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Audley claim vital NSSCL Premier Division win, leaders Checkley hold their nerve
Audley jumped out of the NSSCL Premier Division drop zone with victory over fellow top-flight newcomers Eccleshall.
The duo, promoted from Division One together at the end of last season, have taken their time to adjust the new surroundings.
And Saturday’s meeting would have been billed as a key clash for both camps as they looked to kick-start their campaigns.
It was hosts Audley who banked the points as they produced a fine display to ensure that they exited the bottom two places in the division.
Audley put themselves in a commanding position early on after piling up 230-7 from their 55 overs at Kent Hills.
Openers Finley Beswick and Richard Holloway laid firm foundations with a much-needed stand of 60.
Holloway fell for 39, but Beswick proved to be the star attraction with the bat for Audley as he compiled 63, which included 10 fours.
His lead was followed by Oliver Wilde (40), Harvey Ault (34) and Dean Bamsey (31no) which enabled the home side to put a competitive total on the board.
Andrew Calvert was the pick of the Eccleshall attack, finishing with 3-54, while there were a couple of victims for Ben Thomas.
Eccleshall slipped to 30-3 in their run chase before a fourth-wicket stand of 79 between Daniel Byatt (47) and Eranga Dissanagge (39) put them back on track.
The visitors’ ship seemed to be in calmer waters on 121-4, but they then suffered another collapse as they slid to 146 all out.
Rob Hemmings and Ault claimed two wickets apiece, but it was Faizan Riaz’s spell of 5-42 which eventually sent the visitors to defeat.
Eccleshall remain rooted to the foot of the standings – and have been joined in the bottom two by Elworth, who narrowly lost out to leaders Checkley.
That didn’t look like being the outcome at the halfway point after the front-runners were bundled out for just 84 on their visit to South Cheshire.
Puneet Datey (29), Tom Moulton (18) and Richard Williams (10) were the only Checkley batsmen to make any headway.
Spin did the trick for Elworth as Chris Winter and Steve Morgan scooped 4-24 and 3-26 respectively. There were also two wickets for Sean whitehead.
Checkley put their faith in seam to turn the tide – and they were rewarded in nick of time.
Russ Ballard made 13 up front, but at 68-9 there were more than a few nails being chewed as the tension increased.
Thom Bamford (12no) and Morgan (9) inched the score up to 81 before the latter was caught and bowled by Richard Cooper to earn Checkley a three-run victory.
Cooper finished with 4-26, with fellow paceman Datey grabbing 5-32.
Hem Heath remain just a point off the summit in second following their win at Stone SP.
Hem Heath delivered a solid batting effort to enable them to progress to 220-7 from their allocation.
Sam Wilcox top-scored with 46 not out, but there were plenty of handy contributions throughout the order.
Matthew Hodson added 41, Gabe Bell chipped in with 31 not out, Kurtis Lally weighed in with 24 and there was 23 apiece from Liam Banks and EJ Laverty.
Cameron Sinclair and Jack Batchelor shared four of the wickets to fall for the home side.
Stone SP’s reply hit early trouble as they found themselves 6-3.
Joey Sharp (37), Ben Motley (34) and Jahurul Islam (22) offered some resistance, but Stone SP were dismissed for 141.
Stone SP old EJ Laverty enjoyed his return to the club as he took 3-31, backed up by Banks’ 3-33 and a double strike from Aussie all-rounder Bell.
Third-placed Moddershall & Oulton netted their fifth league win of the summer on their trip to Cheadle.
The Modd men were set 204 for victory, and were given an ideal start as Staffordshire wicketkeeper-batsman Callum Hawkins plundered eight fours and four sixes in his 77.
The baton was then passed to skipper Sam Kelsall to ensure that Hawkins’ fine work didn’t go to waste.
Kelsall made a patient unbeaten 77, off 140 balls and featuring nine fours and one six, to see the visitors to a five-wicket triumph in the 50th over.
Help was at hand from Sam Atkinson (17no) and Dan Richardson (16), while James Sellers snared 3-44 for the home side.
Austen Crump also chipped in with two wickets having earlier top-scored with 82 not out in Cheadle’s 203-8 from their 55 overs.
Crump struck 11 boundaries and three maximums, with Ali Khan and Andy Coxon chipping in with 32 and 31 respectively.
Kelsall (3-19) and Tom Spruce (3-36) were the main men with the ball for Moddershall & Oulton.
Porthill Park overcame a run-chase wobble to defeat Leek by two wickets at the Old County Ground.
Leek were dismissed for 142 in the formative stages of the match, a total posted thanks to Mahaaz Ahmed (33), Sam Slater (25), Alex Mellor (21), Nick Bailey (15no) and Shazad Liaqat (14).
Sachithra Perera grabbed 4-31 for the home side, with Craig Barker and Jack Kesteven striking twice.
Matthew Coxon (38), Ben Warrender (34) and Tom Longworth (24) fronted the Porthill Park response.
But from 104-3, they tumbled to 134-8 as Josh Hudson, Zen Malik and Ryan Ball all captured two wickets.
However, opener Ryan Hassett, who had earlier retired hurt with a finger injury, returned to the fray to help Perera steer Porthill Park over the line.
Longton are third-from-bottom, five points clear of the relegation zone, after a home draw against Bagnall Norton.
Longton tumbled to 36-5, but recovered to reach 185 all out thanks to Archie Doorbar’s 61, which contained eight fours and two sixes, 36 from Lee Ridgway, 19 from Ross Coates and Alex Coates’ 18. Greg Willott claimed 4-28 for Bagnall Norton and Scott Winnington added a couple of victims to his collection.
Josh Cartledge and Justin Mould both made 27 after tea, while Morgan Murray-Williams weighed in with 21.
Winnington then compiled 43, but a steady stream of wickets meant the points were up for grabs in the closing stages.
Tom Hope took 4-25 and Raghu Sharma netted 3-39, but Bagnall Norton – who batted for 62 overs in the end – drew stumps on 170-9.
That was thanks to skipper Willott’s 40-ball nine not out and an unbeaten four, off eight balls, from number 11 Nyle Broadhurst.
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