23-25 May

Warton  203/6  Shireshead & Forton  111 Warton strengthened their position at the top of the table with what ultimately was a straightforward win on Saturday.  It might have been different if debutant bowler, Rahul Saharwal (0/27) had dismissed Tony Barrow (49) with his first ball.  Instead a difficult catch went to ground, and a confident lbw shout against Phil Bovis next ball was unsuccessful.  Life was uncomfortable for the home side as Tom Battarbee bowled a penetrative opening spell.  The luckless bowler beat the edge of the bat several times and his figures of 0/57 from 14 overs represent something of a travesty.  Barrow had an early monopoly on  aggressive intent, pulling and driving whenever afforded the opportunity and was unlucky to miss out on his fifty when Tom Jacques (3/67) took a diving caught and bowled chance.  Barrow had hit seven 4s and a six in a stand of 68 in 20 overs.  Alan Moulsdale (2/46) removed James Rafferty (6) and Simon Gould (22), with Bovis still playing carefully at the other end.  Bovis finally reached his fifty from 108 balls, but then in a 54 run partnership with Ricky Nelson (19) began hitting the ball powerfully, particularly to the straight boundaries.  His last 50 runs required only 32 balls and vividly demonstrated his ability to move through the gears.  He finished on 92 not out from 133 balls, hitting two 4s and six 6s.

Shireshead collapsed to 15/4 against Rafferty (4/25) and Graham Crowther (2/18).  Michael Armstrong (35) and Robert Jacques (13) added 33, and Ray Riley batted well for 18 avoiding the ignominy of being dismissed by former Galgate teammate, Gould (3/21).   Phil Oliver (3) and Tim Mansfield (12) resisted for ten overs, but fell in successive overs as Warton wrapped up with the win with ten balls to spare.

Shireshead & Forton  204/4  Ibis  103/9 Shireshead moved into the semi-final of the first division cup with a facile win against an understrength Ibis, who had eight changes forced changes from the team that had lost to Bare the previous day.  Colin Twiname (76 not out) and Tom Jacques (72) filled their boots against the second string attack, once opening bowlers Braithwaite (2/25) and Blamire (0/32) who both bowled well, made way for the second string attack.  The pair added 143 in 23 overs, before Jacques was lbw to Dave Irvine (1/30).  Phil Oliver made a ten ball 20 in the uncharacteristic position of number three as boundaries came aplenty as 92 runs were added from the final ten overs.

Dave Jack (1/22) and Oliver (1/2) made early inroads, with only an aggressive 34 from Mike Robinson boosting the score.  Paul Yates took 3/29, Tim Mansfield 2/6 and Robert Charles 1/13 as the innings subsided.

Bolton-Le-Sands  176 for 7 Shireshead 2nds 86 all out After a week of constant rain, credit must go to the Clifton Park ground staff for preparing a playable pitch. Despite winning the toss and inserting the visitors on a damp wicket, the home bowlers struggled to find a consistent line in the early exchanges.  The dismissal of Alan Cole (0), Matt Ireland (5) and Rob Clarkson (0) put the Sandmen in trouble at 57 for 4 as Malcolm Taylor (3/54) bowled a controlled seventeen over spell. A fifth wicket partnership of 69 from Mike Wolfenden (72), who put away the bad ball with ease, and Tim Millat (25) gave the visitors the foundation for a sizeable total.  The bat continued to dominate with Mark Clarkson (32) and Williams (8) contributing 34 in a seventh wicket partnership.  Jack Dodd(2/43) returned  creditable figures from his ten overs as the visitors tried to increase the run rate. The young leg spinner bowled his best spell of the season with controlled spin and loop.

In reply the home side struggled against the young bowling attack of Mark Clarkson (3/15) and Adam Dyson (1/21).  From 30 for 2 to 54 for 9 the second eleven collapsed like a pack of cards. Young wicketkeeper Sam Clarkson(36) gave the total some respectability in a tenth wicket stand of 32 with Dodd (8 n.o). Veteran bowlers Peter Morgan (3/32) and Rob Clarkson (3/16) completed the rout as the home side were rolled out for 86 in the 24th over.

Shireshead 3rd 153/4  Netherfield 4th 158/5 ) Westmorland League Division 4)
Shireshead were well beaten by a stronger Netherfield side in Kendal on Saturday.   For once, Tony Richmond, Shireshead’s skipper, won the toss and chose to bat.  With the exception of Peter Dodd, out for a duck, all the batsmen scored runs.   John Coates carried his bat, and shortly before the end celebrated his half century, but at tea he was told that he had, in fact, only reached 47.  He shared partnerships with Simeon Glen (16), Steve Yates (22), Joy Arun (30) and Dave Riley (17 not out). The most successful Netherfield bowler was R. Lambert with 2-7, but M. Goodall had a long steady spell and was perhaps unlucky to have no wickets for his 25 runs. His luck soon changed, though, as he carried his bat for 79, in Netherfield’s excellent response with the bat.  Shireshead’s bowlers struggled, particularly during Goodall’s 2nd wicket partnership of 70 with S. Foster.  Graham Rand (2-38) and Alex Bantleman (2-23) were unable to stop Netherfield’s cruise to victory with 9 overs to spare.  However, the result would have been closer if Peter Dodd’s one wicket had been augmented with three that could have been taken with no-balls.

Shireshead 3rd 71 Morecambe 3rd 72-4 (Westmorland League Division 4)
On Monday, for a second time this weekend, Shireshead came a poor second to a team from a Northern League club.  This was particularly disappointing after they started each innings well.  Asked to bat first, Shireshead’s opening batsmen Geoff Hornby (16) and Rahul Sabharwal (29) combined with a partnership of 52.  No other batsmen reached double figures, the side collapsing to 71 all out.  Morecambe’s leading bowler was Jonny Shepherd with 5-5.  Shireshead’s opening bowlers, Graham Rand (2-13) and Rahul (1-16) responded well and after four overs Morecambe’s response was only 2 for 3.  Following a break for rain, Julian Abrahams (17) and Luke Walker (31 not out) steadied the innings and then steadily proceeded towards the win, though Alex Taylor (1-14) took a further wicket.