Fieldhouse find route to last four

CRICKET: BAMFORD Fieldhouse are through to the semi-final of the ECB National Knock-out Cup after seeing off Walmley.

On a difficult wicket, Bamford batted first and scrambled to a total of 159 for nine, with Simon Marshall mustering 40 and Jack Kelliher 31.

Ex-Lancashire player Mark Chadwick, batting down the order, showed the value of his experience with a late flourish, hitting a quick 24 which proved significant.

Birmingham League outfit Walmley no doubt felt they were capable of overhauling Bamford’s seemingly-modest total.

The Bamford bowlers had other ideas, with Mel Austin taking three for 30 off nine overs.

The visitors contributed to their own downfall in suffering no less than three run-outs, and only C Howell with 35 putting up much resistance.

Bamford won the contest by 61 runs.

Their second team lost agonisingly against Austerlands off the last ball of the game in the Saddleworth League's Moore Cup final.

The winners’ hero was all-rounder Jack Stanton (18) with an unbeaten 83.

Batting first, Bamford made a disastrous start.

Facing a hostile opening spell from teenagers A Cadd and Tom Green, they lost their first two wickets to Green with only three runs on the scoreboard, one of those being that of the dangerous Qaser Riaz.

Cadd was particularly unlucky, but the visitors began to recover aided by Ray Baker and Chris Burn, who made 46.

Tariq Maqsood posted 27 and captain Michael Drew lifted them to a reasonable total of 150.

Austerlands’s Andy Green was dismissed in the second over. With half of their overs gone, the home side had only reached 46.

Stanton came in and at 78 for two their hopes were rising but a mid-order collapse in the face of some accurate bowling from R Wilkinson, who claimed three wickets in his nine over spell, left the hosts on 110 for eight.

Stanton was joined by captain Paul Barnes and together they clawed their way towards the total, until at the start of the last over four runs were still needed.

A no-ball and a dropped catch followed and, with the scores level, Barnes lofted the final delivery over mid wicket for a boundary.



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