Cricket - Still neck and neck after Burneside squeeze home (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Cricket - Still neck and neck after Burneside squeeze home

11:06am Saturday 8th August 2009 in

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NO quarter is being given in a compelling first division title race as joint leaders Warton and Burneside and third-placed Milnthorpe all registered 15-point wins in Saturday’s league programme. Burneside were given a a scare by lowly Ibis before claiming a 15-run victory, while Warton’s in-form bowler James Rafferty was among the wickets again with a 7-17 return as Wndermere were dimissed for 52 in a six-wicket win.

So the top two retain a 15-point cushion to Milnthorpe, who beat Bare by 58 runs, and it is looking like a three-horse race with defending champions Westgate now a further 19 points adrift in fourth place.

At the foot of the table, Kirkby Lonsdale anre Bare are battling to avoid joining Bare in the relegation slots.

Elsewhere, Ingleton are looking on course for promotion from the third division, while Arnside and Bentham are having a terrific tussle at the top ofthe fourth division.

denotes home team.

*Burneside 101-8.

Ibis 86.

AT 10AM the ground was more suitable for water polo than cricket, but tireless work by groundstaff and players enabled play to start only 15 minutes later than scheduled.

On a soft wicket Ibis chose to bowl on winning the toss and runs were hard to come by for the first 20 overs.

Keeping wickets in hand for the last 15 overs looked like Burneside’s key to setting a decent total, but at 33-2 it seemed a tall order. Nobody ever felt they were "in" when batting, although Wilson (24) looked the most assured.

An unbeaten 26 between Batteson (13no) and Leacock (16no) at the end enabled Burneside to reach three figures and set Ibis something of a total to chase.

Daz Troughton’s nagging line and length brought him a fine 6-42, while his brother Steve bowled accurately into the wet patch on a length at the other end and was unlucky to finish with only 1-24 off 14 overs.

In reply, Ibis set off like a train as Braithwaite and Earl rattled up 27 in seven overs, which became 53-1 after 20.

Braithwaite looked good for 20 until Dixon had him lbw, a trick he repeated to account for Earl (14).

However, a bowling switch-around saw the runs dry up as Dixon removed the top four.

Airey’s steep bounce and sharp turn made him unplayable and the middle order collapsed trying to hit out.

After Leacock took two good catches to remove Coulson and Braithwaite junior, Ibis were staring defeat at 68-8.

Troughton and young Earl tried to rally and put on 17 as the visitors inched their way to the target.

With five overs left they needed 17, but Wilson clean bowled Earl. When Troughton found Leacock’s safe hands at deep square leg off Airey, Burneside had squeezed home for a valuable 15 points.

Ibis had lost their last nine wickets for 33 and the pick of the bowlers were Dixon (5-28) and Airey (4-32).

Milnthorpe 175-3dec.

*Bare 117.

MILNTHORPE gained a morale-boosting 15 points at Bare after being inserted on a surprisingly decent track considering the early-morning dampness and they prospered to make 175-3 declared.

Pod Pennington (32) ensured with Steve Bowman (10) that the visitors got off to a useful start, taking the score into the forties against tight bowling before the former went to Osmotherley's tricky off-cutters.

Bowman followed soon afterwards, but the two lefft-handers, Andrew Suddes and Mike Willes, came together and halted the home side's charge. Suddes hit 60 and Wills remained unbeaten for 58 to take Milnthorpe to 175-3 before they called enough after 40 overs.

After tea, Illingworth's early breakthrough with a superb caught-and-bowled set the tone and he went on to take 4-34 off 13 overs. With Bob Baldwin also bowling a good line, Milnthorpe looked on top when Osmotherley went cheaply for five. Moller remained defiant and he compiled 54 before Wills came into the attack and removed him lbw. The slide was on, hastened by Illingworth's return, with Curran (3-28) and Wills (2-32) making it a great all-round bowling effort. Bransby and Smith tried to save the game with ten men around the bat. As Smith tried to obtain the strike, Bransby was run out by Moorby to earned Milnthorpe a maximum return.

Arnside 208-9.

Shireshead & Forton 209-7.

ARNSIDE’S innings featured a superb 80 from Adrian Lee, who was given out caught behind having scored four but sportingly reprieved when the Shireshead captain rescinded the appeal.

Gifted two further lives, Lee’s 80 came off 117 balls and he found good support from Mike Shepherd (33) in a stand of 84 in 20 overs.

Adam Richardson was feeling unwell so his arrival at the crease was delayed until the fall of the fourth wicket in the 31st over. He quickly made up for lost time and hit 44 from 29 balls, including three sixes and four fousr as 62 was added in six overs.

At 175-4 at the start of the 39th over, with Lee and Richardson at the wicket, Arnside must have aspired to a total in excess of 250.

Jack had other ideas, the 19-year-old fast bowler had taken 2-25 in his first seven-over spell and also taken wickets in the first two overs of his return only to bear the brunt of Richardson’s assault.

Hwoever, he kept his head and bowled a ripper that bent back the Arnside man’s off stump. With that wicket the game changed as Jack picked up two more victims to return a career-best 7-75 from 14 overs.

Tom Jacques (2-35) finally removed Lee as the final seven overs realised 33 runs.

In Shireshead’s reply, Colin Twiname (19) and Tom Jacques (34) added 37 before Twiname was bowled by Ian Bullough (1-53) in the seventh over.

Phil Oliver hit 24 from 21 balls to take the visitors to 70 in the 14th over, and ahead of the rate, before he was caught behind off Chris Howsley (3-74), who swung the ball throughout his 18 overs.

When Tom Jacques was lbw to Howsley, it brought together the two most promising batsmen in the Shireshead club. With 124 needed from 27 overs, Robbie Jacques (54) and Rob Charles (45) produced some wonderful strokeplay to put on 76 in just 13 overs.

Jacques’ second half-century for the first team came at faster than a run-a-ball, with seven four and three sixes.

For his highest first-team score, Charles’s 45 came off 57 balls with seven fours.

Paul Yates (20) and Michael Armstrong (4) brought the scores level with three overs left. Both fell and it needed a Tim Mansfield smear to mid-on and a dropped catch to complete the victory with five balls remaining.

Lee had completed a good all-round game with 3-24 from eight overs.