching for a level of consistency in all three disciplines.
Saturday’s clash brought a good-sized crowd down to the Heys who saw the home side reach 195 for 7 after looking in some discomfort at 91 for 5 with just 13 overs left.
But skipper Steven Lorenzini led the way with a fighting 51 not out – his second successive half century – and with excellent support from Holden and the later order, the side got themselves back back into the match equation. Modi Ali was the best Cheetham bowler with figures of 5 for 54.
But Prestwich struggled to find any real rhythm in their bowling and Hill mixed good fortune with good strokeplay to make stealthy inroads into the target figure.
Opener Zeshan Mirza made 48 while Ali Raza (54 not out) and Yousuf Anwar (57) ensured the result was never in doubt and coasted home with several overs to spare.
Sunday’s clash in the National Knockout competition saw Darwen pro Mohammad Zaman Khan hit a classy 128, despite suffering a groin strain when on 60.
He was put down twice which did not help the Prestwich cause and they spent 45 overs of toil in which they only claimed three wickets and were set a total of 271 to chase. Darwen skipper John Cordingly was the other major runscorer with 78.
However, for much of the Prestwich reply, the prospect of an unlikely victory was on the cards, led by the stunning innings of 96 from Holden.
The teenager’s mixture of powerful textbook drives and punts through mid-wicket kept the run rate ticking over and with Lorenzini again providing a fine support base with 34, the daunting target was still within reaching distance.
However, Holden holed out on the mid-wicket boundary just four short of what would have been a deserved century.
James Wharmby and Andy Bradley kept the flicker of victory alive fleetingly with a couple of lusty blows, but falling 27 runs of such a mammoth target showed there is plenty of fighting spirit left yet in the Heys side.
LCL Matchday 9
Bathiya Perera’s third ton of the season saw Glossop past 300 as they maintained their one point lead over Woodhouses at the top of Division One.
Saturday 5th June 2010
DIVISION ONE
Denton 83ao (0) v Denton St Law 176ao (5)
DN – Steve Wharton 5-88, Andrew Neill 5-15
DSL – Scott Allen 63, Rashid Nadeem 5-26
Flowery Field 214-7 (1) v Stand 262ao (4)
FF – Matt Hawley 60, Lee Milner 5-67, Steven Oddy 4-75
ST – Amila Weththasignhe 99 & 4-78, Matt Holt 60
Glossop 319-4 (5) v Thornham 184ao (0)
GL – Bathiya Perera 109 & 3-44, Steven Bates 84*, Mark Dyson 58, Dale Pennington 45
TH – Alec McClure 56*, Tom Grey 51
Irlam 126ao (0) v Denton West 204-8 (5)
IR – Rick Blackman 5-58
DW – Mike Berry 67, Scott Kirwin 3-21
Prestwich 195-7 (0) v Cheetham Hill 198-5 (4)
PW – Steven Lorenzini 51*
CH – Zeshan Mirza 48, Ali Raza 54*, Yousuf Anwar 57, Modi Ali 5-54
Woodbank 63ao (0) v Dukinfield 218-9 (5)
WB – Brett Collins 3-79
DK – R Hussain 57, Anil Ridee 4-22, Imran Ditta 4-29
Woodhouses 226ao (5) v Roe Green 107ao (0)
WH – Luke Swards 80, Manzoor Ellahi 6-31, Nick Hardman 4-15
RG – Gareth Williams 5-70, Joe Roberts 4-46
DIVISION TWO
Cheetham Hill (0) 160ao v Prestwich (5) 217-4
Denton St Law (5) 222ao v Denton (0) 212ao
Denton West (0) 103ao v Irlam (5) 172-9
Dukinfield (5) 83-6 v Woodbank (0) 79ao
Roe Green (4) 177-4 v Woodhouses (0) 173-9
Stand (5) 169ao v Flowery Field (0) 135ao
Thornham (1) 139-9 v Glossop (4) 158-8
